“Sorry, Holly,” the little dog barked. “It’s so crowded, I can’t see anything down here but lots of legs and shoes.”
That made Chris and Ivy smile. But Holly was still peering toward the far end of the square, where the parade floats were waiting for their turn. And where she would have sworn she saw a pair of small figures with striped stocking caps and bright red tights . . .
* * *
“That was close!” Happy glanced over his shoulder as he followed Juniper through the space between two food trucks. “I think the taller girl saw us.”
“I hope not,” Juniper said grimly. “Now, hurry—we found a portal, thank goodness, so all we have to do is get Peppermint Bark and ourselves through it and safely back to the North Pole. But we need to find a way to nab him when those kids can’t grab him back!”
Happy’s long nose twitched as the scents of delicious Christmas treats from all over the world tickled it. “How are we going to do that?” he asked. “Maybe if we tried talking to them instead . . .”
“I already told you, we can’t do that!” Juniper snapped. “Time is running out—we have to grab him and go! Besides, Mrs. Claus said—”
“I know, I know.” Happy sighed. He still wasn’t sure Mrs. Claus had meant that they couldn’t say anything to anyone—especially if it meant getting Peppermint Bark home without all this running around. But it was hard to argue with Juniper.
“I heard the humans say something about a parade,” Juniper said as she dashed out of the shadow of the food trucks and across a small parking lot. “Let’s head that way and maybe something will—aha!” she interrupted herself, skidding to a stop.
This time, Happy managed to avoid crashing into her. “What is it, Juniper?” he asked.
Juniper pointed to a small bright-red vehicle parked in the lot. Happy had made a toy that looked just like it—only much smaller, of course—a few years earlier. “It’s a moped,” he said, proud to remember the name of the vehicle. “Humans use them to—”
“I know, I know. I’ve made toy ones too.” Quick as a wink, Juniper hopped up onto the shiny leather seat and started fiddling with the controls. “Get up here, and let’s see if we can figure out how to . . .”
Her next words were lost in the roar of the motor. With a squeak of surprise, Happy leaped up behind Juniper and held on to her waist as tightly as he could. He squeezed his eyes shut as a cloud of black exhaust surrounded the elves—but opened his eyes quickly when he felt the moped jerk into motion.
“Whee-e-e!” Juniper cried as the moped shot forward, barely missing a parked car. “Hey, this could actually be fun.”
“What are you doing?” Happy shouted over the noise.
Juniper leaned forward over the handlebars, which her tiny arms could barely reach. She leaned to one side, which made the moped turn and speed out of the parking lot. “Rescuing Peppermint Bark, that’s what!” she cried. “Now, hang on, and let’s go!”
19
I Ruff a Parade
Chris had spent most of the past week wishing he could see more of his parents on Christmas Day, and now all he wished was that he could escape from them. They’d taken forever debating about what to order at the food trucks. Now everyone was sitting at a picnic table chowing down on their favorite festival food—spicy Indonesian stew for Chris, Jamaican curried goat for Mom, German Weisswurst for Ivy, Blitzen’s burgers and barbecue for Dad and Holly. Dad had also ordered a rack of ribs with a side of mac and cheese for Peppermint Bark, who was eating under the table.
Chris finished his stew as quickly as he could. “All done!” he announced, wiping his face with a napkin. “May we be excused?”
Holly quickly shoved the rest of her fries into her mouth, along with the last bite of her burger. “Me too—I’m finished,” she mumbled as she chewed.
“Settle down, kids.” Dad was still working on his pulled pork sandwich. “It’s Christmas! Sit back and soak it in.”
“Hey.” Ivy looked up. “Check it out—it’s finally snowing!”
“Oh, it is!” Mom exclaimed, holding out her hand to catch a few flakes. “Look, Kenny—it’s a white Christmas after all!”
She and Dad started humming “White Christmas” and swaying back and forth. Chris glanced at Holly and Ivy. How were they going to escape?
Suddenly Holly’s eyes widened. “Heads up,” she hissed. “Keep you-know-who under the table!”
