#Naughty or # Nice (The Holidaze Book 1)

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

It was later on the afternoon of Christmas Day before her family, especially Mia, would allow Meri any alone time with Sander. Instead of driving to her house, Meri walked down to the edge of the lake near her parents house.

"How do you stand this heat?" Sander asked as he stared around him at all of the greenery and the thawed lake.

Meri smiled at him as he plucked at his collar, "I grew up with this heat. It's why I froze at Santa's Village. I've adapted to the heat and the humidity. This is what Australia is like in the summer. There's no snow at Christmas for us, just blazing heat," Meri waved a hand at the cheery sunshine. "Now I want you to answer why you only have one day here. If the rush has ended surely you can stay longer."

"It has to do with the wooden wish," Sander replied with a sigh.

"How would spending a day with me have to do with how you got here," Meri puzzled over his odd reply.

"Once you're out of the wooden phase, you have a day to convince your partner of choice to be yours until the end of your days," Sander replied, and Meri paused in her walking out on the jetty that stretched its arm over the lake.

"Okay, exactly what does that mean?" Meri asked.

"There have been moments where the time the person spent in wood made them realise that they chose the wrong partner. It can go the other way and the unwooded one decided that they made the wrong choice. It's why a single day offers the chance for decisions and choices that may have changed to come to a head.

"For you I know the decision will be much harder. You will give up this thawed world to find yourself encased in cold snow and ice for the rest of your life. It's not an easy choice and I know that."

Meri's mind boggled with all that he had said. She stared at him wide eyed and she struggled to catch a breath. His words shocked her and befuddled her mind.

"Are you saying that once I choose Santa's Village that I can never come home to see my family and friends?" Meri asked aghast.

"You can come back here whenever you want. It's the odd time lag between the our dimensions that will make it difficult. Judging the time difference is quite impossible. Some days there are mere minutes between our times and others can be more than a day. You've already experienced that when you returned here. Time jumps around and there's no consistency," Sander explained.

"Oh, I see."

"That's why I need you to think about it. A life at Santa's Village with me means sporadic time with those you're close to here. I don't want to take you from the life you know and love."

Meri sat down on the end of the jetty and dangled her legs over the edge. She peered down into the water and considered the reality of this situation. Staying here meant that she lost her opportunity to spend her life with Sander. Going meant less time with her family and friends. Who would console Mia through her many disastrous dates?

"The Match-o-Matic said we were right for each other. Why would it match us when we have to give up important things in our lives to stay together? It doesn't seem fair," Meri said when Sander sat down beside her.

"The Match-a-Matic matches couples who are compatible. It doesn't take into consideration anything else. If the couples will have a happy life together it matches them together. It's job isn't to work out the couples living arrangements."

Meri released a breath and tried to think through what she'd heard. She tried hard to ignore the heartache that swirled beneath her ribs.

"Is there any way I can communicate from Santa's Village to here? Can I use my phone like I would in another country?" Meri pulled her phone from her pocket and showed it to Sander.