“Good?” Noah called up.
“Well, I’m not dead yet,” Eli called back.
“That’s the spirit!”
From higher up, the square looked postcard-perfect. Snow drifted lazily. The bakery windows glowed warm against the gray morning. People moved like tiny ornaments in motion, bundled, laughing, carrying wreaths and extension cords.
Eli hooked the first strand around a branch, then another. The ladder wobbled, only a fraction, and his stomach plunged.
“Nope, not doing this,” he blurted. “Absolutely not.”
“I’ve got you,” Noah called, steadying the base.
“You don’t weigh enough to counteract my panic,” Eli said through clenched teeth.
“I weigh exactly as much as I need to,” Noah replied.
“Stop sounding confident. It’s weirdly attractive and I can’t deal with that at this height.”
Silence.
“…Attractive?” Noah called, his voice warm even from below.
Eli froze.
“I said—” Eli scrambled for a scrap of dignity, “—it’sdis-tractive. Distracting. Bad for… my ladder… balance.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
Eli could hear the smile in Noah’s voice. He wanted to fling himself off the tree. Instead, he focused on the lights, hooking them carefully, trying to ignore the way his cheeks burned both from the cold air and a hefty dose of embarrassment.
Finally, he descended, his heart pounding.
Noah stood at the bottom, his hands gripping the ladder, his cheeks rosy, smiling as though Eli hadn’t just humiliated himself.
“You did great,” Noah said with sincerity.
“You’re a liar.”
“A little.” Noah’s eyes twinkled. “But only in the nice ways.”
Eli snorted despite himself.
They took a break near one of the outdoor heaters. Volunteers swarmed past, dragging garlands, carrying thermoses, shouting about cable ties and wreath sizes. Eli sipped hot cocoa from a paper cup, holding his hands close to the heater’s glow.
When they’d finished their cocoa, he glanced at Noah. “Is it back-up-the-tree time?”
Noah shook his head. He pointed to Main Street. “Now we climb ladders and hang strings of lights across the street. By the time we’re done, the whole of Main Street will have a ceiling of white lights.”
Eli smiled. “That poster wasn’t kidding. You really do light up Mapleford.” Then he sighed. “More ladders, though?”
“Hey, you coped with the Tree of Doom, didn’t you? This’ll be a walk in the park compared to that.”
Eli prayed for the wind to subside.
They spent a couple of hours crisscrossing the air above the street with countless strings of lights, and Eli had to admit he was dying to see how it would look at night. His enthusiasm dampened every time the wind picked up a little, and his ladder swayed.
Eli peered down at Noah. “You’ve got my back, right?”
