The 6'1" Grinch by Tiffany White

his match, little bitty or not.
    â€œMa’am?” The deliveryman was in a hurry. The preholiday schedule had him swinging double shifts.
    Hollie signed for the package for Sarah and went back to the kitchen. She had mounds of spuds to peel for the mashed potatoes to go with the rouladens. Trust a man to disappear when the drudgery part of cooking arrived.
    â€œD AMN IT ,” Noel swore as his loafers hit a slick patch of muddy lawn and he went sprawling.
    Midnight barked at him and scampered beyond his reach.
    Noel scowled at the little piece of fluff, then down at his ruined slacks. A large grass stain covered one knee and his hand hurt where it had landed on a rock, scraping off some skin.
    â€œCome here, Midnight,” he said in a tone that meant business.
    No response.
    â€œI said, come here.”
    Midnight barked again and began walking away.
    The stupid mutt thought they were playing a game, Noel soon realized. It would serve the animal right if he just left her outside until she got hungry enough to come home. But it might be a while. Midnight was well fed and used to being outside in the fenced yard. The delicious taste of freedom wasn’t something she’d give up so easily.
    Noel couldn’t abandon the silly dog, because the animal was dumb enough to run out in front of a car. But it didn’t keep him from feeling like a fool, he grumbled as he rose to chase the creature. It wasn’t seemly. If the dog were a German shepherd or something, okay. But a wee little dog made him look ridiculous.
    Still, Elena would be distraught if she returned home and her dog was missing, so he continued chasing Midnight.
    â€œCome here, girl,” Noel called, trying ever so discreetly to inch closer and closer to the dog without Midnight noticing what Noel was doing. How hard could it be to catch such a little bitty thing? He was certainly not about to be outsmarted by a piece of fluff.
    Midnight sat down and waited, watching Noel’s slow approach. She cocked her head and listened to him coax her to come to him.
    â€œThat’s it, girl. Just sit very still until I reach you and pick you up ever so gently and wring your silly little neck.”
    But just as soon as Noel got within lunging distance of Midnight, the dog would bounce away as though she were on tiny springs, then bark at him from a safe distance, as if Noel were some mean old dognapper.
    Frustrated, Noel tried flat out running after the scampering dog and nearly knocked himself out when he ran smack into a low tree branch; he actually saw a burst of tiny stars momentarily. Feeling a little dizzy, he stayed put where he’d landed on the ground.
    Which was what he should have done all along, because Midnight began whining and walked back over to him, jumping into Noel’s lap and licking his face.
    But a couple of neighborhood kids riding by on their bikes attracted Midnight’s attention and the dog leaped from Noel’s grasp to take off after the boys, yapping at their feet.
    Noel held his head in his hands, wishing he were on a warm sunny island with his head hurting because he was hung over.
    He had to get up and go after the dog.
    Before he lost sight of it.
    Sound of it, anyway.
    Pushing himself up off the damp ground, he resumed the chase.
    N OEL HAD BEEN GONE a long time, Hollie thought uneasily.
    She prayed nothing had happened to Midnight. Elena would be upset and her holiday would be completely ruined.
    She emptied the boiling water from the large stockpot full of potatoes and shook them into a bowl for whipping.
    By the time she’d finished making the mashed potatoes and checked on the rouladens in the oven, Noel and Midnight still had not returned.
    Her worry increased as she worked to make the rest of the dishes for the dinner party Sarah was catering. Helping Sarah from time to time had taught her a lot about catering.
    She checked her watch. “Where are you, Noel?” she asked aloud. Sarah