A Will and a Way

in the sink, and you’ll have your lunch as soon as I can manage it.”
    Obediently, Pandora turned on a rush of water. Under the noise, she murmured to Sweeney. “Is Charles not feeling well?”
    “Bursitis is acting up. Cold weather’s a problem. Just being old’s a problem in itself.” She pushed a hand at the small of her back as though she had a pain. “Guess we’re both slowing down a bit. Aches and pains,” Sweeney sighed and cast a sidelong look at Pandora. “Just part of being old.”
    “Nonsense.” Concerned, Pandora scrubbed her hands harder. She told herself she should have been keeping a closer eye on Charles. “You just try to do too much.”
    “With the holidays coming…” Sweeney trailed off and made a business out of arranging a top crust. “Well, decorating the house is a lot of work, but it’s its own reward. Charles and I’ll deal with the boxes in the attic this afternoon.”
    “Don’t be silly.” Pandora shut off the water and reached for a towel. “I’ll bring the decorations down.”
    “No, now, missy, there’re too many boxes and most of them are too heavy for a little girl like you. That’s for us to see to. Isn’t that right, Charles?”
    Thinking of climbing the attic stairs a half-dozen times, Charles started to sigh. A look from Sweeney stopped him. “Don’t worry, Miss McVie, Sweeney and I will see to it.”
    “You certainly will not.” Pandora hung the towel back on the hook. “Michael and I will bring everything down this afternoon, and that’s that. Now I’ll go tell him to come to lunch.”
    Sweeney waited until the door swung shut behind Pandora before she grinned.
    Upstairs, Pandora knocked twice on Michael’s office door, then walked in. He kept on typing. Putting her pride on hold, Pandora walked over to his desk and folded her arms. “I need to talk to you.”
    “Come back later. I’m busy.”
    Abuse rose up in her throat. Remembering Sweeney’s tired voice, she swallowed it. “It’s important.” She ground her teeth on the word, but said it. “Please.”
    Surprised, Michael stopped typing in midword. “What? Has one of the family been playing games again?”
    “No, it’s not that. Michael, we have to decorate the house for Christmas.”
    He stared at her a moment, swore and turned back to his machine. “I’ve got a twelve-year-old boy kidnapped and being held for a million-dollar ransom. That’s important.”
    “Michael, will you put away fantasyland for a moment? This is real.”
    “So’s this. Just ask my producer.”
    “Michael!” Before he could stop her, Pandora pulled the sheet from the typewriter. He was halfway out of his chair to retaliate. “It’s Sweeney and Charles.”
    It stopped him, though he snatched the paper back from her. “What about them?”
    “Charles’s bursitis is acting up again, and I’m sure Sweeney’s not feeling well. She sounded, well, old.”
    “She is old.” But Michael tossed the paper on the desk. “Think we should call in a doctor?”
    “No, they’d be furious.” She swung around his desk, trying to pretend she wasn’t reading part of his script. “I’d rather just keep an eye on them for a few days and make sure they don’t overdo. That’s where the Christmas decorations come in.”
    “I figured you’d get to them. Look, if you want to deck the halls, go ahead. I haven’t got time to fool with it today.”
    “Neither do I.” She folded her arms in a manner that amused him. “Sweeney and Charles have it in their heads that it has to be done. Unless we want them dragging up and down the attic stairs, we have to take care of it.”
    “Christmas is three weeks away.”
    “I know the date.” Frustrated, she strode to the window then back. “They’re old and they’re set on it. You know Uncle Jolleywould’ve had them up the day after Thanksgiving. It’s traditional.”
    “All right, all right.” Trapped, Michael rose. “Let’s get started.”
    “Right after lunch.” Satisfied she’d gotten her way, Pandora swept out.
    Forty-five minutes later, she and Michael were pushing open the attic door. The attic was, in Jolley’s tradition, big enough to house a family of five. “Oh, I’d forgotten what a marvelous place this is.” Forgetting herself, Pandora grabbed Michael’s hand and pulled him in. “Look at this table, isn’t it horrible?”
    It was. Old and ornate with curlicues and cupids, it had been shoved into a corner to hold other paraphernalia