Page 34 of A Candy Cane Christmas
Hazel nodded.
“When he had his exhibition in July, I might have taken a lot of the flyers,” Linda said with a sheepish smile. “I thought I’d use them to brag about Lucian to my friends, but I found an even better use.”
“We cut the pieces for the keychain out of it. Grandma said Luci won’t be mad that we destroyed the flyer.”
I snorted. Luci still had a couple boxes of those flyers in his apartment downstairs and no idea what he was going to do with them now that the exhibition was done. But even if it was the last of those flyers on earth, he wouldn’t be mad because Hazel had made something for him, and he loved every single one of her gifts. Hell—ooo kitty, he’d worn the necklace she’d braided for him out of scratchy wool for weeks until I’d told him to stop because it had rubbed his skin raw. Yet he’d kept it in a box with all his other jewelry.
He was so gone for my daughter.
“He won’t be mad, Sweetie. He’ll love it. It’s beautiful, and such a thoughtful gift.”
Da—lmatian. I’d thought they’d go out and buy a keychain, not make one themselves.
Linda winked at me. “Hazel wanted to make it extra special.”
Joseph nodded. “It was really important to her. She wanted to make sure he’s going to say yes.”
Oh god.
I swallowed my nerves and carefully placed the keychain back in the box with the others, then took Hazel’s hand.
“Honey, I know you want Luci to move in with us,” I began.
She nodded. “I want us to be a real family.”
“I know.” And I wanted that, too, so much that even the thought of him declining was making it hard to breathe. “But even if Lucian says no, that does not mean he doesn’t want to be our family, you know? It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love us. It just means…”
“That he’s not ready yet, and that it’s okay because everyone has their own timeline,” Hazel finished my sentence and rolled her eyes. “I know. But I still want him to say yes. It would fucking suck if he said no.”
I didn’t comment on her choice of words. She was right, anyway. It would f—ridging suck if he said no. But we’d deal.
“Honey, which keychain is for Lucian?” Linda asked, successfully taking Hazel’s mind off the possibility of her beloved Luci not wanting to move in. My daughter turned around in an instant, shouted something about green and orange, and was off again, her grandma in tow.
Joseph cleared his throat as he stepped next to me. “I have to admit, when Hazel first started talking about her elf and her Luci, I had my doubts. And when you told us you loved him a month later… well, let’s just say if I didn’t have gray hair before, I definitely would now. But you chose a good one, Theo. He fits you—both of you. I’ve never seen you this happy and… relaxed. You’ve always been the serious one, and it fills me and Linda with joy to see you with someone who makes your burden feel lighter.”
I was lost for words, but Joseph didn’t seem to mind. He patted my shoulder lightly and took a deep breath.
“Thank you for letting us tag along, son.”
I swallowed. “You’re family,” I said, blinking against the tears. “And I know Christmas is important to you guys.”
Joseph chuckled. “That it is. And let me tell you, if Josie were still here, she’d be the first in line to get in on your plan.”
I laughed. “She’d dress up as an elf just to be part of the surprise.”
“Ohh, you know it, son.”
“Look, he’s here!” Hazel shouted and took off without a second thought, running toward Luci as fast as possible, given how crowded the mall was. For a moment, she disappeared from my sight as a man in a dark jacket stepped in my way, but a second later, I saw her again, embracing Luci like she hadn’t seen him for days instead of mere hours.
I saw her tugging at his hand, dragging him back to where Linda, Joseph, and I were waiting in line to enter the North Pole so Hazel could meet Santa. Not that she really needed to meet him. We’d already written a letter to him, and she’d begged him to get her a puppy. She’d even made me write about how we’d taken care of one of his elves last year, so she deserved an extra-special gift this year, and how a puppy would be the most special gift ever.
I wasn’t sold on the pet idea, but Luci… Hazel really had him wrapped around her finger.
“Hey, stranger,” Luci said as he stepped up to us, a wide grin on his face. “I didn’t see you this morning.”
I pulled a grimace. “Yeah, I’m sorry, I had to run be—”
He laughed. “I’m just pulling your leg. Kiss me and you’ll be forgiven.”