Peppermint Bark poked his head out. “You mean me, right?” he barked.
“Shh!” Chris gently nudged him back. He’d just seen what his sister had seen—Mr. Brooks was striding straight toward them!
Oh no, Chris thought. Did he hear that Peppermint Bark is here? Is he going to kick him out?
But Mr. Brooks barely glanced at the kids. “Merry Christmas, Kerstmans,” he said with a little bow. “Kenneth, I didn’t get a chance to thank you for all your help earlier.”
“It was my pleasure, Mr. Brooks.” Dad smiled. “Thanks for organizing everything as always.”
Mr. Brooks chuckled. “If I don’t do it, who will?” he said. “In any case, we could use a couple more judges to ride on the head float and decide which homes and businesses win the prizes this year. Would you and your lovely wife like to step in?”
Dad traded a surprised look with Mom. Chris was a little surprised too. Usually the decoration judges were the most important people in town—the mayor, the head of the school board, people like that.
“Go for it, guys!” Holly said. “It sounds super fun.”
“Well, I don’t know,” Mom said. “I was hoping we’d get to spend the rest of the evening as a family.” She reached over and squeezed Chris’s hand. “It’s always hard being away from you kids on days like this.”
Chris knew what she meant. And normally he would agree. But today—well, today wasn’t exactly normal.
“I know, Mom,” he said. “But we can hang out all day tomorrow, right? This is a big honor. You should do it.”
“Yeah,” Holly put in. “Go ahead—we’ll clean up here.” She gestured at the food wrappers and dirty napkins. “And we’ll see you after the parade, right?”
Their parents still hesitated. But when Mr. Brooks cleared his throat, sounding a little impatient, Dad finally nodded. “It would be an honor,” he said, climbing to his feet. He glanced around. “If you’re really sure you kids don’t mind . . .”
“Go!” Chris and Holly chorused, and Ivy nodded.
“Okay,” Mom said, sounding a little wistful. “You kids are growing up so fast . . .” She got up and hurried around the table, grabbing Holly in a big hug.
Then it was Chris’s turn. He wrapped his arms around his mother, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo. “Merry Christmas, Mom,” he said.
“Merry Christmas, my beautiful, thoughtful boy.” She hugged him hard. “I love you.”
“Me too,” Chris whispered, suddenly wanting to tell her everything—about who Peppermint Bark really was, their search for the portals, and the rest. But Mr. Brooks was watching, still looking impatient, and so Chris just hugged his mother once more and then let her go.
After more hugs all around from Dad, the adults disappeared into the crowd. Holly leaned down to look under the table.
“You can come out now,” she told Peppermint Bark. “Time to get back to searching.”
Chris was relieved to be able to return to their quest—but that feeling turned to panic when he checked the time. “It’s almost ten o’clock!” he blurted out.
“Duh,” his sister said. “The parade always starts at ten.”
“No, I get it.” Ivy glanced down at Peppermint Bark, who had crept out into view as soon as Mr. Brooks had disappeared. “We’re really running out of time.”
Chris looked at Peppermint Bark too. Barbecue sauce and melted cheese dotted the white fur around his mouth, which somehow made him look cuter than ever. Two hours. Would that be enough time to find another portal and get him home?
The girls were staring around the festival. “Where haven’t we checked yet?” Holly said. “The Reindeer Raffle tent, the big tree . . .”
Ivy gasped. “I know! The parade!” she exclaimed.
“You mean the floats?” Holly nodded. “Good thinking. They’re all super Christmasy. Let’s go!”
She took off with Ivy at her heels. “Guess we’re checking the floats next,” Chris muttered, a little annoyed by how his sister still forgot he was around half the time.
Still, he had to admit she had a point. The parade would begin any moment now, winding its way all through town before returning to the square at midnight. If the kids wanted to look for a portal on the floats, it was now or never.
Chris blinked a snowflake out of his eye—the snow was coming down more steadily now, muffling the sounds of the festival and casting a pearly glow over the whole scene. “There are still more places to check,” he told Peppermint Bark, trying to sound optimistic. “After the floats take off, we can check the big Christmas tree next—we haven’t been over there yet.”
