Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I need some hay.”
“We keep the hay around back. There’s a fenced area with a green awning. You pay here and pull your car around the rear of the building. Give your receipt to the kid at the gate. How many bales do you need?”
“I think one should do it.”
The guy nodded and punched some keys on his register. “Anything else I can get you today?”
“No, I think I’m good.” I glanced around the store and saw one of those plastic owls that people use to scare away birds. “Actually…” I nodded toward the owl. “Would you happen to have any other plastic animals?”
“I think we have a doe and fawn set somewhere around here. People put ’em out more as a decoration than a deterrent though.”
“Can I see them?”
He walked out from behind the counter and pointed toward the back of the store. “Follow me.”
As I trailed behind the guy, I started to get a vision of what my creation was going to look like on the front lawn. Either this was going to be funny as hell, or Josie was going to think I was nuts.
“Here we go.” The clerk pointed to two brown plastic deer with white Bambi spots. One was lying down and the other standing. “Is this the type of thing you’re looking for?”
“This is exactly what I need. Any chance you also have one of those things a shepherd holds in his hand.”
The guy’s bushy eyebrows drew together, almost forming a straight line. “You mean a crook?”
“Yeah, I think that’s what it’s called.”
He shook his head. “Sorry. We don’t get a lot of sheep around here. But we’ve got a ketch-all.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a pole used to catch animals, but the top has a big loop around it, instead of a hook like a shepherd’s crook.”
I shrugged. “Okay, I’ll take one of those instead. And maybe a pitchfork or two.”
The guy helped me gather the rest of my purchases. As he finished ringing me up, he said, “Whatcha trying to catch?”
I smiled. “A woman.”
The look on the guy’s face was absolutely priceless. Though it was probably best to get the hell out of there before he called the cops on me.
Back at home, I didn’t see Josie’s car in the driveway. So I went to work, setting up my display. The entire thing took me more than four hours to put together—I cut wood from the garage and assembled something resembling the arch of a stable and decorated it with white lights. Half-a-dozen Star Wars characters huddled around the hay-filled bassinet manger, where baby Yoda laid peacefully. I added a few blow-up palm trees with lights, and the pair of deer completed the nutty scene. It had started to get dark by the time I finished everything. Yet my neighbor still wasn’t home. I knew from the last few nights that her display went on promptly at seven—so it shouldn’t be long now before she pulled up.
Josie
Today had been the worst. Between a tense parent-teacher conference and the principal holding an unexpected staff meeting after school, I was mentally exhausted. Thankfully, it was the last day before Christmas break.
I vowed to pick myself up and get ready for tonight’s display. I’d planned to make cookies and pass out cocoa and needed to be able to do it with a smile on my face. But maybe I’d light everything up a little later than usual and take a hot bath first to decompress.
As I pulled onto my street, the craziest sight met my eyes. While my house was dark, since I hadn’t turned on the lights yet, Cole’s was lit up much more brightly than ever before. Well, if this wasn’t an ironic visual.
And it wasn’t just the lights.
Oh my God. What am I looking at?
I abruptly parked on the street, not even bothering to pull into my driveway.
As soon as I exited the car, I noticed the music. Blasting from a speaker was the theme to…Star Wars? Within a few seconds, I realized why he’d chosen that. Cole had set up a nativity scene featuring life-size Stars Wars figures. A rifle-wielding Han Solo stood alone near a cradle. I peeked in and found Yoda inside. Baby Yoda Jesus. Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and Jabba the Hutt were lined up, I guessed as the three wise men. R2-D2 and C-3PO were chilling together on the other side of the lawn as shepherds. And there were palm trees and deer—oh my! He’d put up so many more lights, too.
What in the world?
When the door opened and Cole came outside, I nearly lost it.
“What the heck happened to you?” I asked. “Have you lost your mind?” My eyes traveled from top to bottom over his body. Cole wore a wig with buns on each side and a long white…dress.