It was so cold, his breath came out in frosty clouds, and he shivered a little as he walked out to the garbage area in back of the mall. One of the industrial-sized dumpsters was already open, and he smiled as he tossed the roll of red foil paper into the bin. He’d decided who Santa should punish first, and that made him feel good. Now all he had to do was come up with a perfect method.
He’d liked her at first, until he’d found out that she’d driven out to the farm last fall, and sweet-talked his grandfather into debt. She’d been canvassing the area to raise money for a children’s play area, and she’d talked his poor, confused grandfather into signing a pledge on the installment plan.
Gramps wasn’t to blame. He’d had no idea what he was signing or what it would end up costing him. He’d forgotten that he’d signed the pledge, and when the bills had come, he’d torn them up and thrown them in the trash. The whole thing had been turned over to a collection agency, and the interest on the money had grown fast. The final bill had come to almost a thousand dollars, and it had been taken out of the estate by the probate judge.
She was totally oblivious to the bad thing she’d done, but that didn’t matter. The net result was still the same. She’d cheated him out of money that should have been his, and it had gone to the very mall that had robbed him of his land.
His hands were clenched into fists, as he turned to walk back inside the mall. She’d been very bad, taking advantage of Gramps. She definitely deserved to be punished, and Santa would just have to do it.
“That didn’t take as long as I thought.” Jay smiled at Diana as she handed him the last of the gift-wrapped packages. “Are you sure you wrapped them all?”
Diana nodded. “Three hundred and one boxes. I counted them as I brought them out.”
“Three hundred and one?” Jay looked puzzled as he placed the last of the packages under the huge Christmas tree. “Where did the extra one come from?”
“We found it under the counter, already wrapped and tagged. I guess somebody got an early start.”
“But there were only three hundred boxes. I was here when the shipment came in. I wish we could find that extra box to check it.”
“Why?” Diana was puzzled.
“It might be a phony. Someone could have used an empty box to demonstrate how to wrap a package.”
Diana looked worried. “I hope not! It’d be a real shame if we passed out the presents tomorrow night, and one of the kids got an empty box.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Jay nodded. “Do you think we could tell which one it is by the weight?”
“That won’t work. Those stuffed frogs are really light. But don’t worry, Jay. I can find it. I remember carrying it out with the first load, and it’s different from all the others. It’s wrapped in red foil paper with a green ribbon.”
It took almost a half-hour to find the package. They were all stacked up around the tree, and the red foil package was at the bottom of one of the stacks. Diana was the one to spot it, and she sat down on the floor at the base of the Christmas tree to pull it out. “Here it is! Do you want to open it?”
“You can do it. You found it.”
As Diana examined the box, Jay sat down next to her. It was romantic, huddled down here, under the huge Christmas tree, with the scent of pine surrounding them. Someone had turned on the lights to test them, and the tinsel shimmered as it reflected the multi-colored bulbs.
“It’s pretty down here, isn’t it?” Jay’s voice was hushed.
Diana nodded and she felt her heart beat faster, as Jay pulled off a piece of tinsel and wove it into her hair.
“I used to crawl under the Christmas tree when I was a little kid. I loved to look up at all the lights. I remember falling asleep under there once, and my father had to pick me up and carry me to bed.”
Diana’s heart beat even faster. She’d done the same thing, with one difference. Her mother had been the one to carry her up to bed. She turned to Jay and smiled. “I used to think that Christmas was magic. And I didn’t understand why we couldn’t leave the tree up all year long.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me.” Jay reached out for another piece of tinsel and wove that one in, too. “Maybe we ought to start a tradition. We could buy a live tree in an enormous pot, and decorate it for every season.”
Diana nodded. “We could put on red velvet hearts for Valentine’s Day, and little flags for the Fourth of July. How about Easter? Would we have bunnies?”
“That would work. And we could mix in some of those fancy hand-painted eggs. There’d be Shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, and a whole tree full of ghosts and goblins and jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween.”
“Bat,” Diana reminded him. “You forgot the witches and the bats. But how about Thanksgiving? I’m not sure I want a tree full of turkeys.”
