Chapter 11

(Lux)

Drifting into fun territory

Seeing the way his eyes had lit up over every little thing had filled my heart with joy. He took his time to show his appreciation and bask in each new thing I unveiled, a rare trait in my dating experience. Now, as I drew the blankets up around him and kissed him and Minty on the forehead, yes, he had named it that quickly, I got ready to read him the book I’d found at the grocery store when I’d been shopping. Aside from the outfit, which I’d spotted in the window of the boutique when I was walking past it, everything had been found among the aisles of the local Food Mart. There was something to be said for one stop shopping, from candles to stuffed animals, to the ingredients of our meal, I’d just had to walk a few aisles over and there was a new possibility. Something told me that I was going to make a fun habit of planning our evenings together based on what I discovered in those aisles.

He wiggled over to make room for me to lay beside him, snuggling up with his head on my shoulder so he could see the pictures while I read.

“Once upon a time, in the frozen north of Santa’s village, there lived an elf named Eddy. Now Eddy the elf worked in the mailroom and he hated it. Every day there were more letters and more packages, mounds and mounds of them, to be sorted. While outside, everything sparkled with snow and lights and magic, inside, there were just piles of flat envelopes and boxes as far as the eye could see.”

“Looks, they even blot out the windows,” he pointed out, fingertips caressing the pages where the hint of a window frame with snow in the corner, stuck out from behind a pile of brightly wrapped boxes.

“Yup.”

“Eddy looks sad.”

I peered down at where he pointed at the elf, who glared out from the page with his hands on his hips and one foot poised like he’d been tapping it on the floor.

“More like pissed off and about to go on strike.”

“Maybe he should hire more help,” River suggested.

“Or go on an extended vacation until the holidays are over.”

“That’s what I would do,” River said, then gasped as he moved his finger over the page to show me a new discovery. “Ohh look, penguins! I guess he does have helpers.”

His keen eyes had spotted a trio of overburdened penguins in knit caps with pom-poms on top, struggling beneath a sack with envelopes poking out through the opening.

“And they look like they need a raise.”

“Eddy better keep the sardines handy.”

“I thought seals ate those?” I pondered.

“Pretty sure penguins do too.”

“Fair enough.”

“I hope the book gets better for Eddy,” River said.

“Me too,” I said as I turned the page. “I guess we’re about to find out.”

“Unlike many of the other elves who lived in Santa’s village, Eddy had never been any good at making toys,” I read. “Whenever he tried, he’d struggled to fit the pieces together in the correct order, even with instructions. When the toys on his workbench had failed to turn out looking like the ones the other elves made, Eddy had been sent to work in the mailroom, where all he had to do was put the envelopes in the right mail slots and sort the packages into carts for the elves who delivered them.”

“Awe, maybe they should have shown him how to make them, instead,” River said, his boys compassionate side shining through. “Not everyone can follow instructions, especially if the pictures are too small or some of the parts look too similar.”

“Right?” I said. “I made the mistake of getting a bunch of furniture from IKEA when I got my first apartment and holy shit, it took me days to build a bookcase shelf and when I did get it finished, there were seven pieces left over. I was too scared to use it without them, so I had to take the damn thing apart and figure out where they went.”

“Did you?”

“Yes, after two more tries.”

“I hope it got easier after that.”

“It might have, if I’d bought more like it, but none of the pieces I’d purchased were duplicates, which meant that I got to start the process of trial and error all over again with each new project.”

“How long before you finished them all?”

“ I didn’t,” I admitted. “I cooked up a storm and begged Frida to come over and help me, which she did. Cursed me out, too, when she saw just how many things I ordered. By the time we’d finished putting my drawing table together she’d threatened to blend peas into the cake batter the next time she made me a chocolate cake if I ever bought anything at IKEA again.”

“Fair!”

“Yeah, I suppose it was,” I said, chuckling as I turned the page again.

