Page 170 of The Holiday Fakers
“What does he look like? Does he have white pointy hair, like the guy in the movie?”
“Not really. He doesn’t have much hair at all.”
“And where is he?”
“Apparently, he’s been seen skulking outside the bookstore.”
Billy gives me a serious nod, then gathers a handful of snow from the side of the steps leading up to the front door ofThe Almanac.
“Honey, you can’t walk around with that,” his mom protests.
“Okay,” he replies, then squeezes the snow into a ball and shoves it in his pocket.
“Billy!”
“What?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, scraping more snow from the steps, compacting it together, then filling his other pocket.
“Do you want to get your map stamped?” I ask, attempting to deflect him from his armament project.
He shrugs. “Sure. What’s the riddle?”
I tell him, and he immediately gets the answer.
“So, where’s your map?”
Rummaging in his pocket, he pulls out a wet and battered piece of paper and hands it to me.
“Maybe I should look after that?” Judy says after I stamp it.
“Thanks, Mom!”
I give her the map and a magical token for safekeeping, then turn back to Billy. “So, where are you going next?”
“Oh, I dunno,” he replies artlessly. “I was thinking about the bookstore.”
He gives me an enormous wink, and I fake another coughing fit to cover my laughter.
“Come on, Lucky! Come on, Mom,” he says, then gazes at me. “You’ll be there for hot chocolate at the end?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Good, I’ll let you know how I get onat the bookstore.” He gives me another wink, then dashes off with Lucky, his mom running after him, yelling at him to slow down.
“Was that Billy?” Piper asks as she crosses the street a few moments later.
I kiss her. “Yeah. Full of energy and on the hunt for Jack Frost.”
“We don’t have anyone playing him. Maybe we should have that next year.”
“I told him he was disguised as an elf.”
She gives me the side eye. “And who is that, then?”
I grin.
“Oh, you didn’t! Not Marv?”
“See, you picked him first too.”
