Who’s naughty and nice at Riverwood Mall? In this hilarious holiday rom-com, two rivals get together to save their families’ livelihoods, and Christmas, too!
Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and first chapter from Suzanne Park’s The Christmas Clash, which is out now!
Chloe Kwon can’t stand Peter Li. It’s always been that way. Their families don’t get along either: their parents operate rival restaurants in the Riverwood Mall food court―Korean food for the Kwons and Chinese food for the Lis. Now it’s the holiday season and Chloe’s the photographer at the mall’s Santa Land, and Peter works at the virtual reality North Pole experience right across the atrium. It’s all Chloe can do to avoid Peter’s smug, incredibly photogenic face.
But it turns out the mall is about to be sold to a developer and demolished for condos. Eviction notices are being handed out right before Christmas. Their parents don’t know what to do, and soon Chloe and Peter realize that the two of them need to join efforts to try to save the mall. Just when it seems like they can put aside their differences and work closely (very closely) together, they discover that the Kwon and Li feud goes far deeper than either of them realize…
ONE
CHLOE
The projectile pacifier grazed my left ear.
“I’m so sorry, would you mind grabbing his binky off the floor? Little Timmy’s got quite a temper when he’s hungry.”
Important note: Timmy was not in fact very little. I suspected he was five, maybe six. Way too old for a binky. He liked to bite them during out photo sessions and they made a grating chewy noise as he gnawed against the wet, rubbery plastic with his teeth.
I handed the pacifier to his mom, and she scrubbed it down with an organic baby wipe.
“Mommy, I want a Corn-Dog-on-a-Stick and a slushie. I’m hunnnngryyyyy.”
See? Not exactly baby or toddler food. Much too old for a binky.
I smiled at Timmy. “We’re almost done, kid. Just one more picture! Smile at the camera. Say ‘Orange Julius!’”
Timmy perked up, and his red sweater vest smoothed out as he sat up straight. “Orange Jule-yesss!”
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
“Mommy, can I have an Orange Jule-yesss?”
I stepped forward and showed his mom the last photo. Timmy had opted for a Santa-free picture, but one with a lit tree, a fireplace, and piles of presents. Meanwhile, Santa Dave took the opportunity to step out for a few minutes to go vape in the east wing loading zone. In the photo, not-so-little Timmy sat erect, looking at the camera, beaming from ear to ear. Perhaps visions of Orange Julius drinks danced in his head as the flashes went off.
Timmy’s mom sighed with relief. “I swear, you’re a miracle worker.” She walked over to my “Elf tips welcome!” jar and dropped in a ten-dollar bill. “You’re the only one who can get him to smile like that. Thank you. No wonder they call you the baby whisperer photographer.”
It was true. I had a reputation for being a baby whisperer of sorts. Also a corn-dog-eating kindergartner whisperer. It was the one of the few things I was good at.
“I’m so glad Santa’s Village is open earlier this year. This gives me a head start on sending out holiday cards and buying gifts. You can’t be too prepared, right?” She held out her hand toward her son. “Ready to go get a drink and snack?”
He pulled a pacifier from his pocket and popped it into his mouth. He scrambled off Santa’s chair and waved at me while he exited with his mom.
Santa’s Village opened earlier and earlier every year, and the day after Halloween was this holiday season’s soft opening. It was the result of “Christmas creep,” which was in turn related to the “pumpkin spice latte economic effect,” when stores sneakily promoted the fall season earlier and earlier into the summer months. The fact that gigantic bags of fun-sized candy and novelty costumes were out for sale immediately after the Fourth of July was criminal. And now, in early November, Santa Dave had parked his ass at the end of Riverwood Mall’s East Wing, ready for business.
As I turned to the laptop to upload the photos to the image portal, I heard Timmy cry out, “Mommy! Can we do that too? After Orange Julius? It looks so fun! I want that.”
I didn’t even bother to look up from the laptop because I knew what that was. Nearly every kid who exited our photo area beelined to the new attraction next door: the North Pole virtual reality experience. It had opened the same week as Santa’s Village, and it included a bonus video of the customer’s experience that patrons could download immediately. Who wouldn’t want to be on Santa’s 3D virtual sleigh, flying over any address they typed into Google Maps?
Santa Dave plopped down on his chair. “Ready for the next family, Chloe?”
I nodded as our frontline helper elf ushered in a young couple and their baby. “This is baby Caroline.” Sweet Caroline wore a headband with a giant red bow the size of her head. She howled as her family entered Santa’s cozy living room and none of her parents’ bouncing and cooing helped.
