Eggnog & Evergreen

31 • Go Elf Yourself

Nik removes the Santa hat from his head and runs his fingers through his hair. I notice how dark and hooded his eyes look today and I wonder how late he stayed up last night. I know I fell asleep first. My cheeks must flush as I think about it.

"Ah, so you are the Nik." Deja blurts out, zero regard for what's left of my pride.

"Deja!" I hiss.

"The Nik?" He asks, confused, but smiling.

I shrug at him, completing ignoring his question.

"It was so nice of you to make sure Noe got home last night," Stella chimes in.

I just shake my head in disbelief, wondering how this is my life right now.

"It was nice," he agrees.

I know he means the hours we spent stranded in his cabin, shrouded in snow, and doused in firelight. Nice is nothing.

Deja starts petting Trotter and I am trying to look anywhere but at Nik.

"Just get here?" Nik asks, looking at all of us.

"We did." I nod. "Not staying long–"

"We were just going to visit the secret elf shop, actually." Stella looks at me, stern. "Want to join, Nik?"

"Sure. Let me just drop Trotter off at the reindeer stables."

"What a sentence," I joke.

Nik leads Trotter across the park to the stables where I see at least three other deer masquerading as reindeer. Each one has the same leather harness and bushel of jingle bells.

"Oh. My. GOD." Deja rounds on me. "Noe!"

"What?" I ask, aloof.

"Noe, he is like –HOT!" Deja exclaims.

"I've been saying," Stella laughs.

"Like, he is move back home to a small town, made for a movie level hot." Deja insists.

"The perfect romance," Stella adds.

"Shut up! He's coming back," I whisper-shout at them.

The four of us walk to the elf shop. It's a large white tent with fake wood siding and decked out in Christmas wreaths. I suppose it could pass as a North Pole sweatshop.

The space heaters standing between every other table are certainly warming it up enough. It's like walking into a tropical greenhouse, but with snow on the ground.

The nearest tabletop is strewn with wrapped candies and mini candy canes -two of Buddy the elf's four favorite food groups. The second table has hand-painted pinecones (red and green and some are rainbow). We navigate through all the vendor stalls. I even come across some of my mom's ornaments.

Every single person working under the tent is dressed like an elf, to no one's surprise.

I find myself falling into step behind Stella and Deja, and right beside Nik. I feel extremely small next to him today, without my platform snow boots. He must be at least 6'3" tall!

"You didn't say goodbye this morning," Nik says quietly, so only I can hear.

"Oh–" I pause, taken aback. "You were asleep. I didn't want to wake you."

"I was worried that you were, maybe, embarrassed," he says, sheepish. "Or maybe wanted to pretend it didn't happen. What happens in the cabin–"

"Stays in the cabin," I say, knowingly. "Not at all. I really just had to get home."

"Ok." Nik looks relieved when I say this.

"Last night was," I bite my lip, looking away from Nik for a moment. "Almost perfect."

"Almost?" He furrows his brow.

"Well, the no pants part." I shrug.

Nik laughs and the nearest nosy elf looks up from a table.

I give a look like go elf yourself and they quickly return to demonstrating a wooden nutcracker. Discarded shells crunch beneath our feet as we pass. I've never been a fan of walnuts.

"So next time bring spare pants," Nik says, smiling.

I have no quips about there being a next time. I want a next time. "Deal."

I stare up at the ceiling, at an electric toy train that keeps circling around the room. Its high-pitched whistle alerting us when it's overhead.

"You two behaving yourselves back there?" Deja asks, her head on a swivel. Stella laughs with a candy cane wedged between her teeth.

I exhale heavily and spit out my tongue at Deja.

"Ignore her."

"Deja seems," Nik pauses, smirking. "Spirited."

"You noticed?" I laugh. "She is great. Maybe no filter, but great."

We finally reach the last row of tables in the secret elf shop, and they are both displaying miniature porcelain Christmas trees.

"More hot chocolate!" Deja picks up a mini foam cup from a stand at the back of the shop.

Nik hands me one of the two cups Deja thrusts into his hands as she winks at me.

"Shall we duck outside? There's a flap in the back here." Nik asks, pulling aside a thick piece of the white tent.

A burst of cool air whips against my face. It is positively refreshing after being inside the elf shop. And speaking of... no elves in sight!

We leave Stella and Deja behind as we traipse down the slope to the bottom of the park. I keep up as best I can, but it's Nik who walks with determination. I have no idea where he's taking us.

"Do you have any problems with ice?" Nik asks, guiding me over a solid sheet of white.

"Ice?" I ask.

"And skating on it," Nik adds.

I use his hand to steady myself as I climb up a bunch of rocks to see a smoothly polished ice pond on the other side. My eyes read the brightly colored mint green and yellow banner.

"North Pole Sip and Skate, sure."