Page 2 of Santa Loves Curvy Girls

“When’s your cousin getting here?” I asked Sera.

“Tomorrow, and I hear she’s real thrilled,” she replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Before I could ask her what her cousin had done to get sent here for Christmas, the ceremony began.

Whispers of excitement filled the air around us as everyone turned their eyes up toward the Christmas tree in front of us.

The Garland Christmas tree stood well over thirty feet tall, covered in so many lights and ornaments that you could hardly see the evergreen branches underneath.

Legend has it that the tree was harvested at the North Pole each year, which is why magic traveled through the leaves and branches all the way up to the star and made so many Garland Christmas wishes come true.

The mayor of Garland always did the honors. With the help of a fire truck ladder, he made his way up, up, up toward the verytip of the tree. Little kids screamed and laughed and pointed. The mayor waved down at them.

When he reached the top, he pulled out a microphone, the large star under his other arm. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” he said, echoing the familiar song. “Today, it’s my honor as your mayor to place the star on the tree and light up Garland, knowing that the holiday spirit of the people of our town shines brighter than any light on this tree.”

This was it. My heart sped up with anticipation.

As the light of the star came on, I clasped my hands together and closed my eyes, whispering my wish to myself but praying it was heard by Garland Christmas magic.

Whoever was up there approving Christmas miracles in Garland, Maine, I hoped they saw how important this was, not just for me but for my friends, too.

I wish for my friends and me to fall in love by the new year.

Maybe it was a reach. No, it wasdefinitelya reach. Especially with how hard dating seemed to be at my size. But I believed. I had to. This felt like my only shot to fall in love before graduating high school, so I was going to take it.

Long ago, the Garland Christmas magic had worked for my dad when he wished my mom would go out with him. Maybe today it would work for me too.

“Belle, look at it. Isn’t it so pretty?” Holly said quietly.

I opened my eyes. The star glowed a bright yellow white, along with the colorful lights on the tree. We stood there, mesmerized.

People around us began clapping and cheering, and we joined in.

Bethany wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “This part always makes me cry.” I put my arm around her shoulder, feeling exactly the same way.

This was the reason I’d never leave Garland.

While the crowds around us dispersed, we instinctively stood in a circle to keep warm and close to each other.

“Wish for anything special this year?” Carolynn asked.

I opened my mouth, unsure if I should say.

Then Sera jumped in. “Just that we remain friends like this forever. No matter what.”

I grinned. “That’s a great wish.”

Holly glanced toward Santa’s Workshop down the street. “So, who do you think will be picked to be Santa this year?”

Getting selected was both a secret and a huge honor here in Garland. No one even really knew for sure how you got nominated or how you applied. That’s what a big deal it was for no one to know the secret identity of Santa Claus.

Carolynn shrugged. “Maybe they’ll pick Mr. Thornton.”

We shuddered. Mr. Thornton was our middle-aged math teacher. He certainly had the right belly to be Santa. But we liked to say he had more of the spirit of the Grinch than the cheer required to be Santa.

Before we went our separate ways, we kept making guesses, each one more and more crazy.

As we reached Cocoa Corner, the local coffee shop, we all got ready to head in different directions.

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