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CHRISTMAS EVE
“Ba hum bug.” Anna huffed as she sat down in front of her oven to watch her tiny turkey cook.
She had made a cup of hot chocolate after getting off the phone with Olaf and she was busy swirling it about in her mug, contemplating the lies she’d just told her best and oldest friend.
“I’m fine! It will be nice to have a quiet Christmas by myself. I’ll just relax and unwind. It will be great!”
Marshmallow, Elsa’s enormous white cat had wandered over to her and mewled in confusion at Anna’s morose state.
“This Christmas sorta sucks,” Anna gave his ears a scratch, “but at least I’ve got you to keep me company.”
Marshmallow chose that moment to try to attack Anna’s fingers then bolt to the other room. So, Anna sighed and took a huge swig from her cup, hoping a sugary drink could wash her Christmas blues away, but it didn’t work.
Christmas was usually Anna’s time to shine. She lived for the decorations, the singing, the ugly sweaters, the spreading of Christmas cheer, and giving gifts. Yet, this year with no loved ones around her it all seemed to crumble, and she was left with nothing but a reminder of all the things she hadn’t done that year.
It truly felt like all the Christmas Magic had run out.
She looked at the imaginary list she’d made in her head of all the things she’d planned to do.
Get the job promotion? Nope. That’d gone to Mark. And technically she could now consider herself ‘unemployed’ after quitting for being so thoroughly passed over. The whole ‘freelance’ thing hadn’t exactly kicked in yet.
Spend more time outside? Hadn’t done that. The expensive hiking boots she’d asked for last Christmas hadn’t even been worn once.
Travel ? Nope! She’d been trying to get that promotion and putting in all the extra hours, so she’d passed on the opportunity to go to the Alps with Elsa and Honeymaren.
Make Connections ?
“Definitely not.” Anna answered her own question aloud and laughed sardonically.
SPRING EARLIER THAT YEAR
“Guess who I ran into today!” Anna said as she sat across the table from her sister.
The Mall of America bustled with activity all around them, and the little café Elsa had decided to use as their meeting point was completely packed.
“Who?” Elsa shifted forward in her seat, clearly interested.
“Kristoff!”
“Kristoff?” Elsa repeated in confusion.
“Yes, Kristoff! Do you remember that guy who helped me learn to ski at Buck Hill?”
“Oh,” Elsa nodded, clearly remembering. “Yes, that Kristoff. The one who you nearly killed when you ran into him coming down the ski slope the first time and he was openly hostile with you?”
“Well, I had nearly run him over, Elsa.” Anna rolled her eyes. “Of course, that would upset anybody. But he ended up being super sweet and he actually helped me a lot! I can actually ski now, so when we all go to Switzerland, I’ll be able to participate!”
“Uh huh.” Elsa grinned. “And I believe you also described him as a ‘major hunk’, too.”
“I don’t think I used those exact words.”
“You absolutely did. I can call Honey if you’d like a second witness?”
“Okay, but he is.” Anna continued, rushing on. “Well, I never got his number because I got too into my head about only just having broken up with Hans and then I regretted it for weeks, but I bumped into him today at Ikea! I guess his mom actually lives in Apple Valley, only like 20 minutes from your house! He was just visiting her on his way out of town and happened to see me.”
“Oh, does he not live here?”
“No, I guess he lives way up past Two Harbors, but he said he does deliveries for this company called Wandering Oaken’s and it takes him into the Cities pretty often.”
“So….?”
“So, what?”
“So, did you get his number?! Are you going to see him again, or what?”
“Oh! Yeah! We’re going to work something out when we’re both free!” Anna nearly squealed.
SUMMER – A FEW MONTHS LATER
“This is so stupid!” Anna groaned out to Elsa from her position on the couch.
She tried to shift herself over to grab her water herself, but immediately yelped in pain due to the deep sunburn that spread across her body.
“You’re lucky that you’re not in the hospital.” Elsa huffed, helping her sister get a drink. “I can’t believe you fell asleep tanning. You shouldn’t even be tanning! That’s so dangerous!”
“I wasn’t tanning .” Anna whined. “I was just trying to get a little bit of sun in before I went to the lake with Kristoff, so I didn’t get a raging sunburn then . Now, I can barely move and I am never going to see him! We’ve been trying to get our schedules to line up for months and it just hasn’t happened!”
“Have you even been able to meet up with him once ?” Elsa asked.
“No!” Anna groaned. “And normally I would have stopped trying to make things happen a long time ago, but I don’t know! He just seems so… genuine! He doesn’t even have an Instagram, Elsa! Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve met a guy who didn’t have an Instagram?”
“Well, hopefully you can work something out.”
“Hopefully.” Anna whined, pitifully. “Can you help me type out a text to him? I can’t move my fingers.”
FALL- A FEW MONTHS LATER
To say that Anna was thoroughly surprised to find she had a missed call and a voicemail from Kristoff was an understatement. She hadn’t forgotten about him, by any means, but she had assumed he’d forgotten about her .
Their conversations and attempts to meet up had gradually trickled to a halt about a month after the sunburn incident.
