Read Online A Christmas Family Wish by Helen Scott Taylor - Free Book Online Page A

through the
bars, a frown on his face beneath his wool hat.
    "Hay. It's dried grass."
    "Is that what the elephant has for Christmas
dinner?"
    Rachel laughed. "It's what it has for every dinner,
sweetheart. Although I expect the zookeepers give the elephants fresh green
food as well."
    Toby nibbled the fingertips of his glove as he watched,
fascinated by the creatures.
    "Come on, let's look at the giraffes." Rachel took
Toby's hand and he skipped along beside her to the next enclosure in the large
barn-like building where the big animals lived during bad weather.
    Other families wandered along with them. A couple with a
baby in a stroller and a little boy about Toby's age laughed together, the
father tickling the boy until the child collapsed giggling in the man's arms.
He picked the boy up and hoisted him onto his shoulders. "There you go.
You're as tall as the giraffe now."
    Rachel's heart squeezed with pain at the look of longing on
Toby's face as he leaned against her leg and stared up at the man with his son.
"Will you lift me up high, Mummy?"
    "I'm not strong enough, sweetie." Rachel crouched
in front of him to tuck his scarf more tightly around his neck to keep out the
cold. "You're such a big boy now that you're too heavy for me. I'm sure
Ian will give you a ride on his shoulders, though. We'll go for a walk tomorrow
after Christmas dinner. He can lift you up high so you'll be as tall as the
Christmas tree."
    Toby pouted and stubbed the toe of his boot into the stained
cement. "I want to ride up high now so I'm tall like the giraffe."
    Tears pricked Rachel's eyes and she blinked them away. If
only Ian had come with them to the zoo, Toby would be getting his wish. This
was to have been their day out together as a family. She'd been looking forward
to it all week, imagining how much Toby would enjoy having Ian along on the day
trip. But it wasn't Ian's fault he'd missed the visit. His daughter had to be
his first priority; Rachel knew that.
    She stood and grabbed Toby's hand, pasting on a happy smile.
"Come on; let's go to the monkey house. There's an ice cream parlor
overlooking the monkey's play area. Monkeys and ice cream sound fun, don't
they?"
    Toby trotted along beside her, a smile back on his face. Her
little boy was remarkably resilient considering how many times he'd been let
down by adults in his short life. Greg always let him down; even her parents
had promised to come over for his birthday and canceled the visit because of
her dad's illness. Now Ian had backed out of today's trip. It was nobody's
fault, but the end result was that Toby missed out.
    They settled on the plastic chairs in the monkey viewing
area. Toby licked a polar-bear-shaped ice cream while they watched a group of
chimpanzees climbing ropes and swinging on suspended tires.
    Rachel's phone chimed and she pulled it out to check the
screen. Ian had arrived in Cornwall. A smile pulled at her lips; she was
delighted to get his message. He'd left early and called while they were eating
breakfast to say he was halfway.
    She did a mental calculation. If he spent a couple of hours
in Cornwall then drove the seven hours home, he should be back around midnight.
She prayed the weather remained clear and no more snow fell to interrupt his
journey.
    When they finished walking around the zoo, they stopped at
the grocery store for some fresh vegetables for Christmas dinner. Rachel
strapped Toby in his car seat and they headed home. A few flakes of snow
started falling as they bumped down the lane towards Meadow Sweet Farm.
    Paula, James, and Ryan were in the courtyard in front of the
barn complex, building a snowman. Toby pressed his nose against the side window
of the car as they drove past. "When can we build a snowman, Mummy?"
    "Tomorrow, sweetie. There's no time today. It'll be
getting dark soon." And she badly wanted Ian to be there to share the fun
with them.
    Rachel bathed Toby then prepared dinner, keeping her phone
on the counter nearby, listening