Welcome to Loud Loud Christmas Tales 2: The Sequel, like last year, this is a collection of one shot stories. Most of them (ha ha ha) will be 3,000 words or less. The stories will zig zag between different alternate universes, times, canon and non canon, and I love to use random background characters as much as possible! Some stories will parodies, some will be light, fluffy, others could be dark, anything to that degree. There might be a Hanukah story and New Year Story thrown in.
Also like last year, If you have a suggestion for a story idea, do tell me, I am open to them, though be mindful I might not to get to all of them and work with ones I think I can work with. Do check Loud Loud Christmas Tales, I may have already done that story idea you have there.
Last year, (I'm saying this alot!) I did a Loud House story based on Home Alone (someone' s suggestion) and some said I should do the second Home Alone, and so starting off this collection a nice long story of Home -A- Loud 2. In this universe The Loud siblings, Lincoln down are boys , Lynn up are girls. I also kind of followed the movie, but probably forgot some details so yeah. Anyway! Thanks for reading!
Story 1: Home A Loud 2
Prompt Premise: Leif Loud has an argument with his family and ends up being on his own for Christmas once again, but this time in New York City!
It was a few days before Christmas, again at the Loud House. Like last year, the Louds were preparing to go on a Christmas vacation out of the state. The kids were running through the house looking around for various things.
"Has anyone seen my sunblock?" Luna asked.
"What's the point of going to Florida, if you are going to put on sunblock?" Leni asked.
"I don't care if I end up looking like a leather couch, I'm getting toasted," Lori said.
"So, don't blame me if people start searching you for change," Lincoln said.
"Lincoln's jealous because he doesn't tan, he'll just turn red," Luan said.
Rita was packing her suitcase on her bed, while Leif was watching TV. He was wearing a black dress pants and a white shirt. He has a digital recorder and playing with it.
"Leif? Do you have your stuff packed?" Rita asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Everything I put out for you?" she pressed further.
"Not those weird pants," Leif said.
"They aren't weird those are golf pants, you know, to play golf," Rita asked.
"Nobody my age plays golf."
"Did you see what Myrtle sent you?"
"Let me guess, Blues' Clues swim fins?"
"An inflatable clown to play with in the pool."
Leif didn't find that interesting at all. He turned his attention to the television. The game show was wrapping up and promoted a hotel in New York. Lynn Sr. came into the room holding a bell ornament.
"Hey Leif, are you packed?" he asked.
Leif decided to let his recorder answer for him.
"Yes," Leif's pre-recorded voice said.
"Are you getting a cold?"
"No."
Rita took the bell and puts in a suitcase.
"Why are we having Christmas in Florida? There's no snow, that's not Christmas," Leif complained.
"Christmas isn't about the snow," Rita replied.
"There's not even a Christmas tree!" he added.
"What's with you and Christmas trees?" Rita asked.
"You should get your tie on," Lynn Sr. said.
"But it's all the way upstairs in my room, and I can't tie one anyway," Leif said.
"Get it, so I can tie it for you," Lynn Sr. said.
Leif hopped off the bed and walked out of the room and went upstairs. He saw and Lori dragging her suitcase from her and Leni's room.
"Make sure put your suitcases by the door before we go the Christmas pageant," Lori said.
"What are you, my new mother?" Leif asked.
After walking out of his parents' room, he was wearing a black tie with his fancy dress clothes, and shiny black loafers. He felt itchy and couldn't wait to shed all those clothes the first chance he got. He was in a children's choir at Royal Woods elementary. They had asked Lynn to sing with the younger kids since her voice worked well for deeper notes than the elementary kids. Rita was watching in the crowd with the rest of the family.
"Leif's solo is coming up, tell Lori," she said.
"Leif's solo is coming up," Lynn Sr told Lori.
Each Loud passes the message down to the next until, Levi told some random guy, the message. Leif was nervous, he didn't want to this, but the dumb music teacher liked his voice for some reason. Lynn was kind of bored, so she decided to have some fun; she grabbed a candle from Clyde and did a devilish smile. It was Leif's time to do his solo. Lynn started to hold the candle with the one she already head and behind Leif's head. Leif started to sing, and his ears were glowing. He didn't know why laughter was coming from the audience. That was until he felt a warm glow on his ears, he turned his head and saw Lynn standing there grinning. He punched her in the stomach, and she fell over and caused the other kids to fall like dominoes.
Rita was shocked all she could yell was "Leif!"
When they got him both Lynn and Leif were being starred down by the family, like they were about to be publicly executed. Lynn cleared her throat and stood up.
"I'm sorry. What I was did was un sportsman like conduct and I knew better. I understand if you put me in the penalty box, I'm sorry for what I have done, I just hope that you can forgive me for my actions. To you, Leif, I wronged you, it was foul move, and I deserve that flag on the play. I promise I won't do anything else that could mess up our trip to Florida," she said.
Leif couldn't believe that they were buying that.
"That was great of you Lynn, I'm glad you realized that was a wrong thing to do," Rita replied.
"Yes, I understand," Lynn replied.
"Do you have something to say, Leif?" the mother asked.
Lynn turned her head for second and looked at Leif and smiled then quickly turned it back before anyone would notice. Leif was angrier than he already was.
"You know what? I'm not sorry, I did nothing wrong. I was doing something, I didn't want to do without complaining and she decides to embarrassment, which you all laughed at, and she gets away with by giving a phony speech. Since all of you are apparently stupid to believe her lies, I don't care if this stupid Florida trip gets ruined or not. Screw Florida, Christmas in the heat, yuck!" Leif replied.
Then he stormed out of the living room and walked up stairs. The family could hear him slam the door on the bedroom door. Rita started to feel like this was she stuck in a sequel story, trying to hit the right beats of the original and decided to go check on her son.
Leif was lying on his bed, he had shed the suit and tie they were strewn about the floor, he was lying in his boxers. Rita opened the door and saw him with his pillow over his head.
"The last time this happened, it started like this," she said.
"Yeah with me getting crapped on," he replied.
"Not really words you should choose. That's not what happened last time and it's not happening now, Lynn apologized to you," Rita said.
Leif moved the pillow from his face.
"She didn't mean that I mean she tried to add every sports metaphor in the book, how could you take the seriously?" he asked.
"Dad's spending a lot of money to take us to Florida," Rita said.
"That's his problem, I didn't want to go in the first place," he replied.
