A Slice of Christmas Magic Read online

  “How are you doing?” Henry asked in a low voice. Aunt Erma, with her superhuman hearing, narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Great,” I said. “Building a snowman is fun.” I gave him a big fake smile and an overly enthusiastic thumbs-up. He laughed.

  “Violet sent me to talk to both of you, actually,” he said.

  Aunt Erma let out a dramatic sigh. “Okay, what is it?” she asked.

  “Violet said there have been some indications that Stan has been in town,” he said.

  “In this town?” I felt my heart beat faster. I remembered Stan’s anxious darting eyes and his scrawny frame. He seemed harmless enough, albeit a bit of a bumbling buffoon, but, with Brenda as his mother, I knew just how dangerous he could be.

  He nodded.

  Aunt Erma’s brow furrowed. “Does she know why? What is he trying to do?”

  “She’s not sure. She’s trying to figure that out now. She said she just caught the faintest traces of his magic. One of the other officers picked it up, but he must have used a very good magic eraser because it disappeared quickly,” he said.

  “Are there any other IMPs here?” I asked.

  “Not that we know of,” he said.

  “We’ll keep our antenna up,” Aunt Erma assured him.

  “Good,” Henry said. “I’m going to stay here and help for a while. Just to make sure nothing happens.”

  The adrenaline was pumping through my veins after Henry’s very troubling announcement. I worked more quickly than before, packing the snow so tightly my snowman was practically an ice man. The thought of Stan back in town sent goosebumps up and down my arms. Aunt Erma seemed pleased with my new work ethic, ignoring the fact that it was motivated by fear.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “The whole town is here. They wouldn’t dare try anything today. Too many magical people around.” She said the last part in a low voice as there were a lot of tourists who came for the contest.

  I struggled with the snowman’s face, trying to arrange the knick-knacks we’d assembled into the perfect “welcoming expression” that Aunt Erma was aiming for. First it looked angry, then surprised, then confused, and finally, after a few more tweaks, I ended up with a look that passed inspection.

  I dressed the snowman in an apron and managed to put the whipped-cream pie on the stick arm perfectly. Okay, maybe it took me a few tries, but still, it seemed to stay. And more importantly, Aunt Erma seemed happy. She circled the snowman a couple times, nodding approvingly. Henry helped me stick two poles in the ground behind the snowman – stretched between them was a banner that read, “Erma’s Pies, stop by for a slice after the competition. All entrants will receive ten per cent off a slice of pie.”

  I looked around and marveled at the artistry of the other creations. I had never before realized that snowmen could be more than just three balls with some coal eyes and a carrot nose. These were amazing. “Frosty the Snowman” began to play from the speakers indicating the end of the competition, and Aunt Erma started singing along. Henry joined her and soon all the people surrounding us were singing. I tried to sing too, but I had a lump at the back of my throat. There was something special about a group of people singing together that made me emotional. It really brought people together. We were a community. All a little strange, but all of us were doing this same crazy project. Even the tourists were part of our beautiful small town of Hocus Hills even if just for today. I couldn’t leave this.

  I jumped when I felt something poke my ribs. I turned, expecting to see Henry, but it was the arm of the snowman jabbing me. Was Aunt Erma using magic on the snowman? I thought they said they waited until after all the tourists had left to do that kind of magic. I looked over at Aunt Erma to see what the heck was going on. The look on her face made it clear she wasn’t the one using magic. Then everything went white as the snowman hurled the tin of whipped cream at my face.

  There was a moment where I was frozen with shock. I heard the commotion begin around me. People yelling. Lots of alarmed voices crying out, “What’s happening?” I frantically wiped the whipped cream away from my face. When I had finally cleared it from my eyes, I saw Aunt Erma and Henry trying to cast spells in the direction of the snowmen, but they didn’t seem to stop them. Henry was right next to me, his hand on my back.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. He glanced at me, his brow furrowed.

