Page 54 of Chasing Cheer
Holly took her time learning her way around the kitchen. She almost never cooked at the North Pole. The elves took too much pride in serving her. Eventually, she figured out where the various dry goods were stored as well as a few serving plates and dishes. She made up some trays of bagels and spreads, fruit, and cheese, arranging them in a pleasing pattern.
Finally satisfied, she carried the two large dishes to a table in the lobby. It appeared most of the guests were up and in various stages of checking out or settling in. A couple of children made a beeline for the breakfast platters, and their father thanked Holly gratefully.
After all the single nighters checked out and others returned to their rooms, only one family with two elementary-school-aged children remained in the lobby. They had taken a weeklong vacation and were staying at the Emerald House through the Christmas faire.
“We’d planned to go visit my sister about thirty minutes from here today, but I don’t think she’d want us driving until this clears up,” the mother informed Holly, seeming to think she was a member of the staff.
“Of course. I think we have some board games around here. Is there anything else you need for the kids?”
“Luckily, they both like to read, and we have some crafting supplies in the room. Board games would be great too. All right if we just hang out in the café area? They might get cabin fever in the room, as delightful as it is.”
“Absolutely,” Holly assured her, thinking about the rest of the day. She should probably prepare something for lunch for the family if the power was still out then.
Ash reappeared then, and Holly and the family all turned toward him. He was carrying a stack of board games, and he set them down on the counter. “Help yourselves.” He winked at the kids, who smiled at him shyly and began to sift through the games.
Next, Ash grabbed a bagel and smeared it with cream cheese. “This looks great. I see the guests are helping themselves. I didn’t actually realize how hungry I was until I saw this.”
“Can I challenge you to a board game?” Holly asked, hoping to make up for running out on their conversation the previous night. She wanted him to know that she still considered him a good friend. “Though I’ll admit I’ve never really played before. Not any of these games, at least.” She eyed the stack, from which the family of four had already selected a game called Sorry. Holly thought it seemed like a strange name for a game.
Ash’s jaw dropped. “What? Do they have different board games in Canada?”
Holly was unsure of the answer, so she said, “My parents were fans of homemade games. We had some family heirlooms that don’t exist on the market.”
“No way! You had your own original board games? I would like to see those. But in honor of your introduction to average-people board games, I’ll let you choose whatever you want.” He grabbed a plate and added a few more morsels of breakfast to it then walked to the stack and leaned against the counter.
She felt the strangest urge to wrap her arms around him, and she quickly turned her attention to the board games. Studying the stack carefully, she said, “Hmm, are there any here that are better for two players?”
Ash looked through them before sorting them into two stacks. “There. All these are good for two players.” He stepped aside so she could pick one and pulled out his phone. “I’m just going to check on Sof.”
“Tell her hi from me. And we can make this a three player if she wants to join us.” Having another friend there might help balance the gravitational pull she felt whenever he was in the room.
Ash passed on the message and spoke to Sofia for a few more minutes.
“All right, well, call me if you need anything,” he said then hung up the phone.
Holly turned to look at him, waiting for him to fill her in.
“She says the power is off at her house, too, but that this is the ‘perfect opportunity to stay home and work on my jewelry.’” He put air quotes around the words. “She wants to make a few more batches before the Christmas faire. So I guess it’s just you and me.”
You and me.She tried not to let the words have more power than they were intended to have.
“Which game is your favorite?”
“I’m actually more of a card guy. More action.” He snagged a deck off the table. “We could keep it simple. How about a game of War?”
“War?” Holly asked, eying the cards warily.
“Don’t tell me you don’t have cards in Canada.”
Holly laughed. “No, we do. But I’ve never played War.” She didn’t elaborate that she had a card game with the elves that didn’t involve any numbers, and each card represented a different Christmas-related item. The object was to combine the cards to make a Christmas lyric then sing it. She smiled at the thought then got her head in the game.
Ash explained War, and it sounded simple enough, though he had to keep reminding her which face cards were of higher value.
“What is a jack?” Holly asked. She understood king and queen but was confused by that one.
“Um, I don’t actually know. I think it would be like a courtier or something. Someone important in royal society,” Ash said, laying down a ten and taking her eight.
“Why is the king of higher value than the queen? In some societies, the queen is the more important one by birth. Remember Queen Elizabeth?” Holly let out a little cry of frustration as she laid down a two. Ash’s stack was growing much larger, while hers was shrinking rapidly. Apparently, her magic didn’t care about her winning a card game.
