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Charlie stopped by to steal a handful of candy canes. “Mrs. Hawthorne said to order dinner before the food court closes. She will be paying for it.”
“That’s really nice of her. Are you guys staying in the mall tonight or leaving?” I asked, hoping they were staying.
“We have a hotel room, but we have work to do. So, we’ll be staying. Why don’t we meet by the fireplace and eat dinner together?”
“I’d love that. It gets lonely being by myself all the time.” I cleared my throat. “Are you guys part of the Hawthorne family?”
“You could say they adopted us, too.” Charlie winked and walked off, munching on candy canes.
“Hey, should I get food for you guys, too?” I called out to him.
“Sure. We eat a lot, so get everything,” he called back, then continued on his way.
I hurried over to the food court and ordered food from several restaurants. I didn’t know what the guys liked, so I got half the menu at each place. It was really thoughtful of Victoria to think of something as minor as dinner. Brad waved for me to come get the bag of leftovers. I took it because I didn’t want him to feel bad. Besides, the guys would eat it. I, for one, was excited to be eating something other than old burgers. I wanted to thank Victoria myself, so I searched in my purse and found her card.
“Mrs. Hawthorne, this is Paige. I wanted to thank you for thinking of me for dinner.”I texted..
“My dear, you are very welcome. Enjoy the fireplace in peace tonight, without having to hide out.”
“I heard about the workshop being open for the party. Thank you for thinking of a way for me to observe.”
“You are welcome. You will soon see our family is pretty special.”
“See you tomorrow night.”
I collected all the food and carried two trays at a time until I had all the food over by the fireplace, then ran back over and got hot chocolate for all of us.I sat excitedly waiting for the guys tojoin me. Toby walked by and sat for a few minutes.
“I get to go home tonight instead of sleeping in the security office,” Toby said, accepting the hot chocolate I’d gotten for him. “Those big guys are doing night security, so you may have to leave sooner.”
“That doesn’t seem fair, to make you lose money,” I frowned.
“I’m getting full pay. The one named Gunner said I should rest up tonight because I’ll have a lot to do for the party.” Toby sipped on his hot chocolate. “My dog will be happy. Well, the last employees are gone, except you. Here comes Gunner and the others. Do you want me to walk you to your car?”
“I’m gonna eat my food then head out. You get going before the storm gets worse.” I waved when he walked off.
“I heard there was a magical elf out here with food for all of us,” Gunner smiled. “You certainly got a lot.”
“Charlie said you guys eat a lot. You can pick what you want first. I’ll eat whatever is left.” I started taking food out.
“No, tonight you choose,” Charlie stopped me. “I believe you’ve been eating old burgers for a bit.”
I grabbed a slice of pizza and a garlic bread, then waited while they chose. We all sat in silence, eating and watching the fire, until I spoke.
“What’s with the stuff delivered today?” I asked. “I see tables and chairs. I heard there is a party here tomorrow night. What else is there, like in those boxes?”
“We’re gonna set this event up tonight. The decorators can’t get here.” Charlie stood and flipped open a pocketknife. “Come on, Red, let’s see what’s in the boxes.”
We spent the next four hours setting up tables and chairs. The mystery of the boxes revealed centerpieces that had to be put together. I’d put the Christmas music on at the workshop and laughed harder than I had in years watching these monster men dance and sing along. Charlie finished the last table set-up, then stretched out on the couch. The other guys had gone ten minutes before, which left me and Gunner. I spun in circles, looking at how pretty it was.
“Thank you for allowing me to help tonight. It was so much fun.” I grabbed his arm at the elbow. “I guess you know by now I did the trees.”
“What? Are you telling me it wasn’t a magical elf?”
“Elf, yes, just not magical. How did you know I did it? There weren’t any cameras.”
“Like I said, all you have to do is pay attention.” Gunner patted my hand. “I’m off to get some sleep. You make sure you’re locked in the back office once you get in there.”
“First, I’m gonna steam the whole room up in that shower.”
