Free Dashing Through the Snow by Lisa G Riley

best
friend and we haven’t gone shopping together in such a long time. I
thought maybe you could come down for a week or so, and we could do
it up big. The Art Institute and -- oh! I nearly forgot! The Field
is doing a whole new…wait for it… gem exhibit.”
    Lily froze. “Seriously?”
    Sue’s chuckle managed to convey both a smirk
and satisfaction. “Uh-huh. Knew that would get ya. You should see
yourself! Your eyes are actually sparkling, your cheeks are
flushed and you’re almost panting in excitement! If I didn’t know
any better, I’d swear you’d just had a tryst with a lover or
something.”
    Thinking about her time in the bath that
morning, Lily flushed and hoped Sue wouldn’t interpret it
correctly. “Or that I just came into warmth from freezing cold, and
besides you know how I feel about gems, Sue. I can’t help it; I
just have a sick obsession with them. Now don’t torture me any
longer and tell me about this new exhibit. Did they acquire some
brand new ones?”
    “Not that I’m aware of, no. This exhibit will
focus on stones they’ve kept in their vaults for one reason or
another. I read that some of them are considered bad luck and
haven’t seen the light of day in more than fifty years.”
    “Ooh, this is too exciting!”
    “I thought you’d feel that way. The only
thing is that the exhibit will only be open for a little more than
a month. It’s just a tease.”
    “Hmm, that is disappointing,” Lily said,
thinking about her schedule and all the things she had to do to get
her business up and running. “When does it open?”
    “That’s why I wanted you to come down after
Christmas. I don’t know the exact day, but the exhibit opens right
after.”
    Lily bit her lip as she thought about it. “I
think I can make it, but I wonder why it’s having such a short run.
Are they sending it on tour after?”
    Sue shrugged. “All I know is that there’s a
new head curator and he thought it would be a fabulous idea -- he’s
from London and he said it just like that on the morning news -- fabulous idea , darling ,” she said in an upper crust
British accent.
    Lily smiled at the convincing accent and then
sighed. “I’m sure I’ll love it. Funny my grandmother or Aunt Amelia
never mentioned it, though. I guess maybe they forgot about it in
all the excitement of getting ready for their trip to Australia. I
told you they’re spending the whole month of December there, didn’t
I?”
    Sue nodded. “Yes, you did, but maybe they
didn’t mention it because it was just announced last week. How
could they have talked about it if they didn’t know?”
    “True,” Lily agreed. “Of course you know I’ll
be there, right? Wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
    “Great,” Sue said. “Let’s plan on it then.”
She bumped Lily with her shoulder. “Now tell me what’s been going
on with you. What’s new and exciting? Last week you said that Smith
had moved back to town.”
     
    Sue was still laughing when they arrived at
the bottom of the hill. “I know it isn’t supposed to be funny but
the idea of you chasing down Santa like he’s a criminal…”
    “He is a criminal. After all, whoever
this guy is broke my windshield on purpose and then stayed around
not only to admit it, but to brag -- ow! Hey!” The sudden impact of
something hitting her hard in the small of her back had Lily
simultaneously grabbing at the spot where she’d been hit and
whipping around to see where the threat had come from. At first all
she saw were people going about their business, moving about
normally. No one seemed to be paying attention to her.
    Red flashed in her peripheral vision and she
turned to her right. And there she saw it. A red velvet suit with
white trim covering a wide fat ass as it rounded a corner. Even as
she began the chase, Lily was calculating her chances of catching
him and concluded that she wouldn’t, but she couldn’t stop herself
from trying.
    “Hey! Wait for me!” Sue