Carmen smiled to herself as she raised her cup of coffee to her lips. It was a quiet Christmas, but no less enjoyable for it, she thought. As she set her coffee on the table next to her, she looked across the room to her glistening tree. For once, she had purchased it legitimately. She chuckled as she thought of the measures she'd taken to conceal herself: a scarf wrapped around her face, and a large red wig in place of her usual fedora. She didn't often bother with disguises; most people, she found, paid so little attention to news reports on her thefts that she could walk around unrecognized. And if someone did recognize her, well, she knew how to escape sticky situations like no one else. If only those detectives hadn't been plastering my name everywhere, she thought, I wouldn't have needed that ridiculous wig. No one would even have seen me. As usual.
She shook her head, returning herself to the present moment as she walked over to examine her tree more closely. The fir itself was a legal acquisition, but the ornaments were another story, having come from the Golden Gate Girls' School. Carmen sighed as she ran her fingers over one of the glass balls, remembering her childhood home. Orphanages usually weren't happy places, she knew, but despite her share of troubles there, her memories of her first home were strangely fond. She and the other girls got along even better than usual, it seemed.
But that's in the past, she thought. I'm happy here. A nice, quiet Christmas to myself.
She stifled a laugh at her own thoughts. Most people wouldn't expect her to enjoy the calm, with no excitement provided by thievery. But as she bit into an almond cookie, she thought that this year, there was no other place she'd rather be.