The Christmas Lamp Read Online Free PDF Page B

spruce.”
    And she had hit it more than her fair share of times, Roni silently mused. “Apparently Mr. Brisco doesn’t agree with us. He feels that if the town is to become financially sound we’ll have to make sacrifices. The tree is the first thing to go.”
    “That’s a shame. It won’t seem like Christmas without that tree.”
    “It sure won’t.” She dumped the last of the leftovers and wiped the refrigerator clean. “Have you had dinner?”
    “Nope.”
    Roni opened the cabinet and scanned the near empty shelves. “You like macaroni and cheese, don’t you?”
    “Yes, I believe I do.”
    “Then tonight we feast on macaroni and cheese, rye bread, and for dessert, fruitcake!”
    Just let Brisco try and snatch that tradition away.

5

    The festive holly that adorned the break room couldn’t overcome the uneasy silence the following morning. Members of the ice rink committee fidgeted with foam cups, their jaws set like tenacious pit bulls. It was ten o’clock in the morning, and the thermometer outside the window read sixty-three degrees. Jake stood before the grim faces with anything but zest for what he was about to do.
    “As you have probably guessed, we are here to discuss the ice rink.”
    Logan Stokes erupted first. “The weather will turn. Just give it another day or two.”
    A woman Jake would not have chosen to tangle with on this or any other issue was next. “The rink should have been up and operating by now — certainly by parade night.”
    Jake sat back and let the comments fly. So-and-so wasn’t on top of the situation. They couldn’t start the season with so-and-so sitting on his thumbs. At that point Mr. So-and-so took objection and pointed out that he was not God and he didn’t control the weather.
    Jake excused himself during a verbal fray and stepped outside his office to the water cooler. Downing three Advil, he tipped his head and swallowed a cup of water.
    A rosy-cheeked Roni came out, fanning her face. She grabbed a cup and filled it with water. “You too?”
    “They’re an opinionated bunch, aren’t they?”
    She nodded to the bottle of pain reliever. “Do you have any extra?”
    Uncapping the bottle, he dumped two in her hand.
    “One more.”
    One more landed.
    Downing the tablets, she shook her head, turned on her heel, and walked back into the ruckus. Jake trailed behind.
    Arms folded over chests as the two reentered the room. “It’s a little late to be deciding against the rink,” Logan declared.
    “Late, yes,” Jake picked up. “And there will be a stiff cancellation fee, but it will be a drop in the bucket compared to actually installing and using the ice. Consider a gazebo talent contest. The facility is large and can accommodate fifty or more. Give local talent a chance to shine. Discover new voices.”
    The woman shook her head. “That wouldn’t be Christmas. We’ve never done it that way.”
    Jake looked at Roni. “Any suggestions?”
    She mutely shook her head.
    Jake dropped a folder on the table. “We’re looking for cuts, not expenditures. We need alternatives.”
    His audience sat stiff as ramrods, judgment fixed. Roni stared at her hands, and he knew he had disappointed her once again, but artificial ice? They had to be kidding.

    Roni carried a sack lunch to the gazebo, her gaze fixed on the nearby activity. A dump truck backed up to the town tree, the beep, beep, beep driving a stake through her heart.
    Removing a tissue from her purse, she wiped clean the concrete bench and sat down. She could have picked a more heartening place to eat, but she wanted to remember the tree, once resplendent in its glory, now disgraced.
    The bucket of a front-end loader lowered, and workmen shoved the spruce into the container and yelled. The lift rose and with one resounding burp dumped a town custom.
    “Mind if I join you?”
    Brisco . And yes, she did mind. She wasn’t feeling the friendliest toward the interloper today, but she moved aside and made a