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“I earned my angel wings putting up with you, Ash.“ Lex winked. “I guess I owe you.”
We’d been munching on the pile of snacks we brought into the office with us for the long night of elf watch. Doing this reminded me of the escapades August and I use to get into. Doing the twin switch thing was always a lot of fun, too.
“Have you heard from your cell phone,” Lex laughed. “Now you’ve got me pretending it’s actually your cell messaging you.”
“It’s weird and fun at the same time, isn’t it?” I chugged my iced tea. “Alright, it’s time to walk the mall and see if anything is happening.”
“Do we need flashlights or anything?” Alexandra asked. “Let’s take our shoes off so we don’t make any noise.”
“What if I have holes in my socks?” I joked.
“Oh, stop it. I know your house manager buys you new socks, among other things, every month.” Alexandra tied her hair up in a ponytail. “Let’s go, get the shoes off.”
It was only midnight. I didn’t think anything was going on yet, but I was having a good time, so I thought I’d play along. I’d had my eye on the camera screens for the last two hours, especially on the boxes with the tree decorations. Nothing was happening.
“Where did you say you saw the elf the first time?” Alexandra asked. “Before we go out, show me the footage where you caught it on camera so I know what I’m looking for.”
“You’re looking for an elf, silly, but come over here and I’ll show you.” I fast-forwarded the film to the spot. “See for yourself.”
“Holy cow, it is an elf.” She bounced up and down. “That looks like the food court. Let’s go there and look.”
We patted our way to the food court in our socks. The lights were down, just like the night I saw the elf. We quietly walked by each vendor and peeked behind the counters. Naturally, we didn’t see anything, but Lex was having a good time.
“If you don’t stop the giggling, the elf will never come out.” I put my hand over her mouth. “Someone is coming, get behind the counter.”
I desperately wanted to jump up and yell “I caught you!” but, if it was a person, they could be dangerous. And if it was, in fact, a magical elf, it could be dangerous. Lex buried her face in her shirt, trying to be quiet and squeezing my arm. We were almost found out when my cell started buzzing. I could hear the footsteps getting closer. Then, they stopped and went in the other direction.
“That was awesome. Who was that?” Alexandra crawled to the edge of the counter and looked around. “Whoever it was is gone.”
“Let’s get back to the office and check the monitors.” I pulled her to her feet. “I really thought the tree would get magically decorated again. I’m a little bummed.”
“Nah, it’s still early. Real magic happens in the wee hours.” She ran and slid on her socks. “Nice floors. Remember when we did this in Paris at your family’s hotel?”
“I remember cameras catching us and another meeting with my mother,” I laughed. “I’d do it again any day, though.”
We anxiously went through the film, only to find out that the elf we thought we caught was, in fact, Toby. We settled in on the floor for a long night. We spent the next two hours sharing stories of our many adventures. The way she told it, I was obnoxiously shallow. It wasn’t how I remembered it, but it was interesting to hear.
I was nothing but a shallow partier. How did anyone stand me?
“I like the long hair.” Lex threw her empty cup at me, startling me out of my own head. “I’ll bet the family doesn’t like it.”
“I have to hear it every time we get together, but I like it.” I leaned my head against the wall. “I’m keeping it.”
“It looks good on you.” She laid back on the floor. “I think I’m getting too old to do this all-night thing. Either that, or I need alcohol.”
“I’m glad there’s no alcohol. I’m learning all kinds of things about myself.” I laid down on the floor next to her. “You’re falling asleep. Keep talking.”
The next thing I remember was the morning security guy coming into the office playing music on his cell phone. I nudged Lex’s shoulder to wake her up then stretched. I looked over to the monitor to see the tree decorated.
“Lex, wake up! Look!” I jumped up and started rewinding the film. “We fell asleep, but look.”
Right in front of us, caught on camera, was an elf of some kind up on a ladder decorating the tree. I had mostly only seen legs the other times, so I had no idea the elf was wearing a sweatsuit with the pants pushed up, showing off the elf stockings.
Is that a fashion statement or what?
“I can’t tell if that’s a male or a female, but… Oh my gosh, Ash,” Lex shouldered me. “If we had stayed awake, we could have caught this elf and confronted it.”
“Well, Gunner will be back today, and I feel confident that his team will catch this elf by morning,” I assured her. “Come on, let’s go eat, then you need to get home to your husband.”
