Multihued lights spiraled their way around the Christmas tree mesmerizing the families clustered around the restaurant’s sea of tables. Jeff ignored them, mechanically chomping down on a mouthful of ham. Christmas had been his life for the decades he’d worked at Hallmark crackers. ‘Budget cuts,’ explained his boss, an upstart who couldn’t tell a cracker snap from tissue.
Jeff
chuckled. Safety checks were another victim of those cuts. Scattered explosions
would bury Hallmark under an avalanche of lawsuits.
“Buck up
mate.” A jovial fellow exclaimed, offering a cracker.
The blood
drained from Jeff’s face when he discerned a familiar logo.
