JINGLE ALL THE WAY

A Just for Fun Christmas Story

by 
Celia Jolley

"Then opening their treasures,

they presented to Him gifts

of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

Matthew 2:11

Ali was feeling festive.  That's why she wore last year's winner of the ugliest sweater contest.  In fact, she pulled out her reindeer antler headband so she could take a selfie in front of the wiggling Christmas tree on her desk next to her computer.  Just as she gave her best smile, she heard a small cough by the doorway.  As she whirled the wheels on her desk chair around she was startled to find a man staring at her with arched eyebrows while fighting to hide a grin.  Ali knew she looked ridiculous, the most ridiculous she'd ever looked in her three year career as the church secretary.

"Ah, Merry Christmas," she stammered.  "I mean, can I help you?" she asked while whipping off her antlers though her ugly Christmas sweater was still blinking.

"Good morning.  I'm just meeting someone here," Mr. Good Looking replied with a wide smile.

Is it okay if I wait in your office?"

"Of course!" she sputtered while smoothing down her hair.  She was sure static electricity had caused it to stand on end.  

"Oh, my name is Colt, by the way," he said while putting his hand out to shake hers.

"My name is Alison, but friends call me Ali," she offered while trying to ignore the shock as he shook her hand.  It must be the static electricity in the carpet, she mused.

Just then Elizabeth strode in without one wobble wearing her red high heels.  "Alison,  I've just come from my father.  He has instructed me to tell you that you are fired.  The board agreed last night, you know.  You need to pack up your..." she waved around at the garlands, wreath, wiggling miniature Christmas tree right down to Ali's fuzzy reindeer slippers with a look of disgust.  "Here's a box."  Then she fluttered last week's bulletin in front of Alison's nose.  "This was the last straw."

Alison's cheeks glowed brighter than Rudolf's fabled nose.  She'd never been more embarrassed in her life.  Ali refused to look at the man called Colt feeling shame from the top of her static hair to the tip of her cold toes.  "I know I made a couple of terrible typos.  I don't know how I missed catching my mistakes writing 'Angles singing Gory,' and 'Away in Anger.'  You can't imagine my embarrassment when friends pointed it out to me last Sunday as I sat in the choir loft in front of the whole congregation."

"You continue to embarrass the whole church with your glaring mistakes and incompetency.  It's not as if this was the first time.  Remember when you made the banner over the altar "Expect a Miracle" right before the Smith's wedding!  The bride's parents were so mad they left the church.  We can't have an amateur playing around as if you are a professional church secretary.  We thought after three years you would have mastered the job, but no.  You are a big disappointment.  I'll be filling in after today, more or less permanently," she finished with a fake sigh while drumming her Christmas-red fake nails on the metal file cabinet.  It was the only sound in the room for a long minute.

This had hit Alison right between the eyes causing them to sting.  Her heart felt like it was a punching bag for these hurtful words.  She looked at Elizabeth with dismay and then noticed the stranger staring at her.  Was it sympathy or pity she saw in his eyes?  She blushed to the tips of her ears and blinked faster than windshield wipers in a heavy rainfall trying to keep her tears from spilling.

"Are you ready, Colt?" Elizabeth asked sweetly turning to Mr. Good Looking with a broad smile framed by flaming red lips as if she'd not just thrust a knife right into Ali's heart leaving her bleeding all over her office floor, so to speak.

"Oh, and Alison, you'll get your pay for the next two weeks at the end of the month.  The board decided, just to be nice, to add one week's vacation pay."  Then Elizabeth put her hand through the man's arm and added a parting stab, "Merry Christmas, dear."

Alison was speechless.   It was as if the wicked White Witch had waved her wand and struck her frozen.  When she finally thawed, the tears began to pour.  Ali used up her box of Kleenex and had resorted to needing a roll of toilet paper out of the bathroom to sop up her tears in the aftermath of her own personal disaster.

Everything was boxed up including her reindeer slippers, and she was ready to walk out in her  UGGs when the pastor stuck his head in the door.  Ali had heard him coming by the signature sound of jingling his change in his pocket.  She'd heard that his wife always tried to keep his pockets free of change on Sundays so he wouldn't be jingling all through his sermons.

