“Christmas.”
She looks at her watch. “It’s 5pm. I don’t think he’s gonna make it.”
“I have to be real about this. What we had together was explosive, but heartmates, people fated for each other, fated tospend their lives together… It’s a nice concept, but little more than fantasy. No more real than Santa Claus. I had my Christmas miracle. Completed the mission without getting anyone killed.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Stop believing in Christmas, or miracles. There are other guys out there.”
Not for me.
I slam the apartment building door behind me, leaving it and these past few weeks with my blue Santa in the past.
“I’m just being real. I told him I can’t give up what I’m doing here. It’s too important. And I didn’t ask him to give up what he does, for the same reason.”
“Long distance relationships are hard enough, I guess, but when the guy literally comes from outer space… Still, I’m holding out hope for you two. I need to believe in Christmas miracles, even if you don’t.”
I used to have her optimism, but when Nikkov left, my spirit sank. I should have gone with him, but I couldn’t imagine leaving Earth, not when there’s so much work to be done to ensure we’re never occupied again.
We hop on the bus and within twenty minutes we’re in Shadyside, where the houses that survived the war are now so far apart with nothing but rubble in between. As always, I ignore the destruction and enjoy the nice mix of architecture that remains, and how it represents the diversity of the people who live here. They’re why I stay. Ordinary families like I grew up with. Moms, dads, and kids just trying to carve out some happiness.
I walk up the five steps, turn my key, and enter the wide foyer, looking up at the dark wood banister that creaks all the way to the second level, where three bedrooms wait. Rooms with no heat, closed vents, and no one to enjoy them but me. “WhenI scraped enough money together to buy this place, I imagined kids running up and down those stairs. For now, it’s just me and my tree.” I run my finger along a crack in the wall. “It keeps me busy. I’m gonna tackle the plaster next. Then, I won’t have to use the tree to hide several huge cracks.”
“Or you could enjoy the tree now and leave the cracks for after Christmas.” Donna lays the dresses down on the sofa. “It’s a nice tree, even if you only have two presents under there.”
I shrug. “I didn’t need more. The gold foil one’s for you.”
“Really?”
“You deserve it, not just from an operations stand-point. For that, Earth Intelligence will pay us our usual meager wage. This one’s from me. I finally found it.”
“No… you didn’t!”
“Yep. Gummy bears!”
She shrieks as she jumps up and down before tearing into the small box. “They look too pretty to eat.”
“You better eat them, or I will.”
“These must have cost a fortune.”
“Not exactly, but close.” I give her a huge smile, because I need to right now, and Donna’s worth any expense. As is my blue Santa. Before I allow myself to fall down a path of regret, I tap the box. “Surprisingly, it was the gelatin that was hard to find, not the sugar or citric acid. Once I had everything, I handed it all over to a woman on Carson Street who knows how to make them.”
With tons of care, Donna slowly opens the box and holds it out for me to have the first pick.
“Go ahead, you know you want the blue one. Make a wish before you eat it.”
“This isn’t a birthday candle.”
“Better, we get to eat them.”
I pop a blue gummy into my mouth and savor the sweet, gooey candy.
“Thinking about your alien?”
Hell, yes. “No.”
