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Trouble In The Christmas Village?

Ryan ducked behind an inflatable Santa. ‘Is she following me?’ He peeked around the red vinyl to find her standing under the mistletoe, arguing with that pesky redhead. ‘Good, she’s distracted. Got to find Earl so I can get out of here.’

He scoped out a path to the big tree on the hill that would hide him from Carol and her helper.

“You alright, buddy?” Stan asked.

“Huh?” Ryan jerked toward him. “Oh, sorry. Was looking for Earl.”

“Oh, he had to run back to City Hall for something. He shouldn’t be long.”

“Just wanted to say bye before I headed out.”

“Uh-huh. I’ll tell him if you don’t want to hang around.” Stan said, looking at the clear blue sky. “It’s a really nice day. Don’t blame you for wanting to go enjoy it.”

“I’m going to grab a bite before I go. If he’s not back before I get done, I appreciate you passing it on for me.”

Stan nodded and moved on.

Ryan peeked around the edge of the inflatable Santa. The girls were gone, but the mistletoe was still there.

As much as he wanted to make tracks, the aroma of cinnamon buns had been teasing him all morning. He figured he could go buy one, make another round in search of Earl and call it a day.

“Sarah, please don’t go.” Carol was tight on her heels.

“Leave me alone. I quit. I said, I quit.” Sarah threaded through the crowd.

“Honey, stop. We can work this out.”

Sarah stopped. “How?”

“Look, I messed up. I know. I’m sorry.”

“So did he.”

“I don’t think he meant anything by it.”

“That’s probably even worse.” Sarah’s eyes welled up. “He’s really sweet, but if he’s the kind of guy who just goes around kissing anybody under the mistletoe…”

“I don’t think he meant anything by it. Just…Christmas. You know?” Carol looked around. “Look, why don’t you head home and I’ll come pick you up for pizza at Jeb’s?”

“What if he did mean something by it? Do you know how horrible it will be to sit out there in the middle of nowhere with him throwing himself at you?” She wiped the tears with her coat sleeve.

“He was excited to have you there. He said we should all be on the same page. He just wants to eat pizza and talk about business.” Carol took Sarah’s hands. “I can’t do all this without you. Please don’t quit. Just take the afternoon and we’ll regroup over pizza. Okay?”

“Send me the directions. I’ll drive myself. If it gets weird, I’m out.” Sarah yanked her hands free and turned to leave.

“It won’t be, honestly.” Carol wrung her hands, watching her go. “It’s going to be great.”

“Trouble in the Christmas village?” Santa asked.

“Earl?”

“Shh, it’s Santa.” He looked around for kids. “At least for this afternoon, anyway. Joe had to go to the dentist.”

“Is it a little blonde elf named Hermie?” Carol smiled.

“Ho ho ho.” Earl laughed as he jingled the bells on the white fur hem of his red coat. “No, it’s Jerry Whatley over in Pine Hollow.”

She looked in the direction Sarah had gone. “Crisis averted.”

“Crisis?”

“Megaman kissed me under the mistletoe and Sarah was going to quit.”

“She’s really crazy about him, huh?”

“Well, she’s infatuated anyway.”

“She’s a nice kid. I hope it works out.” Earl spotted some kids. “Pardon me, duty calls. Ho, ho, ho!”

“Santa!” The kids cheered and rushed up.

“Have all of you been very good this year? Santa has candy canes for everybody.”

The kids each took a candy cane and scurried off to find their parents.

“Santa!”

He turned to find Trilby dragging Marta in his direction. “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, girls. Have you been good this year?”

“I have.” Trilby said. “Can’t vouch for her.”

“I’m always good.” Marta adjusted her glasses.

“Santa, can you grant a Christmas wish?”

“Hmm, I can take it back to the North Pole for careful consideration.” He stroked his flowing false beard. “What did you want? A new car?”

“Mine is fine.” Trilby shook her head. “We just need a name.”

“For?”

“Ryan, the turducken guy.” Trilby leaned in to whisper to him.

“Ryan? His name is Ryan. You already know that.”

Trilby put her hand on her forehead. “Santa, Ryan what? We want to know his last name.”

“Ryan Doyle and, yes, he makes a phenomenal turducken.” He spotted Ryan up the aisle. “Ho, ho, ho! Got to find some more kids. Have a wonderful day of shopping.”

He meandered through the crowd, handing out candy canes to kids until he reached the line at the cinnamon bun wagon. “Ho, ho, ho!”

Ryan eyed him suspiciously.

“Aren’t you done for the day, son?” He leaned in.

“Mr. Townsend?” Ryan whispered.

“You’ve got some admirers.” He jingled his coat and waved at some kids.

Ryan shook his head. “Those two again? I’m just going to satisfy a craving here and head home with the pastor and his missus.”

“Good idea. I wanted to give you the heads up. Get some rest, kid. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”

“Thanks. See you in the morning.” Ryan stepped up to the wagon as Santa wandered away. “How much for two of those?”

“That will be seven bucks.”

Ryan sighed. “Guess I’ll just have one.” He pulled out a fiver.

“Don’t you work here?” The lady asked.

“Yeah, I’m just heading home. The scent of these things has been driving me crazy all morning.” He handed her the bill.

She dropped two in the bag and handed them over for his money. “Employee discount.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”

“Merry Christmas” She waved.

Ryan pulled one out and savored each bite as he looked for Greg and Meghan. ‘One for here and one for later.’

He looked around at the decorations and the smiling people. He heard the silly Christmas music and the kids clamoring for this or that. ‘This is alright. Not too bad at all.’