AllFreeNovel
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“I was in the mall for days. I never saw you.”
“Oh, I’ve been hanging out all over the place.”I evaded.
I waited for the person to respond, but they never did. The mall lights went on, which was my cue to get cleaned up. I turned the cell off, tossed it in my purse, and crawled out of hiding.
“Morning, Paige,” Kim called out. “Come see me on your break.”
“I’ll come over when Sherry gets here,” I called back, still in motion to the food court.
Ten minutes in and out was a record, but it was a Saturday, so we were going to have morning customers. I was hoping the ads the new owners put out would help. That, and the new trees.
“Hey, Paige, I’ll bet you like those new trees they brought in.” Toby walked next to me. “The decorations on them are so pretty.”
“Yes, someone did a great job,” I smirked. “I was wondering when they’re gonna do the big tree?”
“No idea, but the owner sent everyone home early yesterday due to the snowstorm.” Toby stopped at the counter of the workshop. “Well, looks like you have customers already. See you later.”
“Bye, Toby.” I smiled and waved. “Hey, Santa. Glad you made it on time.”
“Aren’t you funny? Be glad I’m here at all in that snow,” Santa complained. “Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas.”
The morning went by faster than usual. Sherry strolled in around ten-thirty instead of ten, but I’d been able to handle the line of people myself.
“I’m gonna take a quick break while the line is gone.” I grabbed my purse and went to the jewelry store. “Kim, I only have a few minutes. What time tonight?”
“I get off at nine. You wanna ride in my car?” Kim asked. “We both have to be back here in the morning.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. You’re okay with me staying overnight?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun.” Kim waved in a customer. “Sorry, gotta go. Meet me tonight at the front entrance.”
I gave her a thumbs up from the doorway and waved. I saw Brad waving me over. He just wanted to give me a bag of food.
“I’ll see you tonight after closing.” Brad grinned proudly. “Save me a few candy canes.”
The rest of the day went pretty much as expected in a mall not doing great. There was a slow, but steady, amount of customers. I’d had my eyes on a few more large boxes that had been delivered. Around eight-thirty I could see Kim in the jewelry store already locking up. Around eight-fifty Santa had already removed his Santa suit and was back in his street clothes.
“See you tomorrow,” he said. “Be careful driving.”
Since Santa was gone, I could go ahead and close up. I crawled inside the workshop, grabbed my sweats, and pulled them on over the elf outfit. My jacket was old, but it did the job. At nine on the dot I clicked off the camera and stood in front of the jewelry store. Kim was as eager as I was to get going. Forty minutes later, we sat snuggled on opposite ends of the couch with the bowl of popcorn between us.
“Tell me about your boyfriend,” I asked. “How long have you been dating?”
“We’ve been together for three years. My parents are going nuts that he hasn’t proposed yet.” Kim pulled a blanket over her. “I’m not in a hurry, but it would be nice to at least know he’s in it for the whole thing.”
“I get it, but you guys are young. Don’t rush it.” I grabbed a blanket for myself. “Where are your roommates tonight?”
“They had some big family cruise to go on,” Kim shrugged. “They’ll be back next week. I’m enjoying the place to myself.”
“Really, I think I would hate the silence.” I looked around at the big apartment. “You scared to be here alone?”
“Nah, but if you wanted to stay here tomorrow night, too, I would be really happy,” Kim said. “Okay, you caught me. I don’t like living alone.”
“It’s fine. I’d be happy to stay here with you tomorrow night.” I did a happy dance in my head. “I need to get some laundry done and really need a shower.”
“Do what you need to do. I’m gonna go call my boyfriend.” Kim stood from the couch. “You can take one of the bedrooms or the couch.”
“I’ll crash on the couch. I like pancakes for breakfast,” I laughed. “Sharply, at eight a.m.”