He glanced toward the huge fir towering over the festival. A couple dozen people were gathered at the base, either looking at the ornaments or adding more of their own. Higher on the tree, strings of lights twinkled their way up to the giant silver star at the very top.
Chris blinked again, wondering if more snow was getting in his eyes. Because something up near the star looked kind of blurry—almost like a swirling whirlwind of snow . . .
“Hey, wait!” he blurted out.
But the girls were way ahead by then, almost lost in the crowd. Peppermint Bark was following them, but he paused and looked back.
“Are you coming, Chris?” he barked. “I can’t wait to see the parade!”
Chris rushed after the others, his heart pounding. A portal—he’d just spotted a portal! He was sure of it!
He blinked more snow out of his eyes. Well, pretty sure, anyway . . .
When he caught up to the girls, they’d stopped at the edge of the staging area for the parade, which was at the border of the square near Noel Street. The place was packed with floats, bands, dancing groups, majorettes, several people on horseback, and even eight bagpipers wearing reindeer costumes.
Holly and Ivy were talking to three teenagers dressed in flowing robes who were standing beside a large flatbed truck that had been turned into a live Nativity scene. Up on the float, someone reached up to switch on the bright electric star hanging from a frame. Chris recognized him right away, even in his Joseph costume—it was Mr. Washington, his math teacher from last year. Mary was there too—better known as Ms. Patel, who worked in the same department as Chris’s dad at PVU. She had hitched up her blue and white robes and was crouching down to soothe the real baby in the manger. Several sheep were baaing in a little pen, and a rooster and a couple of hens pecked at the sweet-smelling straw scattered over the flatbed. Beside the float a large man with a full beard led a bored-looking camel with one hand and a sleepy donkey with the other. Chris recognized the man as the owner of a local petting zoo, who went by the name of Lumberjack Lou.
“Check it out, Chris!” Holly waved him over. “Samantha is playing one of the wise men!”
“Wise people, she means.” Chris and Holly’s favorite babysitter, who lived down the block from the Kerstmans, smiled at him. “Merry Christmas, guys.”
“You too,” Chris said automatically.
Two teenage boys were also dressed as wise people. “I can’t believe they want us to walk next to the float the whole way,” one of them grumbled. “There’s plenty of room up there!”
The second boy laughed. “Dude, maybe we should take my new moped.” He glanced toward the parking lot at the edge of the square. “I left it right over there. It’d be like a modern version of the Christmas story, right?”
“Dude! That would be awesome!” The first boy laughed, while Samantha rolled her eyes.
“You’d probably crash that thing,” she said. “Especially now that it’s snowing. I can’t believe your parents actually got you a moped for Christmas.”
The teenager noticed Chris looking at him. The older boy grinned. “It’s a really awesome moped, little dude,” he said. “Cherry red—perfect for this time of year, right? I’m not even sure my folks had anything to do with it. I think it came straight from Santa—he gave me the toy version when I was a kid, so he already knew I liked ’em! Wish I could thank that fat old dude.”
Peppermint Bark’s ears perked up. “You’re welcome,” he barked.
The teenager’s eyes widened. “Yo, it’s a dog!” he exclaimed. “Maybe he should be on the float too!”
Just then someone let out a loud whistle from the front of the line. “Heads up—we’re starting,” Samantha said. “Wish us luck!” She blew a kiss to the younger kids, then hurried over to take her place beside Lumberjack Lou, who was clucking to start the camel and donkey walking.
Soon the Nativity float was moving slowly, following the line of other floats, bands, and marchers toward the turn onto Noel Street. Chris tapped Holly on the arm. “Listen, I saw something,” he said urgently.
Holly was squinting into the blowing snow, watching as another float rolled past—this one a winter wonderland theme, complete with ice skaters and giant papier-mâché penguins. The parade was picking up speed now as the first few floats moved up Noel Street. “Could that be a portal?” she said. “Oh wait—never mind. It’s just silver confetti.”
