Romancing Rudolph - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Mandy was enjoying a relaxing meal with Tess at the Hoof & Hay when the elf arrived with the letter.

All the reindeer in the restaurant abruptly stopped talking and stared as the little guy in green made a beeline between the tables. As popular as the place was at this time of year, the lonely sound of sappy country Muzak was startling. But not nearly as startling as realizing those bell-tipped, curly-toed shoes had halted beside her table.

Mandy looked down at the red envelope the elf held out and painfully swallowed a lump of mushroom and willow leaf salad. Covered in signature red sparkles and sealed with a blob of green wax, the letter could only be from one person.

“Oh, wow,” said Tess breathlessly.

Mandy glanced at her friend, and then at the rapt faces of all the diners around them. The excitement was palpable.

The young blonde elf, who wore a flashing name tag that identified him as Mike, patiently waited on her to take the letter.

He was probably used to the effect a letter from the big guy had, probably enjoyed the stunned expressions and loss of speech. Easy for him. His heart wasn’t pounding in his chest like King Kong trying to get out.

Mandy trembled as she reached for the letter.

Although the other diners in the restaurant were clearly eager for her to open it, she simply nodded her thanks to the elf and placed the letter on the wooden table next to her plate. As the elf retraced his steps and departed the restaurant, conversations slowly resumed.

“Aren’t you gonna read it?” Tess’s big brown eyes remained glued to the red rectangle.

“Not here.”

“How can you not read it?”

“Not here,” Mandy repeated firmly. “Everybody’s staring.”

“Let’s go then. ‘Cause I’m no longer the least bit interested in food.” Tess pushed her plate away.

Mandy’s appetite had flown as well. A moment ago the woodsy aroma of shiitake mushrooms had made her mouth water, now the smell only made her queasy. After all, it wasn’t every day an ordinary reindeer like her got a letter from Santa. Maybe if you lived in Christmas Village it was a frequent occurrence, but not here in colorless old Snowcastle. She waved at the waiter to bring the bill.

They quickly settled the account--with Tess, as usual, short a few bucks--and scampered out the double doors into the chilly November night. The rumble of the city power generator could be heard in the distance, and the sporadic click of hooves on pavement mingled with the dulcet sound of sleigh bells. Reindeer passed left and right without taking notice of them.

“Open it.”

Mandy ignored the demand until they had ducked under the awning of the Jingle Bell phone company. She glanced around to make sure no one had followed them out of the restaurant, then crackled the seal and unfolded the letter. A host of sparkles floated through the air and dusted her fur.

“Holy crap.”

Tess moaned. “Come on. What’s it say?”

Mandy lifted her eyes to her friend, her breath fogging the night air. “I have an audience with Santa tomorrow. At ten.”

“Really?” Tess’s expression was skeptical. “Are you sure this isn’t Randy’s idea of a joke?”

Randy was Mandy’s younger brother. A perpetual calf, always engaged in one prank or another. She frowned at the letter in her hands. “Where would Randy get Santa’s seal?”

“I dunno, but Santa doesn’t see anyone at this time of year unless they’re part of the Christmas Crew. No way is he going to be calling one of us to the Shop.”

“So, you think it’s a hoax? That I shouldn’t go?”

Tess grimaced. “I didn’t say that.”

She was probably remembering, like Mandy was, the elf who had delivered the message. Elves all lived in Christmas Village. In luxury chalets scattered up the side of Mount Icicle. Mandy had done some work in the Village, and she knew that elves didn’t deliver messages for anyone except the big guy.

Tess sighed heavily. “I guess you’ve gotta go. To find out for yourself.”

“Crap.”

Tess winced. “And before you go, practice sentences that don’t involve the word crap. I don’t think that’s the best way to impress the big guy.”

Mandy managed a half-hearted smile.

An audience with Santa. Most reindeer would be thrilled to bits to receive such an honor, but she prayed with all her might that the letter was a hoax. That the tin soldiers guarding the gate to Christmas Village would turn her away. Because she didn’t want to be noticed. She liked her unheralded job as an efficiency expert, working behind the scenes to make things operate better. Peace and quiet, that’s all she wanted.

And a meeting with Santa mere weeks before Christmas was not the way to get them.

That much she knew.

(To go to Chapter 2, click here)