Lisa and Jojo: how two hearts beat as one

Part 18

As Thanksgiving is always on the 4th Thursday of November, it's not long before the start of December. And that means it's time for the Christmas spirit to rise! As December officially begins, the mall as a whole becomes more festive. A gigantic Christmas tree is placed in the mall, along with smaller ones. You can find red, green, and white everywhere. Red ribbons are tied around the lamps. Additionally, a tiny cottage is situated not far from the temporary Wrappers Delight, where Santa is available for photos and where kids can meet him. Lisa is happy that it's December! Indeed the most wonderful time of the year. Entering the restaurant on Saturday, December 1st, Lisa gives the lobby a new look together with Avia. They place a table with free hot chocolate for the thirsty customers, a gumball machine, and a phonograph playing the top holiday songs. Santa is the first customer to arrive too! Lisa thinks that if she doesn't prepare his order well, she would end up on the naughty list, but she does her best with every customer anyways unless it's for a sticker. "Hohoho! Merry Christmas!" Santa says as he makes his way to Papa's Bakeria for his pie. He enters and Lisa takes his order, hoping she'll be on the nice list this year. Yippy peeks in the Bakeria doorway to see Santa but is too timid to approach him. When Lisa finishes Santa's pie, he is overjoyed! Lisa had already learned that he only visits in December and that he starts off as a silver star customer too. As the day passes, Lisa gets more and more excited for the day to actually celebrate. But she is particularly happy that it is Sunday tomorrow. Lisa will be able to see her very special "gift" at the end of her shift.

The next day, Lisa and Avia chat before opening time, and they discuss their plans for Christmas. It is well known that Avia loves to travel, and prior to applying here, she was exploring the Flipverse and making money with her travel blog. She is looking forward to a wonderful vacation at Maple Mountain Ski Resort. Lisa thinks she may have to spend Christmas with her huge family, and she is unsure wether she should he happy or not. That is because she is autistic and sensitive to noise, overcrowded spaces and being with so many people at once. Perhaps Lisa and her pals could organize a Secret Santa Christmas party! She asks Avia about the idea, and Avia seems to like the idea too. She'll be leaving on the 26th of December so she could still attend the possible party. They prepare to open the restaurant. As Santa comes daily until the month ends, Lisa must give everything she got for not just him but also all other customers. In fact, she has almost every customer that Papa Louie also had at his previous restaurants! Lisa's heartbeat quickens as the minutes tick by and the final hour draws nearer. She finds it difficult to contain herself during the last hour of her day at work. Once Jojo comes, Lisa feels her heart swelling. She's so happy to see him here, and every weekend is just as special thanks to him always visiting. "Honey Jojo!" Lisa welcomes him with the same enthusiasm as a young child meeting Santa Claus. "My sweetie, do you have plans for Christmas day?" Lisa asks, twirling her hair. Jojo tells her that he couldn't see his family, and that he lives alone, so he doesn't really have somebody to spend it with. This makes Lisa feel bad for him, and she offers the idea that they spend the vacation together. After Jojo gives Lisa a shoulder pat, the oven alarm starts to sound. Lisa rushes to take out the pie and soon she serves the customer, also starting with Jojo's pie. As Lisa waits for it to bake, she watches Jojo dancing happily to the gramophone music. Every time Lisa sees him dance, it makes her smile, and wishes she can join him and dance together. After some time, Lisa turns back to Jojo, who is now holding a cup of hot cocoa. Lisa snaps a photo, and when she looks at it she sees Jojo at the moment he sipped his hot chocolate. "His eyes look so cute here!" Lisa thinks. She says, "Jojo, you're even cuter when your eyes are closed!" In response Jojo smiles and as a result, Lisa is ordered back to work by Avia, who replies, "Hey lovebirds, you can save your mistletoe moments for later!" Lisa laughs a bit and she is heading to the kitchen again. When she completes Jojo's order, he once again gives her his recognizable blue ribbon, still pleased as always with his girlfriend and her effort. "You're my perfect gift," Lisa begins, "all I want for Christmas is you". Avia hangs up a mistletoe and she hints to Lisa to take Jojo there. They go to stand underneath is and they kiss. Avia cheers and claps. The three lightheartedly laugh and call it a day.

On her next free day, Lisa invites all her friends from her friend group to ask them if they can have a Christmas party with her. Due to everyone having a big dinner that day, Lisa plans to throw the party later after everyone had finished their dinners. There will only be snacks and small foods and drinks at the party, and Lisa is happy to see everyone can attend. Then she explains about the secret Santa game. Everyone takes a piece of paper, writes their names on it, folds it, and puts it in Lisa's hat. She jumbles the papers and tells the people, "if you pick your own name, tell me and we'll find a solution". Everyone picks out a name one by one. When Lisa takes her pick, she opens the paper to see who she gets to be their secret Santa for. "Alfred". Nobody has said they picked their own name, so that's good. Lisa then advises, "Don't reveal who is on your paper to anyone! You can leave right away if you want to; I just need to speak with one of you." She approaches Jojo. "Honey, about Christmas, how about we stay over from the 26th until New Year's?" Jojo loves the idea, and they discuss about the plan. They will be staying at Lisa's house throughout the time, and together they will think of things to do when spending the days with one another. When everyone is gone, Lisa thinks that she could buy Alfred's presents at Whiskview, but she has to avoid Avia there. Would Lisa's name have been drawn by Avia?