“What do you mean I need a parade permit?” Merrie asked the police officer when we arrived at her ornament shop. It was three in the morning, and a line of people stretched down the block, mainly influencers livestreaming.
“I told him it was ridiculous!” Bettina ran out of the shop. People applauded when they saw her. The senior citizen waved and curtsied. Then the older woman turned on the officer.
“This isn’t a parade, Ernie. You know that,” she scolded. “These people are waiting to practice their God-given right to pay for expensive Christmas cookies.”
“They’re blocking the sidewalk,” the officer said stubbornly, pulling his large fur cap down over his head against the blowing snow.
“Blocking the sidewalk? Against what? No one is shopping at three a.m. Now, honestly, Ernie, I used to babysit you when you were little, and you were dumb as rocks then, and your mama seemed to think you were going to grow out of it, but clearly, that poor woman was mistaken.”
Ernie bristled, and Merrie stepped between them.
“We’re going to start baking cookies,” she said, “and once we have enough, we’ll start letting in people to make their purchases. That should clear the crowds out before the Christmas market picks up around lunchtime.”
“You hear that?” Bettina yelled, hyping up the crowd. “Cookies for everyone! You get a cookie, and you get a cookie!”
I snuggled Merrie to my chest and felt her hand cup me through my pants.
“I guess this means I’m not coming back to your penthouse so you can lick my Christmas cookies again.”
“You smell like cinnamon and desperation.”
“Don’t you have work to do?” I asked my younger brother. I would say little, but he wasn’t little anymore. He was as tall as me and our older brothers. “Oh wait,” I amended. “No, you don’t because you just go to college. You don’t have a real company like an adult.”
He pushed the back of my chair. “And after I convinced all our siblings to come help you shop for Christmas decorations.”
I blanked. “Christmas shopping? No.”
“Aren’t you trying to impress Merrie?” Eli coaxed.
“Yeah, and I bought a tree and spent half of last night decorating it instead of well, never mind.”
“Ah, and that was why you were in a bad mood today.”
“You’re dating the lady with a whole-ass shop selling Christmas ornaments,” Oliver reminded. “One measly tree isn’t going to cut it. You need to decorate your whole condo.”
“Actually, I don’t.”
I wanted to see Merrie,but she was still swamped with her shop.
Maybe I should have just bought up all her Christmas ornaments anonymously and burned them. Then I could have had her all to myself.
A loud knocking resounded on the glass wall that divided my private office from the rest of FarmTech Solutions’ open-floor plan.
I sighed. My siblings were crowded around the door.
“Are you coming?” Owen asked, sticking his head inside.
“No,” Oliver said with a cackle, “because Merrie would rather bake cookies than spend time in his sad condo.”
“Watch it,” I warned him.
“It’s true,” Oliver protested as Jonathan, Jack, and Belle followed Owen into my office.
“Stop touching my stuff,” I snapped at Jack as he picked up one of my robot mockups.
“And after I came all this way to help you with Christmas shopping.”
“I am not shopping with you, especially not Christmas shopping,” I retorted. “And get out of my office.”