Jay nodded and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “You’ve got a point. But we could string cranberries into garlands, and drape them over the tree. And we could drill holes in walnuts and hang them from the branches like ornaments. There’s only one holiday that’s really got me stumped.”
“What’s that?” Diana snuggled a little closer. It felt good to be hugged.
“New Year’s Eve.”
“Oh.” Diana’s mind spun in circles. What could they use for New Year’s Eve? Party hats were too big, and champagne bottles were too heavy. Then she thought of it and she began to grin. “We’ll sprinkle the whole tree with confetti and hang party favors from all the branches. We’ll get some little silver horns, and wind-up noise makers, and long curly streamers made out of colored paper. It’ll look great! And when we have our New Year’s Eve party, everyone can grab something to use from the tree!”
Jay hugged her even closer and bent down to kiss the tip of her nose. “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard! Does that mean we’re all set for New Year’s Eve?”
“Uh . . . New Year’s Eve?” Diana tried not to look shocked. What had she said?
“The party. With the tree,” Jay reminded her. “We’ll set it up in the living room of my apartment, and invite everybody we know. You don’t have other plans for New Year’s Eve, do you?”
“Uh . . . no, not exactly.” Jay raised his eyebrows, and Diana swallowed hard. She didn’t really want to tell him what she’d planned for New Year’s Eve, but some instinct made her blurt it out. “I always watch the Times Square celebration on television.”
Jay smiled and gave her another hug. “No problem. We’ll do that, too. Our party’ll be lots of fun, Di. You’ll see.”
“Yes. It will be.” Diana smiled, but she had her doubts. Jay said they’d ask everyone they knew, and that included Heather. It was a little strange, planning a party, and not knowing whether she was going to be Jay’s date, or not. But rather than bring up that question right now, she glanced down at the box on the floor. “Shall I open this now?”
Jay nodded, and Diana picked up the box. It was a good wrapping job, and the package was even tagged. She opened the little gold foil folder to look inside, but it didn’t say “From The Crossroads Mall,” like all the other ones they’d wrapped.
“What’s the matter?” Jay noticed her worried expression.
“This box has a different tag.” Diana turned the box around so Jay could see. The tag read, “TO SUE, FROM SANTA.” “Do you think it’s a package for Sue Langer?”
“Did I hear my name?” Jay and Diana looked up to see Sue standing by the tree. She was staring at them with an amused smile on her face. “You two look like you’ve been decorated, instead of the tree.”
Diana blushed, and scrambled to her feet. “I know. We’ve been crawling around, looking for this package. It’s an extra one and we were afraid it was empty, but then we noticed that it’s got your name on it.”
“My name?” Sue took the package and rattled it. “It sounds empty, but maybe . . . oh, my God!”
Jay and Diana stared at Sue in confusion as she began to blush. She looked excited and embarrassed at the same time.
“What is it, Sue?” Jay looked curious.
“Well . . . I think it might be a surprise package from Ronnie.”
Diana nodded. Ronnie Knollwood had been dating Sue for the past three years, and everyone could tell they were wild about each other. “Don’t keep us in suspense, Sue . . . open it.”
“I would, but I don’t think Ron wanted me to get it until tomorrow night. He’s meeting me here, and then we’re going out to celebrate our third anniversary. I met him at the Christmas dance, when I was a freshman.”
“Do you think it’s an engagement ring?” Jay raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t know. It’s too big for a ring box, but Ronnie loves to surprise me. He could have put the ring box inside a bigger box to fool me.”
“Are you going to wait until tomorrow night to open it?” Jay looked disappointed.
“That would be torture.” Sue turned to Diana. “Do you think we can rewrap this, if I’m really careful when I open it?”
Diana nodded. “Sure. Ronnie’ll never know the difference. Go ahead, Sue. I’m dying to know!”
“All right, but you two can’t tell anyone. I want Ronnie to think I’m surprised.”
“It’s a deal.” Jay nodded. “Let’s get back under the tree and open it, just in case somebody else comes along.”
