A Slice of Christmas Magic

by A. G. Mayes

  “Who’s Luther?”

  “He lives upstairs, and he is the most talented tap dancer I’ve ever seen. He works the late shift at the diner, so he usually starts practicing around midnight. He’s really dedicated too. He practices for two or three hours. And it’s so funny, his dog will howl the entire time he’s dancing. I think he’s singing along. I just love listening to them,” she said. I had backed out the door before she was even finished talking.

  “Thanks, Phyllis. Good luck with the move,” Lena said. “So, we’ll put that on the maybe list?” Lena asked with a sly smile as we walked down the street.

  The third apartment was the one on Sparkle Street. I simultaneously loved and hated the name. On the one hand, it was adorable. On the other hand, I was embarrassed at the thought of giving directions. “Turn left on Sparkle Street. It’s the third shimmering building on your right.”

  The building was actually brick. It was right next to the grocery store, Basil’s Market, where Holly and her mom, Luanne, worked. The apartment was on the third floor. It was a studio in the corner of the building so two of the walls had fairly large windows. The kitchen was tiny, but, outside of the pie shop, I didn’t really do a lot of cooking anyway. The appliances were a mint green as though straight out of the sixties. I liked the retro vibe. It had creaky dark wood floors, and the bathroom was almost as big as the rest of the apartment with a giant walk-in shower.

  “Have you seen this shower?” I asked Lena as I stood in the middle of it and marveled at the two shower heads. The bathroom had white and black checkered tiles, which could be a lot to process in the morning, but I liked it.

  “I was saving the best for last,” she said. “This one is available right away, and the landlord is willing to do a month-to-month lease so you don’t even have to commit for a whole year.”

  There was really no reason for me not to do it. “This is the place,” I said with a decisive nod. Soon Henry and I could have a little alone time. I smiled at the thought.

  “What are you thinking about?” Lena asked when she noticed my smile.

  “Nothing,” I said, blushing.

  “Uh huh,” she said knowingly.

  When I got back to the pie shop, I jumped right in serving customers so I didn’t have to answer any questions about where I’d been. On the flip side, I didn’t have a chance to press Aunt Erma more about the voicemail. She and I were never alone, and she conveniently left to run an errand just as we were getting ready to close. Something strange was going on, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. My mom said she could finish up the prep for tomorrow and sent me upstairs to get ready to go to the ice show.

  The dogs were excited to see me. I took them outside and when we got back Mitzy busied herself trying to squeak her stuffed pig to death. Duncan grabbed the pig from her and rested his head on it. Having another dog in the apartment really could come in handy.

  I wandered around for a few minutes. Something just seemed off with Aunt Erma. What if she was still under a spell? I didn’t know what I was looking for. I picked up pieces of paper and looked behind picture frames. Duncan stood up and walked over to the table where Aunt Erma still had piles of pictures sitting out. She had put her sorting project on hold once the spell was broken.

  “Is there something here?” I asked, looking down at the pictures. His tail wagged harder. Mitzy began to growl behind Duncan. Duncan turned and gave her one bark, and Mitzy stopped, but kept glaring at us. Duncan skillfully ignored Mitzy’s gaze.

  I picked up one pile. It was mostly pictures of the Morning Pie Crew dressed up in costumes. I assumed it was for Halloween, but with this crowd I couldn’t be sure. The next stack was mostly pictures of Mitzy as a puppy.

  “Mitzy, you were so adorable,” I said.

  She stuck her nose in the air as though to say, “What do you mean ‘were’?”

  I grabbed a handful of the pictures that were still in the box. She hadn’t sorted these yet. I was in some of them. I ached when I looked at a picture of my parents, Aunt Erma, and me huddled around a cake on my sixth birthday. I had wanted a cake shaped like a pony. Aunt Erma and my mother had baked me a pony cake, and my father had frosted it. It was beautiful, and to this day I remembered it as being the most delicious cake I’d ever eaten.

  I flipped to the next picture. It was a snapshot of Aunt Erma with her arms around some man. I studied it closer. The man’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were sharp. I hadn’t ever seen him before, but the two of them sure looked cozy.

  “Who is this?” I asked Mitzy. Mitzy went over to the corner and lay down in her bed with her back to me.

  In the picture, Aunt Erma was wearing a green teardrop necklace. I had seen that necklace somewhere before.

  I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of the photo. Aunt Erma might have the sudden urge to tidy up this project, and I couldn’t risk the photo disappearing before I found out why it was important.

  I glanced at the clock. I had to go meet Henry. I put on three pairs of fleece-lined leggings, a tank top and two long-sleeve shirts, a heavy gray sweater, my red coat with a green scarf, and a red hat. I put on a pair of regular socks and then a pair of wool socks over those and shoved my feet into my boots. I topped off the look with both gloves and my green mittens just to be safe.

  The ice show was at the outdoor ice rink where Henry and I had our first pre-date just a few weeks ago. Henry and I had played hockey. I’d won the game by a landslide, and he’d had to buy drinks at Sal’s afterward. I had to admit I was a little excited to go back to the scene where sparks had first flown between us.

