Audrey hadn't been at all surprised to learn that the holidays weren't considered any reason for the shop to be closed. Nearly every store owner on Skid Row was much too desperate for money to risk losing the business of any last-minute shoppers. She supposed Mr. Mushnik probably would have given her a day or two off if she wanted, but she'd seen no reason why she should ask. There was certainly nowhere else she'd rather be.

She'd spent the morning of Christmas Eve skillfully weaving holly into the Christmas wreaths, while Seymour sat nearby and helped her put the finishing touches on the poinsettias.

Seymour was glad that she seemed too absorbed in her work to see how he was doing, because he didn't think it was going particularly well on his part. Sure, he could eventually manage to put together one of their Christmas arrangements, or at least finish up decorating the flowerpots once Audrey put the arrangement itself together. But the process of doing so made him feel like he was fighting a losing battle against the combined forces of wrapping paper, a spool of ribbon, and roll of scotch tape. He glanced down and struggled to sort out what was stuck to his hands and what was stuck to his clothes, all while trying not to make either problem worse.

Audrey looked over as she finished up the last of the wreaths, just in time to see that he'd managed to somehow get his hands tied together, and he couldn't seem to figure out how exactly to get out of what was becoming a very complicated web of red and green ribbons. He seemed rather baffled as to how exactly it happened.

She tried to stifle a giggle as she reached over. "Need a little help there?"

Seymour gave a brief smile of sheepish embarrassment, but it was quickly replaced with a look of awe as it seemed to take her only a matter of seconds to free his hands and turn the tangled-up knot into an elegant bow.

"Boy, you're good at this!"

Audrey smiled as she got to work at carefully pulling off the little pieces of wrapping paper still stuck to his sweater.


Their work was soon completed, and they carried everything out into the main part of the shop. Seymour started to place her poinsettia arrangements in the window alongside the others still sitting there, and Audrey pulled one of the wreaths off the pile and went to go hang it on the door. They could always pull it down again and sell it if they were lucky enough to sell all the others, but in the meantime it might help to draw people in if the shop looked a little more festive.

Audrey shut the door again, but continued to look out through the window, as if searching for the sight of anyone who might want to come in. "I hope we'll be getting some customa's soon." She thought out loud. They all knew how desperate for money the shop was, and how much holidays were counted on to bring in some extra revenue.

"I'm sure we will." Seymour tried to reassure her. "They'll see how great everything you made looks and have to come see."

Audrey glanced away and tried to hide a flustered grin. A moment later, another idea occurred to her.

"You know, we could always do some of your traditions, too." She cheerfully suggested. "Maybe we could put a menorah in the window?"

Mr. Mushnik didn't look up from his paper, but immediately let out a noise somewhere between a scoff and a sharp laugh. "Oh, no. Not under this roof he isn't."

"But why-"

"He knows why."

She looked back over at Seymour, and he rubbed a hand at the back of his neck as he thought back to the one and only time he'd been allowed to try and partake in that part of the season. Under his breath, she could just barely make out him mumble something about, "You cause a slight mishap one time…"


While it wasn't nearly as much as they'd hoped for, the fact that it was Christmas Eve did help business to pick up a little. The shop wasn't quite the desolate place it usually seemed to be. But even so, Seymour and Audrey still found themselves with plenty of free time to kill.

In the spirit of the holidays, they'd set aside their usual deck of cards and passed the time betting loose petals gathered from around the shop while Seymour taught Audrey how to use a dreidel. It was about the only aspect of the holidays Mr. Mushnik had ever bothered to teach him about, since it had kept him quiet as a child and required fairly little effort on his boss's part. Even less effort once he'd been sent off to the basement and left on his own to pretend he was playing against his plants.

Audrey seemed to be enjoying it, but he couldn't manage to concentrate on the game very well. He frequently glanced over at the clock and watched it get closer and closer to the time when they'd have a break. Every once in awhile, he'd stick his hand into his pocket and absent-mindedly count the quarters he'd been carefully saving up. He could swear he felt his heart skip a beat every time he thought he felt that maybe there was one or two less than he expected, but a more thorough count would always reveal that he still had the right amount.

