Amalia is on the ideal Christmas date with adorable Jake, and all is as it should be-sweet small town all decked out for the holidays, lights, decorations, hot chocolate, a spaceship.
Wait.. a spaceship? This holiday romance may not be exactly what...
Jake was busy stocking shelves when Amalia arrived, Christmas wreath tickling the back of her neck as she shut the door behind her, sleigh bells hanging from the doorknob jingle-jangling. Winter Wonderland played out from a radio sitting on the store's counter, each note a Christmas cookie bite of nostalgia.
Spam tins and boxes of corn flakes in one aisle, stocking stuffers and sets of wooden blocks in another -- Gregory's General Store had everything the town needed. Customers filled up on gas at the pump outside and came in to buy potatoes and teddy bears and toothpaste.
Amalia wasn't here to fill her tank or check off items from her Christmas list, however. On tiptoes, she crept up behind Jake, covering his eyes with her palms as he straitened cans of beans on the lowest shelf. "Guess who!"
Under her hold, the sides of Jake's mouth moved up in a wide grin. He twisted around and stood as she slid her hands around his shoulders. His fingers linked together at the back of her waist. "Amalia, I missed you."
"Me too. It's been hard to get away. Mother has been keeping me busy."
"Well, I'm glad you're here now. And good timing, too. My shift's about to end." He rolled his stock cart to the back of the aisle and grabbed his coat from a wooden peg. "So long, Mr. Gregory. See you tomorrow."
Mr. Gregory looked up from his newspaper, sunken eyes smiling from behind heavy lenses. "Oh, Amalia is here, I hadn't even noticed. Good to see you, dear. Have a wonderful evening." He winked at Jake and then turned back to his paper. Grabbing Amalia's hand, Jake led her back to the entrance.
Before leaving the store, he paused to listen to one more refrain of Winter Wonderland. "I love this song, don't you?"
She smiled. "I love that I get to listen to it with you."
They stepped out into a festive atmosphere, the quaint little town all decked out in its Christmas finery; garland-draped doorways, venders selling roasted chestnuts and hot chocolate from street corner stands, wooden cut-outs of Santa and his reindeer suspended from the roof of Clements Hardware. "What would you like to do, Amalia?"
He sings a love song As we go along Walking in a winter wonderland
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Truth be told, there wasn't much to do around here, not that it mattered. She came for Jake, not for a thrilling adventure. Jake's town moved at just the right pace for her. And so did Jake himself. "Let's take a walk."
The music faded as they strolled away from Gregory's, mitted hand in mitted hand. In her head, the melody continued. No doubt, it would get stuck there for days, providing solace during the long hours she was forced to spend away from Jake.
They headed down Main Street, saying hello to neighbors and strangers alike, window shopping and enjoying the light displays set up across the street in the town square. Featherlike snow began to fall as late afternoon turned to early evening. On a bench in the park next to the twinkling lights of the town's towering Christmas tree, Amalia sat nestled into Jake's side, his arm over her shoulder.
