A Tip of the Hat
Cheride
"Forget her; you're not Santa."
"Grinch."
"Whatever. Now listen; let me do the talking, even if Porter says something stupid about the painting—Neal! Where are you going?"
They'd been trudging through the snowy streets toward their interview when Neal suddenly spun around.
"It won't take long; June's is just a couple of blocks—"
"In the wrong direction!" Peter shouted after him.
"Of all the days to forget my hat. I'll meet you at Porter's, okay? Or you could just wait—"
"Caffrey, hush!" Peter checked his watch. "Let's just go get the damn hat."
Back in his loft, Neal quickly searched his closet, then rushed downstairs, where Peter hustled him out the door.
Retracing their steps, they soon returned to a yard where a young girl sat forlornly beside a small snowman. Neal crouched down next to her after waving at the watching mother.
"Hey, don't be sad. I brought you something." He handed over a well-worn fedora.
The girl's face lit up as she jumped to her feet. "A hat!" She placed it carefully on the snowman's head, then danced cheerfully around it. "Thanks, mister!"
Peter smiled fondly at his satisfied friend. "Hats off to you, you overgrown elf."
Yes, I absolutely hope my December writing holds more than drabble contributions, but I gotta tell you, I'm pretty impressed with myself for fitting prompts from two different challenges into two hundred words!
Thanks for reading, and if you're the creative type, I hope you're also considering a December contribution (or two!) of your own; there are lots of prompts to choose from this month! Check out the Operation: More White Collar tumblr for all the details.