Diana noticed that Sue’s fingers were trembling slightly when she opened the package, but she managed to slit the tape neatly with her fingernail and keep the foil paper in one piece. Then she lifted the lid of the white cardboard box, and frowned as she looked inside. “It’s empty!”
“Are you sure?” Diana leaned over to peer inside the box, which was lined with tissue paper. She spotted a folded piece of paper, and pulled it out. “Here, Sue. It must be a note from Ronnie.”
Sue unfolded the paper, but she looked very puzzled as she read the words that were written inside. “It says, You better watch out; you better not cry. And it’s not Ronnie’s writing. What does it mean?”
“I don’t know.” Jay looked just as puzzled as Sue. “That’s a weird thing to write in a note.”
“Listen to that!” Diana hushed them as “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” started to play over the loudspeaker. “Those are the words in the note!”
After the first verse had finished playing, Jay nodded. “You’re right. But why would anyone write down part of the lyrics and wrap them up a box?”
“Especially those lyrics.” Sue looked worried. “You better watch out? You better not cry? That’s kind of scary.”
Jay slipped his arm around Sue’s shoulder and gave her a little hug. “Relax, Sue. It’s obvious the package wasn’t meant for you. It’s probably a joke for someone else named Sue.”
“That must be it.” Sue slid out from under the tree and stood up. Then she leaned down to grin at them. “You two look cute under there.”
After Sue had left, Jay draped a friendly arm around Diana’s shoulders. “She called us cute. Nobody’s called me cute since I was four years old.”
“But you are cute.” Diana giggled, and tossed some tinsel at him.
“No, I’m not.” Jay picked up a strand of tinsel and wound it around his finger like a ring. “I’m handsome. My mother told me I was.”
“But doesn’t your mother wear glasses?”
They were both laughing, when they heard footsteps approach. Then someone called out, “Hello? What’s going on under there?!”
Diana froze as she recognized Heather’s voice. She turned to Jay with a worried expression, but he just grinned. A second later, Heather’s arm shoved aside a low-hanging branch, and her face appeared in the gap it had left. There was a very shocked expression on her face as she stared at them.
“Hi, Heather.” Jay grinned even wider. “We’re just checking out the tags on the packages. Care to join us?”
Heather put a smile on her face as she turned to Jay. “No, thanks. I have to get ready. The Night News team is coming out to do a whole segment on me. Why don’t you meet me when I’m through, and we’ll catch a bite to eat?”
“I can’t, Heather. I already took my break.”
Heather shrugged. “After work, then. I really need to talk to you.”
“Sorry, but I’ve got other plans.”
Jay was still grinning, and Diana noticed that he didn’t look the least bit sorry. Was he finally over Heather?
“Okay. Catch you later.” Heather turned to Diana. “Sue wants you in costume. You’d better get over there right away.”
Diana was frowning as Heather left. She’d been fitted for her elf costume hours ago, and Sue hadn’t said a word about needing her when she’d been here. Diana suspected that Heather was just making up an excuse to get her away from Jay, but it wouldn’t hurt to check.
“I guess I’d better go.” Diana started to move out from under the tree, but Jay slid out first, and offered her his hand. He pulled her to her feet and dusted the tinsel off her hair.
“Did you drive out here with Cindy?”
Diana nodded. “We came in her car. Mine’s in the shop . . . again.”
“Tell Cindy to meet me at Embers when we’re through. I’ll buy you both a burger.”
“Okay,” Diana agreed quickly. She loved the burgers at Embers. But then she remembered what Jay had told Heather, and she frowned. “I thought you had plans after work.”
“I do. I’m meeting you at Embers.”
Jay was grinning as he walked away. So was Diana, as she hurried off in the opposite direction. Then Diana remembered the expression in Heather’s eyes, and her smile faded quickly. Heather had lots of influence at the college, and she was a dangerous enemy.
Diana shivered and walked a little faster. When Heather had found them sitting under the Christmas tree, she’d stared at Diana as if she’d been a bug she wanted to crush. What would Heather do when she found out about the New Year’s Eve party that Diana was hosting with Jay?