“Well, this will be me, waving good-bye,” Jolly giggled as she waved to them both before she slipped out the front door, leaving them alone to share an awkward silence.
Garrett’s kilt was gone, replaced with a pair of black corduroys. His jaunty, confident manner was gone as well. Angelique suddenly wished that her essay had come in second place so she could be back down below dreaming about the North Pole, instead of smack in the middle of it in a sticky situation she’d created.
Garrett cleared his throat. “About last night, I wanted to-”
But Angelique desperately wanted to avoid this discussion. She pulled open the front door as if he hadn’t spoken. “Let’s go. We’ve got tons of presents to load up.” She peeked out the front door. “You did bring a wagon, didn’t you?”
“Aye. But just hold on a wee moment, will you?”
She shook her head. “There’s no time for idle chit chat.” She grabbed the first stack of gaily wrapped gifts and held them out. “Take these, and I’ll grab another stack. Hopefully we can do this in one trip.”
For the remainder of the morning, Angelique did everything she could to stay a step ahead of Garrett. Avoiding both eye contact and conversation with him became almost as tricky as making sure the right elf received the right gift. Her goal had been to deliver each gift when the elf in question wasn’t looking. Secret Santa office games had always been one of her favorite holiday traditions. Watching the surprised look on the recipient’s face when they spotted their gift warmed her heart like nothing else ever could.
It was late afternoon by the time Angelique delivered her last gift. She’d saved Jolly’s present for last. Just as the whistle signaling a hot cocoa break blew, Angelique waited until all of the elves filed out of the wrapping department before she snuck in. A brass plaque with Jolly’s name engraved on it assured Angelique she was leaving the small box in just the right place. Inside the layers of tissue was a yellow crystal smiling happy face broach, just as bright and cheery as Jolly herself was. “I hope you’ll like it, my new friend,” Angelique whispered as she put it next to the elf’s tape dispenser and scissors.
Garrett wasn’t waiting in the hallway, nor was he by the empty wagon. Angelique bit her lip. Perhaps it was for the best. Being with him was beyond awkward. Which wasn’t his fault, of course, it was hers. She’d been the one to come on too strong. Why hadn’t she politely but firmly insisted that Santa find someone else to chaperone her? Someone who was much less miserable in her company? It would have saved poor Mr. McCree from being so put upon and it would have saved Angelique from falling in love. She closed her eyes and slumped against the wall. What had she done? She’d only come for a week of fun, not a lifetime of heartache.
The sound of Nick Claus’s voice shattered the quiet. Suddenly anxious to avoid having to chit chat with anyone, Angelique ducked around the corner so she was safely out of sight.
Saint Nick’s voice came closer. “It’s only three more days. Surely you can hold on for that long?”
The response came from an all too familiar brogue. “I doubt it. You don’t know what it’s like to be around the lass. She’s…she’s…I don’t know how to tell you.”
Angelique squeezed her eyes shut but there was no blocking out the humiliation that coursed through her. Garrett McCree was talking about her, and he sounded absolutely miserable. She fervently wished the frozen tundra would part and she could just disappear.
Nick’s laughed. “She’s got you down for the count, then, huh McCree?”
Garrett’s response was a low growl. “Surely ye can have a wee word with your father? Have him send me away for a few days? Anywhere but here is fine. I can’t spend any more time with her.”
A single tear slipped down Angelique’s cheek. She waited until their voices had faded down the corridor before she headed in the opposite direction. She needed to get back to the cottage unseen and pack quickly. Her grand prize week was only barely half over but she needed to go. She’d had all the Christmas her heart could possibly take.
Chapter Five
“I need to see Santa. It’s an emergency.”
Merrilynn, Santa’s sweet as candy, tough as nails, administrative assistant blocked the double doors that led to Santa’s inner office. The elf looked up at him over the rim of her crystal rhinestone studded glasses. “Mr. McCree, kindly lower your voice. It’s the twenty-second of December. I, not you, will decide what is and what is not classified as an emergency.”
Garrett resisted the urge to lift Merrilynn out of his way and set her aside. Instead he forced himself to take a deep breath. “I understand that we’re in the countdown phase but this is critically important. I wouldn’t bother Santa otherwise.”
The elf looked utterly unimpressed by his efforts to restrain his temper. She handed him a green and red striped clipboard. “Fill out the first page and sign at the bottom. Your request will be either approved or denied within seventy-two hours.”
“Seventy-two hours?” Garrett struggled to keep his voice below a shout. “Are ye right daft? It will be too late by then.”
Merrilynn shrugged. “Well, then, it can’t be too big of an emergency, can it now?”
A half dozen retorts sprang to mind but none were even remotely appropriate, so Garrett kept his mouth clamped shut. He glared at the elf, who, undaunted, glared straight back up at him. How long this might have continued was hard to say because Santa’s daughter Carol arrived and interrupted the hostile standoff. “Hello Merrilynn, hello Garrett.” When neither returned the greeting, she looked in surprise from one to the other. “What on earth is going here?”
“Mr. McCree is being obstinate. He’s demanding an audience with your father.” Merrilynn shot a challenging look in his direction. “But no one, not even you Carol, is getting in there until Santa finishes reviewing his flight plans.”