"Alison, I guess my daughter informed you of the board's decision.  I wanted to personally give you your Christmas bonus.  Thank you for your faithful service for the last three years not missing a day for sickness, though the Lord knows you came to work with enough bad colds,  flu, and bronchitis to get the whole congregation sick, not to mention me.  I suppose I could write a short generic letter of recommendation if you really needed one, but I can't give you a resounding one.  Good luck, dear."  He handed her the envelope before quickly jingling all the  way back to his study.  

"Like father, like daughter,"Alison muttered as she opened it to find a check for twenty dollars.  This was insult to injury.  She would just put it back in the offering plate ripped in half next Sunday.  At least it turned her weepies into righteous indignation.  "Cheapskates!"  She knew for a fact that the pastor was the highest paid one in the city since he'd instructed her to do that research once.   But Ali figured she was probably the lowest paid secretary around, not even counting all the hours she volunteered for free.  Now she was jobless, perhaps soon to be homeless.

She went back to her apartment to hug her pug and sit in front of her four foot Christmas tree.  First though, she made sure the room was swirling in carols and candle scent.  "Well, it looks like we'll have to move back to mom and dad's if I don't find a job between now and Christmas, Curly.  I feel more like singing "Away in Anger," myself.

A knock on the door startled her.  When she opened it, Ali was surprised to find three wise women bearing gifts, otherwise known to everyone as Mrs. Gold, Mrs. Frankincense and Mrs. Myrrh.

"Alison dear, we heard the news.  It is such a shame that you were so unappreciated..." Mrs. Gould  cooed.

"No one can step in your shoes..." Mrs. Frank added.

"Or wear all your hats." Mrs. Murry said shaking her head.  "You are irreplaceable."

"Well, evidently the pastor and the board did not agree," Ali wobbled a smile.  "Come in, ladies."

"We wanted to bring you some chicken soup," Mrs. Gould stated.  Her soup was known to have magical healing powers.

"And some homemade bread," Mrs. Frank boasted.  Everyone knew she was the queen of homemade bread.

"Of course I brought you a plate of Christmas cookies," Mrs. Murry added proudly.  They had won ribbons in a bake-off.

"Oh my, that is so kind of you," Ali managed to squeeze the words out a throat tight with emotion.

The three perched on her couch.  Mrs.  Gould picked up her pug and was now talking baby talk while rubbing her pink painted cheeks against her dog's head, "Aren't you the sweetest little baby!"  Sure enough, the old woman's rouge smeared the side of her pup's head.

Mrs. Frank kissed her dog on the head leaving behind red lipstick marking the spot.

Mrs. Murry, whipped out her embroidered hankie to cover her nose.  "I'm allergic," she declared in a muffled voice.  Her eyes were already becoming red-rimmed.

"Thank you so much!" Ali responded grabbing the plate of cookies right before Mrs. Murry sneezed.

She saw Mrs. Frank holding the bread out of her dog's reach and grabbed it before Curly could lick it.  No sooner had she taken it from the poor woman's hands, when her dog started snuffling his pug nose up in the air smelling the chicken soup.  He suddenly jumped back to Mrs. Gould lap.   Just in time, Ali relieved her of her pot of soup.  Then the two dog-loving women cooed some more over her silly pet as he lapped up the attention.  Mrs. Murry got up and crossed the room distancing herself from the dangerous dog dander.

"You ladies are too kind.  Thank you so much for the food.  You've warmed my heart," Ali said with pure gratitude.

"We'll be searching the want ads to help you find a new job," Mrs. Gould said.

"I'll be searching Craigslist," Mrs. Frank offered.

"Word of mouth is always the best, you know," Mrs. Murry stated after another sneeze.  "It's not what you know, but who you know," she declared before adding,  "but we won't keep you, dearie."

They all stood and filed out the door with a cheery, "Merry Christmas."

Each of their gifts had a Christmas card taped to them.  Adi opened Mrs. Gould's as a twenty dollar bill fell out.  She was shocked knowing that the special lady lived on SSI.  This was so sacrificial!

Mrs. Frank's card held a fifty dollar bill.  Adi knew she and her husband lived on a small pension.  She was so giving!

Finally, when she opened Mrs. Murry's card, a check for five hundred dollars stared back at her.  Oh my!   She was shocked.  Ali knew the widow was well off, but this?  She cried a few happy tears, this time at all their overwhelming generosity.

