Mistletoe

“Well?” he asked, taking her hand and guiding her into the parlor. “The candlelight is stunning and the mistletoe abundant,” she replied, looking at him sideways with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “It is much more elegant and … relevant … than holly or common pine,” he whispered, bending to kiss her wrist. “Mistletoe is an aggressive hemiparasitic plant that latches onto a host tree or shrub to take its water and vital nutrients. It sustains its host while it feeds, enjoying a kind of symbiosis in which both species thrive.” “Uncanny,” she gasped. “Yes,” Dracula said, drawing her close. “Appropriate and ridiculously festive.”