The mom held out the baby in Santa’s direction, which made her wail even more.
Caroline’s mom let out a long breath. “We wanted to get holiday photos before she started teething, but I think it’s too late,” she said, her eyes watering as she pulled her baby closer to her chest.
I jumped into action. “Mom, while you’re holding Caroline, can you please stand next to Santa, by the tree? Dad, I’ll need you to sit on Santa’s armrest.”
They assembled per my instructions, and I looked at their positions in my camera. “Parents, if you could move in a little closer to Santa, that’d be great.”
Caroline took another look at this jolly bearded white dude and burst into tears again. Santa Dave was great with the toddlers and older kids, but babies were not his favorite. He made all of them cry. Every. Single. One.
But that’s where I came in—they didn’t call me the baby whisperer for nothing. From my pocket, I pulled out my trusty pair of black, chunky glasses and perched them on my nose. “Caroliiiiiine!”
The infant tore her eyes away from Santa and looked at me. Her crying stopped for a brief moment as she stared at my new frames.
Now that I had her attention, it was time to go for my classic baby crowd-pleaser. From my other pocket, I pulled out a small yellow bird plushie.
I whistled one of my many rehearsed birdcalls and perched the bird on my head. “Hey baby! Look over here, kid!”
Caroline not only stopped crying, she pointed at the bird and grunted.
Now, for the winning move.
I said, “Mom, Dad, Caroline! Look at the camera! One. Two.” I squeezed the bird and it let out a long squeak. “Three!”
Caroline squealed with delight and clapped. I took several photos, each one revealing different levels of contentment and relief from all three family members. Lots of options for the parents to choose from for their holiday portrait.
I pulled the bird off my head and displayed the images on the camera’s screen for the parents to review. The dad nodded at the last photo. “That’s our money shot right there.”
I continued squeaking the toy, and Caroline tried so hard to say “ba-ba-ba,” which we all agreed was her first word.
Bird.
Caroline’s mom wiped the baby’s drool from her mouth while chatting with Santa. The dad said to me, “Caroline loved that bird. Amazing how you were able to stop her crying.”
I nodded. “They all love the bird. I have a whole arsenal of animals, but she looked like a bird lover.”
“Can I buy it from you? Or could you let me know where I can get one? We’re desperate,” he chuckled.
I shrugged. “Petco.”
He scratched his chin. “Pet…co?”
“It’s a cat toy. The dog toys are louder if you don’t mind the excessive squeaking.”
Caroline’s mom fluttered over to us, and the baby reached out for me. “Awww look, she likes you!”
I laughed. “She just wants these glasses. Isn’t that right, Caroline?”
She gurgled and swiped at my face.
The mom dropped a twenty-dollar bill into the tip jar. “She’s been crying all day. I’m so relieved she stopped.” She turned to her husband as they exited. “Did she tell you where she bought the bird?”
I smiled while uploading the photos. The pictures of Caroline’s family really turned out well. Photography was the only thing I could do right, and with enough family photos under my belt so far this season, it was becoming natural to me.
After I took a swig of water and a bite of granola bar, I called to the front, “I’m ready for the next family!”
The elf cashier popped her head in. “Um, there aren’t any families in line. We’re taking lunch now while we have downtime.”
“W-What? The mall is full today.” Our lines had dwindled with the passing of each day, but I never thought we’d get to the point of having no customers. This was a first.
She pointed past the exit.
My gaze followed her finger to the 3D North Pole exhibit. The line was wrapped around the corner, and Peter Li strutted around the perimeter, handing out flyers to passersby. “New fall and winter themes added! Choose from twenty different immersive rides! Hey, nice coat! Love your hat!” Timmy and his binky were near the front of the line, underneath the giant sign that read NEW! ULTIMATE VIRTUAL REALITY SLEIGH RIDE SPECTACULAR!
I narrowed my eyes.
Peter.
Of course.
Peter, the bane of my existence, as far back as I can remember.
Boys’ varsity soccer Peter. Editor-in-chief Peter. Perfect PSAT score Peter. And now ruin-my-job Peter.
He was smirking right at me.
Time to wipe that smug smile off his face.
Excerpted from THE CHRISTMAS CLASH by Suzanne Park. Excerpted with the permission of Sourcebooks Fire. Copyright © 2022 by Suzanne Park.