The next Sunday when Ali thought about skipping church, she remembered these sweet ladies and refused to stay home having a pity party.  However,  she decided not to sing in the choir in case she started crying again.  So, she put on her cheerful red Christmas dress to feel good about herself and sat in the back pew.   Before the second verse of "O Come All Ye Faithful," someone slipped in beside her.  Oh my, it was Mr. Good Looking.  Ali was sure she'd never seen him in church before or she would have noticed him from the choir loft.  It's not as if the church was the hot spot for handsome young men.

"Hello," he whispered.  "You're looking festive today."

Ali could only nod in shock.  The whole service, she was ultra-aware of his presence beside her.

After the closing prayer, he leaned over and said, "Maybe we could go grab a coffee sometime."

"Huh?" she gasped.

"Sure.  How about Monday at the Starbucks on Main, say about nine?"

"Uh, okay," she agreed still in shock.  He must be impressed by her eloquence, she thought sarcastically.

Then Elizabeth swooped in oohing-gooing all over him as he stood to greet her.  But the woman managed to look around him to glare daggers at Ali before grabbing his arm in a predatory grip.  They left.

As soon as Ali was in the foyer, she was mobbed by friends who were offering her condolences and words of  support.  "It's okay, I guess.  I'll survive," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"But did you see the typo in today's bulletin, one that not even Elizabeth manage to catch?" someone snickered.  "It said, 'My sole doth magnify the Lord.'" Ali looked down and smiled.

"Well, no one is perfect, I guess," she said while trying to shove down a perverse gloat.

"All I can say is that I'm glad you weren't canned before you got the church decorated.  It's so beautiful, but I can't imagine elegant Elizabeth putting it all away by herself in her high heels."

"It's a lot of work," Ali agreed.  "She'll manage somehow."

"Did you notice the scramble to find a lighter for the Advent Candles this morning?  You weren't there to take care of that detail," another observed scoffing.  "Poor Mr. Case.  When he walked up to offer his lighter to the reverend, his pack of cigarettes fell right from his pocket to land on top of the altar.  That's when his wife hollered 'hallelujah,' thinking he was giving up smoking!"

Another worried, "But who's going to make sure the children have all their costumes in order before the program next week?  Someone will have to get them down out of the attic and hang them up to air.  I wonder if she even realizes you've done that every year."

"Somebody will tell her in time, I'm sure," she mumbled while picturing a chaotic scene of white gowns, feathered wings, tinsel halos, bathrobes, canes, jeweled crowns and wise men's colorful robes.  She shook herself back to the present and said, "Thank you everyone, but I need to go home and check on my dog."  Ali broke through the small crowd of her friends before sneaking past the pastor at the door by hiding behind Mr. Black's huge back.

Once at home, Ali put on Christmas music then put the soup on to warm.  She was glad there was still more of the delicious bread though the cookie plate was nearly empty of all but crumbs.  The rum balls were about all that was left.  That was one cookie she couldn't stomach, however.  Ali almost gave her dog one before thinking better of it.  The last thing she needed was to get her dog drunk on a rum ball, or worse making Curly sick enough to need a trip to the vet, which she couldn't afford.

After enjoying the comfort food, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach.  Nerves.  Mr. Good Looking wanted to meet her for coffee the next morning.  Wasn't he seeing Elizabeth?  "Why?" Ali said aloud as her dog cocked his head.  He was always a good listener, so she added, "If Elizabeth found out, she'd zap me with a killer back-off-he's-my-boyfriend glare.  I'd be dead meat."

The next morning was a little foggy.  Ali was glad to pull up the hood on her sweatshirt to be a little incognito before going into Starbucks.  At lease she couldn't get cold feet as long as she wore her skinny jeans tucked into her Uggs.  This was not a mystery date, just a mystery after all.  No need to dress up, she told herself.

There he sat at a tall table for two scrolling through his phone.  When she reluctantly pulled back her hood and smoothed down her static hair, he saw her and stood up.  "Hi, there, Alison.  Glad you came," he greeted her with a dazzling smile.  "What would you like me to order for you?"

"I don't know?  I've never been here before."

He whipped his head around staring at her like she was an alien.  "You can't be serious.  You  must mean you've never been at this location before.  They are all the same, you know."