"Well, you can stay up here and think about it, when you are ready to apologize to Lynn and the rest of the family…" Rita started to say.
"I'm not apologizing to Lynn, I'd rather take a long bath," he said.
"Fine, you can stay up here the rest of the night," Rita replied.
"Good, make sure Lexx doesn't come in here, he can sleep with Lincoln or Lars tonight," Leif replied, "I don't want to be down there anyway. If I had my own money, I'd go on my vacation, by myself. Alone."
"Well, that was your wish last year, maybe it'll happen it again," Rita said.
She walked out the room and closed the door. Leif put his face back under the pillow and muttered, "I hope so."
The next morning, chaos ensued as the Loud parents woke up late. Everyone was in a rush after being wakened. After everyone got dressed and the stuff into the family van, they did a head count. Everyone seemed to be there, and van backed out from the driveway. Rita was counting the tickets, she noticed one was missing and it clicked.
"Leif!" she yelled.
"I'm right here, and I have my own ticket, just in case you guys try to ditch me," he said, while adjusting his cap.
The family rushed through the airport. The Loud kids were wondering who they were going to sit next.
"I took the ticket that's near none of you," Leif replied.
"Hey, Leif, the hurt baby junk is getting old, why don't you drop it?" Lynn said.
"Why don't you shut your face?" Leif responded.
"Knock it off," Lynn Sr. said.
Leif started to look in Rita's bag for batteries. He saw an envelope filled with cash. Rita started shepherding her family into the terminal.
"Leif, give me my bag," she said.
"I gotta get batteries," he said.
"Bring the bag and do it on the plane!" Rita said.
"See, the baby's trying to ruin the trip," Lynn said.
Leon made some noises.
"Not you, Leon," Lynn replied.
The family hurried down the corridor which was crowed with other holiday travelers as well. Leif found the batters and placed them in his coat's pocket, he looked around for Lynn Sr' s brown trench coat. He started to follow, while trying to batteries in his recorder. The rest of the family runs down the way. Leif was finished and looked up for a man in a brown trench coat. The Louds made it to the gate.
"Dad, wait!" Leif yelled.
The man wearing the trench coat wasn't his father, but some businessman on his way to business. The rest of the Louds made it to the departure gate while Leif went down the wrong concourse, following the businessman. The ticket agents assure the family that everyone who had a ticket will be able to get on.
Leif didn't see the sign that said New York Departure Gate and the voice announcement saying last call for the flight to New York's La Guardia Airport. Leif ran to the ticket agent and handed them his ticket.
"Are you traveling alone?" the woman asked.
"I got behind my family, my dad just got on," he replied.
She handed him the part of the ticket she didn't need.
"Don't lose that,"
Leif rushed into the Jetway and the agent closed the door. He settled down in his seat and started to listen to his mp3 player. Meanwhile on a different plane, Lynn Sr. and Rita got bumped to first class.
"Maybe next time, we should just go on our own vacation just you and me," Rita said.
"What? And miss this fun, what would we do with out trying to wrangle kids," Lynn said.
Leif was eating breakfast and sitting next to him was a girl, she had long brown and seemed to be college aged.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked.
"No, why would I be cold?" he asked.
"You aren't wearing a shirt," she said, noting how he was dressed.
"Nah," Leif replied.
"Are you flying by yourself?" she asked.
Leif looked around the air line cabin and wondered what she meant if everyone else is around.
"I mean are you with somebody? Your Parents?" she asked
"Oh yeah," he replied.
"I used to fly myself when I was little," she replied.
"You were a pilot?" he questioned.
She shook her head, "No, my parents were divorced. My Dad would put me on the plane in New York and send me to Mom in Portland," she replied.
"Was it scary?" Leif asked.
"One time it was we had to make an emergency landing in Denver, and when we switched planes I got lost."
"How long?"
"Overnight, I slept in an unused phone booth."
"Couldn't you have asked the cops for help?"
"I avoided them. I was afraid they'd put me in a foster home."
"They do that?"
"If think you are a runaway; so, don't get lost."
Leif nodded taking in what she said.
"New York can be pretty rough when you are alone."
"Good thing, I'm going to Florida, no danger there, I think."
"What?"
"Florida is nice."
"Yeah? You are from there?"
"No."
Leif went back to listening to his music, the girl did the same with her own music. The flight went smoothly. He kind of liked how it felt not having his family bothering him for once on a trip somewhere. When the flight seemed to land, he looked around to see where his family went.
"Dad?" He called.
He was confused, no Dad, no Mom, no Lincoln, no Lexx, no Lynn, no Louds at all. They weren't that inconspicuous; they couldn't be if they tried. He noticed that everyone around was wearing winter boots, gloves, and jackets. He looked out the large window and saw planes.
"It doesn't get cold in Florida," he said.
He walked over to a ticket counter.
"Excuse me," he said.
"I'll be with you in a moment," the ticket agent said.
"How come it is cold outside, isn't it supposed to be in the seventies. I don't see anybody in shorts," he questioned.
"Just a moment, please," she said in a more irritated tone.
He backed away from the counter. He could see the New York skyline out the windows. It didn't click into his mind that he might not be in Florida, yet. Something did feel wrong, he at least could assess that something off. He ran back to the counter.
"I know you told me to wait, but this is an emergency," he yelled.
"Hold please, she said to the phone, "Yes?"
"What city is that?" he said pointing at the skyline.
"Odd question, New York," she replied.
"Oh no, it's happened again," he thought.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Where's Florida?"
"About a thousand miles south."
"Thank you," Leif squeaked.
He walked from the counter. He had to think it through for a moment.
"Ok, my family is in Florida, and this isn't Florida, this is New York, which isn't in Florida, it's in New York, "he said, "That's right, my family is in Florida, and I'm in… New York."
A weight had lifted off him he wasn't with his family; they weren't with him. By some happenstance, a wish had been granted once again. The first thing he did was put his coat on and find a taxi to do as the New Yorkers did.
Meanwhile, in Orlando. The Loud family were gathered at the luggage carousel.
"Everybody takes their own luggage!" Rita said.
"Why is it raining? I though this place always had sun?" Lexx asked.
"That's Phoenix," Levi replied.
"If we're going to get rain, we should have stayed in Michigan," Lexx replied.
Lynn Sr. grabbed the first bag off the carousel.
"This bag is Leif's give to Leif," he said to Lori.
