Page 24 of A Candy Cane Christmas
I winced, my cheeks heating.
Maybe I’d completely forgotten how much time had gone by. Between the elf job, my art, the custom covers I’d been designing, and the community classes I taught, time had just… escaped me.
“Uh, yeah, so we urgently need to talk about Christmas Day…” I said, pulling him close once again, inhaling his crisp scent. Not even the cold clinging to him could keep me away. “Tonight? We can chat on the phone while I’m on my way back from work. Or… I could come over once Hazel is asleep?”
Theo rested his head on my shoulder as the tension left his body. “Let’s talk on the phone, okay? Hazel is super excited about Christmas already, so I’m not sure when she’ll go down tonight. And honestly, I’m beat. I feel like I could sleep for days. I’m sorry.”
“Psshht.” I shushed him, kissing his cheek. “You have every right to want a quiet evening to yourself. I’m not mad at you; quite the contrary, actually. I completely get it.”
Theo chuckled, his body shaking against mine. “You’re the one working half a dozen jobs at the same time, yet you still have energy for impromptu dates or pub nights.”
I shrugged. “The difference is that I thrive on chaos. You thrive on order. Also, you have to care for a second human being. And I know from working with those little chaos gremlins that they turn into feral monsters in December. Most of them are so excited about Christmas that they’re constantly hyped up. I never see parents as tired as they look around Christmas. Okay, maybe during summer break.”
Theo laughed, giving me a little squeeze. “Thank you for understanding. I won’t keep you any longer. I know you need to get going, and I need to get upstairs and thank Joseph and Linda for babysitting Hazel on short notice.”
I knew he was right, but I didn’t want to let go of him yet. Truth be told, I never wanted to let go of him. I cherished these little moments in between, the fleeting meetings in front of my apartment door or on the stairs. Stolen moments during our busy days. Quick kisses and hugs, short updates on our days, gone in the blink of an eye. His lips were still puffy from being outside, but not as cold anymore. And they were oh-so soft as they ghosted over mine. A last goodbye for the day, followed by a last hug.
Then he smiled at me before he continued climbing the stairs, taking two steps at a time just like he always did when he was on his way to meet Hazel.
For a moment, I watched him, waiting for the moment he disappeared from my view, feeling a pang in my chest when I heard his keys jingling, followed by his apartment door opening. I could hear him call out for Hazel and her excited shrieking. Damn. I wanted to be up there with them. Instead, I’d be stuck in these fucking tights for three hours.
At least itwasonly going to be three hours, and then… fuuuuuck my life.
Then I’d need to go shopping for Christmas gifts. On the twenty-third of December. Because I was a fucking idiot. I had no one to blame but myself and my procrastination-prone brain.
“I’m so done,” I groaned, stripping out of my tights for the last time. For good, this time. Maybe I should just burn the costume so I couldn’t get roped into doing another season. My legs were tingling and itching from being confined in cheap, too-tight polyester for so long, the skin dry and flaking.
Dammit, apparently I needed to get some kind of lotion, too.
“Yeah, no kidding. Either the kids get worse every year or I’m getting too old for this shit,” Ben said, raking a hand through his fake beard.
I snorted a laugh. “Aren’t you younger than me?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I can’t be too old for this shit.”
“True. Hey, do you know any cool gift ideas for almost five-year-old girls?”
Ben raised his eyebrows until they disappeared under his red Santa hat. “Isn’t it a bit late to start thinking about gifts now?”
I rubbed my hand over my face, letting out a whine. “I know. I messed up and forgot all about which day it is, and now I need to get gifts for Hazel and Theo today.”
Ben let out a deep belly laugh, his baritone vibrating through the small break room we’d claimed as ours for the season. “Oh, Luci, one day your brain will get you in big trouble.”
“One day? It feels like I’m in big trouble right now. Hazel is an amazing kid, and it was so kind of her to invite me to celebrate Christmas with them when she overheard me telling my brother I’d spend the holidays alone. I want to do something extra special for her. I mean, she didn’t know me at all back then. She just saw an elf talking about being alone on Christmas and stepped in.”
Ben’s eyes widened, and he barked out another laugh. “Oh damn, that explains so much. Hazel is the little girl you had me stay late for, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. She and her dad, Theo. Why, what did she say?”
My legs had finally stopped itching enough for me to put on a pair of jeans. Then I made quick work of slipping on mysneakers. A wave of nostalgia hit me as I took off my hat and top for the last time. I was definitely done with this job. My heart just wasn’t in it anymore; it no longer fit me, like jeans that’d gotten too tight and restricting. But… I’d worked here since my first year of college. Letting go wasn’t easy, even if it was long overdue.
“Well, I did the usual spiel, you know? Asked her if she’d been naughty or nice, told her she definitely was on my nice list, and asked her if she had a special wish she wanted to tell me directly. You know what she said? She told me no; she’d already sent a letter with all her wishes, so I should know what she wanted. That wasn’t the reason she was there that day. She said—and I quote—‘I came to tell you that you need to treat your elves better, Mr. Santa. They work for you, so you need to take care of them. You can’t abandon them at Christmas; they deserve a nice holiday. But don’t worry, I fixed it. I invited your elf, and I’m keeping him. No taksies-backsies.’”
I let out a giggle. That sounded frighteningly like it could really be a quote.
“She’s fierce,” I said, my lips stretching into a wide smile. Damn. She’d stood up for me before she’d even gotten to know me.
“Yeah, that’s the impression I got from her, too. She had her fists pressed on her hips as she was scolding me, too. I had no idea what she was talking about, obviously, but I’ve got to admit she was so cute and hilarious in her anger, I just nodded, apologized, and promised to do better in the future.”
