by Bella Falls
More evergreen swags with red bows and twinkling lights draped across doorways. Thanks to the size of my late great-Uncle Tipper’s house, there was plenty enough room for three full-sized and fully decorated Christmas trees. In the foyer, white lights and all manners of colored balls adorned the green branches of the first. Underneath, I’d carefully placed a small token gift for each of my friends to take home with them tonight.
A mix of metal and glass ornaments twisted and twinkled on the tree in the more formal parlor where I’d set up a few games to play after eating. Lights reflected off the ornaments in different colors, adding to the warm glow of the room.
I glanced through the growing crowd of friends at the last tree set up in the informal living room. Strings of popcorn and cranberries hung from its green branches. Beau had contributed a couple of items that some of his many female friends gave him, but the rest of the mix-and-match decorations came from my family.
My favorite ornament, a picture of Matt and I with Mom and Dad when we were little framed by popsicle sticks that once upon a time had googly eyes and pipe cleaner antlers to look like a reindeer, hung in the middle of it all. I often fell asleep on the comfy couch I’d purchased for myself with some of the first money made from my new business, staring at the tree and losing myself in memories. I missed my parents and hoped they could see my attempts at happiness in my current life.
The house filled with the joyful noise of my friends and delicious smells from the food they brought, keeping me way too entertained to stay sad and nostalgic. Nana’s cooling spell completed the whole winter atmosphere, and I couldn’t stop laughing at everyone’s entry for the ugliest sweater contest. I padded around in my reindeer slippers, making sure everyone had a plate they could fill with goodies.
The door slammed open, and my brother escorted his wife and daughter inside. I failed at holding in the laughter at all the glitter covering half of Matt’s face. He glared back at me with an expression that appeared more Bah, humbug than Merry Christmas.
“What happened to you?” I asked, exchanging a mug of hot cocoa for my baby niece with my sister-in-law. “And close the door so the cold air doesn’t get out.”
My brother narrowed his eyes at me and shut the wooden door with a bang. “Here I was trying to be helpful and scooping the poop out of all the stalls, which my dear wife insisted we should do before the party. And the unicorn did what it always does.”
I broke down in a fit of giggles, and my niece cooed and joined me, shoving her little fist in her mouth and drooling all over it.
“Oh, haha,” Matt mocked. “I’m going to go find and use your towel to wipe myself off.” He stomped his way to the stairs.
“You better not,” I warned through my breathy chuckles before addressing my darling Rayline squirming in my arms. “Your daddy doesn’t seem to like it when your little Sparkles farkles. No, he doesn’t,” I exclaimed in a baby voice, bouncing my niece on my hip.
“What in the world is farkles?” TJ asked.
“It’s when the unicorn farts sparkles. Farkles.” It warmed my heart when the baby emitted another adorable giggle. “See? She gets it.”
Nana joined us and stole my niece from my clutches. “You’ve got guests to greet,” she insisted, moving the baby out of my reach.
“Happy Holidays, Charli,” my cousin exclaimed when she and Tucker arrived.
I kissed Clementine on the cheek and marveled at the sweaters she and her husband wore. “Wow, I didn’t think you had anything that hideous in your wardrobe, Clem.”
Her cheeks glowed a bright pink. “I ordered them and had them shipped especially for your party. Neither of our mothers approved.”
“Which makes them even better,” Tucker admitted, hugging his wife about her shoulders. “Thanks for inviting us tonight.” He held out his hand.
I shook it without hesitation. “Of course. I’m glad you came. And I’m pretty sure you’ll both be in the running for the prize for ugliest sweater.”
Although the three of us had had our differences, I’d been proud of how we’d worked through our past and come out with a real friendship between all of us.
Matt sidled up and greeted Tucker and Clementine, encouraging the two of them to get some food. No longer covered in sparkles, he acted less grumpy. Glancing around the house, he nodded with satisfaction. “Your place looks good, Birdy.”