"Give this to Leif," Lori said to Leni.
"Give this to Leif," Leni said to Luna.
That statement passed down to each Loud kid until it reached Levi. He noticed that nobody was next to him.
"Leif isn't next to me," he said, as he passed the bag up again.
"Leif isn't here," Lexx said to Lars.
Lars passed the message on to Lynn until the message made it back to Lynn Sr. who told Rita.
"Leif's not here," she said until she thought for a moment.
"What?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Leif!" She screamed.
Rita and Lynn Sr were sitting in an office across a steel desk from an airline supervisor. He asked them a few questions, they hoped they were clear in their panic and fright.
"Chances are he's still in the airport in Royal Woods," he said.
Leif had decided to do some sight seeing when he saw a hotel, the same one promoted during the game show the night before. He could see it from Central Park, but another thing also caught his attention: an elderly woman was standing with arms spread, covered with pigeons.
As this twist of fate would be, it seemed that two others had wishes that somehow intersected with Leif Loud. Harry and Marv had broken out of prison and were now in New York City, a good place to be to be unnoticed.
"You know what I smell, Marv?" Harry said.
"Garbage?" Marv asked.
"Freedom," Harry said.
"Falafel," Marv said.
"Money," Harry replied.
Marv had a thought in his head and looked at Harry.
"You don't think we should go straight for a while?" he asked.
"And do what? Be doctors? Everything's fine Marv, there's nothing wrong with what we were doing before," Harry said.
"Except we spent nine months in the clink," Marv replied.
"Shut up. We ain't gonna get caught this time, no more kids!" Harry said with joy.
The duo crossed the intersection, while at the same time, Leif was waiting for the light to change. The sing changed to "Walk" and he started to walk following the crowd into the street. Marv and Harry crossed the street, the other way, and Leif happened to brush against Marv. Marv turned his head to see what happened.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"I thought I saw something," Marv replied.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Nothing," he said.
Leif walked through the revolving doors of the hotel. The Lobby was massive, decorated ornately and had the err of luxury and expensive. The marble columns and potted plants and great lighting also helped.
"For reservations call our phone number 1-800-ROCKETED", the voice above said.
Leif pressed stop on his recorder and smiled. He walked to the alcove and found a phone booth. He called the number. When the phone call made it through, he cleared his throat to give a slightly deeper tone.
"Hello, this is Lynn Loud, The father. I'd like to have a hotel room, please," Leif replied.
"For which of our hotels, sir?" the guy on the other side said.
"The Kensington Towers, New York's most exciting Hotel," Leif repeated.
After finishing that up, he walked over to counter. A man with a sightly bushy dark hair with a wide almost grinch-like mouth, starred at Leif, who was trying to see over the counter.
"Can I help you?" the man asked.
"Reservation for Loud," Leif replied.
"A reservation for yourself?" the man asked.
"My feet are not touching the ground, how could I make a reservation for a hotel room, how is that your first though?" Leif asked.
"I'm confused," the man replied.
"I'm traveling with my Dad. He's on busines. He is at a meeting and decided that it would be best if I check in," he said.
Leif pulled out a credit card and handed it to the clerk.
The police had been called in to help with the Louds' Leif is missing situation.
"Do you have a recent picture of him?" one of the cops asked.
"In my bag," she said gesturing to Lynn.
"I don't have it," Lynn sr. said.
"Leif had it at the airport. He was looking for batteries, he has my wallet," Rita answered.
"Did you have credit cards in the wallet?"
"Credit cards and money," Rita answered.
"I want to notify the credit card companies immediately, if your son has the cards, we can get a location on him when and if he uses them," the officer said.
"I don't think Leif even knows how to use a credit card," Rita replied
Leif had got a suite at the hotel. It was spacious and had a view of Central park. The Mini bar impressed him with all the drinks and snacks. The bathroom had a giant whirlpool tub, sperate shower, and its own TV.
"Is the temperate alright for you, sir?" asked the bell man.
"It's okay," Leif said.
"Do you know how the TV works?"
"Duh…" Leif replied.
The Bellman held his hand out for a tip. Leif looked down and saw the handout stretched. Leif pulled a stick of gum of his pocket and handed it to man. Later, he found the spa and their mud bathroom, which of course piqued his interest.
"So, this is alright, I get to play in the mud, all I want?" he asked a woman.
"Yes," she said.
"Cool," he replied.
He took off his robe, revealing some new swim trunks he bought from the spa's shop and got in the mud. Though he was disappointed that he couldn't take any of the mud with him.
Rita and Lynn Sr were still in the office in Orlando, while rest of the family were in a hotel room. There was no news on where Leif had ended up, and the police recommended they go too and if any news, they'd call.
Leif was lying in bed looking through Rita's bag. The night's sky lights were twinkling out the window. He pulled out what was an extra shirt that belonged to Lexx, and Rita's address book. One of the addresses was a relative that lived in New York City, he thought he would visit them later if they were in town. Rita's wallet had a picture of the family with the family being themselves. He kind of missed them, a little.
The Loud family were in a motel in Florida, the rain was falling outside still. Rita was on the phone and Lynn was looking out the window at the rain as Rita hung up the phone.
"No?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"I thought he might be at home," Rita said, shaking her head.
"We'll have to just keep waiting," Lynn sr. replied.
"Do you think he's alright?"
The next morning, Leif got dressed, he decided to wear Lexx's white long-sleeved shirt under his overalls, since New York City was kind of cold. He went down the lobby to find out the hotel had gotten him a limo and pizza for free, because of an incident the night before, where Leif had to pretend to be his father in the shower to make the concierge think that someone else was there. This was his first time in a limo, it was comfortable ride. Leif was watching TV while the radio was playing.
The concierge decided to look through the room records for Loud, Lynn, and opened the file for the credit card details. He punched the card number in and waited for the machine to respond which it then says "Stolen." He smiled like he was the Grinch preparing to take away Christmas.
Marv and Harry were riding on the subway, in an empty car.
"We don't have the equipment to pull off anything big. I'm talking banks, jewelry stores…." Harry said.
"Art museums," Marv added.
"Right, that means we need cash, and we need it now," Harry said.
"How about the hotels? Tourists have cash," Marv asked.
"I got a better idea, stores ain't gonna make bank deposits on Christmas."
"Right."
"The Stores that have the most cash on hand are the ones that do moderate priced goods."
"Right."