"I've never been at any Starbucks before.  It's a little out of my price range."

He grinned at her.  "You're pretty vintage.  I like that.  But at least I know you have an iPhone since I saw you take a selfie of yourself."  Then he winked at her causing Ali to blush.

"Yes, that was pretty awkward," she stammered.

"I thought you were pretty cute, festive even," he chuckled.  "I've never seen a sweater quite like it."

"It is hideous!  But you can't tell me you've never worn an ugly Christmas sweater before," she countered.

"Oh, I had to wear an ugly sweater my grandmother gave me when I was ten, but I've never had to wear an ugly Christmas sweater, at least not yet."

"Well, if I was in a more giving mood, I'd surprise you with one.  But since I lost my job, I'm cutting back on my gift-giving, even on ugly Christmas sweaters," she said matching his grin.

"That's a relief!  So, what do you want?" he asked her getting in line.

"I'm not much for sweet coffee, so maybe that hot milk drink.  I'll take it with non-fat milk and extra whipped cream.  I had one of those at a 7-11 once, and it was good."

He looked at her with another surprised raise of his eyebrow, but said, "Non-fat and extra whipped cream coming right up."

They quietly sat blowing to cool off their drinks before she finally blurted, "How come you invited me here if you are seeing Elizabeth?"

He rubbed the back of his neck.  "I guess you could say maybe I was curious why they fired you.  Nobody's typos are that bad."

"I don't know.  I've had some doosies."

"No really, does someone have it out for you?"

She looked over to where the window's colorful Christmas lights were blinking.  "Not that I'm aware of.  I have to admit that I was surprised that even the board voted to fire me.  I thought I was better liked than that.  Silly me."

"From what I've heard, it was a split decision with Elizabeth casting the deciding vote.  To tell you the truth, I'm surprised that she's not just on the board, but handles the church's money.  Usually a pastor's family stays away from putting themselves in that position, you know, in case of financial improprieties."

"Well, she has taken over the job of church administrator, so she has access to all the accounts."

"She must get paid well judging by how well she dresses, the fancy car she drives and her nice apartment."

Ali looked down at her casual wear and felt like a bum in comparison.  "Yeah, she likes to live high on the hog, you might say.   I've always figured her to be spoiled by her parents, but don't truly know how the cabbage ate the cow--I mean..." she stopped when he laughed.  Then went on, "But how come all these questions about Elizabeth?  Shouldn't you just ask her?"
She was beginning to feel like this was a very strange conversation.   

He looked down at his cup saying, "You're right.  I'll have to talk to her.  I'm just getting to know her.  Anyway," he said as he drained his cup, "I just wanted to treat you to Starbucks since you lost your job the way you did."

"You mean like being humiliated in front of you?  That was awkward," Ali said with a grimace.

"Yeah, that was pretty low."

"Well, let me know if you hear of anyone hiring, Colt.  Thank you for my first Starbucks experience."

"Sure thing," he smiled and stood as she left.

"I wonder what that was about," she said under her breath on the way to her car.  Must have been a pity party, plus one."

The children's program did not go off without a hitch.  The costumes were the sorriest looking they'd ever been.  She heard parents complaining about how the angels' wings were molting too many feathers while the shepherds had to bring their one bathrobes, not to mention the three kings having to wear Burger King paper crowns and adult choir robes causing them to trip.  Little Johnny Jaegars had to go get stitches after falling down the platform stairs and splitting his lip on the altar, in fact.  It was quite the finale with his wailing joining the strains of "Joy to the World."

The next day, Ali was filling out applications for jobs online when someone knocked on her door.  Saving her work, she went to answer.  It was Elizabeth, a very angry Elizabeth.

"Merry Christmas," Ali said without moving to invite her in.  But the mad woman shoved her aside and marched in anyway.

"What did you say to Colt?" Elizabeth swung around to confront her.  "Angie said she saw you having coffee with him last week at Starbucks.  What do you think you are doing?  He's mine, all mine!" she shouted.

"I think he just felt sorry for me losing my job.  After all, you did fire me right there in front of him, a complete stranger."

"But what did you say to him about me?  It had to be something.  He's been grilling me ever since."  She was livid.

"Well, we talked about my ugly Christmas sweater, how he's never had one..."

"I don't care about your stupid sweater!  What else did he say?"

