The Holly and the Ivy

Making a List, Checking it Twice

The next morning, Holly threw on her boots and coat and trudged out to the stables. She brought with her a bucket of apples, knowing the reindeer would approve of her treats.

Reindeer were easily bribed. Give them some apples, and they were your best friends.

She wished people were as easy.

Comet, the biggest sweet hog of the bunch, trotted over to her immediately.

"Comet, these are NOT all for you," she scolded, though she couldn't help but smile when he butted his head up against her hand.

"You know we've got to watch your figure," Holly joked. "How are you going to fly if I keep stuffing you with apples?"

Comet snorted, seemingly irritated. They both knew that the flying had nothing to do with weight and everything to do with magic.

Holly handed out an apple to each reindeer. But once she had finished, Comet made his way back to her, licking her hand and staring up at her with his sweet, big brown eyes.

"Suck-up," she murmured, shaking her head, though she caved and gave him an extra apple.

After she had dutifully paid her fruit offering, she sat on a pile of hay among the reindeer. Her emotions overwhelmed her...there were three weeks until Christmas, and her family was throwing her an engagement party for a fiancé that she didn't have and was no closer to finding.

Eventually, the stress forced a few stray tears from her eyes.

"Now, I know that's not my best friend crying only a couple weeks before Christmas," an unmistakably cheerful voice came from the corner of the barn.

Holly jumped to her feet, brushing away her tears and plastering a smile across her face. "Mistletoe!" she exclaimed.

Mistletoe was her best friend. She was an elf - as was everyone at the North Pole with the exception of the Kringles - but their different species hadn't stopped them from forming a seemingly unbreakable bond. They had been close since Kindergarten and knew all of each other's secrets.

At least they had...until Holly went off to college and realized there were some things she didn't want even Mistletoe to know.

Despite being surrounded by far more people than when she was in the North Pole, her time in college made her feel more alone than she ever had.

But even if Holly could hide her secrets from her best friend, she couldn't hide her emotions. Mistletoe was extraordinarily perceptive, especially when it came to her. Which is why Holly wasn't surprised when the elf returned her smile with a look of skepticism.

"Why were you crying alone in the barn?"

"I wasn't," Holly protested.

"Don't you dare lie to me, Ms. Kringle," Mistletoe warned. "You don't want to get yourself on the naughty list this close to Christmas, do you?"

"You know my dad doesn't put me on the list," Holly replied. "He says it would be an invasion of my privacy."

"And what about everyone else's privacy?" the sassy elf demanded. "He sees you when you're sleeping? He knows when you're awake?"

"You know that's a lie," Holly said, shaking her head. "Just something parents tell their kids to get them to behave."

"It might as well be true! I'd honestly prefer him just being able to see me when I'm sleeping instead of knowing everything naughty or nice that I've ever done. He still remembers that I punched Yule in the stomach in third grade."

"To be fair, I still remember you punching Yule in the stomach in third grade," Holly replied with a smile.

"Okay, a, he deserved it, and b, you were actually there! Not like your dad, who found out about it through his Santa magic and to this day gives me a look every time he sees me."