Page 20 of A Perfect Holiday
Verity blinked a few times and kissed his cheek. “Why, thank you, Mr. Grinch.”
I looked around. “What was that noise?” I said. “I think…I think his heart just grew three sizes.”
“Laugh it up, elf boy, and be prepared to jingle all the way,” he chuckled and headed for the stage.
Most of my family was already there, having heard all about this contest and our rivalry. Even my Cajun cousins, my aunt, and my uncle had come. It was going to be pandemonium.
Right then Booker and Aubree arrived. I saw Aubree looking through the crowd, and as soon as her eyes landed on Verity, she was moving. My throat cramped up at the look on her face when Verity saw her. The way those two friends looked at each othermade me a little jealous. Aubree threw her arms around her, holding her tight and rocking a bit.
I had to turn away. It was too much for me to watch, especially when River Pearl arrived and the entire scene was played out again.
I could only think what a great job my brothers had done picking the women they had chosen as their own. I hated that there was this…distance…between my feelings for Verity and how I used to feel. My gut churned some more.
Finally everyone had arrived, and my brothers and I took the stage. River Pearl stood up. “All right. The first category is Onomatopoeia. We’ll need to hear each one of you perform your best ho-ho-ho.
I went first and deepened my voice, but Brax’s was amazing and Booker… Well, he was Booker.
“Two Santas walk into a bar—” Everyone broke into laughter, and he grinned at his wife. “What?”
Once we recorded the audience’s approval levels for each of us based on the applause, Booker won that round.
River Pearl was at the microphone again. “Okay, this part of the competition is open to interpretation. We’ve named it the Belly Shake, and our contestants had to come up with their own idea of what that means. We’d like to see their imaginations at work. After all, Santa is all about imagination.”
Brax signaled Rory at the bar, and he started passing out small cups. “This is The Belly Shake, a combination of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, cranberry liqueur for adults and cranberry juice for the kiddies, and a sprig of holly for garnish. Enjoy.”
“Very nice, Santa Braxton.” River Pearl said, “now on to Santa Booker.”
I had a prop and turned around to fasten it on. Once I turned back around I was wearing an enormous, flesh-colored balloonfilled with water, the tie of it positioned like a belly button. I ho-ho-ho’d again, and the thing shook exactly like a bowl full of jelly.
My Cajun cousins were roaring with laughter, people wiping their eyes and shaking their heads. When I turned around and smirked at Braxton, he slapped my belly prop, and it exploded with a loud pop and drenched my jeans. Laughter erupted again, and we had to wait a full minute before Booker could take his turn.
Once the laughter petered out, he motioned for the microphone, and River passed it to him. “Since my day is filled with words, I have a poem for you. ’Twas the night before Christmas, and without my signature ho ho ho jelly belly, Christmas would be simply helly. Yo, yo, yo.” He did this to a rap beat.
The tally of the votes gave me that win, although Brax came in a close second.
Verity was next at the microphone, and said, “We hope everyone is having a good time and voting. The next category is Kris Kringle Q&A.”
“Santa Braxton.” Brax grinned and nodded. “Name three actors who have played Santa.”
He thought for a moment and said, “This one will be easier for Boone since he has a kid, but I’ll say, “Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, and…Sebastian Cabot.”
“Correct. The movies are The Santa Claus, The Polar Express, and Miracle on 34thStreet. Very good.”
“Santa Boone,” she said, her voice dropping a little, and it was already way too sexy. “Besides milk and cookies, what else should you leave for Santa?”
I thought, what the heck else was there?…oh….right! The reindeer. “Magic Reindeer Food?”
Verity looked toward the girls and both of them nodded. “We’ll accept that. We had in mind carrots.”
“Now for you, Santa Booker. There are 365 days in a year. What number is Christmas day?”
“Hitting me with a math problem, huh?” His blue eyes fell on his wife, and she winked at him. I chuckled.
“That answer is out of 365 days, Christmas falls on day 359.”
Aubree clapped and then realized she was supposed to remain neutral and stopped with a sheepish grin. She rose and took the microphone from Verity. “Now it’s time for Christmas Trivia. Be the first to raise your hand, and you get to answer.” She looked down at her index card and said, “Andlaying his fingeraside ofhis nose, And giving a nod,up the chimney he rose.”
Brax’s hand shot up while Booker and I were still frowning, trying to figure it out. “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” he said.