  “Fine,” I said. Henry turned back to try and stop a snowman that was trying to roll over a man who danced around to avoid being squished.

  I listened to the words Henry was saying and repeated them. I wasn’t exactly sure what the spell was supposed to do, but I tried to imagine the snowmen melting as I said it. It wasn’t any more effective for me than it was for him though. The psychotic snowmen barely reacted when hit by the spell.

  It was easy to spot the tourists. They were the ones with confused terror on their faces, running and hiding. I could only imagine what it would be like to plan a day of family fun only to be attacked by Frosty the Snowman. It was strange, though – the snowmen didn’t seem to target the tourists. In fact, they seemed to be targeting very specific residents of Hocus Hills. Aunt Erma chased after a snowman who was swinging a broom at Lena.

  A woman’s voice came on over the speaker, singing along loudly to the Christmas music. My blood ran cold. It was Brenda’s voice. “Tired of keeping your magic hidden? Being yourself has always been forbidden? Join a great cause. Let’s lighten the laws. It’s time we see Improvement for Magical People!”

  The Magic Enforcement Officers arrived and cleared the square of all non-magical people. I wondered how this would be explained to them. Would they try to convince them it was just an elaborate prank? As someone who was still pretty new to this magic thing, I completely understood their panic. Every day I was surprised by something I learned about magic. Some days it was something fun, like you could listen in on conversations across the room. Other days it was less fun, like there was a power-hungry group who wanted to cause chaos and steal Aunt Erma’s magic.

  The annoying song about joining the IMPs was playing on repeat over the speaker. I wished I could find the speakers and smash them with a bat.

  “It’s not working,” I wailed breathlessly as two more snowmen rolled towards me and Henry.

  Mr. Barnes, Lena, and Flora rushed over. Along the way, Mr. Barnes had to dodge a rolling snowman whose thrashing stick arms came within inches of his face.

  A snowman dressed like a witch was coming towards me waving its broom. I yelled the spell with all my might, and the snowman only stumbled, but it dropped the broom.

  I lunged for it. I felt his frozen body pressing against me, and I struggled to hold onto the stick end of the broom over my head.

  “What are you doing?” Henry yelled, sounding shocked and panicked.

  I was too busy wrestling with the snowman to answer. We were rolling on the ground now. I gripped the handle tightly with both hands as I tried to kick the icy round balls off me. I came away triumphantly with just a few scratches and the broom in my hands.

  “They’re just a bunch of frozen droplets of water,” I said, recognizing the irony, considering how Henry was almost killed by a bunch of frozen droplets of water just yesterday. Then I lifted the broom above my head and swung it down on the snowman, turning it back into a pile of snow.

  The others got on board quickly, using anything they could find to smash the snowmen. Tanner was using the bag of presents that was part of his Santa costume to bludgeon a snowman who looked like a cartoon bear. Lena had found a plastic sword and was taking out snowmen while yelling, “En garde. Take that, and that, and that,” with every swing.

  In no time, all the snowmen had been reduced to piles of snow, and the square was littered with props. In the chaos, someone had successfully smashed the speakers and the singing had stopped. It was silent for a moment. I couldn’t hear anything but my heavy breathing.

  “Well, everyone.” Violet stood on the steps of the gazebo. I’m n
ot even sure when she got there. “That was more excitement than we bargained for today.” She was trying to keep her tone light. “Thank you all for your hard work here. The IMPs have been acting out, but we have it under control.”

  “This didn’t look like it was under control,” someone from the crowd yelled.

  “There were a lot of outsiders here today. What are you going to do about that?” another voice called.

  “We’re sending some teams out to take care of that,” Violet said calmly.

  “I think some of them have left already,” someone said.

  “Can you blame them?” another voice added. “They just saw a whole passel of snowmen come to life.”

