From the Heart by Tara Manderino © 2009 Shoving his hands deeper into his coat pockets, and hunching his shoulders to pull his coat collar closer to his neck, Steven stared at the animated display in the store window. Nearly life-sized penguins wearing brightly colored toboggan hats rode up the escalator, and slid down the plastic slope, waddled across the silver pond to start all over again. Smaller home sets of the display were stacked strategically in the display area. The wind ruffled his hair, and he took it as a cue to move to the displays on the side of the building where nearby buildings made a windbreak. He stopped to watch the animated figures decorating the Christmas trees. Steven had always enjoyed this time of the year, looking at the displays, sharing the warmth of the season and the people he would meet. The glow of the light from the department store window was usually enough to send a warmth through him, but not this year. He shov...
Where Faith and Romance Meet