Red Velvet & Reindeer Page 4

  He grinned. “I think you’re quite fetching no matter what you wear, but I’ll see what I can do.” Laying a finger to his nose, with a wink and a nod, the scent of evergreens and gingerbread wafted in the air.

  “Either I grew a couple of inches or I’m wearing heels,” I declared. Crossing my fingers, I inspected my clothing once more. Black leather boots with pointed toes were pulled up over my skinny pants. A fitted coat covered a dark red blouse underneath. Without a full length mirror, I’d have to trust that I’d blend in with the rest of the women dressed to perfection.

  My ears caught snippets of audible conversations in vibrant Italian, and I wished I could understand the language. At the same time, I enjoyed hearing the trill of the “r’s” and the different words accented by the hand gestures.

  A handsome young man bumped into me. “Mi scusi, bella,” he exclaimed, winking at me with appreciation. He tapped his friend on the shoulder to get the other cute guy to turn and look. They both waved in my direction, shouting some sort of compliments as they moved on.

  “I don’t think Mason would like me being here too long,” I muttered under my breath, appreciating even more good looking men passing by.

  Santa clapped his hands together. “I know where we are. This is very near the Piazza Plebiscito in Naples.”

  Hearing him speak of our current whereabouts with such affection didn’t help dampen my desire to sightsee. “And I would love for you to show me every inch of it, but I think we need to try and find your reindeer. Before someone gets brave enough to approach you.”

  Although he’d camouflaged me in the most magnificent outfit, his own brought him far too much attention. More and more children out walking with their families even at this late hour pointed at Santa with delight, yelling, “Babbo Natale! Babbo Natale!”

  The tug of the reindeer’s location pulled me forward, but we wound through the crowded streets, passing buildings and all manners of the pandemonium of daily life. I wished I could stop and take pictures of the Royal Palace or the San Carlo Theatre, famous for its opera productions.

  “Oh, come on. Let’s take a quick walk through the Galleria since we’re already headed this way,” Santa insisted.

  I could not stop looking up at the architectural glass roof covering the building full of cafes, restaurants, and shops. A cold wind blew through one of the halls, and I flipped the collar of my coat up. “I may look good, but this jacket isn’t nearly as warm as the last one you provided.”

  We made our way through the streets using my tracking thread as our guide. Although I could feel us getting closer to our target, the buildings surrounding us didn’t provide me any idea of where we might end up. Our journey paused when Santa stopped in front of a chapel.

  “Let’s go in here for a quick look. I promise you won’t regret it.” With a flick of his fingers, the lock clicked and the door opened for us. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no one will notice us.”

  With quiet steps, I followed behind him, wondering why he wanted to visit one of the many chapels in the city since we’d passed by so many others. But when we approached the large carved marble in the middle of the room, I understood what he wanted me to see.

  “Let’s risk a little more light.” Santa placed his two hands together and moved them around each other until a glowing light grew inside. When he stopped, he revealed a small snowball shining with a soft radiance. He tossed it in the air to illuminate the work of art, and I inhaled the faint scent of peppermint.

  “What is this place?” I asked in wonder, not able to tear my eyes away from what looked like a real person underneath a thin veil of cloth.

  “We’re in the Cappella Sansevero de' Sangri. There are several other remarkable sculptures around the room, but this one is truly amazing.” He paused to marvel at the incredible piece. “It’s called the Veiled Christ, and for a while, they thought that actual alchemy was used to turn cloth into marble. But it was carved by Giuseppe Sanmartino to look as real as possible.”

  I held my own breath, watching the chest of the carved man underneath what I would swear was a real veil. If I waited long enough, maybe he would begin to breathe again.

  “It’s an incredible piece,” Santa continued. “One worth admiring even when we don’t have the time to do so.”

  With reluctance, we both left the Christ figure resting underneath the chiseled veil. Once we got a couple of blocks away, we heard a commotion up ahead and the sound of dishes breaking.