"Okay, let's see, he did mention how nice you dress and what a nice apartment you have and what a nice car you drive."

"What else?" she was gripping Ali's arm digging in her rhinestone-studded nails.

"He just asked me what all you did at church."

"What did you tell him?" Elizabeth was still seething.

Ali pried the woman's fingers off her arm one by one.  That would leave a bruise, she thought.  "Let's see, I told him that you are the church administrator, now slash church secretary.  That's all."

"Anything else?" she glared.

"Well, he was surprised that I'd never been to Starbucks before.  That's about it."

"You poor pitiful Pearl," Elizabeth hissed.  "Just stay away from him.  You won't go to coffee or anywhere else with him, if you know what's good for you," she threatened.  Then she stomped out slamming Ali's door making her pug whimper.

"Wow!  She's one angry woman.  I wonder if Colt knows what he's in for."

Alison's parents lived only thirty minutes away, but she packed up to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with them.  After dragging  her own suitcase along with Curly on his leash and all his doggie paraphernalia out the door, Ali stopped dead in her tracks when she turned to lock her door.  There was a package slipped behind the plant at her entrance.

"What on earth?" She swiftly tore off the brown paper to find a card taped on a beautifully wrapped gift.  It said, "After much sole searching, I decided to get you a new ugly Christmas sweater."  Putting her dog on the lawn to do his thing, she quickly unwrapped it the rest of the way.  It was a red and green sweatshirt with a cute pug on the front that said, "Tinkle all the way."  There were jingle bells sown on the pup's collar. Her pup came running when he heard them jingling.  "Oh.  My. Goodness!" she squealed.  "This is the cutest thing ever!"  There was no signature on the card when she double checked.  She had her suspicion who gave it to her, but could not imagine why he would do such a thing."  Ali spent the whole drive to her parents puzzling over it.

She also knew full well that it was time to tell her parents that she'd been fired by the church and would probably need to move back home.  That was a tough pill for her to swallow.  She'd been on her own since she was twenty years old.   But unless she found a job between Christmas and New Years, that's what would happen.

Her parents were happy to see her.  Her brother and his wife and their two cute kids were already there.   But of course, the kids were happier to see her pug puppy than they were to see their auntie.  She handed over Curly's leash and had them walk him in the back yard to do his tinkle business.  She showed everyone the new Christmas sweatshirt.

"Who do you think gave this to you?"

"The card wasn't signed," she said evasively.

But her mother didn't buy it.  "Oh, come now.  You must have a pretty good idea."

How did she say it was probably a gift from the pastor's daughter's boyfriend?  Okay, so that's what she told them.

"What?" her mother exclaimed.

"Why?" her sister-in-law Ginny asked mystified.

"Well, he happened by my office the day that Elizabeth fired me."

"What!" her mother yelped causing her father to come running.  "She fired you?"

"Why?"  Ginny demanded.  Her brother followed their dad into the kitchen to find out what all the screeching was about.

"What's going on?" they both asked practically at the same time.

"Oops." Ali grimaced.  "I guess I left that part out, didn't I."  She told them the whole thing, including the ugly Christmas sweater part as well as Elizabeth's bulletin typo.  "That's why I think he bought me the sweatshirt, but I for the life of me can't figure the man out."

"That is strange," her mother said looking perplexed.

But her sister-in-law Ginny commented, "Maybe he doesn't like Elizabeth as well as he first thought and is keeping his options open."

"Yeah, right," Ali scoffed.

"Maybe he's just a weirdo," her brother Chad said.

"Be careful, sweetheart," her dad warned.

"So, I may need to move back home for awhile," she told them before chewing her lip some more.

"You know you are always welcome, dear," her mother told her giving her a hug.

"We'd love to have you back home, Ali.  We even like your dog," he dad added patting her on her shoulder.

"Maybe I'll start coming to church with you here.  I still went to First Church last Sunday because the three wise women were so sweet to me."  She told her family about the food and monetary gifts.

"That sounds just like them," her mom said.  "They're the best.  I never did get Mrs. Gould's chicken soup recipe though."

"I sure do miss Mrs. Frank's bread," her dad mused.

"And Mrs. Murry's cookies," her brother added.

