Willow Smoke (101 page)

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It
was
hard
moving
rapidly
through
the
Christmas
crowds,
but
Daisy
weaved
in
and
out
of
the
package-laden
shoppers.
She ignored
their
shouts
of
protests
and
craned
her
neck
around
often
to
see
if
she
could
recognize
Reggie
coming
up
behind
her.

The
way
he’d
been
struggling
to
move
on
the
sidewalk
by
the
El
platform,
he
shouldn’t
be
too
close.
Her
mind
couldn’t
convince
her
heart.
Reggie
always
bounced
back.

Her heart would pound
right out of her chest
if
she
didn’t
stop
soon.
Once
on
State
Street,
Daisy
slowed
a
little.
All
the
stores
were decorated, turning the street
into a
fairyland.
She
hugged
Bear
tighter
and opened
the
door
leading
into
Macy’s.

Inside
the
entryway,
she
stepped
out
of
the
traffic
and
simply
stared
at
the
huge
Christmas
tree
stretching
above
the
first
floor.
She
shook
her
hair
and
realized
how
she
must
look
to
passers-by.
Like
someone
who
had
crawled
out
of
the
gutter.
She
brushed
her
clothes,
and
shook
Bear
gently.
“Sorry,”
she
said,
“but
we’ll
be
dry
in
here.
Do
you
remember?
Bear. Let me show you
around. It’s
Christmastime; it’s time
to dream.”

Daisy
chuckled
at
the
little
girl’s
voice
coming
from her mouth. Was it really her?

She
peered
around
at
the
crowd.
No
one
seemed
to
notice
her
talking
to
a
stuffed
animal.
They
were
safe.
She’d
have
to
find
a
phone
and
call
Nick.
Certainly,
there
would
be
a
phone
in
such
a
large
store.

“Come on, Bear. I want
to show you something.”

Daisy
walked
to
the
escalator
and
got
off
on
the
fifth
floor.
She
walked
down
the
aisle
and
smiled.
Just
as
they
had
when
she
was
young,
toy
animals
lined
both
sides
of
the
walkway.
She’d
always
believed
there
were
more
toys
in
this
one
store
than
anywhere
else
in
the
world.

And
she
had
always
known
that
Santa
had
a
spare
toyshop
right
behind
that
wall.
There were just
too many toys to ship
them
all
from
the
North
Pole.
Daisy
frowned.
How
she’d
loved
to
come
to
this
place
to
look
and
to
dream.
But
never
had
any
of
those
toys
found
their
way
to
her
house.

Except
Bear.
This
was
where
she’d
first
seen Bear. It was love at first sight. And
she’d
been
so
amazed
when
he’d
shown
up
that
next
Christmas
morning.

“Here
we
are,
Bear.
This
is
what
I
wanted
you
to
see.
Look
at
all
your
friends.
There
must
be
over
a
hundred
bears.
And
look.
Look
at
the
elephants
and
the
giraffes.”
She
giggled.
“And
just
imagine,
there’s
a turtle! I think we need to
get you
a
friend,
Bear.
I’ll
have
to
spend
more
of
my
time
with
Nick,
and
we
wouldn’t
want
you
getting
lonely.”
She
looked
down
at
herself
and scowled. “But I ran off without
any
money. We’ll just have to dream about it, I guess.”

Daisy
knelt
on
the
floor
before
the
stuffed
animals.
She
couldn’t
explain
why
she
felt
so
fuzzy.
Her
world
was
spinning.
She
gripped
Bear
tighter
still.

Exhausted,
she
let
her
eyes
close.
Who
was
that
man
coming
toward
her?
Was
he
friend
or
foe?
She
couldn’t
move
a
muscle.
She tried, but neither her legs nor her
arms would move.

His
arms
enclosed
her.
Pulling
back,
Daisy
tried
to
raise
a
hand
to
protect
herself.
Her
hand
didn’t
respond.
She
tried
to
scream,
but
no
sound
came
out.
But
she
could
hear.

“It’s okay. It’s me,
Nick. You’re in shock. I
saw
it
in
the
army.
It’ll
subside,
Daisy.
We’ll
get
you
to
a
hospital;
they’ll
start
an
IV
and
soon
you’ll
be
as
good
as
new.”

Nick.
Nick!
Daisy
closed
her
eyes
and
opened
them.
He
was
coming
into
focus.
She
was
warming
in
his
arms.
“No.
No
hospital,”
she
whispered.
“I’ll
be
fine,
now
that you’re here.”

“We’ll
wait
a
few
minutes
and
see.”
He
took
off
his
jacket
and
wrapped
it
around
her.
“Are
you
warm
enough?”

“Can
I
be
of
assistance?”
a
clerk
asked.
“Is
she
okay?”

Nick
nodded.
“She
just
fainted.
The
excitement
of
the
season.
I
think
she’ll
be
okay
soon.”

“We
have
medical
staff
in
the
building
if
you
need
them,”
the
clerk
said,
giving
them
a
skeptical
look.

“Thanks,”
Nick
replied.

“I
don’t
want
to
talk
to
anyone
else,”
Daisy
said,
rubbing
the
numbness
from
her
arms.
Nick
rubbed
her
legs.
Soon
they began to feel normal.

“Nick,
be
careful.
Reggie
may
be
right
behind
you.
He
was
chasing
me
and
I
ran.
I
didn’t
want
to
endanger
you.
How
did
you
know
I’d
be
here?”