Carol hugged a stack of file folders to her chest, an amused smile on her face. “Well, Garrett, it looks like we’ve both been banned from seeing my father. Why don’t you come along and tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I can help.”
Garrett didn’t object when she slipped a hand under his elbow and propelled him out of the office and into the corridor. He’d always gotten along well with Carol. He respected her keen intelligence and even handed manner. How much she could help him now, he had no idea. But he obviously wasn’t going to get anywhere with Merrilynn the Grinch.
“What’s wrong, Garrett?” Carol’s voice was both caring and curious. “I’ve never seen you so upset.”
Garrett rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath. Confiding in anyone was difficult for him but the stakes were high. He needed help. “It’s Angelique. She’s gone.”
“Ah, yes, so Rapz told me.”
“Rapz? What’s he got to do with this?”
“He’s the one who took Angelique down below when she asked to leave.”
Garrett cursed under his breath. Why had she wanted to leave? More to the point, why had she gone without saying goodbye to him? Walking into the cottage and seeing her things were gone had caused him a pain like he’d never before experienced. He met Carol’s sympathetic gaze. “What am I going to do?”
She laid a hand on his arm. “What is it that you want to do?”
What did he want? Angelique. He wanted to be with her. What had seemed so complicated before was abundantly clear to him now. “I want to see Angelique. I have to tell her…I have to talk to her.”
“Rapz said she was upset when she left.”
That news was like salt on a fresh wound. “Did he say what was bothering her?”
“I don’t think he had a clue.” Carol hesitated, watching him carefully. “Do you?”
He shook his head miserably. “All I know is that I’ve made a right mess of things.”
“Starting with giving the poor girl cash as a gift?” Carol raised an eyebrow. “Jolly told me. Garrett, how could you?”
“What?” he protested. “The lass likes to shop. I
t seemed like the perfect choice.”
“Well, it wasn’t. They call it cold, hard cash for a reason. Besides, Angelique never mentioned that she loved to shop, did she?” Carol motioned for him to follow her. Once they reached the end of the corridor, she pointed to a wooden bench. “Have a seat. I want you to see something.” She pulled out a typed page and handed it to him. “Read this.”
Surprised, Garrett took the papers and saw that it was Angelique’s entry for the North Pole Prize essay contest. Her handwriting was unique, elegant with wide, looped letters. Her writing was so very her, open and confident. And honest. As he neared the last paragraph a lump formed in his throat and his chest tightened. Finished reading, he looked at Carol. “I had no idea.”
“That’s because she wasn’t looking for sympathy, she was just being honest.” Carol sat beside him. “Her upbringing was far more privileged than yours, and certainly less traumatic, but it still sounds lonely in its own way, doesn’t it?”
Garrett nodded. The poor wee lass. He could easily imagine Angelique as a young girl, her long black hair hanging down her back, her green eyes filled with sorrow as her parents left her alone at Christmas. Granted, they’d left a house full of paid help to look after her, but she’d never spent a single Christmas with her family. Not a one.
“And to think I gave her cash.” Garrett cursed his own stupidity.
“How were you to know?”
How indeed? Angelique’s enthusiasm for the gifts she’d so clearly loved giving had led him to believe she loved shopping and material things. But what she’d really loved wasn’t buying the gifts, but giving them.
‘At first I hated the envelopes filled with cash that my parents would leave for me,’ she’d written in her essay, ‘but I soon learned that I could turn the hurt to happiness by spending the money on others. The day I decided that I didn’t need to experience the joy of receiving to experience the joy of giving was a blessed day for me. When I stopped waiting for someone to pick out a gift especially for me, I learned that life was best lived focusing on what I could give, not what I would get.’
Carol returned the essay to its folder. “I probably shouldn’t have shown you Angelique’s essay but it does help you to understand, doesn’t it?”
“Aye, it does.” Garrett leaned over and kissed Carol’s cheek. “You did the right thing. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now what are you going to do?”
“I have to go to her.” Which was a risk, because he had no guarantee that she’d even agree to see him. There must have been some reason she left, something that troubled her enough to leave without saying goodbye. He would be laying his heart on the line by going to her but he had to try.
“I think that’s the right choice. Do you want me to help you select a gift for you to take with you?”
Garrett stood, his earlier indecision now replaced with absolute certainty. “No, thank you. I have but one thing to offer Angelique that I hope she might want.”
Carol smiled. “Then you’d better be off to deliver it, don’t you think?”
***
Angelique balled a sheet of stationery on which was written her twenty-seventh attempt at an apology to Mr. and Mrs. Claus. She threw it into the fireplace and watched it go up in flames. Words never usually failed her but for some reason she was unable to find just the right ones to explain her behavior. Her lack of success formulating an apology was likely because her choice to flee the North Pole was inexcusably rude. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it close to her chest. It had been over twenty-four hours since she’d arrived home from the North Pole. Christmas was only a few days away and yet she couldn’t bring herself to face it. She couldn’t bear to see decorations, hear Christmas music, none of it. So she’d ordered in groceries enough to last until New Year’s and she’d shut off her phone. Christmas could just happen without her this year.
