Page 35 of Just A Dash of Holiday Magic
“Thank you,” she sighs. “Everything has been so crazy. I feel like I’m a chicken with its head cut off, just running around wild and aimless.”
“Do you want to sit down for a moment?” I ask.
She looks like she wants to take me up on the offer but shakes her head no. “I’ve taken up too much of your time as is.”
“It’s no trouble.” I take down a chair off the table next to us for her and then one for me. “I might have an oatmeal raisin muffin in the back if you’re hungry.”
“No, thank you.” She laughs. “I’m not a fan of raisins. I get that muffin for my assistant.”
“That makes sense. I always thought that was an odd combination.”
“Blah,” she pretends to shiver, making me chuckle.
A silence settles between us, but it's not awkward. It's comfortable. I don’t want her to leave just yet, so I try to think of something to prolong the conversation.
"I hope you don't mind, but I read the letter,” I admit. “I haven’t seen a letter to Santa since I last sent one.”
“When was that?”
“Last week.”
Julianna laughs. “I could tell you were a bit of a kid at heart.”
“What can I say?” I shrug. “With my family’s business, you could say it’s in the blood.”
I regret the words the moment they come out of my mouth. I don’t want to explain that I’m not talking about my shop, but the empire that my great-grandfather built and I walked away from. I can see the wheel turning in her head, but before she can ask me to explain, she gets a call.
“Excuse me,” she says and pulls out her phone. “Hello?”
I sit quietly, unable not to listen to her end of the conversation.
“No luck?” She closes her eyes, defeat setting in her shoulders. “Thank you anyway, Macy. I appreciate all that you’ve done.” She pauses to listen to something the other person says. “Okay, sounds good. I will see you tomorrow.”
She ends the call and drops her face into her hands. "I am the worst aunt in the world."
Aunt? Oh, so she’s not a mom.
"Hey, whoa, where is this coming from?" I ask.
“There’s this toy my nephew wants—”
“The Go-Go Sonic Scooter.” I point to the envelope resting on her purse.
“Right. Well, it's impossible to find, and I don't want to make David's first Christmas since my sister's deployment be the worst one he's ever had. I tried everywhere to find one."
The urge to swoop in and save the day for the girl of my dreams is too much for me to rein myself in. The words leave my lips before I can stop them.
"I might know a guy that can help."
