Christmasland - Anne-Marie Meyer Page 0,1

rim to her nose, taking in a deep breath. She closed her eyes as if it were the most exquisite thing in the world.

“You are hopelessly optimistic,” I said as I sighed. Em lived and breathed Christmas.

“Oh,” she said so loudly that it startled me.

I clutched my hand to my chest and gave her an exasperated look. “What the heck?”

If Em heard me, she didn’t say anything. Instead she leaned forward with her eyes sparkling from excitement.

“Beatrice Thompson, you are not going to believe what I won this morning.”

Realizing that she hadn’t startled me for a life-threatening reason, I settled back against my chair and thanked the barista as she brought me my drink. I picked up the bottle of cream from the middle of the table and poured it in.

I knew my hesitance to be as excited as Em was would bother her, but I didn’t care. It was our time-honored tradition. She got excited and I remained calm. There was no way I was going to start changing things now.

“Bea,” she whined as she dipped down to meet my gaze.

I brought my coffee to my lips and took a sip only to have the flavor of mint coat my tongue. “Bleh.” I’d just poured some mint-flavored cream into my coffee. Great.

No longer wanting my drink, I set it off to the side and then rested my elbows on the table and my chin in my palms. “All right, tell me.”

She smiled—a bit too bright—as she leaned in. “I won…” She paused as she glanced around as if the beanie-wearing man on our left or the group of high school girls to our right were trying their best to eavesdrop. “Two tickets to Christmasland.”

I blinked once and then twice as her words set in. “Did you just say Christmasland?”

Em pinched her lips together as she nodded. “Christmasland,” she whispered.

I reached down and pinched my leg. My best friend had actually said Christmasland as if that were a place that actually existed. As a sharp pain shot through my leg, I realized that this was not a nightmare but real life.

“I’m pretty sure there isn’t a place called Christmasland,” I said as I reached out and fiddled with the traitorous cream bottle. Why did everything have to be festive? Why couldn’t we just leave cream alone? Not everything had to have a holiday line.

“It so does exist. And I can’t wait for us to go.” She leaned back in her chair as she sipped on her drink.

“I’m sorry, we?”

Em smiled, but she must have seen my hesitation. Suddenly she was leaning in with a desperate look in her eye. “Come on, Bea. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s an all-paid trip to Vermont. We get to stay at the North Pole and participate in all of the festivities of Christmasland.”

I patted my cheeks and moved to stand. “I need to wake up,” I said.

“Wait!” She grasped at my arm in an attempt to get me to stay. Not wanting her to knock over the table just to keep me from leaving, I sat down.

I folded my arms as I studied her. I was ready for her to start making sense.

She took in a deep breath as she steepled her hands in front of her. She touched her lips with her forefingers. I could tell she was taking her time to find the right words.

“Think of it like this. It’s a four-day, five-night stay at an all-exclusive bed and breakfast. There are festivities that you can participate in”—I raised my eyebrows—“or not,” she amended. “You don’t have to participate.” Her quick change of course caused me to smile.

At least my best friend knew me. Silence fell around our table as I started chewing on what she’d said. An all-paid anything sounded amazing. I was trying to be a writer, but failing. The only thing that was keeping me off the streets was my job as a bank teller. Jonathan, my boss, had just been telling me that if I didn’t take my vacation days, they would disappear at the start of the new year.

So maybe this could work out.

I heard Em squeal. When I looked up at her, she covered her lips with her hand, but I could see her glee. I took in a deep breath.

“All right,” I said slowly, “I’ll go to Christmasland with you.”

She yelped, causing the beanie-wearing guy next to us to jump. He glared at her, and she offered him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry,” she