Page 36 of Mistletoe Latte

Nick groaned and swiped the donut away. “That’s for customers, thanks to Emma.”

“Well, you sure as shit didn’t make them,” Skylar said. She glanced over to Emma who was trying to slip out of the conversation. For a moment, Skylar nodded as if in gratitude, when she jabbed a thumb at her. “Why is there a tree?”

Her uncle shrugged and moved to clean the espresso machine. Skylar laughed and slapped her palm on the counter. “Holy—”

“Skylar…”

“Poop.”

Nick groaned at the swearing swerve. Entertained, Skylar popped a hand to her hip. “She got you to get a Christmas tree? Really?”

“He bought it for charity,” Emma chimed in, growing more uncomfortable being the subject of the niece and uncle discussion.

Skylar snorted. “Sure he did.”

“Do you know how to get it decorated? Or standing?” Emma asked, trying to deflect from the teenager’s knowing smirk.

“Yeah, there’s a box in the back. Or am I, a fourteen-year-old—a mere child in this big, scary world—allowed to go into the office to look?”

Nick crossed his arms, uncrossed them, and sighed. “For the love of… Can you just...? Help her, okay?”

Skylar jerked her head at him then beckoned Emma over. Before joining her, she watched Nick grumble but resume his cleaning. The poor tree needed all the help it could get before those needles turned brown. Holding the door open, Skylar pulled Emma into the back room, then took the lead.

She hadn’t spent much time in the back office, only a quick lunch, and filling out the official paperwork. Emma tried to not look too interested in the handful of picture frames across the desk she doubted Nick used. Skylar opened a closet, then tugged on a cord dangling from the ceiling. A small ladder plunged down.

“There’s a mess of stuff scattered around here.” She clomped up, not bothering to take a flashlight. “I still can’t believe you got him to buy a tree. He hates Christmas.” A cardboard box slipped down the ladder. Emma raced to catch it and was surprised at the weight. The bottom sagged, and she had to scoop her hands under to keep whatever was inside from breaking free.

“Is it the customers?” she asked, placing the box on the ground.

Another followed, this one a plastic tote with what looked like papers and garland inside.

“Customers. Music. Joy. We celebrate at home, but here it’s holiday non grata, ya know.” Skylar appeared down the ladder and dusted her hands off. “Can you help me get this back up?”

“Sure.” Together, they folded up the ladder and shoved it as hard as possible. It rose into the ceiling and both of them dashed away. Luckily, it didn’t fall again.

Skylar laughed at their good fortune and bent over to pick up the lighter box. “There’s more around in the storage room. Any box not labeled ‘coffee shop junk’ is probably decorations.”

Staring at the hefty box, Emma closed her eyes. How thin of ice did she accidentally walk on? “Should I try to give the tree back? If he hates Christmas…”

“He doesn’t hate Christmas, he hates… a lot of things. But it’s good for him. Isn’t that what this time of year is about? Ghosts scaring the shit out of you until you appreciate the season. Or whatever that ancient movie was going on about.”

Emma pursed her lips at the idea of the Christmas Carol being ancient. She used to read the book every December, usually under the covers while her sister made spooky noises to scare her. A little bit of Christmas cheer would help the cafe’s business as well. Putting people in mind of jack frost nipping at their nose had to sell more coffee. It made sense to her, and—with Skylar’s blessing—she decided to keep going. With the heavy box secure in her hands, Emma followed out of the office after Skylar, when the girl suddenly stuck her head back in.

“Just don’t mention Rachel.”

“Who?”

“Exactly,” Skylar didn’t explain. “Hey, Uncle Scrooge, we found the decorations.”

Emma couldn’t make out Nick’s response, only a good-natured grumbling. Skylar was able to get to the cafe floor faster without the heavier box. But what weighed down Emma more was the question of who Rachel was and why Nick didn’t want to hear about her?

After discovering the old stand in Emma’s box, it didn’t take the girls long to get the Christmas tree upright. Skylar found a string of lights that half worked. She tossed the whole ball onto the branches which caused Nick to grumble and yank them off. With the lights in hand, he vanished to the back office, leaving the two of them to dig through the big box.

“I believe I’ve hit the garland mother lode,” Emma said. She tugged out the silver and red tinsel like a magician pulling the scarf trick. The garland kept coming and coming, so she twisted in a circle, winding it around her body. Skylar dropped the clothespin reindeer she’d found and rushed over.

Just as the end finally plopped out of the box, Skylar lifted a metal star from the staging bench and placed it on Emma’s head. “All done.”

“I see you two are having fun.” Nick emerged from the back with an extension cord around one arm and the lights on the other.

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