Honestly, I think you might be my favorite person. Would it be too presumptuous to ask you to give me a ball massage?
At this point, I don’t know if this is working because the ball-massage story made me like you even a touch more.
So tell me exactly how this is helping us.
Sincerely,
Resting Scrooge Face
Dear Resting Scrooge Face,
In all honesty, I can’t quite remember how this storytelling is helping.
Truth of the matter is, it’s just making me swoon even more. And it shouldn’t, right? Throwing up on innocent victims and offering ball massages to adult men should really be a turnoff, but I think it’s only added to the charm.
Have we been secretly drinking the “eggnog”? Is that what’s happening here?
I’ll admit, I did see a couple holding hands this morning down by the post office, and I thought to myself ... *gulp* that looks nice.
**Winces** I know, I know. The holiday music is getting to me. The cheer in the air. The reminiscing.
I mean, I ate a gingerbread cookie last night and I liked it. I think these letters are having a reverse effect. They’re making me feel all ooey gooey inside.
This might have been a bad idea ... then again, maybe it was the best idea I’ve had in a long time.
Sincerely,
Ho Ho No
Dear Ho Ho No,
I hate to admit it, because I really think we had a good thing going at the beginning, with our pledges against falling for the romance and cheer of the holiday spirit, but I find myself slipping.
My toe tapped to “Run Run Rudolph” yesterday. I was horrified when I realized it.
And you might have eaten a gingerbread cookie, but I dipped a sugar cookie into hot chocolate last night and felt ... all warm inside.
I also sniffed a pine tree and exhaled with a smile. This guy, Resting Scrooge Face, smiled at the smell of a pine tree.
I want to blame the environment, but I think these letters have pulled me out of the funk I’ve been feeling lately, and that’s all thanks to you.
We can deny it all we want, but I think the spirit of Christmas is sinking into our souls. And we can only blame ourselves.
If I could predict anything, it would be that there is more toe tapping, cookies, and hot chocolate in my future.
Sincerely,
Resting Scrooge Face
Chapter Four
**CALEB**
Are you ... humming?” Arden asks as he catches me walking out of the café, coffee and cinnamon bun in hand.
“What? No,” I answer even though ... yeah, I might have been humming. But rest assured, it wasn’t a holiday song. Although one more letter from Ho Ho No and I might be tempted to hum a verse of “Jingle Bells” under my breath.
It’s weird what a simple letter can do to a person. An interaction with another human who possesses the same feelings as you when you’re surrounded by nothing but the opposite. I don’t know who Ho Ho No is, but I will say this—she’s helped make me forget about my holiday angst, about my mistakes, and most certainly about my regrets.