  The ice rink was even more beautiful than I remembered it. There were still Christmas lights hanging on the trees that surrounded the clearing. They had hung even more twinkling lights on poles around the ice rink and had brought in spotlights and bleachers. It was really a nice set up. It, of course, would have been even nicer if it were about fifty degrees warmer outside.

  People were already gathering and buying their tickets and hot chocolate from Wally, the hot-chocolate guy. I hoped that the night would be all about watching ice skating and not about saving everyone from evil magic. Violet was still trying to minimize the problem so people in town wouldn’t panic. I wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do or not, but I was too new in town to disagree with her.

  “Hey, you.” I heard Henry’s voice behind me. I gave him a hug.

  “If these kids aren’t good, we can go out there and show them how it’s done,” I joked.

  A woman passing by shot me an evil glare. Clearly her child was one of the skaters. “Just kidding,” I called after her. “Geez, these skating parents are intense,” I said to Henry.

  “You have no idea,” he said, shaking his head. He lowered his voice and leaned in. “I heard that several parents were kicked out of ice-show rehearsals for getting too involved.”

  I would have to try to keep my hilarious comments to myself. I was afraid of incurring the wrath of a skating parent almost as much as I was afraid of the IMPs. We bought our tickets and a couple of paper cups of hot chocolate.

  “Can I buy a couple more of these to pour over my body?” I asked Henry, holding up my steaming cup. He raised his eyebrows. “Wait, that came out wrong,” I said, laughing. I got another glare from a man sitting in front of us.

  “There are children around,” he said sharply.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I just meant I was cold. Maybe I should buy a couple cups for you to pour on your soul.” I smiled and took a sip of my hot chocolate.

  “You are going to keep everyone on their toes, aren’t you?” Henry asked. I shrugged innocently.

  The lights in the crowd dimmed and spotlights lit the ice. A Christmas medley played and the whole cast came out wearing red outfits trimmed in white fur. I became so absorbed in their performance, I almost forgot we were watching out for the IMPs.

  I scanned the crowd looking for someone or something amiss. When I glanced over at Henry, I could
tell he was watching everything all at once without looking as if he was watching everything. He was almost too good at this. I wondered how many stakeouts he’d been on in his life. Was this a regular thing in this magical town?

  I wanted to ask him, but the last thing I needed was Mr. Frigid in front of us glaring at me again, so I just examined the crowd some more. The advanced skaters were on the ice now, doing jumps and spins I had only ever dreamed about doing. I had three years of ice-skating lessons under my belt but my commitment to the sport had faltered when I’d realized that falling hurt, and it would only get worse the higher I jumped.

  I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned my head. It was him. The man from Aunt Erma’s picture. At least I think it was. The spotlight swept across his face, and I was sure. He was older, but he had the same sharp eyes. I leapt out of my seat.

  “What are you …?” Henry began to ask, but I was hurrying down the bleachers.

  “Hey,” a couple people called as I bumped them on my way down. I hated bleachers. They were really hard to escape from in a timely manner. And Henry and I had sat near the back so that we would have a good view of the whole crowd.

  I made eye contact with the man for only a second, and he hurried away. I rushed after him. I was trying to run discreetly, which wasn’t easy. I was getting closer. I was almost close enough to tap him on the shoulder of his tan coat.

  “Excuse me,” I tried, but he didn’t turn around. Suddenly my feet weren’t under me anymore. I was airborne for a second. It would have been fun if I hadn’t known what was coming next. I landed hard. I heard a crack.

  “Are you okay?” A group of people surrounded me.

  “Yup,” I lied, but I didn’t get up. Pain was shooting through my foot.

  Henry crouched down next to me within seconds. “Are you okay?”

  “I fell on the triple axel,” I said with a slight groan. I contemplated standing up. “I think we should go.” The crowd was still watching me. I grabbed Henry’s hand, and a couple other people were quick to help me up. I drew my breath in sharply when I put weight on my right foot. Yup, that hurt. People were staring, and I didn’t want to make any more of a scene than I already had.

  “Please, get me out of here,” I whispered, holding tightly onto Henry’s arm. He murmured some words, and I felt my body become lighter. It didn’t hurt as much, and I was able to walk out of there.

  “Did you see something?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Not exactly,” I said.

  Once we were out of the crowd, he picked me up and carried me. “This would be really romantic if I didn’t feel like a total klutz,” I said. I explained about the man from the picture. “I don’t know who he is, but I feel like there’s something going on with Aunt Erma, and I need to figure it out. This guy is a missing piece of the puzzle.”

  I showed him the picture on my phone, but he didn’t know who the man was.

  “Hopefully it will all become clear soon. Erma is a powerful woman. She probably knows lots of people, and, to be honest, she’s just kind of a strange person. She’s entitled to a little kookiness with all that she goes through,” he said. “And you’re entitled to a little kookiness too.”

  Henry got me back to the pie shop and put me down in a chair out front. My mother was gone, but Aunt Erma was there. Holly appeared at the door seconds after we arrived.

  “What did you do to her?” she demanded of Henry, pointing at me.

  Henry held his hands up. “This was all her doing. She fell doing her triple axel.”