Later after supper, they all sat around the table still visiting while the kids played in the living room with Curly.  "Mom and Dad, why did you switch churches?  Was it because you didn't want to make the thirty minute drive into the city?"

They looked at each other before her dad sighed and said, "There were some things we weren't comfortable with."

"Your father was on the team to count the money after church, but too many times Elizabeth sent them away saying she would take care of it.  It just wasn't right.  When he went to the pastor, he acted offended that he'd questioned his daughter.  Others on the counting committee weren't happy about it either.  There were supposed to be at least two people counting the offering every time.  Then when she came on staff as the church administrator, it was hard to get a good accounting of the church's financial records.  They kept putting off having an official audit which was supposed to be required at the end of every church year.  Anyway, we decided to switch churches after that."

"Sounds like funny business to me," her brother said.

"But why didn't you tell me?" Ali asked.

"Well, you seemed to like your job so much, that we hated to upset you with mere suppositions."

Ali looked like a deer in the headlights.  "Do you think..." but she couldn't finish it.

"Maybe this Colt guy is actually investigating the situation, kind of undercover," Ginny gasped.

"Oh!  I guess that could explain a few things, but do you really think he'd pose as her boyfriend?" Ali asked.  "Maybe that's why he was questioning me with he took me out to coffee.  Do you think I'm a suspect?"

"If he's a private investigator, I suppose he would if he thought he could find out something," her brother surmised.

"Well, we all need to keep in mind that they are innocent until proven guilty," her father reminded them, "but not you, of course, Ali.  We know you haven't done anything wrong."

"Here, here," her brother assented.

"Oh.  I'm sure I will be switching churches for sure.  I'm glad they fired me now."  Her pug ran in and jumped up on her leg.  She picked him up and cuddled him.  "How would you like to come here and live with grandma and grandpa?" she asked him.

The day after Christmas, Ali went back to her apartment and gave notice before beginning to pack up her things.  She went to the bank to have her account switched to the bank her parents used, but suddenly dropped her purse to the ground.  Her change jingled noisily as it fell scattering to the ground while her lip gloss rolled under the counter.  She did a double check at her bank account slip.  She gave it back to the teller.

"This can't be right.  I've never had this much money to my name in my life.  There must be some mistake."  

He went to his computer and said, "No, there's no mistake.  That's what's in your savings."

"It can't be!  Who would have put it in there?"

"I have no idea, miss.  Do you have a rich uncle?" he said as if it was a joke.

"No!"  I need to see the bank president or someone to help me figure this out.  Something's not right."

Soon she sat in a private office in front of the bank president's desk.  "How can this be?" she asked her.  "I never put this in my account, and I don't have any benefactors either.  That last $500 I deposited was a gift from a sweet little lady in my church.  I haven't even deposited my last check from my job yet."

"Where do you work?" the president asked calmly.

"I was just fired from my job at First Church on Percy Avenue, but I didn't make hardly more than minimum wage there."

The lady suddenly stiffened.  "The bank just did an audit there and quite a bit of money was missing.  This $27,000 might be from there.  She pushed something under her desk and a security officer stepped in.

"Can I help you?" he asked the bank president looking between her and the bank president.  

"Yes, we need the police," she said glaring at Ali.

"What?"  She scrambled in her purse to find her phone so she could call her parents.  "Mom, Dad, I need you at my bank.  There's a problem.  They are calling the police.  She whispered, I think they think I'm a suspect in an embezzlement."

A police officer came and took the bank president in the corner to talk quietly to her while the security officer kept a close watch on Ali keeping his hand on his holster.  More phone calls were quietly made.

When the door opened ten minutes later, the pastor strode in.  "What's the meaning of this?"

"We will have a conference in a minute.  Can you call your daughter to meet us here, please?  She's not answering her phone."

"She's in the Bahamas on vacation.  Why do we need her here?" he huffed.  His nervous habit of jingling his change in his pocket was on over-drive.

Just then Colt sauntered in looking Ali in the eye.  "Is there a problem, Alison?  He looked down noticing the sweatshirt she wore and bit back a smile.

"I came in to switch my bank accounts to where my parents live, only to find out a very large amount of money had been deposited in my savings.  I asked to meet with the bank president to find out where it came from, but then she called the police, and the pastor.  I guess she must have called you as well.  I have no idea what's going on."

"Where's Elizabeth?" Colt asked the pastor.

