Page 2 of Wrapped Up In Tinsel

He loved to take short walks and longer hikes in the forests around Tahoe or Auburn, and along the way he sketched anything he saw that caught his attention and then wrote in his journal. It was amazing to look at, and I knew how much he enjoyed it.

“Morning, Garrett, are you here for your order?” Mrs. Haney, one of the owners, asked me as soon as I stepped into the store.

“Good morning. Yes, but I think I’ll have a little look around and see if anything else catches my eye.” She nodded and was immediately busy with another customer, giving me time to see what new journals, writing pads, and pens they had to offer. One of the elves from Santa’s village came in and joined me at the journal area. He glanced around at all the handmade journals and ignored the fact I was trying to control the urge to fangirl all over him. I mean he was one of Santa’s elves, even if he did look grouchy and even a little pissed off.

He glanced at me and tipped his chin in acknowledgment making the bells on his hat jingle, and me gulp in excitement. “Hey, I’m just doing a little shopping before work,” he said, and went back to ignoring me while I continued to stare at his profile. His hair was dark and cut with military precision, but the top was long enough that his bangs were pushed to the side under his elf hat giving him a playful look which stood in direct contrast to his stern expression. He glanced at me again and I noticed his eyes were an icy blue, and when he didn’t look away this time, in my head I imagined he was staring at me the same as I was staring at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Birds sang and butterflies fluttered around him as I imagined him coming home each evening with a small gift he’d made that day in the workshop just for me. He’d walk in and kiss my cheek before pulling me close and holding me in his strong arms. Then he’d tell me how much he loved me, and—

“Are you okay?” he asked, putting his full focus on me now as he gripped my arms and looked closer at me.

“Your eyes are like ice,” I breathed out before shaking my head and stepping away. “I mean—I’m sorry, I need to go,” I managed to get out before rushing over to the counter and paying for the journal without bothering to look for anything else. Hurryingpast the cookie shop I ducked around the corner, pulling the bag containing the journal to my chest. “Holy shit.”

Movement to the right of me caught my eye and I glanced that way just in time to see the grouchy elf walk by. He glanced in my direction and smirked at me before once again tipping his chin. After taking a deep breath, I walked back around the corner, and directly to the center of the mall to the next shop without looking behind me to see where Mr. Elf was.

“Welcome, what can I get for you today?” the barista asked as I stumbled up to the counter.

“A triple latte please.”

“Hot or iced?”

“Hot, oh and that coffee cake too,” I said, and after paying was thankful to find an empty seat in the small coffee shop. Taking out the journal, I opened it and looked at all the small details from the handmade paper to the metal clasp that held it closed.He’ll love this.

The barista signaled my coffee was ready, and I walked up to the counter to get it and the coffee cake. Relaxing back in my seat, I glanced around at all the decorations and soaked in the smells and sights of the season. Warm cinnamon and spice wafted up from the coffee cake, and my latte smelled delicious as I cupped the warm paper cup in my hands. I smiled at the twinkling lights and pine boughs that decorated everything in the small coffee shop giving it a warm, comfortable feeling. I was close enough to see the line for Santa and wasn’t surprised it had grown even longer since I’d walked by a little earlier. But when I looked at the different elves, I was surprised to see who stood at the front of the line guiding children to Santa. There he stood, Mr. Elf.

His arms were crossed and legs spread wide enough to look intimidating as he glared down at the next child in line. I grinned behind my cup as I watched the little boy match his energy. Hewas a small child, and if I had to guess I’d say he was barely four. But his crossed arms, and the scowl he wore, showed how serious he was about seeing Santa, and no grouchy elf was going to deter him.

Another elf walked over, stood in front of Mr. Grouchy, and knelt down in front of the boy before taking his hand and leading him to Santa with a backwards glance. Apparently today was not going well for Mr. Elf. Not in any way. That being said I was more than happy to sit here and watch him for a while longer. He might be grouchy, but he was still hot. And I wondered what it would take to get under that ice cold skin.

Three

Steve

Sometime during my childhoodI’m sure I dreamed of meeting Santa and his elves. I remembered going to see Santa at this very mall when I was very small and having my picture taken with him. I also remember my younger sister screaming bloody murder when Santa even looked her way. It was all so magical, and felt so real to little kid me.

Working as an elf sucked. It had been exactly one hour, and I was so sick of dealing with kids already, I didn’t have any idea how I’d make it until the end of my shift. The other elves seemed nice enough and tried to get me to just enjoy the fact we were the main attraction at the mall, but I couldn’t get the fact that this was now my life, out of my head.Fucking Tech World.Iscratched at my head under the stupid elf hat—that had to be made out of the itchiest material known to man—making the stupid bells jingle frantically. One of the other elves glanced at me before crossing his arms and giving me a hard look. I shook it off and walked back over to where they’d told me to help kids get ready for their picture with Santa.

What that basically meant was to stop them from running over and ruining another kids’ picture. After I’d had the standoff with a little kid earlier it was decided I’d be the mean elf that tried to control them all. Which was fine by me, the less I had to interact with them the better, and as long as I kept up the grumpy elf routine, they all avoided me. And so did the other elves.

“Hey, mister, are you really one of Santa’s elves?” a little girl with long dark braids asked as she stood next to her mom who was pushing a stroller with a baby inside.

“Yes, I am, have you been good this year?” I asked and tried to not be quite so much a dick.

“Not really,” she mumbled and looked down at her foot while I stifled my laugh.Maybe kids weren’t so bad after all.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Santa can forgive a little,” I said, making her smile. It was her turn and as soon as the other elf next to Santa called her over, she ran to Santa and started talking to him loud enough so everyone in the immediate area could hear. I glanced at the line and noticed the guy I’d seen earlier. They’d hired me immediately and after changing into my elf outfit I needed a minute away from Santa to calm the fuck down. The small custom journal shop seemed perfect for that. Actually, I just jumped into the emptiest store I came to. He watched as the little girl took her time with Santa. Telling him every detail of what she wanted this year and why she thought she deserved it.

Not once did he look away from her, and I wondered if he knew her or if he was just caught up in the magic of the season.His expression was full of joy and wonder as he finally looked away and at all the decorations around where Santa was seated.

“Time for your break,” another elf, I think his name was Sprinkle, or possibly Twinkle, said and pointed to a door behind Santa’s throne. They didn’t actually call it that, but it was a giant chair with oversized candy canes on both sides of it that had to be at least ten feet tall, giving it the look of a giant throne and that was the only way I could think of it. I glanced one more time at the guy from earlier, before rushing back to the break room.

Since we weren’t supposed to be wandering around the mall in our elf uniforms, food was provided while we were on our shift. A few other elves sat around on a sofa and a couple of chairs chatting quietly while I loaded my plate up before finding a chair off to the side of everyone else.

There were more people working as elves than I expected. But it was so busy it was easy to understand why. Plus, they wanted to keep up the magical appearance and give the illusion of there being many elves. There were elves of all ages, heights, and genders, but everyone wore the same costume.

“You’re new here,” one of the elves said. He was cute, with straight blond hair that stuck out underneath his elf hat that I realized we were both still wearing when mine itched again making me tear it off my head.

“Yeah, today’s my first day. Have you worked here before?” I asked and ignored it when he snickered.

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