Make You Mine This Season

Two

Emily rushed back into the house triumphantly, flinging their front door open so hard it whipped out and banged into the entryway bookcase. Nathan, just a few steps behind her, wordlessly checked the bookcase for damage and, finding none, quietly closed the front door behind them, locking and bolting it as he did so.

"Mom!" Emily shouted as she ran to the kitchen to find their mother. "I was right! I was right!" And a moment later, Emily was pulling Carla into their living room by her elbow. "It was her, mom!" Emily exulted, letting go of their mother's elbow once they both stood in front of Nathan.

Their mother, still lovely in her fifties, had chestnut hair not unlike Nathan's, if a bit thinner and with a few silver strands. She'd recently developed a few careworn lines that worried her son, however. She raised her eyebrows in question. "The lady who found Leon?"

Emily nodded vigorously and Nathan grinned. Happy Emily was the best kind of Emily. The kind of Emily he worked tirelessly to bring out. And an Emily who'd been proven right about something was just about the happiest Emily there could be.

"We followed her back to her house and watched her put her little cart back in the shed behind it," Emily explained, pulling her mother over to their lumpy couch and settling beside her.

Nathan let Emily explain (after all, he'd lived it) as he took off his gloves, stuffed them in his coat, and hung it in the hall closet. Emily hadn't bothered to remove hers. She'd probably forgotten she still had it on, she was so busy talking about how they'd hid behind the forsythia, how the lady had shown up with a cart, how they'd followed her back down the street and around the corner to, low and behold, the house where Leon's original owner lived.

Their mother nodded and smiled at all the right places, but the truth was, Emily was far more invested in uncovering their Mystery Elf than anyone else.

Nathan had of course heard about the surprise gifts bestowed on his mom and sister the last few years. He'd even shared in a few of the spoils when he'd visited on weekends and holidays, playing Cards Against Humanity, eating the baked goods, etc. But it had been just a funny anecdote forgotten by the time he went back to the office the day after Christmas... until last year. Last year he'd been present when Mrs. Pritchard had gotten home from the hospital and found her home lit up like a tree. He had walked with his mom and sister to take Leon back to his rightful home, and he would never forget how Mrs. Pritchard had stared at her bedecked house like a child seeing fireworks for the very first time.

Still, their Mystery Elf was the kind of mystery they thought of and talked about once a year, the mystery lingering for a few days after the holidays, and then fading for the other 360ish.

Not so for Emily. Unbeknownst to Nathan or his mom until that very day, Emily had apparently been hatching a plan to catch their Mystery Elf in the act.

"So, what now?" their mom asked.

Emily, finally realizing she was still in her hat, coat and gloves, stood and started to shed the extra items. "What do you mean?"

Nathan walked over to help his little sister. If he didn't hang them up, it meant their mom would. Emily handed him her things without a thank you.

"So, you know who it is, and yes, it was the lady you thought it was," their mom was explaining, getting up to head back to the kitchen to finish whatever chore Emily had no doubt pulled her away from. "What are you going to do with that information?"

"Post it, of course!" Emily scoffed incredulously."

Em's Musical Life had around 3,000 followers currently.

Nathan frowned. "Do you think you should?" he interjected as they followed their mother into the kitchen.

Emily threw a scathing look at him over her shoulder. "Yes!"