“Eddy was good at sorting,” I read. “But even with so many colorful packages and envelopes, Eddy was bored. You see, Eddy loved sparkles, and he had a very special gift. He could make things shimmer just by touching them. Sparkles made everything fun and the one thing Eddy felt that the mailroom lacked, was fun. And sparkles. There weren’t nearly enough sparkles. So, one day, after Eddy had sorted his six hundredth envelope of the day, he decided that sorting would be a lot more fun if he just sparkled up the envelopes a little.”

“Yey!” River declared as he traced over the light line of glitter edging some of the envelopes on the page. “I love sparkles too. That’s so pretty. Who wouldn’t want to receive something so pretty in the mail.”

“I know I’d love it.”

“Me too,” River said as I turned the page again.

“The sparkles really brightened Eddy’s day, so he added a little more from time to time and every now and again, truly went all out with embellishment on envelopes he found to be particularly plain, like the white ones that weren’t even sealed with stickers.”

“Bleh, you gotta have stickers if you don’t have anything else.”

“I think Eddy agreed, look,” I said as I pointed to an envelope with aqua snowflakes shimmering on it.

River clapped his hands and giggled. “Much better.”

“He’s got sparkles everywhere now,” I said as we took the time to enjoy all the details on the page.

“And he’s smiling! So are the penguins.”

Once again, he’d found them among the packages and envelopes. This time they were standing on large packages with smaller ones in their hands as they carried them to the top of a shimmering pile, their pom-pom hats and little flippers tipped with glitter now too. I turned the page after we’d found all the shimmering envelopes and designs Eddy had added to the envelopes.

“Not everyone in Santa’s village was happy with Eddy’s sparkles,” I read, displaying the photo of a grumpy looking gingerbread man with sparkles stuck to his fingers and gumdrop buttons. “Crumble hated them. They got stuck in his crevices and clung to his frosted nose. Upset by all the glitter, he wrote a note and addressed it to the elf in charge of the mailroom. Does everything have to sparkle so much? The letter asked.”

“Yes, yes it does,” River replied.

When I glanced down, I saw him pouting at the page, which had a great deal less glitter than the previous ones.

“He lives in Santa’s village, he should know that,” River complained. “If he doesn’t like glitter, he can go live in The Grinch’s old cave, since he lives with The Whos in their village now.”

“Too true,” I replied. “I’m sure it could use a good dusting by now.”

“Won’t matter when Crumble would just get crumbs everywhere?” River replied, his beautifully creative mind and that smartass logic of his kicking in, despite the yawns that broke up his words.

“There is that,” I murmured, stroking his hair, pleased that he was enjoying the story. “Let’s see what Eddy’s response was.”

“When Eddy saw Crumble’s letter, he replied back right away, in an envelope more sparkly than any that he’d decorated before,” I read. “ Everything doesn’t have to sparkle so much , Eddy replied, but it should .”

“Go Eddy.”

“With glitter clinging to the silver buttons down his belly, Crumble marched across the village, in search of the head elf, who he soon found spreading frosting on top of a tray of sugar cookies,” I read. “You have to do something about Eddy! Crumble declared. He’s getting sparkles on all the mail in the mail room.”

River stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at the page. “Tattletale!” he hissed.

I chuckled at that, and the petulant look on his face when I glanced down at him.

“Does it brighten your day?” the senior elf asked.

“It’s bright!” Crumble grumbled, stomping his foot and sending flakes of glitter into the air.

“And now look at you,” the head elf pointed out. “You get to carry that shimmer with you everywhere.”

I growled out an annoyed voice for Crumble as I read. “ But I don’t want to shimmer! Crumble complained as he stomped away, leaving a trail of glittery crumbs everywhere.”

“Grouch,” River grumbled.

“ I know what I’ll do , Crumble declared as he marched across the village, pausing along the way to purchase a pitcher of milk at the milk truck.”

“Look at how many kinds they have,” River squealed as he pointed to the list of varieties that were written down the side of the truck. “Chocolate, strawberry, banana cream, cookies and cream, chocolate-fudge, coconut, coffee, ohh, I wanna try coffee. Why have I never heard of coffee milk before?”

“I’ve never heard of it either but now that I have, I want some.”

“If anyone will know where to get syrup from, Maddox would,” River pointed out.

