Page 16 of The Holiday Grump
After twenty minutes of staring at depressing numbers, with only the dregs of coffee left in my cup, I was ready to admit I needed to check on her. Just to make sure she’d survived the night.
I pulled on my jacket and gloves, then flipped the sign on the door and headed to the Christmas Wonderland.
The lights were on, and the door was unlocked. I pushed it open and froze in the doorway.
Holy shit.
Every single cardboard box had been opened. Even boxes that had been stacked against the wall were now spread across the floor, covering every available square inch. Noelle stood in the middle, dressed in a pair of green overalls, her hair up in a lopsided ponytail, holding a utility knife.
“Fredrik!” Her face lit up with a smile that ignited a warm glow in my chest.
“What are you up to?” I scanned the chaos around me.
“I wanted to see what I’m dealing with.”
“So you openedeverything?”
She laughed like this was the best fun ever. “It’s like Christmas morning!”
“But… wouldn’t it make more sense to deal with one box at a time? So you could still, you know,walk?”
She looked around like she was only now noticing the utter mayhem around her. “Ah… maybe. But I needed to see what it all was so that I could decide where it goes. What if I gave the most prominent spot for these blinking Santas, for example?” She lifted a garish Santa ornament that, indeed, blinked. “And then I opened another box and discovered somethingawesomer, like these blinking Santa hats.” She dove into another box and balanced a pointy red hat on her ponytail. The white fluff ball at the end pulsated in the entire color spectrum.
“Awesomeris not a word.”
“It is when you find a blinking Santa hat that plays music.” She squeezed the white pompom, and a tinny, digital version of “Jingle Bells” hit my ears. “It’s like those musical greeting cards, only it’s a hat.”
Was she genuinely excited about this gaudy shit or just enjoying my reaction to it? I couldn’t stand mass-produced crap, and my face probably gave it away in full volume.
Noelle silenced the hat and hopped over two boxes, landing on a small clearing in front of me. “It’s not all that bad. There are some basic ornaments, baubles and stars and bows and lots of fairy lights. There’s even a box of some heavy-duty lights. You know, the ones that look like light bulbs. They’re quite nice.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t really care. But she smelled of vanilla and raspberries again, and it was making me feel funny. Or maybe just hungry. I’d skipped breakfast, mostly because I hadn’t bothered to go shopping. And fasting was good for the gut, right? When I got into the zone, I could go on for hours without thinking of food. But this morning, the cravings were hitting me hard.
“Have you eaten?” I asked. “There’s a nice bakery?—”
“Making Whoopie!” she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. “I saw it earlier on my way back from that Cellular Hill, and I promised myself a coffee and a whoopie pie. But then Idecided to open a couple of boxes first. To really earn it, you know? Delayed gratification.”
“I was on my way there,” I lied. “I can pick you up something.”
“I’ll come with you!” she announced. “Let me get my jacket.”
Great. Nothing fueled rumors like us getting pies together. But she was already on her way, hopping over boxes like she was playing floor is lava in reverse.
It was only ten thirty in the morning. If she’d already climbed the hill and managed to open and investigate fifty boxes, maybe she didn’t need outside help. She made me think of a hurricane. Something that moved fast, tore up trees, and inspired awe.
“Did you… use the key I gave you?” I asked when we made it outside.
“Are you asking me if I’ve gone potty?” She chuckled.
I coughed. “No, I mean, did it work? Is everything working okay?”
“Your toilet works fantastically.”
I sighed. “Great.”
She shoulder-bumped me so hard I nearly lost my footing. “I’m just messing with you. Thank you so much for the key. I went in this morning and met your sister. She came in to clean the store.” Noelle raised her eyebrow at me.
