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“No Rudolph?” Mary asked.
I pulled the nose from my jacket pocket. “I couldn’t get either of them to wear the nose.”
Mary laughed. “Only in Chance Rapids.”
Santa held out his gloved hand. “M’lady, may I help you to our sleigh?”
Mary’s face turned redder than her costume and she coyly held out her hand. The way those two were looking at each other, I hoped that there wouldn’t be a Santa and Mrs. Claus make-out session halfway through the parade.
Cymbals crashed and the band started to play Jingle Bells and we were off. Freddie’s idea with the hats, combined with a pocket full of carrots kept Simon and Dave in line. Freddie waved and pointed at the crowd as we made our way down Main Street, shouting names and tossing candy canes.
“Do you know everyone in town? Like every single person?” I asked.
“Yep.” Freddie smiled and continued waving like a celebrity on the red carpet. Simon looked proud to be walking next to him and the crowd erupted into cheers when they saw Santa’s Reindeer. Dave strolled slightly behind me and nudged me every time he wanted a carrot. I only had one candy cane left in my pocket and I was saving it for one person.
I saw my mom first. Henri was standing next to her, snapping photos of the parade with her cell phone. She was waving and smiling and I think that she saw Dave’s ridiculous antlers before she saw me, because she clapped her hand over her mouth.
“Freddie, can you hold onto Dave for a second?” I didn’t wait for him to agree and thrust the reins into his glove. I darted across the street and ran up to Henri. “I was saving this for you.” I held out the candy cane, which had snapped and no longer resembled a cane shape, it looked more like a man who couldn’t perform in the bedroom shape.
Henri took the candy cane and smiled. “Thank you.”
I kissed her on the cheek.
“What about mine, Mister?” Mom planted her hands on her hips and put on a fake pout.
“Jack!” Freddie shouted and tossed me an extra candy cane.
“Here you go Mom.” I put it in her hand and laid a kiss on her cheek too. I pointed to the parade with my thumb, “I’ve gotta go before someone’s grandpa gets knocked over.”
“What?” Henri’s brow furrowed.
“It’s…never mind. Henri…” I squeezed her hand. “Meet me at the G-Spot when the parade is over.”
Henri’s brow furrowed even deeper. “Pardon me?” she whispered, her eyes searching mine and that’s when I realized she’d never heard the nickname before.
“Jack!” Freddie yelled. Dave had stopped walking and was holding up Santa and Mrs. Claus’s float.
Mom waved me away and then grabbed Henri’s forearm. “It’s okay Jack. I’ll let her know where the G-Spot is.”
“That’s not what it sounds like,” I shouted, as I ran back to my position with my carrot in hand, wondering how a completely innocent conversation with my mom and the girl of my dreams had turned x-rated.
Freddie handed me the reins. “Sorry I didn’t know what to do.”
“That’s alright.” I lured Dave forward with a carrot. “You’ll never believe the conversation I just had.”
“If your face is any indicator, it was red hot.”
We toddled on, waving and dispensing carrots all the way down Main Street. “My…” I didn’t know what to call Henri. “That girl back there…”
“Henri.” Freddie filled in. “I was there last night. I saw you two on the dance floor and then you were gone.” He gave me a devilish wink. “You work fast my friend.”
“It’s not like that.”
“I know.”
We were at a bottleneck and the parade was at a stand-still. The band had a three-song repertoire and we were on the ninth rendition of Silent Night. “What do you mean, you know?”
Freddie shrugged. “It was obvious that there’s something special between you two. Charlotte thinks so too.”