“Don’t call me that,” I grumbled, thrusting my elbow into his ribs.
He faked being in pain and grabbed me around my neck, rubbing noogies into my head.
“Want me to arrest him for assault?” Zeke offered upon arrival.
“I…don’t need…to be…rescued,” I huffed, tickling my brother in his most vulnerable spot under his arm until he let me go. “See?” I gave the young deputy my best told-you-so grin.
Zeke tipped his head with respect. “So noted.” With a casual smile, he left me to deal with my brother.
Matt rubbed his growling stomach. “I’m gonna go grab something to eat before Horatio arrives. You know how the troll can put away food.” Placing his arm around my shoulder, he pulled me closer so only I could hear him. “Mom and Dad would have loved this, Birdy. You did good.”
In a thin voice weakened by threatening tears, I managed, “Don’t call me that.”
Matt kissed me on the cheek. “As your loving brother, I think I’ve earned the right.” He released my shoulders but grabbed my hand and squeezed it three times before joining TJ and the others.
With everyone buzzing about, talking and eating heartily, I took a moment to appreciate the scene. Everyone that I’d invited was here…except Mason. A small pang of nerves blossomed inside of me, but I forced myself to ignore it to join in the general merriment. If the detective didn’t make it tonight, he would have to live with his choice. But if whatever he was doing resulted in what my vampire roommate had suggested, maybe he should stay away. It took a couple of loaded plates to ignore my roiling emotions.
We stuffed our gullets with spiraled honey-baked ham, roasted turkey, homemade applesauce, mac and cheese, collards, mashed potatoes with gravy, and so much more, using golden crumbling cornbread to soak up the leftover juices on our plates until our bellies threatened to explode. Once everybody had their fill, Nana shuffled the main courses into the kitchen and put plates full of baked goodies on every empty table. Everyone cheered and clapped when she brought out the red velvet cake on a crystal cake stand and set it in the middle.
She stood back and placed her hands on her hips. “Well, I figured more than a few of you needed some sweetening up for the holiday.”
Blythe groaned, “I don’t think I could eat anything else right now.”
“I could,” Lee crowed. He took a couple of sugar cookies and stuffed one in his mouth.
“Me, too.” Ben followed his friend’s example and filled a small plate with some of the bourbon balls Flint and Gossamer had contributed.
Lily bumped my hip with hers and rolled her eyes. “Men.”
“Why don’t we sing some songs and then play a game or two to let things settle before we tackle the desserts?” I suggested, patting my own full stomach. With a nod of my head, I encouraged everyone to follow me into the parlor.
A roaring fire crackled to life in the fireplace, its heat more than welcome thanks to Nana’s spell. Gossamer and Juniper whipped out their wands and waved them around the room. A light, sparkling snow fell from the ceiling, disappearing right above our heads and leaving behind a pleasant peppermint scent. It made me smile to notice a certain signature pink hue on some of the twinkling flakes. Goss winked at me from across the room and helped Flint find his fiddle.
Ben tuned his guitar and moved to a nearby seat closer to the gnome. Horatio joined the small band of musicians, holding what looked like a ukulele in his large hands, but turned out to be a lute he claimed had once been played in an original staging of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.
While the impromptu musicians discussed their
playlist, the rest of us found seats around the room. It took a few seconds for people to feel comfortable enough to sing along with the first familiar song.
One thing my mom had me beat on was singing. Even Matt could carry a tune, but my talents in the musical department fell far short of what I wished. With tonight’s company, however, no one needed to be a professional singer, especially when the big troll’s voice boomed with off-key enthusiasm more often than not. I watched in awe of my friends’ talents, enjoying the music and ignoring whoever sat down on the arm of the couch next to me.
When the chorus came around for the song, a strong, clear voice next to me joined the rest. I jumped and almost squealed at Mason’s presence. Resisting the urge to interrupt everything and throw my arms around my now-present boyfriend, I watched him in stunned admiration.
