Page 23 of Christmas Wishes
Slipping her key in the lock proved to be more of a challenge than she’d imagined. It took holding the small piece of metal between the fleshy parts of her hands and forcing it into the grooves.
Turning it to flip the lock proved more so.
Tears stung her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. Had she made a mistake trying to help Rand? Had she done it for the right reasons? Were her intentions good enough? Or had selfishness crept into the magic?
She just wasn’t sure. In hindsight, maybe she’d meddled where she shouldn’t have.
Once inside, she fussed her way out of her coat and toed at her shoes until they flopped onto the floor. The pins and pricks were nothing short of ridiculous now. Her hands could barely function.
Her candy cane pajamas hung on a hook behind her bedroom door and much as she wanted to slip into them, she couldn’t begin to imagine how she’d get out of her dress from work and into the comfy flannel.
“What am I going to do?” she whispered into the darkened apartment.
Darkness. That wouldn’t solve anything and with her elbow, she flipped the switch on the wall and the rooms lit up. Bright colored lights and festive decorations winked at her and for the moment, her happiness meter shot straight to the top.
Snow covered everything outside and inside, she was nice and warm. She’d love a hot cocoa, but she knew making something like that would be a disaster before she started. Food was another thing she’d love to have, but she hadn’t quite worked out how to go about that one, either.
She sighed and frowned. It was looking more and more like she should’ve taken her father up on his offer to call her mother. At least then she’d have pj’s, hot cocoa, and dinner.
She awkwardly edged her stack of cooking magazines into her arms and slumped into the couch cushions. “And how do you plan to hold one?” she asked herself. It was a question she didn’t have an answer for.
She was doing just fine and now she wasn’t. Ever since those cookies. Had Rand noticed them? Was he happy to be shed of his responsibilities and heritage? Had she done it for nothing?
She didn’t know and though she’d told her father about it, she had no one to really talk it over with. She probably should’ve thought about that before going off the holiday magic cliff.
With effort, she curled her toes into the thick gray carpet and stood, determined that whatever was going on wasn’t going to beat her, but the unusual sensations intensified, zinging through her limbs and dropping her to her knees. She was on the verge of tears, again, when space and time shifted and she was no longer in her living room. Instead, she was kneeling on a wooden surface, outside in the cold. But not, in the North Pole.
In the night beyond, she could make out the shapes of trees and the darkness was cut all of a sudden by lights that illuminated everything in front of her.
She was on a porch. Snow was on the ground and in the branches. “Hello?” she called out.
“Hi there, young lady. You need help? Are you lost?” The male voice was warm and concerned and as Blix started to speak, the door behind her opened.
“Bernie? Hey, thanks for — Blix?”
She turned her head. “Rand?”
“What are you doing here?” He took a couple of steps toward her. “Let me help you up.”
“No. Please. I need…” She didn’t want to think about what she must look like on her hands and knees, but she couldn’t accept the help. She needed to try on her own.
“Blix. Sweetheart…” He reached for her.
“No. I…” She reached for the nearest railing, scared she’d be unable to open her hand and grasp it in her palm. Trepidation filled her, but she was able pull herself to her feet.
The tingling was all but gone in her fingers and her toes, in her hands and feet. “Well, that’s just the craziest thing.”
“Blix?” He settled a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right? What are you doing here? How did you even get here?”
“I… I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. I don’t… This is where they sent you?”
“You two know each other?”
“Yeah, we do. This is my… Blix. And Blix? Bernie, here, brought me a Christmas tree and decorations from town.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Blix,” Bernie said, stepping up onto the porch. “My, you’re a tiny thing. Cute as a button, too.” He looked at Rand. “Where do you want these bags?”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that. She caught me by surprise. Over by the fireplace should be good.”
