Page 55 of Unholy Night
“She wanted a dog. As you can see, she has one of the very best.” Rudolph sits next to Mandy, watching people as they walk by. He might be the runt of the litter, but he is doing a fine job of guard duty right now.
“No, no.” The idiot waves a hand as if I have it all wrong. I still have the letter in my office. I know for certain that she asked for a dog. “I asked about her Christmas Wish, not what she wanted.”
“You’re talking in riddles, which is a dangerous pursuit for simpletons.” I sneer at the man. I will never understand what my sister sees in him.
“A Wish and a want are two different things, Lucie.” My sister goes to her husband and slips her hand under his arm. “She wanted a puppy. And you did a magnificent job, making sure she had the best. But did you ever figure out what her real Christmas Wish was that night?”
“I--I suppose I do not know.” I feel off center and dislike the sensation.
My sister smiles. “I’m going to go say hello to Mandy.”
I watch her as she walks away. “You’ve got her talking nonsense now too.” I turn and look at Nicholas. “Is it so bad in the North Pole you’re both losing your damn minds?”
“The North Pole is in perfect shape as usual. Even better, thanks to you and your lady.” The stuffed sausage looks at me with a serious expression and that gives me pause. “I suppose you could ask Mandy.”
“Ask Mandy what?” I’m becoming annoyed. This is an important night and I don’t plan on spending it with him.
“What her Christmas Wish was.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Or you can ask me. I am the one that made it happen.”
“Excuse me?” I am incredibly insulted. I delivered on Mandy’s Wish last year. That was the whole point.
“Oh, fine. Fine. I’ll tell you.” The elf motions for me to lean forward. Without knowing why, I do as bid.
“Get on with it,” I hiss, figuring the sooner he has his say the sooner he will disappear himself from my life.
“She wished for her mother to be happy.” The old man leans back, the twinkle in his blue eyes is brighter than I’ve ever seen. For the first time, I feel like I’m seeing him as humans would.
“Mandy wished… for her mother to be... happy.” I try to process this.
“Yes. The very best type of Christmas Wish.” He takes a sip of his spiked cocoa. “Her wish was for someone else. How could we not make it come true?”
“So you’re saying…” I don’t even want to finish my thought because it would mean I’m indebted to this tub of Red Dye 40 for the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. And I cannot abide that.
But he smiles his cheeky shit-eating grin and deliberately makes his eyes do that annoying sparkle. “You can thank your sister. She’s the one who knew that Wish would intersect with your deepest desire.”
“And what’s that?” I ask.
“To love and to be loved,” he says simply. “That is the wish of us all, is it not?
Before I can respond, my sister reappears and hands me a single malt scotch.
“Don’t be hostile,” she says as I take the glass. “I just want you to be happy. That was my Christmas Wish. Has been for ages. To our delight, the Fates aligned all of our wishes last Christmas, the child’s included.”
I take a drink and then narrow my eyes at the elf. “How did you know I would take over Christmas?” I ask.
He chuckles a soft ‘ho, ho, ho’ and I roll my eyes. “Lay off the branding, old man. You don’t need to perform here.”
“I might not be as old as you, but even I know how to read people,” my brother-in-law says.
Jessica nudges her husband. “Be nice. This is a special night.”
Now I glare at her. “And how do you know that?”
She shrugs. “The way I have always known your secrets. It’s in our blood. Now, give that woman and her child their new wish.”
“And what wish is that?” I ask.
She grins. “I should think it obvious. Lyla’s wish is to be with you forever.”