Jingle Bells

Happy Holiday

He storms into the apartment, slamming the door behind him and dropping his briefcase on the counter. Nini looks up from where she's working at the kitchen table while he undoes his suffocating tie.

"Well, you don't look nearly jolly enough for the first day of Christmas," she says.

He doesn't bother looking at her. "I'm not in the mood," he mutters.

She sighs and gets up from the table, walking over to him and massages his shoulders and neck.

"What happened?"

"Don't wanna talk about it."

He starts walking over to the couch.

"Would peppermint hot chocolate help?"

"I thought I wasn't allowed?"

"I'm willing to make an exception."

"You are a saint."

She smiles, looking slightly relieved that it's not her he's mad at. Then, she walks over to the cabinets to get out the ingredients for the cocoa.

"I'm just about to finish planning the best princess birthday pet ever for the most adorable five-year-old you've ever seen," she tells him. "I think party planning is my calling. Pretty much the best job ever."

"Yeah, you're good at it," he says, grabbing his briefcase off the counter and walking over to the couch.

After making sure she couldn't see him, he opened the case and pulled out a piece of paper. It's a flyer. For the Christmas party in his office. Which he hasn't planned yet. Another thing he has to worry about.

"So, wanna talk about what's bothering you yet?" She asks him a few minutes later, handing him his mug and sitting next to him with a mug of her own.

"Not really," he says, shutting his briefcase before she can see the flyer.

"Maybe I can help."

He sighs. "It's just been... a crappy day."

"Well, that isn't allowed. It's the first day of Christmas."

He rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his hot cocoa and instantly starts to feel better. "Well, remember that meeting I was late for?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"The meeting didn't happen."

"What? Why?"

"Benjamin said some things that pissed me off. So I kicked him out."

"Wow. What'd he say?"

"Just... things."

"About work?"

"No."

"About you?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"It doesn't matter." He takes another sip of his hot chocolate. "Anyway, after he left, the copy machine went haywire, the coffee machine caught on fire, and my parents are already bugging me about the stupid Christmas ball."

"Wow. Anything else?"

He shakes his head, taking another sip. He refuses to tell her about the party because he knows that she's going to want to plan the whole thing and he doesn't think he can handle it.

She looks at something behind him, and her face lights up.

"Oooh Christmas colors!"

She reaches for the flyer, which he was dumb enough to leave sticking out of his briefcase. His eyes widen, and he sets his mug on the table so he could grab her wrist to stop her.

"Nini, no-"

She pouts, setting her mug down to try and grab it with her other hand. He grabs her other wrist.

"What is it? I wanna see!"

She tries pulling her hands away, but he tightens his grip. "It doesn't matter," he says. "Hey, wanna watch a Christmas movie?"

She looks at him, her face brightening. "Really?!"

"Mhmm. Any movie you want."

She smiles more, and he lets go of her hands. She stands up to find a movie, but first she reaches behind him and grabs the flyer before he can stop her.

"Nini- "

She gasps, reading the flyer. "You're having an official office Christmas party?!"

"Yeah-"

"I'm invited, right?"

"If it even happens."

She frowns. "What do you mean?"

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "That's another thing I have to worry about. We don't have anyone willing to plan it."

He watches her face slowly get brighter and brighter until she may as well be the sun standing in the middle of the living room. But she quickly calms down enough to talk, a smile still on her face.

"Wow, if only your girlfriend had a career as a party planner or something... Oh wait!"

"No."

"Please?!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll go crazy."

"You like when I'm crazy."

He rolls his eyes. "Nini, no."

"Nini, yes."

"You're not planning this party."

"C'mon, please? I know the office because I used to work there, I love Christmas so it'll be super easy, I'm qualified because party planning is my job, I'm your girlfriend-"

"Which is why I know you're gonna let this consume you and you'll probably drop dead in the middle of the office if any little thing goes wrong."

"Pretty please, Ricky? You can stop worrying about it completely, push it out of your mind. I'll take care of it."

"No."

"If you don't let me plan this party, I'm gonna be on top of you asking about it twenty-four seven."

"That's your choice of words?"

She seems to realize what she said, but she narrows her eyes at him. "That's my choice of words and I'm sticking to it."

He exhales. "Fine, you can plan the party."

She grins. "Really?!"

"But, remember that this is a party for an office full of professionals."

"Got it. Professional. Classy." She's bouncing on the balls of her feet, practically about to burst with excitement.

"Everything needs to be approved by me."

"Okay. You're on top."

He nods. "Like always."

She grins and presses a quick kiss to his lips before running to the table to grab her laptop and then sprinting upstairs. He hears the door to her office shut and he sighs, wondering what the hell he just got himself into.
________________________________