The Sprite Before Christmas by Roxy Boroughs

Author:Roxy Boroughs
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780992127190
Publisher: Roxy Boroughs

Chapter Five

“Bumpy like your relationship with Noel? So far, I’ve seen little evidence to support such a claim.” Holly flew to the window seat and strolled along the sill with her hands clasped behind her back, reminding Faith of a lawyer cross-examining a witness. “Let’s look for proof by revisiting the early days of your marriage.”

“At first, everything was wonderful.” Hardly an indictment but, given Holly’s demeanor, Faith worried the sprite could sniff out lies and charge her with contempt of court.

“Wonderful, you say. Despite Noel’s parents?”

“Yes, but the writing was on the wall.” The die cast. The chord struck. “Noel wanted so much to please his dad. But he always put me—put us—first. We were a real team. If I had a gig with Bastian, Noel would tag along for moral support. And if Noel was short-staffed, I helped out in his catering business. Together, we saved enough money for a down payment and bought this house. If we had an afternoon free, we’d race home and have a picnic lunch here in the living room. He’d feed me strawberries dipped in chocolate.” Faith’s skin warmed as she remembered. “We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. Kissing, cuddling, making—”

“—Unless you were making cookies, I don’t want to hear about it. I’m a G-rated sprite.” Holly fanned herself with her music sheet, then rolled it up again and stuck it back in her belt. “When did things start to cool off between you?”

Faith frowned. “After a year or so. Bastian got a gig touring in a production of Spamalot. I was so proud of him, but it left me on my own without a musical partner.”

“How did you fill the time?”

“I used to—” Faith stopped talking, wondering where Holly planned to steer this interrogation. “Why are you asking these questions? You said you knew all about me.”

“Think of me as your therapist. Your very own Dr. Phil—but with wings.” Holly slapped her knee as she laughed. When Faith didn’t join in, the sprite sobered. “Seriously though, I’m trying to get to the heart of your concerns so I can best serve you.”

That certainly sounded good, and Holly appeared sincere—her gaze steady, her eyes big and bright. “I guess that makes sense.”

“So answer the question. What did you do after Bastian went on the road?”

“I helped Noel with his business when I could—peeling potatoes, bussing tables, serving, cleaning up, keeping track of receipts.” And keeping her eye on Tiffany, the dark-haired Venus in Noel’s employ. “Mostly though, in the early days, we needed an outside income to cover the bills, so I picked up shifts in other restaurants. To keep my hand in the music business, I also assisted the church’s youth choirmaster, a retired music therapist, who taught me a lot about working with teens. Just when I thought I’d be contributing to the gig economy for the rest of my life, Ms. Kwon called one autumn, and asked me to help out with one of her philanthropic endeavors in Seattle.

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