CHAPTER 3

I woke early the next morning from a mixture of holiday excitement and Sharky’s usual hogging of the bed, making me squish up into a tiny ball in the corner despite it being queen sized. On the way to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, I stopped to admire my Christmas tree, still twinkling in the darkness. The glow from the white LED lights strung on the branches brought a warm glow to my living room despite the emptiness. Maybe it felt that way because my family was gone, I lived alone, or simply because the room looked bare without all the gifts from last night. All that was left beneath the tree were four presents...

I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Only four gifts... My heart raced as I flicked on the lights and dashed across the living room. There was one package for Mary, one for Felix (I couldn’t believe I got his name this year), one for Sharky, and the last one was a big box for my humanoid.

My gift for dad—the best gift ever—was missing.

Frantically, I searched the living room for the red wrapping paper and silver bow. When I finished empty handed, I moved on to the kitchen and my bedroom with no success.

Somebody must have taken it home last night. There was no other explanation. I hadn’t touched it since putting it back underneath the tree.

I crossed into the kitchen and put a kettle of water on the stove before opening up my sliding door to let Sharky out into my fenced backyard. I sat down at the table and composed a group text to my family.

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Ivy: I’m missing a red gift with a silver ribbon. The one for Dad. Did anyone take it home by mistake?

After a long string of No, Nope, and Not me’s, along with the whistling of my tea kettle, I set my phone down and poured myself a cup. How could the present just disappear?

Unless it wasn’t an accident.

Perhaps I was being sabotaged.

I tried to remember everything that happened last night, and I kept coming back to one person. My brother who loved to win.

Felix.

It had to be him.

I scrolled through the long list of replies from my family, confirming Felix had denied taking the gift. My stomach swirled. I didn’t believe him. He was determined to win this year, and he’d cheat if he had too, just like last year!

But what if he was innocent? I didn’t want to accuse him falsely, either. It was the holiday season and a time for family, love, and forgiveness. I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Even if I knew he did it.

Luckily, I had a trip to Felix’s house planned tonight. His wife, Faye, invited me over after work today to bake some holiday cookies. I’d search their entire house if I had to. I needed that gift. Not only was it a Spider-Man action figure, it was a limited-edition Spider-Man from the 1967 TV series. They usually went for over a thousand dollars on eBay, and I got it for a steal. For me, it was irreplaceable. Plus, the Parade of Presents already happened, and I couldn’t switch gifts.

If that gift didn’t turn up, I was out of the running. My presents for Felix and Mary were not strong enough to win the trophy. I rubbed a hand down my face and relooked at my text messages, identifying I hadn’t heard from Iris or my oldest sister Jeanine’s family yet. I needed to think positive. Maybe they were still sleeping and had accidentally taken my gift home. Before I did anything drastic, I needed a little patience.

But as my nieces said, waiting was so hard!

I let Sharky back in and hit the shower. I had a full day of data-entry at the office to take my mind off the missing gift.