"What store is gonna do the most cash business at Christmas time that nobody is going to think about robbing?"
"Liquor stores?"
"Nine-year-olds rob liquor stores."
Harry gabbed a piece of newspaper and handed it Marv.
"This is my idea, an ad for Duncan's Toy Chest, a grand toy store," he said.
"Excellent idea!"
Leif had decided to go to Duncan's Toy Chest to check it out. It was the biggest toy store he had ever seen! Toys everywhere to hearts content, of many types. Radio controlled planes were circling the ceiling, trains going around the walls, tanks filled with boats, play areas, a pop corn machine, and a soda fountain. He went to have some fun, first by jumping on a trampoline, and toy rifles.
Marv and Harry were also there, but not for any toys, they crawled out of toy house.
"Here's the idea, everyone leaves for their holiday, and we come out of our little house and empty the cash registers, turn off the burglar alarm, and walk out like we own the place," Harry said.
Leif went to the checkout counter; a middle-aged woman was checking the items out. She was skeptical about Leif being there, it was strange that young child was there shopping alone.
"Are you shopping alone?" she asked.
"This is New York, I'm afraid of my own shadow," he said.
"I like to check," she said.
"That's very responsible of you."
"Thank you."
"My pleasure."
"That'll be $51.75."
He took out the envelope with cash, the woman noticed the large amount of money he was carrying. He took out three twenties and gave it to her.
"How did you get all the money?" she asked.
"I have a large family," he replied.
She bagged the stuff.
"You have a nice store here, one the best places I've seen," he said.
"Mr. Duncan's a wonderful man. Did you visit Santa Claus?"
He moved in closer to her and whispered, "I'm eleven years old."
"Sorry."
"It's okay, I haven't hit my growth spurt yet."
"I mentioned it because if you'd seen Santa, you would have seen Mr. Duncan. He the supervising Elf in Santa's Workshop."
"The guy who owns the place is ding elf work?"
"Yep, it's tradition, he loves kids."
"I see."
"In fact, all the money the store takes in today, Mr. Duncan donates to the children's hospital, the day after Christmas. We total up the money in the cash registers and Mr. Duncan takes it down the hospital."
"That's very generous of him."
Leif decided to take an extra twenty out of the envelope to donate it.
He walked out of the store and went looking for the limo. At the same time, Harry and Marv were exiting the store. He thought he noticed someone familiar as turned around and did see those two, he quickly moved to make sure they hadn't seen him. Harry though he saw a familiar face, as well, and decided to look harder.
"It's him!" Harry yelled.
Leif ran, but the criminal duo gave chase. Leif ran through the crowd waiting for the light and into the congested traffic. Marv climbed up onto a streetlamp to look in the traffic as, Leif reached the other street.
"There he is!" Marv yelled.
Leif continued to run, and found a man selling dodgy beaded jewelry, He bought some and threw money then he broke the necklaces to let the beads fall on the ground to give Harry and Marv the slip. He had a slight head and ran through some pigeons to make sure they were slowed down and confused. Eventually, the boy had lost them. He made it to the hotel and the concierge saw him.
"Back so soon?" he asked.
Leif was breathless and pointed down the street.
"There's …two…guys…" he panted.
"What's the problem? The store wouldn't take your STOLEN credit card?"
Leif was scared and started to move back, but the man grabbed him by the collar. He was able to break free and ran inside through the lobby.
"Stop that kid!" The concierge yelled!"
Now three hotel employees were chasing him. He ran to elevator and waited for it to go to his floor. The employees found a different elevator and started on their own chase. Outside, Harry and Marv knew he was at the hotel and they knew he was alone.
"Alright Leif, we gotta get out of here, and quick!" he said.
Quickly, he put the stuff in the travel bag and made sure everything was secure. He put his coat back on slug the bag over his shoulder. He pressed the button to the elevator and waited impatiently. The concierge, the doorman, and security guards ran to the bedroom.
"There he is!" The concierge shouted.
The elevator arrived and Leif ran inside. He pressed the button to go the next floor, just under. In a different elevator the employees clambered into the elevator and the concierge pressed the ground floor button. On the 20th floor hallway, Leif runs through the away to the stair well. When the elevator made it to ground floor the crew run to it.
"You didn't see him?" the concierge asked.
The security guards shook their heads.
"He got off early, cover the stairs!" he yelled.
Leif ran down the stairs and he could hear hurried footsteps. He ran down to the next landing and disappeared into the hallway. He stopped at the elevator wondering if he should take it. Then he got an idea there was a maid's cart, he got on the bottom and waited for it to move, when house keeping was done with a room. They were on one of the service elevators and eventually made to where the carts would go. He waited for the footsteps to go away, he got out and found an exit and ran out into the alley way. Sadly, he wasn't safe. Harry and Marv were waiting. Leif discreetly pressed record on his recorder in his overall top pocket and zipped his coat up again.
"Well look who we have here," Harry said.
He smiled a menacing smile; his gold tooth showing. Then he grabbed Leif by the collar.
"We spent nine months in jail thinking we had the worst luck, but maybe the fates are looking upon us after all," Harry replied.
"Yep, And we aren't robbin' houses anymore. We're robbing toy stores. At ten o'clock tonight, we're rich," Marv said.
"You want to shut up," Harry said.
"What's the difference? He ain't gonna talk to nobody, except maybe fish or the undertaker," Marv said chuckling.
"Let's get him into the truck, I'll feel better when he's on ice."
They made Leif walk with them through the park. He saw a mounted officer on the curb, he thought it was time to make a move, but the crooks saw the cop.
"I got a gun in my pocket, you open your mouth, you'll be able to spit your gum through your forehead," Harry threatened.
They ducked their heads passing the office. The reached the corner and stood behind the other pedestrians, waiting for light. The two of them hold Leif close, Harry has his hand over Leif's mouth. Leif looked around for a moment, there was a woman in front of them. Leif thought of one thing, he pinched the woman's rear. She turns around and saw Marv with his dumb smile. She drew her fist back and punched him right in the face, he fell over and let go of Leif's hand.
"He did it!" he shouted pointing at Harry.
The woman turned her attention to Harry.
"Did what?" he asked.
Before he could find out the answer, she punched him.
"Thanks," he said.
She nodded, and he ran across the street. Harry and Marv looked up and got back to their senses.
"Where's the kid?!" Marv yelled.
"He went into the park," Harry replied.
"You okay?" Marv asked.