She poured herself a glass of red wine. Wine. Whine was more like it. She felt miserable. Dejected. She took a sip but made a face, the taste was too bitter. Just like the truth. She’d made a pest of herself at the North Pole, certainly enough to make Garrett beg Santa’s son for any other job than tagging along with her. Besides Nick, who else knew? Certainly Santa, and likely Mrs. Claus as well. Okay, so that’s my pride hurt, she mused. She’d get over that, eventually.
But what of her heartache? How could that heal? She grabbed a chenille throw from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around her shoulders. But even that, added to the weight of her flannel pajamas, didn’t ease her chill. She closed her eyes. An image of a sandy blond Scot came to mind. How had she been so stupid as to fall in love with a man who couldn’t bear her company?
Enough, she chided herself. Enough. No more thoughts of Garrett McCree. Ever, if she could help it.
A knock sounded at the door. Angelique burrowed further into her blanket. The world could just go away, at least until the next semester started and she had to drag herself to work. But the person at the door apparently didn’t agree with that plan because the knocking persisted. Frustration welled up within her. She threw off the blanket, slid her feet into her bunny slippers, and shuffled to the door. But when she looked through the peep hole no one was in sight. She sighed. There, she’d gotten her exercise for the day. Back to the couch.
But someone knocked again as soon as she sat down. This was ridiculous. She peeked through the peep hole but couldn’t see anyone. “What do you want?” she called out.
“We have a delivery for Miss Angelique Devereaux.”
“Why can’t I see you?”
She thought she heard giggles. Great. Kids. Likely they were overexcited about Christmas and were roaming the apartment building hallway. “Please go away.”
“We can’t, Ma’am. Not until you accept your delivery.”
Angelique unbolted the door and threw it open. “I’m not expecting a delivery.”
“Down here.”
Her eyes widened and she laughed out loud. “Jolly! Rapz! What are you doing here?” She took a step backward. “I can’t believe you came for a visit.” She smiled for the first time in days. “Well, come on in. I’ll make cocoa.”
The elves exchanged conspiratorial glances. “We can’t, we’re here on official business,” Jolly said. She pointed to her crystal happy face broach. “Spiffy, huh? I love it. Thank you.”
“You’re so welcome, Jolly.” Angelique bent down and hugged her. “At least stay a moment and warm up.”
“No can do,” Rapz said. “We only came to drop a present off.”
Angelique felt a stab of disappointment. “Please don’t go. I’d rather have your company than any old present.”
Rapz and Jolly exchanged an amused look. “Just close your eyes,” Jolly instructed her.
Knowing her protests were futile, Angelique did as she was asked.
“Now count to ten before you open your eyes. Promise?”
“I promise.” She took a deep breath and began to count out loud. “One, two, three, four…-” Why did she hear little sleigh bells fading away? “Five, six, seven…-” Was that the door at the end of the corridor closing? “Eight, nine, ten.” She opened her eyes.
And saw Garrett McCree. He was wearing a thick woolen sweater and a kilt, but that wasn’t what made Angelique gasp. No, the cause of her racing heart was the red satin bow tied around his chest. “What are you doing here?”
“I missed you fiercely, Angelique,” he said.
The sound of his thick brogue broke through her shock. He was really here. On her doorstep. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. “The last time we were together I overheard you telling Saint Nick that you couldn’t stand to spend any more time with me. You sounded tortured.”
“Aye, you heard right. It was torture to spend time with you and not be able to tell that I’d fallen in love with you.” His smile was unsure, but hopeful. “But after you left, I realized that the worst thing would be to never see you again.”
“Oh,
Garrett, I don’t know what to say.”
“I was hoping to hear you say you’d accept this,” he motioned toward the bow. His grin was sheepish. “Well, not the bow. What it covers.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Your sweater?”
“My heart.”
Her eyes filled with tears. Happy tears.
“Wait, before you say anything, there’s one more wee thing.” Garrett reached into his sporran and pulled out a black velvet jeweler’s box. “For you.”
Angelique didn’t reach for it. “If that’s a row of quarters you can just turn around and get on the next sleigh heading north.” She wiped away her tears, now torn between confusion and joy.
“Take it. Please.”
She did. And when she opened the lid, she saw it held a bright, shiny silver key. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m your new neighbor.” Garrett pointed to the door across the hall. “I’m moving here. I’m going to apply to the engineering college for my master’s degree.”
“And the key?” Angelique knew what she desperately wanted to hear. She held her breath.
“Well, technically it fits into my apartment door but really, it’s the key to my heart.” Garrett closed the distance between them. He reached out and caressed her cheek. “If you’ll have me.”
Her heart suddenly felt like a fireworks warehouse set ablaze. “Bow and all?”
“Aye, bow and all.”
“Of course I’ll accept delivery. Just tell me where to sign.” Angelique reached out for the ends of the satin ribbon and pulled Garrett toward her. She stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss across his lips. “Merry Christmas, Mr. McCree.”
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The North Pole Prize: A Christmas Romantic Comedy Short Story Page 4
