Page 80 of The Naughty List Agreement

“As if I’d need to do that. I’m working a shift here this morning. Someone called in sick and they were short-staffed,” Cora said. Normally she would have called in another staffer, but Cora liked being in there and seeing the festivalgoers.

“Are you okay?”

“Ha ha. I don’t know if it’s the visitors or me but I’m enjoying them more this year,” she admitted.

“Your time in toy jail is wearing you down,” Fliss said.

“Nick’s rubbing off on me. He’s so happy all the time and really interacts with everyone. It’s making me see the crowds as individuals. That’s silly, isn’t it?”

“Not really. I sometimes forget that everyone who visits is here to find some of the Christmas joy that they’ve lost touch with. You do that, Cora. You’re the one who makes that happen.”

“With help from you. We’re sort of the dream team. The festival would be nothing without us. Want to go out one night and celebrate how smoothly it’s running?” The words were out before she could censor them. Would Fliss think she’d overstepped her boss role? Would she feel obligated to attend, as though it were a meeting?

“I’d love to. We should hang out more. I’ll put something in the calendar,” she said. “Let me know when you’re not busy with Nick.”

“I will. I have to be over at the retirement home this afternoon for the card and gift exchange. Will you double-check with the staff and make sure this table is covered?”

“On it. Also, I double-checked that the cookies and cocoa you ordered will be at the retirement home when you arrive,” Fliss said.

Fliss left a few minutes later and Cora went back to the booth feeling good about herself and the festival. This year felt the way the first one had, and Cora was excited to come in each day and see how much Winter Wonderland was growing.

She’d brought a stack of intentions with her to look through so she could see what kinds of things people were writing. Most of the chains were upbeat and positive but then she got to one that stopped her in her tracks.

I hope my kids don’t wake up on Christmas morning with nothing under the tree.

The handwriting was neat and clean, and Cora’s heart broke at the sincere wish. In a way, Cora’s own mom had taken that fear from their lives by being upfront about there being no Santa Claus, but Cora was starting to feel as if her mom had stolen a bit of magic from her childhood by not allowing Cora to believe.

These paperchains were from the day before. She was tempted to see if she could find the person who wrote it. There was CCTV in the event space for security. Without allowing herself to overthink it, she pulled up her access to the security footage on her phone.

She sent the files from the day before to her personal folder so she could go over them later. She heard Nick’s voice in her head telling her that one good deed fed another. What could she do for this person?

Nick was exhausted after a long day traveling all over the world to make sure that everyone who’d left their shoe out for him had a small trinket. The gift this year was a dove. The world could use more peace, so the decision had been an easy one. When he was finally done, it was around 6 pm.

He headed straight for the Pine Falls Retirement Community, changing into his ugly sweater on the way. It depicted a fat, gray-haired Santa in shorts, knee-socks, and flip flops with the words Get Festive!

Cora looked up when he entered the recreation room. There were tables scattered throughout, filled with residents doing crafts with school kids of various ages. Cora gave him a little wave, but she was working on a project so didn’t get up.

He found the director and asked where he could be of the most help. “I’m good with carving and whittling.”

“Dave is leading a group in the far corner. They’ve been working on robins.”

Nick joined them and found the tension in his gut easing as he held a piece of wood in his hand, carving and whittling it until it resembled a robin. He’d been worried about disappointing Cora. Some years the deliveries went smoothly but this wasn’t one of them.

Martha had warned that the Magic Coffers had felt the strain of the day, dipping into the amber zone as he used their power to manipulate time. As much as he was enjoying this relationship with Cora, he hoped he hadn’t made a terrible mistake. Her knot was lighter but not yet bright and colorful and it was still very twisted and tight.

Her name was still on the Naughty List but it was faded and he couldn’t wait to find out whether it was beginning to transfer to the Nice List. He hoped that hadn’t been wishful thinking on his part. At this moment, he had to ask himself if he’d been selfish in starting a relationship with her.

The progress he was making was solid but slow. He needed a big win, the kind that would flood the coffers with Gold Lumen and give him all the Yulekind magic he needed for Christmas Eve.

“Cookie and cocoa time,” the director announced and everyone moved to the adjoining room.

Cora caught his arm, hugging him close to her. “Missed you today. I was afraid you weren’t going to make it.”

“I gave my word,” he said.

“You did. It’s nice you kept it. I have an idea,” she said.

“You do?”