"Would I be on my knees if I was ok?" Harry asked.
Leif took off his cap and put into the travel bag and ran through the park. Eventually, Harry and Marv trudged through the park looking at different boys to see which one was the Loud boy.
"We should have shot him when we had the chance, I hate pulling a job knowing that kid's out there on the loose," Harry said.
"What can he do? Kids are helpless." Marv said.
"Where have you been?" Harry asked.
"He doesn't got house of death this time, he's alone, He's in the park, even grown up men go in there and don't back alive," Marv said.
Harry smiled at the thought of Leif lying there on the ground.
"Good luck, little fella," he mocked.
Leif breathed out sigh of relief. He stopped his recorder and wondered what to do next. The park was active with joggers finishing their runs, a businessman walking through park in a strange pattern. He looked at the sky, the sun was sinking behind the buildings; night was coming.
"I want to go home..., Mom, where are you?" he asked.
Back at the motel room, Lynn Sr was resting in a chair when the phone rang, Rita had answered it a hastened fashion.
"Hello!" she almost yelled.
"This is her," she said, "Oh my God!"
"What?!" Lynn Sr. shouted in panic.
"It's the Orlando Police, Royal Woods called, they know where Leif is!" she said.
"Royal Woods?"
"New York."
"New York?"
"Kids! We found Leif. They have him?"
Where is he?" Lexx asked, worried about his twin brother.
"New York," Luna said.
"Cool," Lars said.
"I told you he got on the wrong plane, he can't be in crowds, he's too short," Lori said.
"I'm sure he was sacred he's not a troublemaker," Rita said to the phone.
"What?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Can you hold on a second? Thank you." Rita said, "He must have my bag, he used your credit card to check into a hotel."
"He checked into a hotel?" Lori asked.
"On his own?" Lincoln asked.
"Ask if he spent all the travel money?" Lynn asked.
"Is he in trouble?" Luan asked.
"He got away from the hotel people when they question him, he must be scared," Rita said.
"Where is he now?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Do they have him?" Rita asked to the phone.
She frowned, signaling bad news.
"They have him?" Lynn Sr. asked.
She shook her head.
"Dang it!" Lynn Sr. replied.
"We'll catch the net flight, thank you," she said to the phone.
Lexx had tears in his eyes, his own twin brother was lost somewhere out there. They hadn't talk to each other for a few days, the last memory was Leif being mad at the entire family because nobody listened to him. Lexx felt he betrayed his own twin brother. He grabbed his cape and wiped his tears.
"Leif, please be all alright, I promise, I'll do anything, I'll play in the mud with you, once, just please be alright," he cried.
"Poor little guy, he doesn't deserve to be lost in a large city like this," Leni said.
"He might be cold, hungry, afraid, and having to fight off weirdest," Lincoln replied.
"I'm going to take the flight, Lynn, meet me in New York, when you get the chance," Rita said.
"Alright, good luck, Honey," he said.
Lynn Jr. got up she was wiping tears from her face. She got up and hugged her dad and looked at her mother.
"When, you find Leif, tell him…tell him, I'm sorry, for real, tell him, I have tears running down my face, and this isn't a joke," she said.
Leif tried to see if those relatives he saw in address book were home, but the place was mostly hauled out. The floors were gone, no banisters, pumping pipes, wood, cans of paint, bags of plaster, building materials were all over the place. He ended up walking in Central Park West. There was a man lying on the ground in his own world. A group of people were yelling and singing. Leif started to walk in a faster pace. The wind rattled the winter stripped trees. Leif wasn't watching where he was going and stumbled over a man sleeping against the wall.
"Watch it!" the man yelled.
He continued through the park and found some women who were waiting for someone. One of them lit a cigarette for the other Her nails were so long that they've begun to curl, she was holding the cigarette between her two fingers near her lips. Leif gulped and moved a little left in the path to be away from them.
"You lookin' for someone to read you a bed time story?" one the women asked sarcastically to Leif.
The other woman started to laugh; it was like an evil witch wickedly cackling.
"We'll tuck you in like your Ma neve did," she said.
The first woman leaned in closer to Leif and blew smoke near his face. He decided to run. He found a spot to hide and took a cookie out his pocket and took a bite.
"This is the worst vacation ever," he said.
A pigeon flew just behind him, he glanced and it. He smiled, the first interaction in some time that was somewhat comforting to see. He took piece of cookie and held out his hand of the bird. The bird studied the hand for a moment and figured that it was safe and started pecking.
"I guess you missed dinner, too. I have a pet bird at home, you seem nice too, better than the people I've run into," Leif replied.
He broke another piece off and noticed there were now 11 more pigeons.
"Where did you guys come from?" he asked.
They seemingly wanted dinner as well. He took a couple more cookies from his pocket and crumbled up the pieces and threw them for the birds to find. Then, he noticed someone in the distance it was the woman from earlier, the older woman who had pigeons on her arms. His heart started to pound faster, and his palms got sweaty. His instinct was to run, but the big boulders had other plans, his foot was stuck. The woman moved closer to him as, this was it, the end of Leif Loud, he thought. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to look so he covered his face. He felt her grab ankle and then nothing happened He looked and noticed that he was free, and he ran and noticed the woman wasn't chasing him. She returned to her place behind the rock and gathered her stuff. He walked over to see her, and she got nervous.
He reached his hand and smiled.
"I'm Leif Loud. I'm from Royal Woods… I'm sorry I screamed at you; you were just helping… right?" he asked.
She nodded. He tried to move closer, but she backed away.
"Your birds are very nice," Leif said.
She nodded. He sat down on a smaller rock beside the boulder.
"I've seen you a couple times, you had pigeons all over you. At first, it looked scary, but I guess it's not so bad; they like you," he said.
She didn't speak.
"I guess, it's because I never saw it before, people do that, they get scared of stuff because they aren't use it, you know. It happens around me; some people don't like reptiles and when I show them, they scream because they don't understand them. I'm a kid, so a lot things I don't know scare me too. I'm used to snakes, bugs, and stuff, so they don't scare me because I'm used to it, I guess you have to be used to something to not be scared," Leif rambled.
The pigeon Lady nodded her head and was still quiet. Leif was confused on why she wasn't talking.
"If I'm bothering you, I can leave, am I bothering you?" he asked.
She was quiet still then she said the line.
"No."
"Good, I'm not a pain in the but then?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"Will those pigeons come back on their own or do you have to call them?"
