Ticket 1207 by Robin Alexander Page A

I don’t think she was pretending.” Shawn shrugged. “She was smashed most of the time. Her best friend was a bottle of vodka. One year, she was so toasted that she put the wrong labels on the presents. My brother got a doll, and I got a dump truck that I didn’t want to give back.” She looked at the tree. “So what else will we put on it besides popcorn?”
    “I have a shrunken head Theo gave me. I was gonna give it to my brother for Christmas, but when I realized the eyes lit up, I kept it. I’m thinking it’ll make a good topper.”
    Shawn nodded with a smile. “Oh, yeah, that’s so New Orleans, that could be our theme.” Shawn rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I meant your theme.”
    “Ours,” Jill corrected. “We’re doing this together. You should know that this is probably one of the best Christmases I’ve had in a while. Thank you.”
    “Me too.”
    *******
    Christmas music was blaring from the TV as Jill and Shawn stood back and admired their decorations. The eyes of the shrunken head were lit up, and it made a fine tree topper after Shawn bored a hole in the bottom of it with a kitchen knife. The popcorn string had been wrapped around the tree, and the ornaments were made up of fleur de lis earrings, an alligator keychain, and Mardi Gras beads.
    Shawn raised her wineglass. “Perfecto.”
    “Now we can relax, prop our feet up, and—it’s midnight. Merry Christmas.”
    Shawn pulled Jill close and gave her a soul-stirring kiss. “Merry Christmas to you.”

Chapter 9

    Jill awoke just before dawn with a crick in her neck and a warm body beneath hers. The TV was still on. They’d watched movies for a long time, and Jill didn’t remember falling asleep. Since she was using Shawn as a bed, she assumed Shawn dropped off first.
    “Don’t touch my feet…I hate that…not that…either…okay…just for a…” Shawn mumbled as Jill carefully crawled off of her.
    She covered Shawn with a blanket and watched as she rolled onto her side before she raced downstairs to the store. She’d begun working on a charm bracelet but decided that it didn’t fit Shawn’s personality. Her new project was a silver watch pendant. Jill chose a chain she felt would complement it the best and slipped it into a velvet bag. All she had to do was sneak back upstairs and wrap it.
    “Did you know it’s illegal to work on Christmas?”
    Jill whirled around and stuffed the bag into her back pocket. “I wasn’t…I just came to check on a few things. How about breakfast?”
    “Yes,” Shawn said with a smile.
    Jill walked over and took her hand. “Eggs, bacon, pancakes? It is Christmas, after all, so we should splurge.”
    “I totally love your logic. Put me to work, I can make a mean pancake.”
    “All right, I’ll do the eggs and bacon,” Jill said as she led Shawn upstairs.
    “Can we make Christmas dinner, too?” Shawn asked with a yawn. “I think that would be fun.”
    “Yes, but I don’t have anything traditional. I’m sure we can pull some things together, though.”
    Shawn followed Jill into the kitchen. “After breakfast, I’ll run home, shower, and raid my pantry and fridge. Would you like to come with me?”
    “Oh, definitely. I’d love to see your place.” Jill took the pancake mix from the pantry, grabbed a mixing bowl, and set out everything Shawn would need to make the batter. “I feel like I should apologize for kidnapping you last night, but I don’t really feel guilty about it.”
    “So it’s okay that I don’t feel guilty about using your toothbrush?”
    Jill’s brow rose. “You did?”
    “No,” Shawn said with a laugh. “I was tempted, though, especially since you stuffed that dirty sock in my mouth.”
    Jill held up a finger. “That was the pizza, I’m totally innocent. I do have another brush. It’s in the drawer beside the sink, and it’s yours.”
    Shawn stirred water into the batter and gazed up at Jill. “A toothbrush is a very serious offering.”
    “Too