  “Oh no. I fear I know exactly where my reindeer is. We need to get to Christmas Alley as quick as possible,” Santa urged. Without waiting for me, he shouted, “Scusi, permesso,” and pushed through the throngs of onlookers.

  I did the best I could to follow right behind but got cut off by the sheer volume of people in the streets and the confusion of yelling in the air.

  It took great effort to push my way through a roaring crowd reacting to some scene in front of them. A loud snort and grunt alerted me to the reindeer’s presence, but when I emerged at the front of the crowd, I realized the precarious predicament Santa and I found ourselves in.

  We stood at the mouth of a very narrow alley. Individual stalls displaying tiny, delicate figurines lined either side, waiting to be broken by a terrified reindeer.

  “Hold on, Cupid. I know you’re confused.” Santa held one hand in the air and the other out in front of him to try and keep the animal from moving too much.

  The tumult of the crowd didn’t help, and Cupid’s eyes widened in panic. I cupped my hands to my mouth and cried out, “Watch the hind legs!”

  Before Santa could do anything, the reindeer bucked and knocked over an entire display of figurines. The sound of shattered artisan work scared the beast even more.

  “Charli,” Santa called out. “You’re going to need to give her the cookie.” He waved the baked good in one of his hands. “Easy, Cupid. She’s a friend.”

  Trying not to trip over my stylish heels, I rushed to his side. Getting the cookie was the easy part. My own panic took over once I realized how close to a scared reindeer I’d have to be.

  “Hey, Cupid. I’m Charli,” I crooned in the sweetest tone I could. “If you’ll eat this, I promise you won’t have to be here anymore. You can go home with all the other escapees. Dasher’s already there waiting.”

  The animal cocked its head to the side to regard me with its eye. She lowered her head, and I took a few tentative steps closer. With my heart racing, I held out the cookie, hoping she’d close the distance between us and bring the whole ordeal to an end. Cupid snuffled closer to me, her hooves clacking on the cobblestones.

  The honk of a scooter horn trying to make its way through the gathered throng interrupted our progress, and Cupid reared back with an alarmed grunt. We risked losing all control of her and causing even more damage.

  “Come on, Charli. You can do this,” encouraged Santa.

  Cupid took too many steps backward, and I lurched forward to capture her around her neck. “Sorry, Cupid, but you’ve gotta eat this.” I thrust the cookie under her nose and hoped it would tempt her enough.

  She stopped moving and sniffed the baked good. Without anymore noise of protests or fear, the animal ate the cookie out of the palm of my hand, licking up every crumb. The same evidence of magic shimmered around her, and she disappeared. All noises ceased for a brief moment, and I cringed as I realized how many stunned people had witnessed our rescue.

  A shrill voice screamed out in Italian, and the rest of the crowd erupted into exclamations of disbelief, pointing at Santa and me. “How exactly are we going to get out of this?” I asked him.

  He stroked his beard while he formulated a plan. “Like this.” Stepping into the middle, he placed his two hands together like he had before. But the snowball he presented was as large as a snowman’s head. A red glow emanated from its center. With a grunt of effort, Santa tossed it into the sky. It rose until it hovered over our area, and the internal glimmer radiated until the ent
ire ball exploded into red and green shimmering snowflakes, showering down on all the people and the stalls with broken figurines.

  Shouts of anger or confusion changed to exclamations of joy. The whole crowd shifted their focus from us to kissing each other on both cheeks and embracing. Cheers of, “Buon Natale!” rose from everyone’s lips, and several onlookers approached Santa, asking to take pictures with Babbo Natale.

  Within a few minutes of his spell working its magic, the broken pieces of the figurines became whole again and no one remembered the spectacle of a wild reindeer wreaking havoc in the streets.

  I watched Santa ho-ho-ho his way into their hearts as the Italian Father Christmas. After he finished taking plenty of photos, he called me over to him. “I think it’s time we move on.” He slipped his arm through mine, and I realized he leaned on me a little as we walked away.

  With concern, I slipped my hand into his. “Are you okay?”

  “That took a lot more effort than I intended,” he admitted. “But if it means we saved Christmas Alley from unnecessary destruction, then it was worth it.”

