Page 49 of Jam and Jingle Bells
I rubbed her back and winked at Mel. “I’m happy to see you, too. I’m glad you came today.”
She stared up at me with her big blue eyes and grinned. “I told Mom it was okay to get married as long as I didn’t have to go to Ivy’s,” she whispered, her eyes flicking to Ivy who was talking to Mel.
“I’m glad you were able to tell her that. It’s important to talk about our feelings. My feelings tell me I’m happy you came today!”
I rubbed her back vigorously as Mel and Ivy came over to us. “So am I,” Ivy said, hugging the girl. “We have a lot to do and not much time to do it.”
Mel motioned around the space. “Really, ladies, there’s not much to do here. With the lights on the tree and the twinkle lights filling the gazebo, it will be magical.”
Ivy nodded and pointed at the sleigh. “Just think, the sleigh will be there next Friday, too. What awesome pictures those would be for your new family.”
Mel grinned as though she hadn’t thought of it. “You know what, you’re right! See, like I said, magical.”
I took Holly’s hand and smiled. “Hey, do you want to see Santa? Once the line goes down a bit, I’ll take you so Mom doesn’t have to stand on her feet the whole time.”
Holly shook her head, her eyes traveling to Mel’s instead of mine.
Mel put her hand on Holly’s shoulder. “She doesn’t believe in Santa. My parents made sure of it.” She rolled her eyes where Holly couldn’t see and my mouth formed an O.
“That’s okay, maybe we can go get some hot cocoa a little bit later then,” I said, moving on with the conversation. “In the meantime, we need to make sure we all know what our jobs are and we still have to get this monkey a dress!” I tickled her side while she squealed.
Holly jumped up and down twice. “I have one! Mom,” she said, dragging out the M, “show them the picture!”
Mel whipped out her phone and grinned. “She wanted to go shopping this morning,” she said, her eyebrows raised at me, “so Mason and I took her. We found this at the secondhand shop she insisted we go into. I guess she must have sensed this dress was waiting for her.”
She turned the picture toward us and we grinned. It was absolutely perfect.
With the wedding plans made and the assignments handed out, Ivy took off to go lay down for a bit before the city employee Christmas party tonight. Shep was hesitant about them going, so she wanted to be rested to prove she was ready. She didn’t want him to miss the biggest event of the year for his job. Mel and I made her promise to take it easy and she gave us a salute before she headed down the path. The crowd for Santa was gone and I took Holly’s hand, patting Mel’s shoulder. “Let me get her some hot cocoa and then you can head out?”
Holly hung back on my hand and shook her head. “I’m okay. I think Mom should get back in the car before her feet get cold, but thanks, Addie.”
I stared into her eyes and saw that it had nothing to do with her mom and everything to do with the fact that Santa was by the hot cocoa filling his travel mug.
“Sure, no problem,” I promised, letting go of her hand. “You’re probably right about her feet.”
Holly slipped her hand into Mel’s and nodded once. “Have you talked to Ellis about yoga yet?” she asked, her eyes still trained on Santa who was working his way over here now that the families were all gone.
“I haven’t, but I’ll ask him about Wednesday night after school?” I asked, glancing at Mel who nodded. “I’m sure you guys will be busy with last-minute stuff on Thursday.”
Mel shrugged. “Probably, but it wouldn’t be anything we’d need her help with. She could go Thursday if that’s when he has an opening.”
I gave them both a thumbs up. “I’ll check on those two days.”
Santa paused by the gazebo and finger waved at Holly who froze in place. “Well, I don’t remember talking to Holly today. Santa would definitely remember talking to Holly Murano.”
Holly gasped and glanced up at her mom in shock before she looked back to Santa. “How do you know my name?”
“I know every little one’s name,” he said, sitting on the steps and resting his candy cane mug next to him. It was a candy cane mug I recognized and my heart started to race. I took a moment to eye him now that he was up close and personal and I definitely recognized those chocolatey eyes and white brows. I bit back a smile to avoid giving away his true identity.
“But, but,” Holly whispered, her head swinging between Santa and her mom, “I don’t believe in you.”
His shoulder shrugged nonchalantly then he took a sip of the hot cocoa and let out a loudahhhhh. “You don’t have to believe for me to know your name. There are a lot of little kids who don’t believe in me. I still believe in them.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “How come you never brought me a present before then? I’m eight and never did I get a present from Santa.”
Santa held up his white-gloved finger. “You see, Santa can’t bring presents to kids who don’t believe. First, you have to tell him what you want.” He held his hands out, palms up. “That’s just how it works.”
Holly’s lips pursed as she thought it over. “I suppose that’s true. You wouldn’t know what I wanted if I didn’t tell you.”