  “We’re going to take care of them too,” Violet said. “By tomorrow, they will all think they’ve just had a very strange dream.” This seemed to be a pattern, and I began to wonder how many of my strange dreams had actually happened. Had I once really fallen out of a boat and been rescued by a mermaid, or was that just a dream? I tried to make a mental note to ask Aunt Erma that very question next time we had a chance to talk. “As for right now, everyone should just go home and be with your families,” Violet continued. “Keep your eyes and ears open, and report anything strange you might see to the Magic Enforcement Officers immediately.”

  The crowd dispersed, and I followed the Morning Pie Crew, Aunt Erma, and Henry back to the pie shop. My body felt cold, wet, and achy. As if I had just been beaten up by a snowman. We all sank into chairs, except for Aunt Erma, who went to turn up the heat and bring down dry socks for everyone. Mitzy followed her downstairs, eager to cheer up the exhausted crowd with her wagging tail.

  Henry put his arm on my shoulder. “I hate to leave you right now, but I’m supposed to help the residents decorate for Christmas, and I have to stop at home to let Willy out first.”

  “Go, go,” Aunt Erma said. “We’re fine here.” I tried to force a smile to show him, yes, of course we were fine. Aunt Erma said it, so it must be true.

  He studied my face for a second and hesitated as though he knew what I was feeling. “I’ll check in with you later,” he said, giving my shoulder a squeeze.

  He left and we all sat in silence for a minute. Aunt Erma’s eyes had drifted closed. Then they snapped open.

  “Aren’t you supposed to go help him?” she asked.

  “Well, yes, but—” I began.

  “But nothing,” she said. “Everything is just fine here. You go and help string up those lights.”

  I felt torn. I loved decorating for Christmas, and I loved the enthusiasm and complete lack of boundaries that most people in the nursing home had, but there was anxiety in the pit of my stomach at the thought of leaving Aunt Erma alone. It was dangerous. Even I knew it was bad that the IMPs had hit right here in town.

  “You go. You can all go,” Aunt Erma insisted. “I’ve got my guard dog.” Right on cue, Mitzy let out a cheerful yip. “I’m ready to have a quiet night in and try out some new pie recipes.”

  “Okay,” I said hesitantly. “I’ll just go upstairs and change.”

  “I can walk you there,” Mr. Barnes offered.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to adopt Aunt Erma’s bravado. “It’s, like, a three-block walk. I’ll be there in no time.”

  “Okay,” he said, still looking a little unsure, but he left and the rest of the Morning Pie Crew reluctantly stood.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Flora asked. Aunt Erma turned her down, but that didn’t stop her from asking three more times before Aunt Erma ushered her to the door.

  I went upstairs to put on a drier outfit. I settled on a bright red tunic with black leggings. It was both Christmassy and allowed me to move in case I needed to tackle any other rogue snowmen.

  “Keep an eye on Aunt Erma,” I told Mitzy. She wagged her tail at me.

  “Bye, Aunt Erma,” I called as I headed towards the back door. She appeared from the front of the shop. “I’ll be back soon,” I told her.

  “Pish posh.” She dismissed me with a wave. “You stay out as long as you want. You kids have fun with all those old fogies.” I gave her a hug and was out the door. I kept my eyes peeled for any stray snowmen who might roll into my path and attack at any moment.

  Chapter 8

  Dear Elodie,

  I have a co-worker in the cubicle next to mine who hums all day long! I’ve tried to clear my throat loudly, hoping he’ll get the message, but he just keeps humming the most annoying songs. How do I get him to stop?

  Sincerely,

  Hassled by Humming

  Dear Hassled by Humming,

  Dare I suggest that you talk to your co-worker and ask him to stop?

  Ask and I’ll Answer,

  Elodie

  Despite my bravado when talking to Mr. Barnes, it was the longest three-block walk I’d ever taken. Even the sound of the wind rustling through the trees was enough to make the hair on my arms stand at attention. The streets were deserted after the earlier fiasco, which only added to my uneasiness.

  So when my phone rang, I yelped and then tried to cover it with a cough, even though no one was around to hear me. It wasn’t a number I recognized. I slid the button and answered.