“Then we’ll have to ask him to see if he can find some, won’t we.”

“Yes please.”

I made a mental note to shoot him a text once River fell asleep, so I wouldn’t forget. I was glad we’d exchanged phone numbers, his insistence, since I hadn’t thought about it until he’d pointed out River and Haven’s tendency to put their phones on Do Not Disturb when they were engrossed in something. They forget to take the same thing off when they’re finished with whatever they didn’t want to be disturbed while they’re doing. I hadn’t told him that I had the same habit, though I’d been tempted to. I doubted it would inspire much confidence, though, so I’d kept mum, figuring that he’d discover that about me soon enough, since I had every intention of being in River’s life for a long time to come. Hell, the vacation we were planning was a big step for any couple. I was already excited about the prospect of having alone time together someplace where we’d be on natural ground, exploring, discovering and creating together as we took in all the sites and the surprises I knew a city like that would have in store for us. Knowing myself the way I did, I’d be up and poking around websites hunting up ideas the moment I awoke in the morning, despite knowing that we had months to get things planned out before we left.

“Let’s see what crumble intends to do with that milk,” I said as I turned the page.

“I think I know.”

“Oh yeah, and what do you think he’d got planned?”

“He’s gonna try to wash off all the sparkles and probably melt himself in the process, like the Wicked Witch, but with milk instead of water.”

“I bet that’ll make a mess.”

“Now I feel bad for the elf that has to clean it,” River remarked, then hummed a little. “Or maybe they’ll just let the kitties lap it all up.”

“I don’t think there are any kitties in Santa’s village.”

“Kitties are everywhere,” he declared with a kind of firmness and finality I wasn’t about to try to argue with.

“Let’s see if you’re right about his plan for the milk,” I declared instead, turning the page to reveal Crumble dipping his litters in the pitcher.

“ There, now that got the sparkles off , Crumble declared as he lifted the letter from the pitcher. But when he opened it, the letter was soggy, and the words were smeared. “ How am I supposed to read this? Worse, when he looked down, Crumble saw that there were sparkles floating in the milk. “ My letter is ruined, and my milk is undrinkable.”

“Isn’t it pretty though, dear?” a sweet, grandmother elf asked as she stepped past him into the mailroom, holding the hands of two small elves who smiled and waved glittery gloves at him.

“ That’s it! Crumble declared, carrying the sparkly pitcher of milk, and soggy, but still shimmering envelope, back inside the mailroom, where a grinning Eddy handed small sparkly packages to the little elves while passing a large, glittery covered box to their grandmother.

“ Look, look, it’s so shiny , one of the little elves declared as she held the package up in front of her face, grinning at it while the little elf beside her turned his over and over in his hands, letting the light hit it from every direction.”

“ Yes, isn’t it beautiful? her grandmother asked as she led them past Crumble and back out the door.

“ Hi , Eddy said when Crumble reached the counter.

“I came to talk to you about all the sparkles on everything,” Crumble declared.

“ Aren’t they magical? Eddy asked, smiling so brightly that Crumble lost the urge to complain. I’m glad they made your day cheerful and bright .”

“The sparkles are pretty,” Crumble conceded as he looked past him and into the mailroom, where packages sat flat and plain.

The longer he looked at it, the more Crumble realized what a sat picture it painted in comparison to the boxes the trio of elves had just carried out the door.

“ Ohh, but your letter is wet , Eddy said, noticing it for the first time. Here let me try to dry it for you . As Crumble stood looking on, Eddy placed his letter over a dryer and a blast of heat shot out, drying the paper and curling the edges a little. Some of the letters were still smeared and there was still a sparkle or two stubbornly clinging to a spot, but Crumble could read most of it when Eddy handed it back to him. Thank you , Crumble said, smiling warmly at Eddy. Have a nice day , Eddy said. I hope you come back again . Oh, I will , Crumble told him, smiling brightly as he left, carrying his letter and sparkly milk with him.”

“He brightened his day after all,” River murmured, finally sounding sleepy, and it was a good thing too, because the book was more than half finished, and it was the only one I’d picked up. Now that I knew he got so into storytime and the books that were read to him, I intended to pick up more and create a fun collection for us to share.

