Christmas at Royal Woods Spa

Hair from the dog that bit me

Wednesday

Lynn Sr. woke up to the sound of whirring wind muffled by the walls. He slowly inched off the bed to not wake Rita up. He stepped onto the carpet and put on his green checkered shirt and brown slacks. He pulled his sweater over his shirt as he stepped out into the suit's living room. Lily was still asleep in her crib tucked under her lavender blanket. He tenderly rubbed her blond tuft of blond hair before leaving.

He took the elevator down to the ground floor. As he walked to the diner he noticed he had a spring in his step. He felt like cooking up something special for the family today. He walked into the kitchen and flipped on the lights.

He collected the ingredients from storage and began making lots of cinnamon french toast. He took the trays out of the oven and began to intricately carve the bread into Christmas items. He lifted the individual shapes out of the tray and onto plates. He decorated the pieces with thin lines of syrup and whip cream before carefully placing them onto the cart.

The kids started coming into the diner and taking their seat at the table. He made hot chocolate for them to drink and made some special caffeinated stuff for him and Rita. He put the jugs of hot chocolate onto the cart and rolled it out.

"Morning everyone!" he said.

"Morning Pops! How'd you sleep?"

"I slept fine. Look what I made you all!" He began to rapidly set out the plates in front of the seats.

"This is sweet of you Dad!"

"And there's more," he said as he poured the hot chocolate into their cups. They began eating their french toast and Lynn Sr. pushed the cart over to his and Rita's table. He set out their plates and began pouring the caffeinated hot chocolate into her cup.

"Hot chocolate?"

"Caffeinated. I'd thought you'd like some too." He poured himself some before eating. He watched Rita cut off a bit from her snowman shaped slice and eat it. "How's it taste?"

"It's delicious."

"Nothing but the best for my family." He took a sip of his hot chocolate before cutting up his french toast.

"You seem cheery today."

"I am. You were right, finding something for them to do together really did turn things around." They both looked over at the kids. "Look how happy they are. No arguing, no fighting, just good times. It should be smooth sailing from here on out."

"Well I'm happy that you turned things around. I've made enough progress on my novel so far that I can take a day off to be with you."

"I have to go outside and just make sure everythings in order before the storms come, so you can still work on it for a bit longer."

"Okay. Don't stay out there too long, I don't want you catching a cold."

"I won't. See you soon." He stood up and walked out of the diner. He passed the Christmas tree and piano heading towards the front entrance. He stopped to put on his gloves and a coat before stepping outside.

Lincoln swirled the last piece of french toast in a puddle of syrup on his plate before eating it. He looked around the table as his siblings began finishing their meals as well.

"So, any ideas on what to do today?" Lynn asked.

"I believe that outdoor activities are off the table seeing as the snow storms are starting to break," Lisa said.

"Okay, so we stick indoors. How about hide and seek again?"

"Too soon. How about something else?"

Lincoln saw an opportunity to finally use the massive amount of quarters he had brought with him to the hotel. "Hey guys, there's a game room here with board games and an arcade we could use. I brought a bunch of quarters I could share."