Page 47 of Under The Meh-stletoe

"Don't scare the children. Honestly."

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see."

She stopped by a non-descript spot by the wall. I gazed around but no one seemed to be paying attention to us, all uninterested in what we were up to.

I arched an eyebrow at her.

She smiled. "I'd estimate that eighty percent of Christmas symbolism was stolen from Pagans."

I tried to fight it but I lost— I smirked. "Sure. What are your references?"

"Just a gut feeling, but I'm confident. It's also not the point."

"What's the point?"

"The date in which we celebrate Christmas was also kind of stolen from the Pagans."

"Kind of?"

"Uh-huh. Yuletide is a big deal, and we may have accidentally been part of its magic."

I squinted at her. "What's going on?"

She pointed up with her index finger. A twig of mistletoe hung above us. I wanted to frown, pretend exasperation, but with her I couldn't.

"Mistletoe is considered deeply magical by some folk," she said.

"We're not in ancient Europe, Ale. Over here it's a pest." Despite my complaint, I stepped closer to her and put my hands on her waist.

"And yet. And yet! Our first kiss was under the mistletoe. What if it's a blessing to our relationship? I'd like to think it is."

I shook my head. "Believe in magic all you want, but I don't need that to believe in us."

"Believe in magic a little bit, because it's either that or holiday romcoms have more truth to them than I'm comfortable admitting to."

I gave her a soft kiss. "I'd rather we remain cynical of those, but I like what I'm hearing. That you're happy enough about us that you're ready to believe in the magic of the season."

"Notof the season— just magic. Magic in general, throughout the year. Catch me celebrating Beltane next."

I laughed, kissed her again, then pulled her away. "Come on, my little witch. I kissed you again under the mistletoe. Now we'll go talk to the volunteers."

"And next?"

"Next we'll learn more about those pagan holidays and make magic all year round."

Valentine's Day

Ale

AttheendofJanuary, I'd started taking random shifts with Eva at her coffee shop. As Ren recovered further, she'd started to come with me; my twin sister would sit on the sofa, drink enormous amounts of coffee, and read. At least, that's what she did when she didn't end up talking with townspeople, or her friend Pri when she came from the library for a hot drink run and end up sitting around for lunch.

It made me happy to see my sister getting color back in her skin, and some weight back on her bones.

On my end of things, returning to the coffee-working field felt good. Now that I'd taken a break from my job in accounting, I didn't think I wanted to go back. Depending on Ren's recovery and how much I liked it at rEvalution, maybe I'd offer my freelancing services to Eva. We'd see. For now, she and I prepared for her to take some time off, before her trip to Vegas in May. I would keep the shop running for her while she took a solo weekend away. Between my love for the barista work and the extra cash, I enjoyed my current circumstances.

I would also have said that I was extremely happy about the state of my relationship with Daniel, except that on that fine Tuesday, February 14, he entered the shop with flowers, a chocolate box, and a red heart balloon.