The guy’s eyes went right to Elda. “Oh, there you are. You’re the one I’m looking for, actually.” He rubbed his bare arms. “What the hell are you two doing out here? It’s freezing.”
“Try putting on a coat, Sal. It’s Minnesota,” Holly said.
Elda gestured toward the guy. “Sal, Danny. Danny, Sal. My little brother.”
“Oh, hey.” So, he was Holly’s cousin. Danny’s stomach dropped even harder than before. Since Sal wasn’t Holly’s boyfriend, she was definitely rejecting Danny for reasons that had everything to do with Danny himself.
Sal grinned sheepishly at his sister as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I was looking for you, because I need some help…?”
Elda’s shoulders dropped. “Dude.”
A snicker escaped from Holly’s lips, but she covered her mouth and kept her eyes on the mountain of candy. It was the first time Danny had heard her laugh. It was cute, musical, more girly than Danny would’ve expected.
Sal winced. “Sorry.”
“You’re seventeen,” Elda said. “You’re fully capable of handling this yourself.”
Danny’s glance bounced between Elda and Sal. They had their sibling shorthand down pat.
“Obviously, I’m not,” Sal said.
“Well, you need to learn.” Elda raised her eyebrows.
“So, teach me.” Sal pointed to the door. “No time like the present.”
Groaning, Elda hoisted herself from the floor and said, “Be right back.”
Once they’d left the garage and were back in the house, Holly let out the giggle she’d been holding in. The whole garage filled with the tinkling sound of her laughter.
Danny eyed her warily, trying hard not to grin himself, which was hard. Her laugh was infectious. “What? What’s she doing for him?”
Holly clamped a hand over her mouth, and her skin went pink to her hairline. “God, ugh. I shouldn’t be laughing. It’s not funny.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “There. Okay. Never mind.”
“What?”
She pressed her lips shut again, and her eyes started watering. But despite all her effort, another laugh escaped her lips. “Damn it.” She chuckled again, which made Danny start laughing. He couldn’t keep it in anymore.
“I don’t even know what we’re laughing about,” he said.
“And I’m not going to tell you.” She stood and shook her arms out, centering herself. “It’s gross.”
“Well, now you have to tell me. My mind has gone to some very dark places.”
Holly covered her mouth, and a wayward snort escaped her. “It’s not funny. I laugh when I’m uncomfortable.” She leaned down and grabbed a handful of orange gumdrops. She handed a few to Danny, her soft fingertips touching his palm. Danny’s whole body shivered.
“It’s the plumbing here,” Holly said, putting a few feet of space between them. “It can’t handle Sal’s…” She held out her hands and shrugged. Her face went pink again.
Danny felt his own face flush. “Ah. Some little cousin got a hold of Elda’s phone last night and mentioned something about this. I thought it was a joke.”
“No, not a joke. Like, forever this has been a thing.” Holly’s breath made clouds in the chilly air. “Sal’s too embarrassed to ask anyone but Elda for help. She’s the toilet whisperer.”
So, the girl he’d come here to ask out was known to her family as “The Toilet Whisperer.” Okay. “Well, if you’re going to have a superpower…”
Holly nodded in agreement. “I mean, the fact that she has one at all is impressive.”
This bathroom conversation could be over, as far as Danny was concerned. “Do you have a superpower?”
Holly popped another gumdrop in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Invisibility.”
Danny winced playfully and straightened up taller to whisper. “I hate to break it to you, but I think your power has worn off. I mean, I can see you.”
She squinted. She was wearing lime green eye shadow behind her thick, red plastic glasses. “But do you? Do you really? Or is your mind just playing tricks on you?”
“Wow. Now I’m starting to think your actual superpower is playing mind games.”
The two of them glanced out the garage door to the house. No Elda.
“Does this usually take a while?” Danny asked.
“Depends.” Holly bit her upper lip for a moment. “Elda’s awesome. I mean, who do you know who can fix a clog, while being so discreet about it?”
“No one,” he said. “Absolutely no one. And she remembered I like Take 5 bars.”
Holly flushed. “Yeah, see? Awesome.”
Danny checked his phone. The Sugarplum Sweethearts competition started soon. “Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“Elda. Is she just this nice to everyone, or does she actually like me?”
Holly looked him right in the eye. The lights above glinted off her chartreuse eye shadow. “She likes you. Honest.” She bit her upper lip again. “She remembered your favorite candy bar for eight years. I’d say she’s liked you for a while.”
Danny glanced at the door again. He used to sit by his front window around Christmastime and wait to see if Mrs. Page’s granddaughters were coming to visit each year, ever since his family moved into their house next door. Now they were here, and one of them had remembered his favorite candy bar since they were ten.
He was going to ask Elda to hang out. That was how these things went. Girl likes boy, boy likes girl, boy asks girl out. Right?
Danny’s mouth went dry again. He hadn’t done this kind of thing for a while—not since the early days of his relationship with Star. That was his main problem. He was nervous. He was scared of rejection, so his body was reacting negatively to asking Elda out.
He glanced at Holly, who’d sat down again and was looking over her candy supply. Her back was to Danny, and he couldn’t help but notice the smooth slope of her neck, and her short, soft hair. He wanted to run his fingers through it, against the grain. He wanted to kiss up, up, up her neck to the rounded spot right behind her ear. He wanted…the wrong girl.
Danny picked up his crutches and stood from his chair. He had to get out of here. “Hey, tell Elda I had to go. I’ll text her later, okay?”
Holly raised a hand in a silent good-bye. She didn’t turn around as Danny left the garage.
…
Tuesday, December 19
“On your marks,” the mayor said. “Get set… Decorate!”
Holly grabbed a gingerbread figure from the ornate Christmas-themed platter in front of her. “You ready for this?” she whispered to Elda.
Hands shaking, Elda picked up her own cookie and placed it carefully in front of her, like it was a baby bird she was trying not to smoosh. “I think so.”
“Just follow my lead. We’ve got this.”
The first round of the gingerbread competition—cookie decorating—was taking place at the fancy French restaurant in town, Joyeaux Noel. All the contestants had their own round tables, spread throughout the dining room. Last night, Holly had sent a silent prayer to Grandma that her team’s table would be situated far away from Danny Garland’s, but no such luck. He was right next to her and Elda.