  “Have you gone to the doctor?” she asked.

  “No, that’s not necessary,” I said. The swelling was pushing on my boot, and the pain wasn’t going away. “I probably just need to ice it.”

  Aunt Erma bent down at my feet. She very gently touched my foot. I felt guilty for thinking that she could be up to something.

  “I think it’s broken. We should probably take her to see Dr. Gabel,” she said.

  “Can’t you just magic it better?” I asked.

  “No, healing magic can be tricky, especially with bones. If you do it wrong, it can be really hard to fix,” Henry said. “Sorry, gimpy.”

  The doctor confirmed my fear that I’d broken my foot. He prescribed ice, rest, and a very stylish gray walking cast.

  Chapter 15

  Dear Elodie,

  I recently got into a fight with my best friend. He borrowed a couple of books months ago. Since then, I’ve asked if I could have the books back several times, but he keeps putting off returning them. I finally snapped. It was one of those perfect storm arguments that starts about nothing and then explodes with both sides saying hurtful things they shouldn’t.

  I have since apologized for the things I said. I told him I would still really like the books back. He said he forgave me, but he hasn’t returned the books, and he hasn’t apologized for the terrible things he said.

  I find myself turning down his invitations to hang out or dodging his phone calls. How can we fix this bump in our friendship? And how do I get my books back?

  Sincerely,

  Forgive or Fume?

  Dear Forgive or Fume?

  My question to you is why do you want to fix this friendship? From what you’ve said, this guy is dismissive about your feelings and your possessions. Talk to him about your argument, and address the things he said that hurt you. Sometimes people are blind to their own mistakes, and he may honestly not recognize that he owes you an apology too. If he still ignores your concerns, it might be time to cut ties and search for healthier relationships.

  As for the books, my mother always told me you should never lend out something you want back. My guess is that he lost the books, but a best friend should own up to that and offer to replace them.

  Ask and I’ll Answer,

  Elodie

  Violet assigned me security camera duty. I was supposed to sit, watch the screen, and call her if I saw Dennis, Brenda, or Stan, or anything that looked suspicious. “How did this happen?” she asked when she came over to drop off the computer I needed to watch security cameras.

  “I slipped.” I shrugged, but I couldn’t look her in the eye. She had laser eyes that I was pretty sure would be able to see the truth if I looked into them.

  I set up at a table in the front of the pie shop with my foot wrapped in an ice pack and propped up on a chair. My back was against the wall so none of the customers who came in would be able to see the screen. Not that it really mattered if they could anyway. It was pretty boring stuff.

  I could see kids having a snowball fight outside of a school. A bicyclist was locking up her bike. Several people were walking down streets with shopping bags. A paper cup was blowing in the wind. A few people had taken their dogs out to relieve themselves. I saw one man walking down the street with his untied shoelace flopping on the ground. It was an accident waiting to happen, but I was pretty sure Violet didn’t want me to call and tell her about it. I watched the cycling security footage intently at first. No IMP activity would go unnoticed on my watch.

  My mother was at the pie shop again today. It was good she was still in town since I was much less helpful now. Despite my weakened state, she still managed to work in three passive-aggressive comments and two outright insults about my outfit. She did, however, also serve me coffee along with her insults, so glass half full.

  After about twenty minutes, I was wishing that I could watch some soap operas or something instead of just security camera footage. I stared blankly at the screen. Focus, Susie, I tried to tell myself, and I shifted in my seat. I might need a lot of coffee to get through this.

  I got up a couple times to serve customers, but I was more of a hindrance than a help. I dropped forks and served upside down slices of pie because balancing on one foot and scooping pie was difficult. The doctor told me I could put weight on my broken foot, but it hurt every time I tried. I wanted to break her foot and see if she could put weight on it.

  Henry st
opped by a little after noon. “I come bearing sustenance,” he said, holding out a large brown paper bag.

  “Tacos and nachos,” I said, peering into the bag. “You really are the perfect man.”

  “There’s enough in there for your mom and Erma too,” he said. “Unless you’re really hungry, and then they never have to know.”

  “Hey, I heard that,” Aunt Erma yelled from the kitchen.

  “Please tell me you have some time to hang out.” I pulled him down into the chair next to me.

  “For you, always,” he said. He updated me on everything that was happening at the nursing home while we shared the nachos. There was a little holiday romance happening between Frank and Claire. Henry had overheard Frank asking around trying to get Claire’s name in the Secret Santa exchange.

  My phone rang, and I answered without checking the caller ID.

  “Susie, it’s Buster Hopkins from Top-Notch Construction. I was just calling to see if you’ve considered my job offer. We’d really like you to start after the holidays.”

  “I really appreciate the offer,” I said. I glanced at Henry. He was watching me intently. “I think I’m going to have to say—”

  Buster interrupted before I could finish. “You hold onto that thought. I want you to think about it for a few more days. I think I can even get you a little more paid vacation time than we talked about last time. Talk to you later.” He hung up.

  “You got a job offer?” he asked.

  “Yeah, from a company in the city. I don’t plan on taking it though.” I studied the computer screen.