“That’s the thing,” Chris said. “I’m pretty sure I saw—hey!” he blurted out, interrupting himself as something swept past in a flash of red and the roar of a motor. Chris jumped back just in time to avoid being hit—and gasped as two small arms reached out and plucked Peppermint Bark right off the sidewalk! Before Chris could do more than gasp, the vehicle roared off, disappearing into the crowds milling around the departing floats.
“Stop!” Chris yelled. “They took him—they grabbed Peppermint Bark!”
Holly looked confused. “Who would grab him? Oh wait—maybe it was those guys. They said they wanted him on their float.”
“Yeah, and that was a red moped like that kid was talking about,” Ivy added. “Maybe they decided to come back for him.”
Chris pushed his way through a throng of people snapping pictures of the floats, trying to follow the moped. But it was hard to make headway against the excited parade spectators. “We have to get him!” he cried.
Holly hauled him back by the hood of his coat. “Hang on—do we?” she said. “I mean, maybe this is a good thing. Like I said, they were probably just taking him up to the Nativity float. And if Peppermint Bark is part of the parade, it’ll be easier for him to spot any portals he passes on the parade route.”
“But there might not be one out there!” Chris exclaimed. He spun and pointed toward the Christmas tree, though it was hard to see clearly through the falling snow. “I saw one at the top of the tree!”
Ivy gasped. “Really? Are you sure?”
Chris hesitated. “Pretty sure,” he said. “Anyway, it makes sense, right? Santa already hid one portal in a Christmas tree—the one by the post office, remember?”
Without waiting for a response, he took off after the departing floats, sprinting out onto the street and running alongside the parade. A second later, Holly caught up.
“Okay, we’ll try this your way,” she said, pacing him easily. “But you’d better be right about that portal!”
Chris didn’t answer. He just ran faster, dodging a local news crew shooting video, and almost skidding out on a patch of snow as he rounded the corner onto Noel. Within half a block he’d caught up to the winter wonderland float.
“Merry Christmas!” a woman dressed as a snow queen called to the spectators. “Let it snow!”
Chris winced as something bounced off his head—a small plastic-wrapped candy cane, one of a handful being tossed by the snow queen. Several young children raced over, shouting and shoving as they tried to grab the treats.
People were pouring out of nearby houses, joining those who had followed the parade from the square, and it was getting more crowded all the time. The snow coated the streetlights, making it hard to see clearly.
“Look out!” Holly cried, cutting to one side just in time to avoid tripping over an excited little girl. “Coming through!”
Right in front of the winter wonderland float was a small marching band consisting mostly of middle-aged men with banjos. They were playing a twangy rendition of “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”
“Hey, watch it!” one of the men exclaimed as Chris slipped again on the snowy pavement and bumped into him.
“Sorry!” Chris called.
“Heads up!” Ivy caught up to him. “We need to detour.”
Chris looked ahead and saw that they were almost at the bleachers set up near the town hall. The crowd was so thick there that he was sure it would take forever to shove their way through.
“Ugh,” he muttered. The Nativity scene was just two floats ahead, but he could already see it passing the bleachers. Now what?
“This way!” Holly called, zooming sideways—right into the banjo band!
“Whoa, watch where you’re going, young lady!” one of the band members exclaimed.
Chris thought the voice sounded like Mr. Berry from next door, though he didn’t pause to confirm that. “Sorry, excuse us!” Chris called out, ducking his head and rushing after Holly. “Coming through!”
On the far side of the band, the way was a little clearer. “Hurry!” Holly panted as she, Chris, and Ivy turned and sprinted toward the front of the parade. “We’re almost there!”
They passed an Old West–themed float flanked by a cowboy Santa on horseback. Fake antlers were attached to the horse’s bridle. “Whoa, buckaroos!” Cowboy Santa called, while his horse snorted. “Where y’all off to in such an all-fired hurry?”
“Merry Christmas!” Chris called back as he sprinted past. The Nativity float was just ahead now . . .
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