ask one on a cruise or be swayed to give her money.
“As if you’d let anyone touch his money,” Evelyn scoffed.
Jake said nothing as his thoughts raced. His father was of sound mind and body. And even though Jake had argued for the sale, he’d seen that his father was torn. On one hand, the amusement park was a family legacy, but on the other hand, it was a lot to take care of.
“What are you going to do?” Evelyn asked.
“Nothing.” He was disappointed in his father’s decision but not terribly surprised. His father was having a hard time letting go of his family’s heritage. Family meant a lot to John Walters.
“But...”
“Sis,” Jake interrupted, “the property belongs to him, and he’s of sound mind.”
“We all agreed he would sell. He sat at the dinner table with us and listened to our arguments and agreed with everything we said. My God, if he’s going to keep that damn park, my son is going to want to work there again. He’s already talking about skipping college and working for his grandpa, ruining his entire future.”
“He’ll change his mind.” He loved his sister. Evelyn had worked hard to get her doctorate in physics. She now taught at Cal State, San Bernardino and was on track to head the department.
Evelyn ground her teeth in frustration. “Can’t we go to court and stop him somehow?”
“Do you really want to try to have our father declared incompetent?”
A strangled sob came to him through the phone. “No, I guess not. It’s not your kids he’s filling with ideas that life is an amusement park and a little orange marmalade on sourdough toast will solve everything.”
Jake half smiled. His father had tried to sell him and Evelyn the same dream, but they hadn’t been converted.
“I’ll talk to him,” Jake promised, and ended the call.
He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window at the cloudless, blue Los Angeles sky. In the distance he could see the huge Hollywood Hills sign. One of the reasons he’d taken this spot was because he loved looking at the sign.
Evelyn was right; the man had lost his mind. Jake had spent six months putting the sale together, and his father was supposed to take the money and relax for the rest of his life. What had happened? He reached for the phone, intending to call his father, but then decided maybe a trip to Riverside would be better.
Chapter 2
Merry stood in the center of her new office looking around. The room was a bit dingy, with gray paint on the walls, limp blinds on the windows and a battered desk, but she’d fix that with a little paint. A worktable was pushed against one wall, angled to catch the light from the window. The desk was a little battered, but Merry was a master at making old things look new again. Her whole house was a testament to her ability to take anything and make it look fresh and inviting.
She opened a box and started rummaging through it. Christmas lights spilled out. She found her electronic Santa Claus and hugged it. Her father had given it to her for her birthday. One of the things she’d hated as a child had been the fact she’d been born on Christmas, but her mother had solved the dilemma and celebrated her birthday on July 25. But that didn’t stop her father from giving her Christmas-themed gifts. As an airline pilot, he traveled the world and often brought back unique items for Merry and her sister.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” she called.
The door opened and John Walters walked in. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a round face, close-cropped gray hair already turning white and twinkling brown eyes. “Are you decorating for Christmas already? It’s August.”
“Getting in the mood,” she answered. She placed the Santa on the corner of her desk and plugged it in. “And looking for inspiration. I don’t have a lot of time to plan the Christmas decorations and get them up for your grand reopening.” John wanted to open the day after Thanksgiving and she had a lot of work to do. She pressed the button on the Santa and “Jingle Bell Rock” blared out at her. She grinned, suddenly feeling happier than she had since she’d made her decision to leave the safety of the Chapman Brothers theme park.
She’d always have a job with them, but accepting John’s offer gave her a new opportunity to shine. She didn’t want to play second banana anymore. She wanted more.
The song ended and John grinned at her. He looked into the box and pulled out another package of Christmas lights. “This is a good start.”
“Since you’re here, would you like to see my preliminary sketches?” She walked over to her worktable and turned on the light. She’d spent the past week measuring the park, the footprints of the different rides, the pathways between them and the orange trees that dotted the park. From that she’d worked up a blueprint that gave her an aerial view, though she was going to need more detail. She flipped open her notebook. “I’ve done four themes for you,” she said. “Christmas in California is the first one.”
John nodded as he glanced at the large drawing. She’d drawn a schematic diagram of the park, highlighting each section. John’s original concept for his park had been to showcase the variety of activities Southern California had to offer. The Los Angeles area had its own unique activities. A person could spend the morning at the beach, then the afternoon skiing in the mountains or looking at the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. John had tried to integrate those ideas into his park. Merry had to figure out how to layer a Christmas theme over the different sections and keep it cohesive with the original concept. She’d worked out four different ideas she thought could work. “I like this,” John said, pointing at her first idea of implementing the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. She’d decorated the orange trees with lights and added some gift boxes with large bows to the base of a tree. She’d sketched in various L.A. landmarks, such as the Hollywood sign, in various places near the different rides.
“This is a Currier and Ives Christmas,” she said, turning the page to show him the next one.
He glanced at the sleigh pulled by reindeer and nodded slightly. Another scene showed singers dressed in nineteenth-century garb. The third scene was a fireplace with stockings hanging from it and the fourth was a cute display of a Christmas tree lit up and decorated with bows.
“I’m not sure about this one,” John said.
She showed him the third idea, Christmas Around the World, and he disliked it immediately. The fourth theme, Hollywood Christmas, was a series of scenes from different Christmas movies.
“That’s a strong possibility,” John said, but he turned back to the first one. “I think this is the one to go with. I love the Hollywood Christmas, but Christmas in California is more accessible to children.”
“Okay, then,” she said with a smile. Christmas in California was her favorite, too. She wondered if she could convince her mother or her sister to make a stained glass Christmas tree for the entrance.
“I’m glad you’re here,” John said.
“Me, too,” Merry said. She folded the rejected drawings and started making mental lists in her head. “I think my budget will just cover all of this.”
