Inside, the air smelled of cedar and peppermint. Leo walked straight to the back shelf where the nutcrackers stood in rigid, colorful ranks.

"That one has been waiting for a long time," Mayer whispered.

The snow crunched under Leo’s boots as he pulled his collar tight against the December wind. Every year, he made the same pilgrimage to Mayer’s Toys & Curiosities , a dusty corner shop that seemed to exist only for the three weeks leading up to Christmas.