Page 58 of This Mate Thing

Ira huffs, and I bite my tongue.What if I messed up his belief in Santa?

"We can't trust your teachers to get the address to Rovaniemi right."

He frowns."To where?"

"To Rovaniemi, where Santa lives."

The look he gives me tells me he thinks I'm insane."Santa lives on the North Pole."

"Nooo!"I shake my head dramatically."See, luckily, I snuck a photo of his list.Santa doesn't live on the North Pole.Have you ever seen any houses at the North Pole?"

"Eh...No.I've never seen the North Pole."

"Right.But everyone knows Santa lives in Rovaniemi, so it doesn't matter."

He says nothing, but I'm sure he thinks I'm crazy.It's fine."I'll show you.We'll watch YouTube later.Santa Claus Village is in Rovaniemi."

I put my phone away and switch off the hazard lights.Rutchester, here we come!

* * * *

Chapter 28

Simon

Time crawls.I don't know how many times I've wished for a few hours to myself.Only a few.A break.Some breathing room.But now I don't know what to do with myself.

I vacuum, put on some laundry, measure out some rice to go with the stew Boris made, but as darkness falls outside, I do nothing but wander from room to room.

Where are they?

I could call Boris to ask, but what if he's driving?

I give it another half hour, then I grab my phone.If he's driving, it'll connect to the car, right?He called Zahrah from the car when we went to Beantopia.

I hit call and wait as the signals go through.

"Honey?"Boris' voice is low and sultry.

"You can't answer withhoney."

A chuckle."But I saw your name on the screen."

I ignore him."How's it going?"

"Ah...it's going well.We're still at Beantopia."

"You're still...When will you be heading home?"

Boris is silent for a few seconds, and I can hear voices in the background.

"We'll be on our way in a moment."

Ira's protests are loud from somewhere nearby.What are they doing?"Good.It's getting late."

"Yes, sorry.It's only...everyone wants to meet Ira, you know."

No, I don't know.Why would anyone want to meet Ira?"Who is everyone?"