The detective’s clear tone impressed Henry, who sat across from us. The elder gentleman stared at Mason for a second, his eyes shining with approval. When the second verse came around, my ornery assistant attempted a little bass harmony. By the last round of the chorus, everyone but me took joy in raising their voices together. We all clapped at the end, and the three musicians beamed back at us.
As Ben asked for requests for the next song, Mason moved to sit next to me, his hand covering mine with unspoken affection. “How come you’re not singing?”
I scoffed and laced my fingers through his. “Believe me, my silence is a gift to everyone. There are many things I’m good at, but I guess singing and flying on brooms will always be out of my reach.”
The detective brushed my leg with his. “Oh, I know there are things you are definitely good at.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“And wouldn’t you like to partake of what I’m really good at?” I joked, my eyes flitting to his mouth.
Before he could answer with something either sarcastic or flirtatious, the next song started. Determined not to add my voice to the pretty decent singers in the room, I requested the first song that popped into my head. “How about ‘Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer?’”
“Hey now,” Nana protested.
Ben laughed along with the rest of the room, but shook his head. “I don’t have the chords written down for that one.”
Horatio blinked in confusion. “I beg your pardon, but why would there be a song to celebrate Father Christmas essentially killing a grandmother by running her over with his mode of transportation?”
“What he said,” Nana approved. “So, let’s choose something less threatening to this senior citizen.”
Chapter 3
Grabbing a glass bowl from its place, I explained the rules to the White Elephant Gift game. Everyone had brought a wrapped gift of some kind and placed it under the tree. The rules that I’d sent out prior to tonight stated that whatever the boxes held had to be personal and homemade. To add a little more mystery, none of the boxes would be opened until the very end, so people could be as creative as they wanted to be in the presentation of the gift.
It didn’t take long for people to get the hang of it. When their turn came up from the number they picked out of the bowl, they could choose a gift from under the tree or steal someone else’s. The game ended when all the presents were distributed. And absolutely no shaking of the gifts or any magical peeking allowed. By mid-game, most of my friends held their stomachs from laughing so hard.
“Come on,” insisted Henry, spraying bits of gingerbread cookie out of his mouth. “Pick one.”
Alison Kate bit her lip and moaned in agony. “I’m trying to.”
Lee held up the shiny red and green foil-wrapped present in his hand. “Here, shnooky sugarcakes, you can take mine.”
Relief spread across his fiancee’s face. “Oh, thank you, sweetums,” she gushed. Crashing down on her place on the couch next to him, she accepted the smaller gift and untangled the strands of ribbon on it.
“Sweet.” Lee jumped up, rubbing his hands.
Henry flapped the small red scrap of paper with his number in the air. “Hey, I’m the next one to choose a gift, not you, Junior.” He narrowed his eyes in mock annoyance at my mechanically gifted friend.
Alison Kate offered him another cookie from a nearby plate. “Since I took the present he originally chose, Mr. Henry, then he gets to choose another one.”
My new assistant raised his bushy gray eyebrows. “That makes no lick of sense. Wouldn’t this all be easier if we unwrapped the presents first? Then we could all see what there was and choose the one we wanted.”
It took great effort not to snort the sip of hot chocolate I’d dared to drink at that precise moment. Wiping a smear of whipped cream off of my nose with the back of my hand, I shook my head. “No, no, that’s not how the White Elephant game is played.”
“What does an elephant have anything to do with gift giving?” grumbled the older man. He shrugged his shoulders and watched Lee choose the largest present on the table.
Nana entered from the kitchen where she’d volunteered to clean up the dishes from our potluck dinner. “Quit your whinin’, old man. If you don’t want to play, then you can come help me finish cleanin’ up.”
At the prospect of having to do the dishes, my cantankerous assistant zipped his lips and tried to melt into his chair to avoid my grandmother’s evil stare. When his turn came up, Henry gave no special thought to choosing a gift and snatched a gift in a hurry.