When he told him, the young man rolled his eyes.  "Of course she flew the coop.  She's chicken and must have known we were on to her."

"What do you mean by that, sir?" the pastor sputtered.  "I won't have my daughter slandered.

Colt continued, "We are following the facts, reverend.  I'm a private investigator hired by your church board.  They were concerned that too much money was missing from the missionary and the building funds and from other church accounts."

The man turned as white as a sheet.  The security guard quickly pulled up a chair so he could sit down.  "No, I don't believe it.  She's a good girl, a good Christian girl.  She would never...

Then the pastor pointed right at Ali crying, "What about her?  Have you checked her accounts."  

That's when her parents walked in, and Ali couldn't help but burst into tears.  

The bank president inserted herself in the conversation.  "Yes, that's why we've been alerted.  She found a large sum of money deposited in her savings account. I have our best accountant researching how and when it was deposited there.  He'll get back to us soon."

"Does my daughter need a lawyer?" Ali's father asked with his chin up and shoulders thrown back.  "We will fight this in court if we have to."

Colt smiled.  "No, the suspicion isn't really on her right now, but on Elizabeth, and possibly the pastor."

"What!" the man gaped.  "Surely, you don't suspect me of stealing from my own church."

Colt went on to say, "I hope we can clear you, reverend, but it is a good deal of money.  What was in Ali's account was chump change compared to what is missing.  I just helped the bank audit the church's account.  Somebody helped themselves to a huge amount of money, including the large amount they just borrowed to begin building the new addition this spring."

"Elizabeth..." the pastor started to say, then bit his lips closed.  "Never mind."

Someone came in with Starbucks coffee enough to pass around the room with a warm milk drink with extra whipping cream for her.  She took a big sip before looking up to smile at Colt.   He pointed to a place above his lips.  Her eyes went wide as she licked her lips and wiped the whipped cream moustache off her face.  He grinned while she blushed.

Two hours later, an extradition order had been sent to the Bahamas and the pastor was held over for more questioning at the police department along with his wife.

"Wow, I've never been so shocked in my life to find that large sum in my savings account," Ali said as she walked out with Colt.  "To think that the pastor accused me of jingling all the way to the bank with that missing money!"

Colt threw back his head and laughed.  Then he assured her, "I'll call you when we know more, Ali."

"Thanks for helping to clear my name," she smiled shyly up at him.  "I've also never been so scared in all my life.  Imagine Elizabeth trying to frame me for stealing from the church."

"You could probably get your old job back," he said with a grin.

"No thank you.  I'd rather not work where some people would always hold me under suspicion."

"When I met you at Starbucks that day and found out you'd never been there before, I knew then it wasn't you."

"What?  Didn't the ugly Christmas sweater prove that I didn't have finer taste in expensive clothes," she quipped.

"Well, there is that," he said.  "How about if I meet you at Starbucks tomorrow, then I'll help you move the rest of your stuff out of your apartment.  I have a truck, you know."

She froze.  "You'd do that for me?"  

"Of course.  I want to meet this tinkling pug, you know."

"That reminds me, I love, love, love the sweatshirt you gave me."

"How did you know it was me?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.  

"Because, though you'd never wear an ugly Christmas sweater, you'd not be above buying one for someone else to wear."

He barked a laugh.  "Guilty as charged!"  Then he put his arm around her waist and walked her to her car.  

"Just wait till next year.  I'll find you the best prize-winning ugliest Christmas sweater in the world for you," Ali said with a smirk.

"Then I'll be looking forward to this next year with you, Ali.  I might even coax you into drinking coffee at Starbucks by then."

"Don't count on it.  This girl still has vintage tastes, not expensive ones."

He encompassed her in a hug.  "You do know I hated every minute being with Elizabeth.  It was just a job.  I never cared for her."

"What a coincidence!  I never liked her myself."

Just then he pointed to just above her lip.

"What?" she said busily wiping her mouth off.  "Do I still have some there?"

"It's too dark to really see, but I thought maybe I could taste your lips to find out."  He lowered his head slowly.  When she did not protest, he kissed her.

"Wow," she exclaimed.  "Maybe I could get a habit of drinking at Starbucks all the time if that part is always included."

"You can bank on that, sweetheart."  Then he kissed her again.