An Inflatable Holiday extended preview

An Inflatable Holiday.

Greta watched as the elderly witch left her apartment building. She had been stalking the woman since their unfortunate meeting on Halloween night. It wasn’t out of revenge or anything like that. Greta wasn’t so foolish. Well, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t interested in revenge, but it wasn’t directed at the witch, more so her foolish neighbors.

Greta held her breath as she pressed her body against the wall, keeping to the shadows. She didn’t want the witch to see her. The woman had once already cursed her, turning her into a giant pumpkin. That night, while a wonderful experience, wasn’t one she planned on reliving. Once Greta was sure the elderly lady had left for the night, she detached herself from her hiding place and went to work.

She had been watching the woman for a while. The idea of magic intrigued Greta to no end, especially with the block-wide Christmas party coming up. She pulled out a credit card and slowly shimmed the woman’s door open. Greta knew that inside, there had to be something that would teach her nosy neighbors that bothering her when she didn’t want to would be a bad idea.

The door slowly creaked open, and Greta let out a sigh of relief. “That was easier than I expected it would be.” She stood up and dusted herself off. “Now to get something to mess with my neighbors and get out.” As she walked about the tiny abode, she couldn’t help but feel like she had broken into the wrong place. “I could have sworn this is the witch’s home. But it doesn’t seem like there are any potions about. This doesn’t make any sense.”

As she entered the kitchen, she noticed a small vial sitting on the counter. Greta walked up to it and picked it up. “Instant holiday inflatable action. For all your troublesome pests. Just a little dab will give them a little holiday cheer.” She looked at the note on the bottle. “Still working out the kinks on how to get the magic just right. Soon the drinker will turn into the inflatable of my choice.”

Greta couldn’t hold back her laughter. “This will be perfect. Besides, I haven’t even begun to do my Christmas shopping this year.” She smiled. “And after they all. . .” She giggled as she slid the bottle into her pocket. “Oh, I can’t wait for the party now.” She turned around. “I better get going before that witch finds me lurking here.”

***

The next day, Greta rose with a smile on her face. “Ahh, what a wonderful day.” She looked over at her little bottle of inflatable wonder. “Hello, my darling.” She picked it up and kissed it. “We have a tall order ahead of us.” She set it back down on her nightstand as she stood up. “The holiday party is tonight, and I have a big order of holiday inflatables. You have a lot of work to do.” She laughed. “Oh, I hope they will enjoy their new roles on my lawn this year.”

Typically, Greta despised going to this party. People would get on her for being a Christmas fanatic but being the Halloween grump. She didn’t want her neighbors to try and bring her Christmas cheer down by telling her how much she ruined other holidays. But this year, she had a plan. While the others were gossiping about how bad of a neighbor she was, she would spike the punch and laugh her ass off as she gained some new special holiday cheer for her lawn. It would be payback time for what happened in October when they sought fit to force a certain holiday onto her.

So as the time for the party neared, Greta dressed herself into a festive outfit, ugly sweater, and all, before slipping her magical potion into her pocket. She then dashed out into the cold just as the snow began to fall, humming her favorite Christmas tune as she made her way across the street. Greta quickly walked across the lawn and up to the door before knocking.

A few moments later, Terry appeared in the doorway, a bottle of eggnog in her hands. “Greta? I didn’t expect to see you here tonight. I thought we chased you away. I am so sorry about that, by the way. I want to make sure that you feel welcome.”

“Oh, don’t worry.”

“No, no. What we did in the past is inexcusable. I mean, this year, you somehow were turned into a giant pumpkin. We have all gone too far, Greata, and speaking for everyone, I want to apologize. We will never force our holidays upon you again.”

Greta laughed. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Good. Now, come on in. You don’t want to freeze out there, do you?” Terry stood to the side. “We have a party to rock, don’t we?”

Greta walked inside, tapping her hand against the wonderful mixture in her pocket. “That we do. And it will be a party to remember.”

She quickly made her way towards the punch bowl. Thankfully, no one was standing around it as everyone was focused on Herold trying to sing a Christmas carol. While they weren’t looking, she poured the contents of the magic vial into the punch. “There. Now I just have to get them all to drink it at once.” She turned around and crossed her arms. “Hmmm. . .”

Greta walked forward as the room was laughing at Herold. “Hello everyone.” They turned and looked at her in surprise.

“Greta?” Herold laughed. “I never thought I would see you at one of these parties again.”

“I know. But times change.” She leaned against the piano. “And this year is such an extraordinary one.”

He laughed. “I know. You sure made your mark on Halloween night.” The entire room broke into laughter.

Greta arched an eyebrow. “That I did. I won’t lie. Turning into a giant pumpkin was an. . . an interesting experience.” She pushed herself off the piano. “But let’s not dwell in the past, shall we. I want to look forward to a new glorious future where we all live together in harmony.” She picked up a small glass of water. “I propose a toast everyone.”

Pam nodded her head. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

Greta smiled. “And what better way to enjoy this toast than with Terry’s world-famous punch.”

Terry blushed. “You are killing me.”

Greta giggled. “You have no idea, my dear.”

Herold and the others walked over to the punch table. “That isn’t a bad idea, Greta. We were looking for an excuse to drink some of this anyway.” He dipped a cup into the red liquid. “So, let’s get this toast underway, everyone. Greta smiled as she watched everyone grab a glass of punch; she followed their lead, of course, so as not to arouse any suspicion, but she had no plans of drinking. “Here is to our wonderful neighbor joining us for the festivities tonight and to forget our troubled past.” They all cheered as they drank.

Greta feigned drinking the spiked drinking, giggling as she watched them. “Hey, that isn’t how you drink a toast.” Terry slapped Greta on the back, sending the magical liquid down Greta’s throat. As the other woman laughed away, Greta could only gasp, realizing what would soon be happening to her. She looked around the room, sweat dripping down her neck. “I umm. . . .umm. . .”

“What is wrong, Greta?”

“I need to go to the bathroom. I was in such a hurry to come over here that I kind of forgot to use it.” She turned around and made a mad dash for the restroom.