“He sure did,” I said as I turned the page.

“Now Crumble wasn’t the only one in the village who’d been struggling with sparkles getting all over them when they picked up their mail,” I read. “One of Santa’s relief reindeer, a big, towering buck named Lightning, had a big piece stuck to his nose that kept making him sneeze. Silver speckles clung to his hooves, while bright green flecks dusted his antlers, occasionally falling off to land on his shoulders.”

“Like sparkly dandruff,” River hummed.

“Better than the regular kind,” I said, making him giggle a little.

It was soft though and I could tell he was drifting off. “He marched up to Santa to show him and complain about the glitter getting everywhere, stomping his hooves in the snow and prancing, which just made more glitter fall from his antlers to tickle his nose.”

River’s laugh was so soft now it was little more than a series of signs despite the small smile on his face.

“ You must tell him to stop, Lightning declared, but Santa just let out a long, Ho Ho Ho No and shook his head. I can’t do that , Santa said. Not when he’s putting a smile on so many faces. We all have a gift to give to the world and sparkles are Eddy’s , Santa explained. “ Telling him to stop would be like telling you not to fly and help carry packages to the children of the world. That’s your gift and it would not be fair of me to take it away . Think of all you see when you pull the sled. All the magic of the world that shimmers beneath your hooves when you fly past it. What does he see from inside the mailroom walls? I bet the view is different now, isn’t it ? I suppose , Lightning grumbled. But the mess! Lightning moaned. Is only a small inconvenience when compared to the beauty of it, just like the shimmer of the snow , Santa explained.”

I paused and glanced down to see that his smile had smoothed out and he was completely relaxed and at ease. That didn’t mean I’d cut the story short though. Now I was curious to hear how it ended.

“When Santa compared the glitter to the snow, Lightning began to see some of the beauty of it could bring, but he still wasn’t happy and walked off with glitter flaking off his antlers. He was so focused on snorting it away from his nose that he nearly bumped into Crumble, whose silver buttons were dotted with it. Doesn’t all that glitter make you itch ? He asked as he watched Crumble sweep the snow, glitter and crumbs off his walkway. Nope , Crumble replied, looking him over. Well, I don’t like it, Lightning grumbled . What, are you afraid you can’t rock the sparkles , Lightning asked.”

I chuckled at that, careful not to jar River, whose breathing had evened out to a deep, rhythmic cadence.

“Lightning puffed up and reared, standing on his back paws and spinning, causing more glitter to flake off his hooves and antlers. I rock sparkles beautifully, thank you very much , Lightning declared, dots of it flecking his eyelashes now and making them shimmer in the sunlight. Look at how regal my antlers look when they twinkle. Now you’re getting it, Crumble said, laughing at Lightning as he dropped back down to all four hooved and pranced around in the snow, shoving his antlers beneath it so he could toss it into the air around them. As it floated down around their ears, he saw what Santa meant and felt bad about complaining. With a happy gait, he returned to the mailroom in time to see Eddy locking the door for the day. Come play in the snow with me and make it sparkle all you want, Lightning encouraged him. So, a laughing Eddy did. They returned to Crumble’s house and asked him to join them, then went frolicking through the village, spreading laughter and glitter for everyone to enjoy. The end.”

“Night-night, Daddy,” he muttered, startling me as I’d figured him to be dead to the world by that point. It made me glad that I hadn’t attempted to cut the story short when he’d fallen silent. He must just have been fading in and out at that point.”

“Goodnight my sweet little man,” I said as I pressed a kiss to his forehead.

Daddy. He’d called me Daddy.

Now I was the one turning cartwheels, at least inside my head. That made it official now, didn’t it? I’d touch base in the morning, for clarity and because he’d been teetering on the edge of sleep. He may not have meant to say it yet and if that was the case I’d make sure he knew that he absolutely could walk it back until he was truly ready to use it. For now, I intended to bask in the warm, fuzzy feeling his words had left me with as I turned out the light, shot off that text to Maddox about coffee syrup, and curled up beside him to dream the rest of the night away.