Page 46 of Under The Meh-stletoe

He shrugged. "You like me. It'll be fine."

"I suppose I do."

"You do. We'll be fine. We're good. It'll be worth it."

"We'll make it the best."

December 24

Daniel

Thecommunityhallbustledwith energy, the big Christmas party in full swing.

I strode through groups of people chatting with each other, and I avoided the children running around screaming. I'd taken Ale home in the morning after a night where we stayed awake more than we slept. She texted me earlier to say she was sore and would take a nap; it put a tiny curl in my lips I was sure she would call a smile.

I'd probably never admit it, but the not-a-grin gesture on my face was rooted in what some might call joy. Not for the season, but for the months ahead. Maybe years. The way I felt, it was easy to imagine this could last forever.

My eyes sought her in the crowd, a flutter in my belly. We'd agreed we'd find each other for the event, before we addressed the volunteers to thank them. Especially those on cleaning duty.

Ale and I? We were free after tonight. What a gift.

Someone patted my back in hello; Hana told me she'd round up the volunteers. I nodded a greeting back and continued my exploration through the hall. The decorations livened up the place, garlands of tree branches, red ribbons, Christmas symbols and decorations, and a million colorful tree lights entwined with them on the walls. A side table full of drinks and snacks kept people's energy up, as we all killed time in that window between dinner and midnight.

The Latine influence in Laguna Island helped explain why most people celebrated Christmas on the 24th, and why the party was held in between dinner and the time Santa delivered everyone's gifts to their homes. The party also served as an excuse for the kids to be outside of the house, giving their caregivers a chance to put their wrapped toys under the tree.

My mom hadn't held on to much of her culture, except for that. Gifts appeared magically under the tree right around midnight, while I went outside with my dad to look for Santa up in the sky. An actual smile curled my lips at the memory. Pity that consumerism had ruined everything.

Talking about Christmas traditions and other ailments…

I frowned. Ale didn't seem to be at the hall yet. I stood and turned in place, a full 360 degrees in search of her. I hadn't completed a quarter of it when someone attacked me via hat on my head.

"What?" I jerked and glared over my shoulder, to find a grinning blur of brown, pink, and orange hair.

"Hello, Santa." She kissed me. "So nice to see you."

"If this is what I think it is," I said as I pointed an accusatory finger at my head, "then how dare you?"

She laughed and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "You look cute in red, Mr. Grumpypants."

I squinted at her. I tried to get rid of the Santa hat. "Unbelievable."

"No! Don't take it off. Humor me for tonight."

"This goes beyond what I expected as reasonable relationship compromise."

She grinned, her eyes sparkling. "So what? You're not gonna give up on us now, are you?"

"Before we even really begin? Nah, you're stuck with me now. But you're lucky I like you this much."

With a flirty wink, she turned, grabbed my hand, and pulled me away.

A child stared at me.

"Boo," I said.

"Daniel!" Ale scolded me without even looking in my direction.

"What?" I said, before taking the hat off, stuffing it in my pocket, and following Ale to wherever she wanted to take me.