“ Hey, Anna, it’s Kristoff. I’m sure you’re still pretty busy with work... or seeing somebody at the moment, but I just got to thinking about how I really hoped you weren’t. Anyway, there’s a Halloween party in St. Paul that I was invited to and I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go? If not, I totally understand! I just thought I’d reach out one more time because I think you’re pretty great, and I don’t meet girls very often.”
There had been a voice in the background that led her to believe that he might be out with a friend because the voice had said “I think you mean you never meet girls.”
Anna’s cheeks had been so warm, and her heart had pounded as she’d tapped out a text message to him: I am actually crazy busy with work. But you’re in luck, I’m not seeing anybody. Where’s this party?
They had worked out the details, Anna had spent hours deciding what her costume should be, specifically asked off work, and was just about to jump in the shower a bit early to get ready for what was undoubtedly a date when she got another call.
“Anna?” Kristoff’s voice had sounded strained.
“Hey, what’s up?” Anna asked, already having a strange sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“You are never going to believe this.” Kristoff sighed, and there was a sound of cars whizzing by him in the background. “My truck broke down on the side of I-35.”
“Oh no!” Anna gasped. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, truck’s… well stupid, but fine.”
“Well, where are you, I could come get you?”
“I’m… I’m about 15 minutes South of Duluth.”
“Oh.” Anna bit her lip. “That’s a long way.”
“Yeah, it makes no sense for you to drive so far north only to turn around and drive back. I’ll just get an uber or something, I was just calling to let you know I’d probably be a little late-“
“Kristoff, an uber on Halloween into the Cities will cost you a fortune. That’s over a hundred miles.”
“I mean… sorta, but-“
“Listen, it’s okay.” Anna sighed, though she decidedly did not feel okay. “Let’s do a rain-check?”
There was silence for a moment. “Yeah. Okay. Rain-check.”
“I’ll be sure to wear my Halloween costume, too.” She said, and she was rewarded with a laugh.
“Okay, sounds great.”
CHRISTMAS EVE AGAIN
Anna spent such a long time staring at her turkey cooking, reflecting, that her legs fell asleep. So, she stood up and tried to shake out the pins and needles, then decided she may as well begin putting together the rest of her meal.
“Oh, damn!” She exclaimed after placing everything on the counter. “I forgot cranberries!”
She could eat her little Christmas Eve dinner without them, she supposed. But the only way she could really stomach the wet-napkin flavor of turkey was with cranberry sauce on top. She chewed her lip for just a moment, deliberating what she should do, then flipped off Elsa’s oven.
“I’ll be back, Marshmallow!” She called through the house as she pulled on her boots, and shrugged on her coat and hat.
There was one grocery store that she knew would be open on Christmas Eve night. She remembered being scandalized and thinking to herself at the time that ‘nobody should be out at the store on such a major holiday’. Yet here she was, trudging to her car, quickly scraping the windows free of snow to go do just that.
“Just cranberry sauce.” She mumbled to herself as she arrived and parked next to a rickety old truck. “I won’t even get fancy. I’ll get the stuff straight from the can.”
She shuffled in through the automatic door, went straight to the aisle she needed, snagged the very last can and hurried to the front, getting in line behind a massive blond man.
Anna got stuck staring at the way his hair brushed the collar of his coat in a faintly familiar way.
“Kristoff?” Anna found herself asking.
He turned, all shaggy hair and big brown eyes, and blinked in surprise. “Anna?”
“What are you doing here?” Anna asked, shocked to see him.
“I’m picking up something for my Ma. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be in Switzerland at Christmas this year?”
“My sister and her wife went, but I didn’t get to go. You remembered that?” Anna looked at him, knowing she had mentioned Switzerland sometime in the summer.
“Yeah, of course. I would have called to let you know I was in town if I had known you were here. We still have that rain-check.”
“I honestly didn’t think you would want to take me up on that offer after… well this whole year.”
“Oh no, I definitely do.” He nodded at her earnestly.
Anna felt herself blushing so she looked down and her eyes caught on what was in his basket. “Thanks for leaving at least one for me.”
“You mean you forgot cranberries, too?” Kristoff chuckled, holding up at least a dozen cans .
Suddenly they were both laughing and couldn’t stop even when the store clerk coughed to get their attention.
“I’ll get her can, too.” Kristoff told the employee, then turned to Anna. “I insist.”
“Alright. So long as you let me pay next time.”
“Deal.” Kristoff smiled warmly at her and Anna felt her heart stutter.
Maybe there was some Christmas Magic at work after all.
They thanked the cashier then walked out to their cars. Anna found it unsurprising that the truck she’d parked next to was his.
“Hey, so I’m sure you’re busy tonight-“ Kristoff started.
“I’m not!” Anna said quickly.
“Well,” He gave her a lopsided grin. “I know a place that’s got loads of cranberry sauce? If you wanna come… I mean, my whole family will be there and that could be awkward, so I totally understand if you don’t want to-“
Without thinking about it she rose up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Kristoff, I’d love to come.”