She reached into her pocket and grabbed a handful of seed. She reached for Leif's hand, and opened it, putting the seed in his palm. She motioned for him to throw it, Leif threw the seed.
"They can hear it," the pigeon lady replied.
The pigeons circled down and swarmed down on the seed. Leif was impressed he smiled.
"That's great."
Down in a tunnel, Leif and the Pigeon Lady were sitting over a small fire.
"I'm like the birds, people pass me on the streets and try to ignore me, they wish that like the pigeons I wasn't part of their city," she explained. "I love the pigeons because nobody else does, I know they love me because I take care of them, but I hope that they love me, because I'm easy to despise as they are."
"Yeah, I feel that way sometimes with my family. I'm one of the youngest, but I'm not a cute baby, a genius, or neat, he said.
"Everyone wants something to be something special," she replied.
"I guess, I am able to fix cars and junk," he replied.
"I wasn't always a crazy old lady."
"What were you before?"
"I had a job, home, and friends."
"Do you have kids?"
"No, I wanted to… but the man I loved decided he wasn't in love with me anymore. Then, every time I had a chance to be loved, I ran from it."
"That doesn't like a smart thing to do, no offense."
"I was afraid of my heart being broken again."
"I think I understand, I don't like to wear shirts very much, but there was this one shirt I won for my frog winning a hopping contest, I was afraid that If I wore it too much, it'd get torn or something, so I kept it away, and you know what happened?'
"What?"
"I outgrew it, it doesn't fit me anymore."
"A person's heart and their feelings are different than a shirt."
"It is though, kind of, if your heart isn't being used then what's the point?"
"There's something to that."
"I think you still have your heart; you wouldn't be this kind if it weren't your heart might be broken, but like a broken car it can be fixed."
"You are the first person; I've talked to in a couple years."
"That's okay, you are good at, you're not boring, you don't mumble, you should doit more often."
"I was working at keeping people away."
"Yeah, I think I'll have fun if I'm alone, but when I'm alone it not fun at all. I was born with a twin brother, so maybe I wasn't meant to be alone."
"So, what are you doing running around the streets on Christmas eve? Did you get in trouble?"
Leif smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah."
"You did something wrong?"
"A few things."
"A good deed erases a bad deed, you know that."
"It's pretty late, I don't know if I have enough time to do the amount of good deeds I need to do."
"It's Christmas Eve, good deeds are extra tonight."
"No way?"
"That's right, think of the most important thing you can do for others and go do it."
Leif got up and offered his hand to the pigeon lady.
"If I don't see you again, I hope everything goes well."
"Thanks."
At the hotel Rita was talking to the hotel manager. She was furious, her face was red.
"We'd like to offer you complimentary suite while…" the night manager said.
"What kind of hotel lets a child check in alone?" Rita asked.
"The boy, he was quite convincing and smooth, according to my people," he said.
"What kind of idiots do you have working for you?"
"The finest in New York."
"When you discovered that the card was stolen…?"
"I made the discovery!" the Concierge said, proud that he solved something.
"Why did you let him leave?"
"When we tried to confront him, he ran." The concierge replied.
"You scared him away, and because of you, on Christmas eve, my son is lost in one of the largest cities in the world."
Leif went back to his relatives' house and had to set up for a plan., He found an assortment of tools and got to work. He slid the flooring away from the floor joints, the basement below. He poured soap on the floor, took a plumber's bag, and filled it with wrenches. He put a nail into the door and tied twine to it. He filled the toilet bowl with paint thinner, removed the screws with an electric screwdriver, and pulled the door knob off.
Outside, Leif carried 4 opened cans of varnish and sat them in a group on the end of the scaffold. He continued making more traps and once he finished, He made it to Duncan's Toy Chest. The lights were dimmed, and the store was closed. Leif looked inside the window and saw Harry and Marv trot down the elevator and crossed to the first-floor cash register. He opened the travel bag and grabbed soap and squirted it on the sidewalk.
"Alright Leif, it's now or never," he thought.
He took out an envelope around a paving stone and put a rubber band on it. He marked the envelope with "To Mr. Duncan, the elf guy who owns the store" He banged his fist on the window. Harry and Marv look up, their fists were loaded with cash. Leif waved the grabbed a camera and shaped a picture. It Flashed.
"He took our picture" Harry said.
"I forgot to say cheese," Marv replied.
Leif held up the paving stone, and before Harry could yell, Leif threw the stone through the window, setting the alarm off. Then he ran down the sidewalk.
Harry and Marv stumbled and exited the store in a panic, dropping bills behind them. They leaped out of the window and landed right on the soap puddle and slip and fall on the hard and cold sidewalk and slid into the newspaper boxes.
Leif ran down the block, slowing at the corner, looked both ways and crossed the street. He waited for Harry and Marv to get up and showed them the camera before taking another picture. Leif then started to run as Harry and Marv gave chase. He wheeled around the corner and made it to the house and shimmed up the trash chute, eventually making to the roof. Harry and Marv are below looking around frantically.
"I'm up here, come and get me!" Leif called.
The crooks looked up. Leif snapped a third picture. Marv wanted to charge but Harry gabbed him before he could move.
"Hold on, we got busted last time because we fell for his traps; we don't go after him until we got a plan that we're sure is better than his," Harry said.
"This ain't like last time, Harry, this ain't his house, he's running sacred, there's no plan," Marv said with a confidence.
"May I do the thinking?" Harry questioned.
Harry looked up for Leif and called "Sonny?"
Leif looked over the roof.
"Nothing would thrill me more than shooting you. You understand?" Harry yelled.
Leif didn't respond.
"I'm gonna make you a deal, you throw down your camera and we won't hurt you, and you'll never see us again. Okay? Sound good?" Harry replied.
Leif thought for a moment, to make it look like he was thinking it through.
"Okay," he replied.
He set the camera down and grabbed a brick. Harry stepped forward and held out his arms to receive the camera.
"Give it to me, kid" he called.
Leif aimed and tossed the brink and it fell, and smashed Marv in the head, causing him to collapse on the ground. Leif smiled and adjusted his cap. "A direct hit."
"That kid ain't gonna listen to reason, Marv, we gotta go in and get him, "Harry said.
