Free 2 Yule Be the Death of Me by J.D. Shaw

dismay.”
    Vivienne
cringed. “I can top that. I once brought a ‘devil dog’ to school for show and
tell.”
    “Those little
chocolate cakes?” Todd raised an eyebrow.
    “No.” Vivienne
laughed. “A skull from a devil dog.”
    Todd’s eyebrow
went up higher. “Say what?”
    “So, my Uncle Joe
was a big deer hunter when I was growing up and he spent lots of time scouting
out places for tree stands in the woods around here.”
    “Okay.” Todd
nodded back. “And you’re saying he found a devil dog skull?”
    “It was the
skull from a small deer, with just little nubs for antlers.” Vivienne recalled.
“It really looked like a dog with devil horns and he brought it over one day
and told me it was a ‘devil dog.’ Naturally, I believed him.”
    Todd burst out
with a hearty laugh. “Of course.”
    Vivienne
continued. “So, unbeknownst to my parents, I snuck it into my backpack and
brought it to school the next day for show and tell. They got a call from the
teacher that afternoon.”
    Todd wiped
some tears that formed in the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard. “Oh my
God, that is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time.”
    “These days if
a kid did that, they’d have her shipped off into therapy for mental
instability.” Vivienne laughed. “But back then, the teacher had a good laugh
and my parents had a chance to be mortified at how gullible their daughter
was.”
    Todd looked at
his watch and shook his head. “Let me pay up for the cupcake and get back to
work.”
    Vivienne waved
him off. “It’s on the house.”
    Todd opened
his wallet and slipped two dollars onto the bakery case. “I insist.”
    Vivienne took
his two dollars and dropped it into a collection box for the local food pantry
that was sitting next to the register. “I’m so terribly clumsy these days.”
    He winked at
her and pointed to the check. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help with getting
the money to Natalie.”
    Vivienne took
the check and tucked it into her register drawer. “That’s okay. I found out
where she lives so we can just drop it off in person.”
    Todd snapped
his fingers. “I’m going to be filling out one of those order sheets for a party
I’m having at the gallery the week before Christmas. When do you need them in
by?”
    “The sooner
the better.” Vivienne answered.
    “It’s an Ugly
Christmas Sweater party and you and Joshua are going to be invited.”
    Vivienne
groaned. “I don’t own one and trying to get Joshua into one is going to take
nothing short of a Christmas miracle.”
    Todd made a
little pouty face. “You have to come.”
    Vivienne took
a deep breath and sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
    Todd’s face
brightened. “So I can count you in?”
    “I’ll see what
I can do.” Vivienne repeated.
    Todd nodded
and waved as he sailed out the front door. “I’m glad you both can make it.”
    “I may need
that spell book after all.” Vivienne spoke softly to herself and returned to
the workspace to finish her butter cookies.
     
    *         
*          *
     
    When she
arrived home just after sunset, the house was dark. She parked her Toyota in
the driveway and carefully navigated across the blacktop in case the ice melt missed
a few spots. She stopped at the mailbox and pulled out a wad of junk mail along
with a few red and green envelopes that heralded the start of the great
neighborhood Christmas card exchange.
    Once inside
the front door, Tommy meowed loudly to let her know he wanted dinner served as
soon as possible. He darted between her legs, curling his tail around her knees
with a loud purring sound that one could almost mistake as a snow blower
engine.
    As she
unbundled her winter coat and hung it on the wall hook, she noticed the red
light flashing on her answering machine.
    She dropped
the mail onto the small end table and pressed the message play button. It was
Joshua’s voice. “I won’t be making it over for dinner tonight.