Page 72 of Home for Christmas in July

“Thank you. All of you,” I say. “I love you, and I love this town.”

One of the Lords wipes away a tear. Sensei Adam makes a heart shape with his hands. Griselda snaps, “Will you get her out of here before she breaks into song?”

“Especially you, Grizzy. I love you the most,” I call, as Nick drags me out to the porch.

Then, he scoops me up and carries me to the waiting station wagon.

I press my face against his neck and whisper, “I lied to Grizzy. I love you the most.”

“I know, Noe. I love you, too.”

CHAPTER 30

Nick

Saturday

The sun shines high in the sky as the Mapleville Merrymakers play their island Christmas original “All I Want for Christmas Is a Cider Donut.” The line for Merry’s frozen hot chocolate (spiked) snakes around the bandstand. Her sisters and cousins pass out free frozen hot chocolate (not spiked) to the kids waiting in line to visit Santa. This line stretches the length of the green and spills out to the street in front of the chapel, where I’m told Marley and Griselda are entertaining the back of the queue with a live dramatic reading ofA Christmas Carol.

Beside me, Noelle smiles at the children and passes out candy canes. She’s got to be the first Mrs. Claus in Mistletoe Mountain history to sport a black eye, but she pulls it off.

A little girl with a mess of dark curly hair and big eyes approaches. She clutches a note.

“Ho, ho, ho,” I chortle. “Do you want to sit on Santa’s lap or stand?” Usually they want to sit, but I always ask first.

She nods, and I hoist her up onto my lap. She shoves the note into my hands.

“Thank you. Hey, I know you. You’re Angelica.”

Another nod.

“Should I read your note now or later?”

“Later,” she whispers.

I add the note to the pile to my right. “So, tell Santa what you want for Christmas in July.”

The rule is no material objects. We save those for December to give the parents a break. The July requests are always creative and usually hilarious.

She looks up at me. “I want to you to bring my friend Enzo a friend.”

“Enzo from the millworks?”

“Yes, he’s a baker. He’s really nice.”

“And Enzo needs a friend, does he?”

She nods her head.

“What kind of friend?”

“A friend like you have.” She points at Noelle, who gives her a smile.

“A girlfriend?”

That gets a frown. “I’m not sure if it should be a girl or a boy. Someone to love.”

“Got it. Anything else?”

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