So far, nobody had picked the wrapped box I’d contributed. I didn’t think anyone would be surprised that the “homemade” offering was the promise of one of my chess pies plus using my tracking abilities to find an object for free. Since I couldn’t do anything terribly crafty and my spellcasting abilities didn’t help me make anything, I gave the only thing that I could do well. Just for fun, I’d buried the handwritten coupons in individual boxes and placed them inside bigger ones like a Russian stacking doll, to fool whoever was choosing.
Since the number I’d chosen was second to last, I stole Lee’s large gift box to stop him from making jokes about how big his package was. With his lip sticking out, he took the present in Henry’s hand out of sheer spite. The old man, who had tired of the game, rolled his eyes and took the second to last gift off the table.
Blythe put down her empty glass of eggnog. “Okay, who has the last number?”
“I do,” Mason called out, patting my knee and standing up. He took the last present that I’d contributed and brought it to his ears, shaking it.
“That’s cheating,” Alison Kate accused.
“Or is it good detective work?” he teased with a wink. “I’m pretty sure whatever is in here is nowhere near the size of the box. But whatever it is, I think I’ll keep it.”
Awed at his natural detecting abilities, I rubbed his back when he sat back down. “Okay, then. Everyone, open your gifts and see what you got.”
The room exploded with loud mirth while everyone enjoyed sharing their bounty. A small hex exploded out of the box Blythe opened, glamouring her figure into one of a snowman complete with corncob pipe, button nose, and coal eyes for a solid two minutes. When the spell ran its course, she shook off the last flakes of snow from her body and stared at Ben.
“What?” the advocate asked, blinking his eyelashes with faked innocence.
“Not. Funny,” she snarled.
Lily blocked Blythe from attacking her boyfriend. “Now, wait a second. No one said the gifts had to be nice. And if you think about how hot it’s been here, it really is an awesome gift.”
“I was sitting there in the middle of the room. Frozen,” Blythe snapped.
Alison Kate rushed over with her spell phone in her hand. “But you looked really cool.” She pushed a button and a picture appeared on the screen.
Blythe stared at her snowman figure for a hot second until the corners of her lips twitched up. “Okay, I hate to admit this, but that is one heckuva spell, Ben.”
Relief swept through the rest of the room, and I quickly collected the handwritten ballots for best ugly
sweater. After a quick tally, I held up a piece of paper for the announcement. “Now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. In third place, with the largest entry of them all, it’s Horatio and whatever beast is knitted on the front of that monstrosity.”
The troll took the gift bag I held out for him. “It’s supposed to be a reindeer, but my knitting skills aren’t so good. So, maybe it’s a Christmas dragon instead.”
“Ooh, I don’t know if that makes it uglier or cooler,” I admitted, thinking about how awesome a dragon would be in real life. “And now for second place. Come get your prize, Clementine.”
My cousin clapped her hands and carefully made her way to me. With gushing gratitude, she accepted the gift bag and tittered her way back to Tucker, leaning into him with the biggest smile on her face.
“Drumroll, please,” I requested. Everyone patted their legs with their hands, and I drew out the dramatic pause.
“Just tell us already,” Henry exclaimed, ignoring the silver bow Lee had placed on the top of his head.
Struggling not to laugh while I read out the winner, I did my best to keep a straight face. “In first place and the recipient of the last gift bag, I proudly present to you my brother, Matt.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Why did I win?”
I held up the stack of paper ballots in my other hand. “Many who voted commented on how much they liked the extra glitter on your sweater. Who knew how much farkles would pay off?” Unable to hold in my amusement, I burst into uncontrolled cackles.
Matt accepted his award by snatching the bag from me. “Fine. At least I won.”
It took another half an hour for most of the guests to leave. With the door opening and closing with their departure, the wintry temperature in the house dissipated. Nana and Mason stayed the longest, helping me to put away the food that needed to stay refrigerated and washing the last of the dishes.