“Yes, ma’am.” Arnie turned, picked up his empty box, and headed home. As he walked, he heard Jayden screaming wild protests about elves and stolen water guns and Santa cheating.
He saw no sign of Dimble. He hoped the elf was okay.
As he arrived in his own yard his mother was standing by the back door. “Oh, there you are!” she said. She saw the open box in his hand. “How’s the squirt gun?”
“Fine,” Arnie said. “I let Jayden borrow it.”
She frowned. “I’m not sure that was a good idea,” she said. “Oh, I found this in the wrapping.” She held out a booklet.
Arnie took it, and saw it was the instructions for the Super Mega Soaker. It was sticky on the back—apparently it had been stuck to the outside of the box. “Thanks, Mom,” he said. He opened it, mildly curious about the toy he hadn’t gotten.
There was handwriting in it, in green ink. Startled, Arnie glanced up at his mother, but she was already walking back into the house. If she had written a note in it, Arnie thought she would have stayed around to watch him read it. He looked down at the instructions.
“Arnie—” the note said, in unfamiliar, old-fashioned handwriting that was surprisingly easy to read. “You didn’t really want the Super Mega Soaker anyway, did you? And Dimble needed a chance to see the world. Hope it works out. Don’t worry, I’ll find Dimble and pick him up before he gets into too much trouble. Merry Christmas!” It was signed, “Santa.”
Arnie stared at it, and almost tripped as he walked into the kitchen door.
“So did you like your present?” his mother asked from where she stood by the sink.
Arnie looked up at her, and broke into the biggest grin he’d worn since the Abbotts moved in up the street. He looked at the empty box, at the instructions, and at the box again.
“I loved it!” he said. “Best present ever!”
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