So they went with a new plan, under Harry's direction they went to different parts of the house's exterior On the front porch, Marv picked the deadbolt lock and heard it click, he grabbed the door knob and found that it came off in his hand. Then, he discovered it was tied to string and pulled that string. The string was pulled through the doorknob hole and the barrel of Leif's dart pistol rose to the hole; the string was tied to the barrel. Marv's persisted. The string was also on the trigger.
The next thing Marv felt was pain. Harry climbed up on a dumpster and got ready to leap onto the fire escape. Like a cat, he extended his arms and lowered his body to jump up like a spring. He grabbed the bottom of the escape and found it was greased and fell on the ground on his back. Marv shook off his pain and charges the door, opening it, and fell to the basement, with the floor gone.
Harry tried a new idea and marched up to the back porch and tried the door, it was locked. He kicked the door open; it was connected to the plumber's bag and opened the zipper causing wrenches to fall out and hit him.
Marv got back up and stepped forward and slipped on the soap, then he tried to stabilize and fell again. He grabbed a rope; it was tied to some open paint cans on a steel shelving unit and it fell on top of him. This was the first of many traps that Leif had set. They had ended but beaten, battered, burned, and bruised. These traps were worse than the ones Leif had done the year before. The young boy had decided to taunt the two men and lead them to fall into more perils.
"I'm scared, really!" he yelled.
Eventually he ran back up to the roof and had a rope, and hope that something he learned from Lynn would come in handy. He tested a rope that was secured to a 100 pound of cement and slipped on leatherwork gloves and pulled the length of the rope out of a bucket of kerosine. He tossed the rope over the side of the building slung his legs over the side, gripping the rope and lowered himself.
Harry and Marv hobbled up the stairs. Harry's face was filled with rage.
"I don't care if I get the chair, I'm killing that kid," he said.
"If we can catch him," Marv said.
Leif made safely to the ground and let out a sigh of relief. Harry and Marv made it to the roof and looked for the young Loud boy.
"Where are you kid? Harry asked.
"I don't see him, Harry," Marv replied.
"I'm down here, Morons!" Leif yelled.
The two crooks ran to the side of the building and looked over. Leif waved at them. Marv grabbed the rope.
"Let's get him," he said.
"Are you nuts?" Harry asked.
"What?" Marv questioned.
"That's what he wants us to do, you got a memory?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, so what do we do?"
"We gotta figure out what the little sniffle monkey's got up his sleeve."
Harry picked up the rope and tugged it and followed where it went to the bag of cement; he smiled. Then, he untied the rope from the bag.
"He's smart but no smart enough," Harry said.
"So?" Marv questioned.
"It holds him, it ain't gonna hold us, we get on the rope and we'll…" Harry explained.
He tied it around an iron vent pipe. Then he climbed over the edge of the roof and Marv grabbed the rope to follow him. Leif took out a match and struck it on the bricks and grinned devilishly.
"Are you wearing after-shave?" Marv asked Harry.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.
"I smell something," Marv responded.
"That ain't aftershave, it's kerosine, the rope is soaked in it,"Harry replied.
"Why would someone soak a rope in kerosine?" Marv asked.
They looked down and saw Leif holding the burning match and touched the flame to the rope. Harry had a look of terror on his face; his ears were bulging.
"Go up!" he yelled at Marv.
The flame shot up the rope, and the duo tried to outrun the flame they got a few feet and were overtaken, doing the only they could, release the rope, and fall to scaffold. It tipped because of the impact, some varnish cans were launched into the air and fell right top them dousing them with varnish. Leif ran to the phone and pressed 9-1-1, he looked up and saw a large swarm of pigeons circling overhead.
"Hello? The two guys that robbed Duncan's Toy Chest, are at Central Park West and 105th street, right by the park! Hurry! They got a gun!" He said.
The criminals made it to the ground, they were covered in varnish and the smell of it was encompassing. Leif decided to call them one more tie, they saw him and started to run down the street. Well, kind of run, as much as you can when you are limping. Leif turned and stopped for traffic; he ran around a bus that had slowed as it crossed the intersection. He jumped the curb and slipped on some ice. The strap on the travel bag broke and it went flying, he skidded into the park's wall. He looked over his shoulder and sees the two guys. They see him! He got up and scrambled to get the bag, his cap fell off and before he could pick it up, he noticed that the two men had disappeared after the bus had moved. He picked up his cap and started to run and ran into…Harry and Marv.
Harry grabbed him by the collar, his cap falling back to the ground, then carried the boy into the park. He grabbed the bag and unzipped, taking out the film. On the film can, it was written "BAD GUYS ROBBING TOY STORE" There was a small envelope with the words "BAD GUYS SAYING THEY'LL KILL ME". Harry chuckled.
"You have nice handwriting," he said.
He threw the bag into the park. There were some pigeons landing in the trees. Pigeons were gathering on the street and streetlight. Harry took the stuff and put it in his gym bag.
"You may have won the battle, little dude, but you lost the skirmish," Marv said.
"You oughtn't not mess with us,pal, we can be dangerous," Harry said.
Leif gulped, while Harry put his hand to Leif's neck and grinned.
"Should we burn his hair off?" Harry asked.
"How about we rip it off?" Marv suggested.
"Throw him in a basement?" Harry suggested.
"Bomb him with a sewer pipe?"
Harry was now holding Leif by the neck; he was scared and in pian. Harry then pulled out a gun with Marv grinning.
"I got a better idea," he said.
The trees were filled with pigeons, Marv noticed this.
"Harry?"
"Shut up!"
"Let's get out of here."
"I said, shut up!" Harry shouted, he turned his attention back to Leif, "I didn't get pack sixth grade and it looks like you won't either."
He cocked his gun, but then a voice said, "Let him go."
Harry and Marv turned around and see the pigeon lady. She was standing behind with a bucket of birdseed and threw it. The seed landed on them and stuck to the wet varnish still on their bodies. Harry dropped Leif and started to spit, trying to get the seed from his mouth. Some seed hit the ground causing the pigeons to swoop. Harry removed seeds from his eyes, his face was covered he blinked and sees the sight. A wall of pigeons dive bombed him.
Marv was in shock; his mouth was still open and all he could do was scream. The sound of sirens was coming down from the street. Leif grabbed his travel bag and ran away, and later found his cap. Harry and Marv were covered with pigeons they were twisting and scream, while the sirens were waling. The cops made it to the park and drew their guns, with the one of them firing his revolver into the air. This caused the pigeons to fly off. They see the sight of these two the men, their faces battered, splattered, and covered with feathers. They saw the cops and raised their hands over their heads. One of the cops saw the gym bag and unzipped it finding money, the roll film and the envelope holding the SD card.