  “Susie Daniels?” a gruff voice asked.

  “This is she,” I said cautiously. I kicked myself for answering what sounded as if it was going to be a sales call.

  “This is Buster Hopkins from Top-Notch Construction.” I stood up a little straighter. He was one of the bigwigs in the construction scene in the city. “I hear you left Hal’s.”

  That was one way of putting it. Hal had fired me when I took some time off to come help Aunt Erma at the pie shop.

  “I want to offer you a job,” he said. “I’ve seen some of your work, and I really admire your craftsmanship.” He told me what my starting salary would be, and my mouth fell open. “Everyone I’ve talked to has great things to say about you. Well, everyone except Hal, but he’s a bitter old fusspot, isn’t he? So what do you say?”

  “Can I think about it?” I asked. I was standing outside the nursing home now. I traced the gold letters on the sign out front that read “Enchanted Woods”, briefly forgetting my fear of rogue snowmen.

  “Sure, we’ll talk soon,” he said and hung up.

  As I walked towards the door, I shivered with excitement and anxiety. This job offer was a big deal, but was I ready to leave the life I had just started in Hocus Hills?

  All of my concerns melted away, though, the moment I stepped inside. The warmth washed over me. I could hear voices singing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”and by the time I got to the dining room, the smell of food had brought my blood pressure down to a reasonable level and reminded me how incredibly hungry I was.

  I peeked through the door. Henry was playing the piano and everyone was singing. I could hear his smooth voice and felt a rush of excitement. My mind wandered back to our kiss, and I watched his fingers dance over the keys. I flushed and shook my head. Three couples were dancing around the Christmas tree. I held my breath as Mrs. Portman dipped Mrs. Bishop, but, despite their frail appearance, they performed the maneuver flawlessly.

  “Susie, come and dance,” Henry called out over the noise. Frank, a man whose large glasses accentuated his twinkling blue eyes, stretched his hand out towards me. I took it, and he spun me around while singing every word. The song ended, and he gave me a gentlemanly bow as I thanked him for the dance.

  “Looks like you guys waited for me to get started on the decorating,” I said, looking at all the unopened boxes on the floor around the room.

  Henry shrugged. “We may have gotten a little distracted.”

  “Last year it took us three weeks to get the Christmas decorations up because we kept getting distracted with sing-a-longs.” Frank grinned.

  “And dance-alongs,” Claire Sprinkles added, approaching us with a little sashay.

  “Maybe we can get one box done today,” I said, going to the nearest box and
opening it. It was full of a tangle of Christmas lights. “Who put these away?” I asked, pulling out the giant mess. “Is there magic to untangle these?”

  They laughed. “No, we usually let the newest member of the Christmas decorating team take care of that,” someone said.

  “So it’s my job, huh?” I said. I couldn’t even see an end. “I think it looks good like this.” I brought it over to an outlet and plugged it in. The lights were almost blinding, but beautiful. I decided it was probably too much of a fire hazard to leave like that. “I’ll work on this.” I sat on the floor with the ball in my lap. I was eager to take a job that didn’t include hanging shiny Christmas baubles. I didn’t want to risk seeing a face other than my own peering back at me. I shivered.

  “Are you cold?” Henry asked, coming up behind me.

  I looked at him incredulously. “Is it possible to be cold in this place?” I asked. They kept it so warm in here, I often fantasized about jumping in the snow to make snow angels when I stayed here for longer than ten minutes. “It’s nothing,” I said, forcing a smile. When he looked at me harder with his intense gaze, the one I was learning to both love and hate, I said, “I’ll tell you more later.”

  “Here.” He set down a plate piled with fluffy mashed potatoes. “I thought you might be hungry.”

  I threw my arms around him. “Thank you.”

  He looked a little taken aback. “You’re welcome.” He squeezed me tightly.

  “Now, that’s how you know a couple is going to last,” Frank said from his perch by the dessert table. “They show their appreciation for the small things.”