  We walked down the thin walkway in between the stalls, and I gawked at the tiny religious and secular figures being sold on either side. “Is it really called Christmas Alley?”

  “This is an old area of the city called Via San Gregorio Armeno. The little statues are presepe, and people buy them to add to their nativity collection. But I like how there’s such a wide range. Look.” Santa stopped and picked up a small figure that looked exactly like how he appeared right now. “Babbo Natale. My guess is Cupid was drawn here when instinctually looking for me.”

  Admiring a complete nativity set, I noticed the tiny details in the painting of each delicate piece as well as the presence of Santa and a pizza maker included in the scene. It would have been a real tragedy if Cupid had accidentally destroyed anything, but I worried about how much magic my new friend had used.

  “Is there anything I can do to help you?” I asked, squeezing his hand.

  “Yes. After all that effort, I need to refuel. If we make our way around the next corner,” he pointed the way, “then we’ll find ourselves at Pizzeria de Matteo.”

  My smile returned. “I hope that means I’ll get to taste some good pizza.”

  Santa held up a finger. “Not just good. The absolute best. Once we consume at least one pizza margherita with buffalo mozzarella a piece and drink down some hot shots of espresso, we’ll be able to keep going.”

  At the mere mention of the tasty food, my mouth watered. “Done.” We both found more energy and picked up our pace. “This time, you lead the way.”

  Chapter 6

  Using Santa’s powers, we moved all over the world in no time, our appearance changing with every location to fit the local mythology of Father Christmas. In the Ukraine, I donned a very cool blue jacket embroidered with snowflakes and played the roll of the Snow Maiden, Ded Meroz’s companion. Out of all my outfits, I wanted to keep that one, but what use would I have for it in my home Southern climate?

  We almost lost our cool in a pantomime production in Birmingham, England, trying to lead Prancer off the stage while acting as if Santa and his reindeer were planned parts of the show. Through his ability to blend in wherever he turned up, the jolly man saved the day by throwing out gifts of candy and small toys to the crowd full of youngsters to distract them while I fed the cookie to the reindeer. When Prancer disappeared in front of the audience, they clapped and cheered, assuming it was all a new part of the panto.

  But the strangest place we ended up existed on the other side of the world. Dressed in my usual garb of a short-sleeved shirt and light pants, I marveled at how we ended up in Okinawa, Japan. That wonder turned to alarm when a car coming from the opposite side from where I expected it to be almost hit me.

  “They drive on the left-hand side of the road here,” Santa explained. Holding up his hands, all traffic on both sides stopped to let us cross.

  I followed behind him, unsure of how he knew where to go. “I know there are lots of American military members on the island, but why are you headed to the Kentucky Fried Chicken? Do you need to eat again?”

  It didn’t take long walking through the parking lot until I spotted the reason Santa didn’t need my help finding the reindeer. The animal stood beside a life-sized statue of Colonel Sanders outside of the fast-food chain’s door. A crowd of Japanese took pictures of the reindeer accompanying the statue dressed in a red suit like Santa’s. The delectable aroma of fried chicken coming from inside made my mouth water.

  Every phone focused on the real Santa the second he approached the beast. “Hello, Donner. You managed to get pretty far away from home, didn’t you?”

  The reindeer snorted and straightened its head to a more photogenic angle. Refusing to reply to Santa, he stood for more pictures with tourists flashing a peace sign. The exhausted yet still good-humored man exhaled a deep sigh and joined in the fun for a good hour, graciously posing with American military families as well as local Okinawans and Chinese tourists before he apologized to the growing crowd that he needed to leave so he could deliver gifts to everyone.

  Leading the reindeer and me away from the restaurant, Santa made sure we weren’t followed before he spoke to the animal. “Donner, I know you don’t get nearly the amount of attention that Rudolph does, but was it really necessary to do all that? Can’t you tell we’re getting close to our deadline?”

  The reindeer raised his head in the air and spoke to Santa through a series of grunts.

