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“You too,” Fiona said.

More snow was falling as we made our way back down her walkway.

“Did you just tell her good luck?” I asked.

“Yeah, with the whole birthing-a-baby thing.”

I laughed.

“She definitely isn’t trying to ruin Christmas,” Fiona said.

“Definitely not,” I agreed. “The next house is a block over.”

“You want to keep going?” Fiona asked, holding out her hand to catch the snowflakes.

“I do.”

“Okay.”

When we got to the house, I noticed a FOR SALE sign in the front yard that hadn’t been there before.

“That’s probably why they have no lights,” Fiona said.

“But maybe they think their house isn’t selling because of the other decorations?”

“Maybe.”

We walked to the front door and knocked. There was a long window next to the door, and I could see into the empty living room. No furniture whatsoever. They’d already moved.

The snow was coming down heavier now, and I pulled my hood over my head. Fiona did the same.

“It’s really snowing!” I said. “This is a good sign.”

“The snow is?”

I pointed back to the house. “Yes, of course. And we’ve now found two houses with really good reasons for no lights. Good things are happening. The Scrooge neighbor will drop this lawsuit. Christmas won’t change. I feel magic.”

“I think that feeling is just evaporative cooling.”

I shoved her shoulder. “Christmas magic.”

“Christmas magic will be if they cancel school tomorrow.”

“Seriously,” I said.

“So we can be done then. Since it’s snowing and all?”

“Yeah, we better head back.”

She squealed as she slipped on an icy spot at the corner of the street. I grabbed on to her arm and we clung to each other as we continued to walk. The neighborhood was being blanketed in white before our eyes.

“It’s so beautiful!” I said to the sky.

“It’s so cold!” Fiona said.

I laughed.

“Girls!” a voice rang out from the street. An SUV pulled up alongside us, their driver’s-side window down. “Girls! You need a ride?”