He'd backed down from the idea of buying Audrey an actual Christmas present that he could wrap up and hand to her. His life savings currently amounted to pocket change, and he was sure anything that seemed good enough for her was something he'd never be able to afford. But he had still really wanted to do something. He did have an idea in mind, and now all that was left to do was ask.

He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous about it. It really wasn't anything special. But maybe that was the problem. Audrey didn't seem to be seeing anyone at the moment, but he'd seen the kind of things that some of her boyfriends had bought for her in the past. He couldn't help but worry she'd be disappointed that she was stuck spending the day with him and what little he had to offer.

But finally the time came, and he was forced to screw up his courage. He wasn't about to let the day pass without at least attempting to do something special for her.

"Audrey, I-I was wondering…"

She looked up and waited for him to finish, and he habitually stuck his hand in his pocket and thumbed over the quarters again.

"I was wondering if you'd wanna walk down to Shcmendrick's and get some hot cocoa? It'd be my treat."

Much to his relief, Audrey's face immediately lit up with an elated smile. "That sounds wonderful! You're sure you don't mind? I could pay for half-"

"No, don't worry about it. Really, I'd be happy to treat you."

He looked so proud of being able to offer that she couldn't bring herself to object, though she did make a mental note about trying to find a way to make it up to him later.

As much as Seymour felt bad about not being able to provide an actual present, Audrey was quite convinced that it was the best Christmas she'd ever had. Though she tried so hard to never be ungrateful, she'd often found it hard to be genuinely happy over the presents she got from the men who made good money. She always told them they didn't have to get her anything. Truth be told, she worried about getting mugged if she went walking around in the nice jewelry that seemed to be their go-to for an easy thing to grab from the store. But they did anyway, and never failed to make it clear that there were strings attached. By the time they eventually got bored with her, she never even minded that they didn't expect her to keep any of what they gave to her. But sitting with Seymour, talking over their warm mugs, smiling at the way he wound up with whipped cream on the tip of his nose… that memory was something she was never going to stop being able to treasure.


By the time the workday was nearing an end, Audrey was very much wishing she didn't have to leave. She was so used to the holidays being a very lonely time, and the day had never seemed so full of warmth and joy until she got to spend it with Seymour. But then again, she supposed it wasn't as if everything was over yet. It was still only Christmas Eve, and there was still Christmas Day to look forward to.

Just before it was time to lock up the shop, she happened to think of something sitting in her apartment, and asked Seymour to wait a moment so she could run across the street and grab it. She returned a minute later with a green, pine-scented candle, which she held out for him to take.

"I was thinking this could be nice for the shop. I thought it looked kinda festive. It might draw in a few customa's" She explained. Though she didn't say it, she also felt bad that he hadn't exactly had anyone care much about helping him celebrate, and even if it wasn't much, she at least wanted him to feel like he could do something to mark the season.

She was thrilled when he flashed a crooked grin and responded with, "That's a great idea, Audrey."

It was soon time for her to head out, much as she was reluctant to. She couldn't help but turn around again when she spotted movement in the window, and looked back to see Seymour carefully place the candle in a safe place around the plants. He couldn't quite seem to wait to see what it would look like, and Audrey watched as he dug around in a drawer to pull out a box of matches.

A soft glow soon illuminated his face, and he looked up to see her still staring through the window. He met her eyes with a bright smile, and Audrey was sure she could almost feel the warmth even from out on the street.

However, the moment only lasted all of a few seconds before Mr. Mushnik came over, scowled, and snuffed the small flame out again.

"What have I said about you and fire?"

"I was twelve!"

Mr. Mushnik stomped off again, and Seymour looked up and smiled sheepishly at Audrey. She smiled in return, and gave him a small wave before finally heading home for the night.

As she lay in bed and started to drift off to sleep, her mind traveled back to the morning, and the sight of Seymour all tangled up in the ribbons and covered in wrapping paper. It was fitting, she thought. Spending time with him was definitely the best gift she could ever ask for.