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Will lined up the cups and began preparing our drinks.

“If you get some downtime,” Mom said, “you should come watch the movie with us.”

“Yeah, that would be fun,” Will said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

“The movie is scary sometimes,” Harris said. “The Grinch is very mean and he has a dog.”

“I’ll try to be brave,” Will said, fitting lids on our cups.

“Is the Grinch mean because he has a dog?” Fiona asked.

“No!” Harris objected. “The dog keeps his heart alive until it can grow.”

I looked at Harris. That was never said in the movie, but that was obviously his interpretation of events. “Maybe we need a dog, Mom,” I said. “For my withering heart.”

“You can borrow mine,” Will said, handing me a drink.

His sincerity at my joke caught me off guard. “Your heart?” I asked.

“My dog,” he clarified.

I accepted the drink from him, words eluding me.

“Aw. You have a dog?” my mom asked him in a singsong voice.

“A Lab mix,” Will said. “She’s the cutest.”

“That’s precious.” Mom picked up her drink and Marcus’s. Harris and Fiona got theirs. “Hopefully we’ll see you soon.”

As we walked away, Fiona held me back by my arm. “Does the elf have a crush on you?” she whispered.

“He just said I have a withering heart. Pretty sure he doesn’t.”

“You said you have a withering heart.”

“And he didn’t disagree. Told me he could cure it with his dog.”

“Well, his flirting didn’t land, but it was definitely flirting.”

I shook my head. “I came over here to prove there was nothing there, not that there was. My mom loves him.”

“Yes, she seems to.”

“I’m screwed.”

“You are.”

The lights dimmed. Fiona handed me her drink to hold, quickly freed her chair, and set it up next to mine.

I sat beside her, trying to hand her back her cocoa, but she was messing with her phone.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Wait for it,” she said.

I furrowed my brow and then glanced up at the screen where the movie was starting. The opening production company images were shining back at us. “What am I waiting for?” I whispered.

She smirked, and the screen went dark for a moment before an image took over. A large hand-drawn picture of a Christmas tree with eyes and a cheesy smile. Presents of different sizes sat beneath its branches. At the top of the picture were the words: YOUR TREES ARE SO BIG YET YOU GIVE SO LITTLE. At the bottom was a fake company name: SEASON’S GREEDINGS.