Leif had gotten some distance and looked at what was going at Central Park West. He smiled. Marv and Harry were loaded into the back of a squad car.
"You guys should have started earlier, you missed prisoner gift exchange," he joked.
"We had to hide out until the cleaning guy..." Marv started to say, until he was kneed by Harry.
"Why don't you shut up, Marv, Didn't the guy just say we have the right to remain silent?" Harry said.
The pigeon lady was standing at the wall, one of the cops tipped his hat to her.
"Merry Christmas, Annie," he said.
"Merry Christmas," she said after a few seconds, softly.
She grinned, he grinned back.
"We're having a little holiday party back at the station house for the night guys; would you like to come along?" he asked.
She looked down, and moved her foot back and forth, and looked up with a smile and nodded. The cop escorted Annie to his car.
"Are you a beer drinker?" he asked.
"No," she said.
"Egg Nog?" he asked.
"I like egg nog," she said.
"You sing?"
Then he opened the door for her.
"I don't sing," she answered.
"Come on everybody sings on Christmas," he said.
She laughed in got into the car.
At the hotel, Rita was sitting in the window, thumbing through a magazine. There was a picture of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. This made something click in her mind.
Leif was walking down the street, the church bells ringing. St. Patrick's cathedral was having its traditional midnight Christmas Mass, and the sound of choir was leaking out. Leif lowered his head and continued to walk. He was now at Rockefeller Center and seeing the Christmas tree. He was alone.
"I know, I don't deserve a Christmas even if I did do a good deed. I don't want any presents. Instead, I want to take back every mean thing I said to my family. I love them all, including Lynn. If it's not possible to see them all, could I just see my mother? If it's a a couple minutes, I want to say I'm sorry," he lamented.
Some tears ran down his face. The cold air causing his breathing to look like smoke. He happened to turn around and happened to see… Rita standing on the end of the plaza. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He started to walk forward, she's just as surprised. He stopped, she smiled through her tears. He ran to her.
"Mom?" he questioned.
"Merry Christmas, sweetie," she said.
"Wow that worked," he thought.
Rita kneeled and Leif ran into her arms. She folded him tight into her embrace.
"How did you know I was here?" he asked.
"I know you and Christmas trees, this is the biggest one around, so I took a chance…" she explained.
She kissed him.
"Let's go and call Dad and let him know you're alright," she said.
"Where's everybody else?" he asked.
"I had to leave in a hurry, and everyone couldn't come at once," she explained.
At Duncan's toy chest, the police were combing through the mess. Mr. Duncan, an elderly man, was clutching his wife. He was dressed like an elf with cashmere overcoat slung over his shoulders and a hat on his head, his wife was wearing a festive Christmas gown under overcoat.
"It's all over, Mr. Duncan, we apprehended the thieves and recovered your money," a police sergeant said.
"Thank you very much, sergeant," Mr. Duncan said.
An evidence specialist walked over.
"Are you Mr. Duncan?" he asked.
"Yes," Mr. Duncan replied.
The Evidence specialist handed him an envelope.
"That was wrapped around a brick we found in the window, looks like a kid broke your window," he said.
Mr. Duncan opened the envelope.
"Dear, Mr. Duncan, I broke your window to catch the bad guys. I'm sorry. Do you have insurance? If you don't, I'll send you some money when it snows more, (if I get back to Royal Woods) Merry Christmas, Leif Loud." The Letter said.
Leif and Rita walked into the hotel and notice that the rest of the family is at the check-in counter with their bags. Lynn Jr. turned her head and sees Rita and Leif.
"Yo, guys!" she said.
Everybody turned around, Leif waved.
"Merry Christmas, everybody," he said.
Lynn Sr and kinds swarm Leif.
"You got something against spending Christmas with your family?" Lynn sr. questioned.
"Thank goodness, he's alright," Leni said.
"He's fine," Rita replied.
Lynn Jr. walked over to Leif and hugged him.
"Thanks, dude, you saved from Florida, this place is cool," she said.
"So, Leif, what did you do her all alone in the Big Apple?" Lincoln asked.
"Same thing I did last year," he said.
The next morning, Leif, Lexx, and Levi were sleeping in a double bed. Lexx popped up.
"Wow, it' s morning," he said.
Leif sat up.
"It's Christmas!" Lexx said.
"Lexx, don't get your hopes up," Leif said.
"Huh?" Lexx asked.
"I'm not sure Santa goes to hotels."
"Santa goes everywhere."
Lexx leaped out of bed, Levi put on his glasses and followed.
"Everybody wake up!" Lexx shouted.
The two boys ran to wake up the rest of the family. Leif got up and grabbed the shirt he wore the day before, and Lexx's pants from a pile of clothes the family had put together from changing into PJ's because he didn't feel like digging for his overalls. Lexx and Levi charge d into the suite's living room and saw a Christmas tree with hundreds of wrapped gifts. Lynn Sr and Rita came out of their bedroom and stopped suddenly as their other kids did the same.
"Are we in the right room?" Lynn Jr. asked.
Leif walked into the room; his eyes widened.
"Wow!" he said.
Lexx and Levi waded into the gifts, Lynn and Rita shrugged. They looked at Leif.
"Did you have something to do with this?" Lynn Sr. asked.
Leif smiled.
"You never know," he said.
The family started to open gifts; Leif looked out of the window. Then he put on his cap, coat, and boots. In the park, he found Annie.
"Hey, Merry Christmas!" he said.
"Merry Christmas, Leif," she replied.
He walked over to her and handed her a small frog pin.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Well, since it's Christmas, and were friends now, I wanted to give you one my favorite things," he said.
"That's very sweet of you," she replied.
"Well, it's just way for you to remember me," he said.
"I could never forget you," she said.
Leif smiled, she seemed happier than she had been before.
"I want to thank you for your help as well, you've shown me that there's time to try again," she said.
"I'm glad to hear it, you deserve to be happy," he said.
She placed the pin on her coat and smiled.
"How does it look?" she asked.
"Very cool," he said.
They hugged each other. Leif didn't know how he got into these weird Christmas vacation, but they were always an experienced. In the sky pigeons flew, the ground covered in a fresh snow as the daytime sky showed a beautiful skyline of New York City.