“Look at all the colored trees. We have time. Let’s sneak in.” The door opened with a loud creak before she burst inside.
“Marley!” I whisper-shouted. “We’re not supposed to be here. Since when do you care about colored trees?” I stopped my rant to scan the space. I’d never thought I’d like a purple or pink tree but the white lights on each, I had to admit, were pretty. In the far corner of the room, there was a huge traditional type tree, with colored lights and tinsel and a small pile of presents at the bottom. I blinked when I thought I saw my name on a large white envelope leaning against the tallest gift. My tired and sad mind was playing tricks on me.
“Okay, we saw the trees, can we go—”
I turned, and Marley was gone. I came back to the doorway and didn’t see her anywhere. I was going to kill her.
I groaned, now dreading trying to find her in the dense crowd when curiosity got me, and I walked over to the tree in the corner. Sure enough,VictoriaFalcowas written in bold black letters on the envelope.
I picked it up and found the flap unsealed. Craning my head around the room one more time, I pulled out the card inside and felt a twinge of guilt for being mad at Marley, today. Maybe this card and trip to the mall was her way of cheering up my grumpy ass.
Dear Victoria,
If you had made it to breakfast and told me you wanted this, I would have made sure it was waiting for you that Christmas morning and not all these years later. I’m sorry you were sick that day.
I hope I’m not too late.
Love,
Santa
PS. I’ve made sure that Ryan gets coal mixed with reindeer shit for every Christmas for the rest of his life.
When I tore the first piece of wrapping paper off of the present, my heart lurched at the sight of the Wonder Woman symbol on the box. When I pulled off the rest of it, I found the exact doll I’d planned to ask Santa for that year.
I made it a point to not put it on my Christmas list because I thought I’d tell him when I saw him. Only one person knew about that doll and that terrible, sad story.
“Santa is sorry he missed you.”
My breath hitched when I turned toward Anthony’s voice.
“Busy night and all. He’s really hoping that’s the right one because it took weeks of research and time on eBay to find the Wonder Woman doll from that year and arrange to get it by Christmas. He sends his regards and apologies if it’s not the exact one.”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he made his way over, a tiny smile curving his lips.
“No, it’s the right one.” I looked it over, my quivering making it impossible to take in any of the details. “Thank you, but I don’t understand…” I trailed off, confused by the sweet gift, Anthony’s relaxed stance, and how he’d known I was here in the first place. “Why are you here?”
“Don’t tell Gary, even though I think it’s more an ethical thing than a parole violation, but I peeked in Marley’s file at Rory’s to find her cell number. I called her and begged her to get you here. She wasn’t an easy sell. In fact, if I don’t do this right, she told me she’d slug me. The little thing is kind of wiry, so hopefully I don’t fail.” He flashed me a shy grin. “Can we talk?”
“I guess.” I clutched onto the doll to give my still shaky hands something to do. “I can’t stay long.”
“What I have to say won’t take long,” he said, placing his hand on the small of my back to lead me to a small step behind Santa’s big chair.
“Mari worked here when she was in college and is still friends with the manager of the Santa booth.” I sat next to him, putting as much distance as I could between us as possible within the small space. “I told her how I basically fucked everything up, and after she screamed at me for fifteen minutes from Puerto Rico, I asked her to get me backstage access here. I thought if you still couldn’t forgive me, maybe you’d count this as finally seeing Santa like you wanted to when you were little.”
I averted my gaze, a mix of emotions making my head spin. The thought he’d put into the gift and how he’d given it to me triggered a burst of warmth in my chest, despite my determination to hold on to the anger.
“I did, didn’t I?”
I lifted my head to his sad smile.
“Did what?”
“Fuck everything up?”
I looked away with a shrug.
“I was a coward, like you said.” He peeled one of my hands off the box and held it in both of his.
