Some links may be affiliate links. We get money if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links on our site.

Christmas All The Time is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

People Say I Move Fast

Toby squeezed her hand. “So, that’s really who I think it is?”

“That’s definitely Slipstream, but what’s he doing here?” She whispered.

“I think we’re about to find out.”

Meredith’s eyes grew large as the young man walked up to their table. “Hey, guys, nice jerseys. I love that design.”

“Wow!” Toby jumped from his chair. “Slipstream? What are you doing in Wyoming Pass?”

“That’s a bit of a story, actually. Mind if I join you?”

“Sure, definitely.” Toby shook his hand. “Can I get you something?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I put in an order before I came. Dustin will bring it over momentarily.” Slipstream pulled the chair next to Toby’s. “Oh, wow. That is a lovely ring. When’s the big day?”

Meredith blushed. “We haven’t picked an exact date. Toby just proposed to me yesterday.”

“Congratulations.” He said, smiling. “Have you been together for a while?”

“Well, um, we just met last week.” Toby sat down.

“Man, people say I move fast.” Slipstream shook his head. “And you’re already wearing matching jerseys?”

“I had this before we met.” They said in tandem, and laughed.

“That’s really cute, and slightly disturbing. Oh, here comes Dustin with my order. Hey, buddy.”

“Hi, Eric. I see you met Toby and Meredith.” He handed over a cup and a snowman cookie.

“Sure did. Can you join us for a moment?”

Dustin looked back at the counter. “Hey, Jess. Can you keep watch a moment?” Seeing her wave, he took a seat next to Meredith.

“Toby? Meredith?”

They nodded excitedly.

“I know it’s kind of a big favor to ask, but since you’re obviously Sentinels fans-”

“You’d like us to keep quiet about the thing here last year?” Meredith said.

“That sounds kind of harsh.” Slipstream chuckled. “Just keep it on the down low until Dustin officially signs on with us.”

“We can do that.” Toby said. “But we want to be the first ones to have your autograph.”

Dustin rolled his eyes and blushed. “Come on, guys.”

“You’ll have to get used to that.” Slipstream said, brushing his fingers through his swept back blonde hair.

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s not why I want to join the Sentinels, though.”

“I know, buddy, but it’s part of the job. Do you have one?”

Dustin shifted in his seat and pulled a pen from his pocket. “Always have a pen, a permanent marker and my team communicator on me.”

“But?”

“It was in my other pants. The Victorian Caroler costume pants didn’t have pockets, and I wasn’t expecting a bunch of Krampus goons to try to rob the whole town in one go.” Dustin hung his head.

“You saved us, Dustin.” Toby said. “That guy had a gun pointed right at me and, poof, he was gone.”

“I’m glad you’re alright. Some of those guys had pretty itchy trigger fingers. I got lucky.”

“That’s not how Kendra saw it.” Meredith said.

“Kendra?” Slipstream asked.

“She’s the girl from church. She promised she wouldn’t tell.” Dustin twiddled his thumbs.

“And she didn’t. Honestly, she just told me about how scared she was and how a dark blue blur took all those guys down.”

“You guessed?” Slipstream asked.

“As you can see, Slipstream…”

“Please call me Eric.”

“Oh!” She gulped. “Well, Eric, as you can see, Toby and I are serious Sentinels fans. I even helped Angelica Wright work on her autobiography.”

“You know Ange?”

Meredith nodded. “Anyway, she told me about the big robbery last year and I knew things didn’t quite add up.”

“And she’s got her eyes glued to Dustin here every time we’re around him.” Toby added. “It never made sense to me that you’d have known to come here.”

The door rang as a group of women with shopping bags entered.

“I have to go.” Dustin stood up. “Look, I’ll talk to Kendra again tomorrow.”

“Okay, Dustin.” Eric smiled. “Thanks for the macchiato.”

“He’s such a nice kid.” Toby said.

“Look, I know the story is a little flimsy. We made it up on the fly to protect Dustin’s privacy. I know how important it is for someone to have a chance to enjoy growing up. He’s really tall, but he’s still just a kid.”

“We understand.” Meredith said. “We wouldn’t want to mess things up for him.”

“Absolutely.” Toby said. “We’ll definitely keep this under our hats until he’s official.”

“Thanks, guys.” Eric took a swig of his drink. “That really hits the spot. It’s almost as good as Meirhe’s.”

“Mary Christmas makes macchiatos?” Toby asked.

“She’s got flair.” Eric laughed. “I’ll give her that.”

“I’ve only met her once, but Ms. Wright had some stories.” Meredith said, sipping her latte.

“I’ll bet.” Eric snapped a piece of his cookie off. “She had already been through a lot by the time we joined the team.”

“I read the whole run of The Angel and The Elf when I was little. I had no idea.”

“Ange did a good job of repackaging. From what I heard, things got pretty intense before she joined.”

“Okay, now I really have to read these things.” Toby said, dunking his cookie.

“And that thing wouldn’t last a second.” Eric pointed at Toby’s cookie. “She’s absolutely crazy about her sweets. Apparently, they didn’t have sugar wherever she came from.”

“Does she really do magic?” Toby asked.

“Kind of.” Eric shrugged. “That’s as good a word for it as anything. She calls it ‘folds and makings’. It’s just something her people learn how to do. It’s like how we learn how to drive and use the microwave.”

“That must be amazing anyway.” Meredith said.

“It is. I’ll admit, you never quite get used to her just whipping dinner up from nothing. What’s really amazing is how strong she is.”

“That’s hard to imagine.” Toby sipped his coffee. “She looks like, well, sort of like Kendra.”

“Hmm, a little.” Meredith said. “Mary’s got more freckles.”

“And pointed ears.” Eric said. “I’m guessing Kendra doesn’t have pointed ears and head to toe freckles.”