A FAMILY CHRISTMAS TERROR
“Oh, yuck!” Nancy said. “Didn’t Aunt Jeannie buy Francie an Elf on the Shelf? I’ll never get my kids one now. If I ever have any, that is. Ick!”
“I thought it was cool,” Nick said. “Aaaand... “He waved his finger around his sister’s nose.
She slapped his hand away. “Aaaand, what? Aaaand you’re a dork.” She poked him in the gut.
“Hey, that’s not nice,” Nick said, belching and rubbing his stomach.
“God, you’re disgusting,” Nancy said, turning away.
“Anyway... aaaand... I got rid of my hiccups. Which means now I get to read.” He grabbed the book from Jack. “I don’t know what it is about this book, but I can’t wait to read the next story.” He flipped to the next story. “Then again, maybe it’s all the coffee I’ve had.”
“Or the brandy,” Jack added.
“Actually... I kind of feel like that too—as much as I don’t want to agree with him. About the stories, I mean,” Nancy said.
Judy made busy cleaning up some doughnut crumbs. Grandpa looked pensive.
Dan said, “Go ahead, read the next one. What’s it called?”
“Oh! We know this one,” Nick said. “’Twas the Night Before...”
“I have a feeling it’s not the poem we know,” Judy said. “But go ahead.”