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Usually, Amalia loved Christmas. She loved the way the ordinary streets of Budapest became more magical - shop windows sparkled with tinsel and lights, the smell of gingerbread wafted from nearby bakeries, and somehow the snow became even more beautiful. She even loved the chaos and bustle of the holiday shoppers, trying to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones.
However, she struggled to find the magic this year. The mood at Maraczek’s was anything but peaceful as the holiday approached. Mr. Maraczek always seemed to be on the warpath, taking it out on Mr. Nowack who - just when Amalia was feeling bad for him - would take it out on her. So when the staff were asked to stay late and decorate, she felt anything but excited.
“Oh come on, Amalia, it’s not that bad,” Ilona said as she handled her a box of garland. “It’ll brighten up the place.”
“I hope you’re right,” Amalia replied. “We could certainly use a little more cheer around here.”
“No kidding, I thought Georg was going to quit today after the way Mr. Maraczek talked to him,” she said, sighing. “I wish we could do something to help.”
“I think this garland would work well on the banister upstairs, don’t you?” she said, choosing to ignore the topic as she sorted through the decorations in the box. She really did feel badly for the way Mr. Nowack was being treated, but she couldn’t bring herself to voice that.
Ilona gave her a sideways glance but let the subject change go. “Whatever you say, Amalia.”
Amalia carried the box upstairs and set to work decorating the banister.
“Can someone bring me that wreath?” she called to her coworkers below. “I think it’d go well in the center here.”
Mr. Nowack was closest to it, but she was still surprised to see him volunteer.
“Thank you,” she said as he handed her the wreath.
He gave her a weak smile to acknowledge her thanks and turned away, when a gasp from downstairs stopped him.
“Wait, Mr. Nowack, you can’t come down yet!” Arpad said.
“And why not?” Mr. Nowack asked, chuckling.
“Because you two are underneath the mistletoe,” he said, grinning.
Amalia looked in horror at the ceiling above her and, sure enough, there was a sprig of mistletoe. She then risked a glance at Mr. Nowack, who looked as horrified as she felt.
“Ha ha, Arpad,” he said, starting to walk down the stairs.
“I don’t know, Georg,” Mr. Sipos said, smirking. “It is tradition.”
Mr. Nowack froze, evidently trying to think of a way out of the situation. Amalia couldn’t decide if she was offended or relieved by his resistance.
“It’s just a kiss. What harm is there in a little kiss between friends?” Mr. Kodaly asked.
“I would hardly call us friends,” Amalia scoffed as the offense started to win out over the relief. Did he have such a big problem with her that he couldn’t handle a lousy social convention? “But I’d be willing to go along, for the sake of tradition, if only Mr. Nowack wasn’t too afraid.”
He turned to her, a familiar light of competition in his eyes. “Afraid? You think I’m afraid to kiss you?”
“I see no other reason for you to be so adamantly against it,” she said, shrugging.
“You - you - “ he said, glaring at her. “Fine. I’ll kiss you.”
Her pulse quickened and she felt herself flush as the reality of the situation hit her. Had she really just challenged Mr. Nowack to kiss her?
“Fine, do it,” she said, hoping he didn’t notice the way her hands had begun to shake.
He looked nervously down at their coworkers and back to her, slowly bringing his hand to her face. Her skin tingled where his fingers touched, and before she knew it their lips met and she was a goner.
Kissing him wasn’t supposed to make her feel like this. Her expectations were an unpleasant, chaste peck on the lips which they would immediately move on from. But this? This was none of those things. It was slow but passionate, and it wasn’t long before his hands were cupping her face and hers were on his chest. She was enjoying this, so much so that she may have let out a small whimper when he pulled away.
He gave her a look that would best be described as fearful before clearing his throat and turning back to their coworkers.
“There,” he said, blushing. Amalia was sure she looked the same, but she was still still pleased to see it - not that she’d ever admit that. “Are you all happy now?”
Downstairs, their coworkers were in the midst of a variety of reactions. Arpad stared at his shoes, his face was as red as his hair; Mr. Sipos was looking at them with eyebrows raised; and Ilona was staring at them, wide eyed.
“You’re right, there was nothing friendly about that,” Mr. Kodaly said with a smirk.
“Well, let’s carry on with the decorating so we’re not here all night,” Mr. Sipos said, apparently taking pity on his friends upstairs.
---
Amalia tried to throw herself into decorating, but she was even less focused on it than before. She had to admit that she was often preoccupied with Mr. Nowack and all of the little things he did to frustrate her, but this was the first time the preoccupation was almost pleasant - which only made it more frustrating than usual. She couldn’t stop glancing towards him, ridiculously aware of every movement he made. At one point, she even considered going back upstairs, hoping that he -
She had to get ahold of herself. Daydreaming about kissing Georg Nowack again was not acceptable. Granted, she didn’t have a lot of experience in this area, but she knew that you were generally supposed to at least like the person you’re kissing. And even if she did like him - which she most certainly did not - there was no way to say if he liked her. Sure, she felt something when he kissed her. It didn’t mean the feeling was mutual, and the last thing she needed was to give him something to hold over her head. Not that she truly thought he would do that, but it would still be embarrassing.
No, she needed to put this behind her. Deciding that this may be easier when he was out of sight - at least for tonight - she went to the workroom. But no sooner had she walked in than Mr. Nowack followed her.
“Miss Balash,” he said, startling her. She took a step further away before turning to face him.
“Yes?” She hoped he couldn’t tell how flustered his presence made her feel.
“I - um,” he said, biting his lip - which drew her attention, as ashamed as she was to admit it.
He took a step, closing the gap between them, and her heart raced. Neither of them spoke - she probably couldn’t have if she wanted to, she could hardly even breathe. He looked at her, his eyes seeming to silently ask for permission, and all she could do was nod.
And then he kissed her. She had been surprised by her response the first time, but now she gave in immediately. His hands went to her hips, pulling her closer as she wrapped her arms around his neck. In the moment, she didn’t question why it felt so amazing to be so close to him, she just enjoyed it - the spark, the excitement, the feeling of just letting go.
She wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but she was feeling light headed by the time they stopped. Still entwined, they looked at each other with uncertainty as they caught their breath.
“Uh-oh,” she said. This wasn’t good.