  “I know you get a little antsy with the big job we have to accomplish tonight, but that doesn’t mean it was okay for you or your friends to leave,” replied the older man. “Now, eat this cookie and tell the others I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  With a slight shimmering pop and the smell of gingerbread replacing the scent of fried chicken for a moment, Donner disappeared. Santa rubbed his hands together. “Only the drama king left to find. Okay, Charli, where’s Rudolph?”

  I cringed and rubbed the back of my neck. “See, that’s a bit of a problem. I found the locations for eight reindeer. Not nine.”

  Santa placed a hand on my shoulder. “But I can’t do this without my point reindeer. If it were any of the others, I might have been able to pull it off. But I need Rudolph, and he knows it, too. It’s why he’s the diva of the bunch.” He shook me a little in his desperation. “Come on, there must be something you could do.”

  “What about your own magic?” I countered. “Perhaps it could find just the one reindeer?”

  He let me go. “No, I can tell I’m getting weaker after expending as much energy as I already have finding the rest of them. Even if I ate all the fried chicken, I still wouldn’t have enough power.”

  Nothing else in the world could destroy every ounce of joy in me faster than the sight of a sad Santa Claus. I refused to be even a fraction of the reason his face dropped into such a frown. “What if we combine our powers one last time? Cast a spell together to find Rudolph? With my talents and whatever magic you have left, surely it would be our best chance.”

  Santa pulled me into a tight hug. “See, I knew you could do it. Sorry for losing a little of my hope.” He straightened his dashing hat on his head. “Even for the slightest of moments.”

  After removing his gloves, he held my hands one last time, and I drew all of my energy into my center. “Forgive my quick and clumsy rhyme, but we summon power at this time. Santa’s power is at an end, so I need to assist my friend. We found Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen. Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. Around the world we’ve been all night, but we need the last one to get this right. Where he is, not one person knows. With Christmas Magic, bring us to his shiny red nose.”

  A blinding bubble of light encased us and I squeezed my eyes tight in order not to freak out as the spell manifested and transported us from Okinawa to our next destination. My feet landed on solid ground, and I ventured to take a peek. Once the fragrance of hot cho
colate and marshmallows wore off, I sniffed the air. Taken aback, I turned in a complete circle.

  Off in the distance, the lights from my house stood out at the edge of a dark field. The whinnying of horses interrupted my confusion as I got my bearings. “We’re back on my property. The barn is right over there,” I declared with disbelief. “I don’t think the spell worked.”

  “Are you sure?” Santa checked. “I may be running low, but my magic never fails me.”

  I concentrated hard to discern any connection to the final reindeer. Although no golden tether appeared, I did feel drawn to the barn. “I don’t know. It’s kind of faint, but…There’s really only one place I can think he might be.”

  Using a conjured ball of light, I led the two of us to the place where TJ housed her horses and my niece’s special baby unicorn. After we entered, I turned on the lights and walked down the center, glancing into every stall until we got to the last one.

  My amused smile beamed from ear to ear. “Oh, you are not going to believe this.” I gestured for Santa to join me.

  He wiped a hand down his face when he saw his prized reindeer smothered head to toe in a rainbow of sparkling glitter. Sparkles pranced around her new friend with great pride, nuzzling him from time to time. Rudolph didn’t seem to mind the company nor his current appearance.

  “How did he get covered like that?” Santa asked, leaning on the nearest post.

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure you really want to know Sparkles’ rare talent.”

  As if sensing our intense interest in her, Sparkles trotted over to the side of her pen and turned her backside toward Santa. I pulled him out of the way just in time for him to escape getting sprayed in farkles.

  “Thanks for saving me. One more thing I owe you.” He patted the unicorn above the horn on her head. “Speaking of, do you have an idea of the fee you’d like to charge me for completing the job?”

  How could I charge Santa Claus for use of my help? In one night, I’d managed to go all over the world, experience a taste of new cultures and good food, and made a friend out of one of the biggest mythical figures in the entire universe. I stared at the unicorn nuzzling into the reindeer, and an idea popped into my head.