Chapter 16 #2
The first clear table she noticed was a four top; she glanced around for a smaller one but didn’t find one. The food court staff dressed as elves were on top of things and the table was clean as Cora took a seat.
Pulling out her phone, she jotted down a note to possibly add a seating attendant or two. It would be more efficient for a member of staff to help people find an empty table.
Nick arrived a few minutes later. “Nice spot. Close to the fireplace.”
“It was the only spot I could find. I wonder if there’s a way to get more seating in here. I don’t want people to leave,” she said.
Nick handed her a sandwich. Her stomach growled again. “I find a full stomach always presents a solution.”
“I’m guessing that’s not scientifically backed research?”
“Nope. Only experience from figuring things out after I eat,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling.
This day wasn’t going as she expected. The noise of the crowds didn’t annoy her as she’d feared it would.
Instead, it reinforced what the attendance numbers had been telling her for years: people liked coming to the Winter Wonderland.
But talking to them was so different from reading attendance numbers on a spreadsheet. She was getting a real feeling of … magic. Christmas magic.
She wouldn’t be admitting that to Nick.
Nick’s watch continuously vibrated with additions to the Magic Coffers.
Incremental additions like this were small but they added up.
Each sparkle of Christmas joy fed into it.
Sam, head financial elf, watched the numbers and sent updates to Nick every hour.
Every immortal in the Yearweave wanted updates.
There wasn’t a being in his realm who wasn’t conscious that this Christmas season was crucial to stave off the Dreamfall.
Sitting with Cora in the food court listening to families vibing to the piped-in music and enjoying the food gave Nick hope.
He’d make this deadline and get the Yearweave back on track.
The seating area with the heavy wooden tables and chairs felt homier than most quick-service restaurants.
Nick used his magic to subtly squeeze in a few additional tables near the back when no one was looking.
He got a different vibration on his watch to register the deficit of magic, but it was worth it.
As soon as people found a seat, their tension ebbed and the Lumen increased.
That made him think about whether marrying the wrong woman would end up negatively influencing the Yearweave.
A good partner would elevate him, but the wrong one …
would take twice as much effort. The Council of Immortals had no sway over a contract signed way back in 270 CE, but Nick had never even thought to try to change it.
But could he? Could he challenge the magical contract?
“Is something up? You look tense?”
“Nah.”
Cora raised both eyebrows at him.
He didn’t blame her. Nah wasn’t an answer and it wasn’t the truth. In fact, his dad would have said it wasn’t a word. “I’m just letting all my food digest. These sandwiches are really good. Your recipe?”
“Mine but based on classic New York deli sandwiches. Sarah introduced me to them.”
“Tell me more about her,” Nick said. Cora softened whenever she mentioned her.
“She was our neighbor when I was a tween. One afternoon, when I got home from school her door was open and she was standing there with her walker. Told me she needed me to reach something for her. It was flour. She wanted to bake cookies but her arthritis made it hard for her to mix the batter. After that, I stopped in every day to check on her.”
“She needed you.”
Cora shrugged. “Maybe. I definitely needed her, though at first I didn’t realize it. She made it easy for me to help her and I liked doing it. She asked for nothing from me really but my time. It meant a lot.”
“Jack was like that for me. One day he invited me to tag along with him in the forest. I was struggling with the pressure from my dad to step into his shoes. Jack and I used to go for long walks and he’d point out how alive the icy landscape was.
I always just saw snow and missed the life nestled in it. ”
“Wow, I didn’t picture him as that mature.”
Nick cracked a laugh. “Not all the time. But when it’s needed, he steps up. Ready to head back?”
“I want to stop by the intention tree and see how that’s going. If it’s not popular, I’m going to try another craft station.”
Nick dumped their trash before following her to the indoor tree which reached halfway to the ceiling in the event space. There were benches and Winter Wonderland merchandise carts around it as well as hot chocolate and cookie vendors.
The tables with the red and green construction paper were full of people. There were gold, white, and black gel pens for writing and each one was being used. Nick wasn’t surprised in the least. Cora walked closer, leaning over to read some of the intentions that were being written.
A child tugged on his sleeve and Nick stooped down to her level. It was Chrissie Palmer, aged seven. “I’ve been very good this year.”
Some kids just knew who he truly was. Nick gave her a gentle smile. “I know you have. What would you like for Christmas?”
“A skateboard. Tim promised he’d teach me how if I got one,” she said with a gap-toothed smile. “Mom isn’t sure it’s safe.”
“We’ll have to make sure you have the right equipment, like a helmet and pads,” Nick said. Tim was Chrissie’s stepfather. He was a good man who was on the Nice List.
“Thank you,” she whispered, like they’d shared the greatest secret in the world.
Nick stood up as Chrissie went back to writing on her paper to find Cora staring at him.
One thing he hadn’t considered with her by his side was that she might notice interactions like this one—kids talking to him and asking for presents; adults who still held on to their own childlike sense of wonder.
The same sense of wonder had started to tinge the aura around Cora. It was almost as if she were experiencing it for the first time. He was worried about the repercussions for the Hearthvale and himself but really it was Cora who’d pay the biggest cost if he fucked this up.
“Looks like it’s working.”
“It is. Another good idea from you.”
“You don’t have to sound so pleased.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and a bolt of molten heat settled low in his body. “I hate that I didn’t think of these things.”
“I bet you’ll come up with something even better next year.”
“Oh, you can count on that,” she said.