"Santa can fitanythingin his sleigh," Stacy said confidently.
Karl let out a classic jolly chuckle. Stacy's expression lit up. I couldn't blame her for thinking Karl was the real thing—he did a spot-on job. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was the real Santa, too.
"Now aside from a pony, what else would you like, Stacy?" Karl asked.
"Umm... A lot of Daddy’s Christmas cookies!" Stacy exclaimed.
The omega behind her smiled, his eyes shining with emotion. I wished I could be in his position. I wanted to bake festive cookies for my child, too. But I didn't have one.
"I'm positive I can make that happen," Karl said with a knowing wink at Stacy's omega dad. "Anything else, little one?"
"Oh!" Stacy cried. "A big truck! A red one!"
"Is that right? I think I can make that happen. Can you close your eyes, Stacy?" Karl asked.
Stacy closed her eyes for a second before slyly opening one.
"Ah, ah. No peeking," Karl reminded her.
Heeding Santa's words, Stacy shut her eyes for real.
What was Karl doing? I watched curiously as he reached into his big red coat and pulled out a pair of items. I couldn't believe what I saw! In his mitten he held two toys: a red truck and a palomino pony. With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, he carefully placed them in Stacy's hands.
"Now you can open them," Karl told her.
When Stacy's eyes flew open, she gasped loudly before shrieking with joy. "A TRUCK! And a PONY! Dad, Daddy, look!"
"Wow, sweetie! Santa gave those to you, did he?"
As Stacy showed off her toys to her alpha dad, the omega mouthed "thank you" to Karl, who nodded.
"Now, what do you say to Santa?" her dad prompted.
Stacy ran over to Karl and threw her arms around him for a hug. "Thank you, Santa! I love you!"
My heart absolutely melted. I saw the tender look on Karl's face as he hugged her back.
"I love you too, Stacy. Now go on and play with your toys."
As Stacy ran off and her dads took off after her, I exchanged a glance with Karl. I noticed his eyes were wet. He wiped away a tear with his mitten.
"That was really sweet of you, Karl," I murmured, smiling. "I had no idea you hid toys in your coat."
He chuckled. "What kind of Santa would I be without toys?"
Karl radiated not only the festive spirit, but compassion and warmth. It was clear he wasn’t doing this for the money, but out of real passion for the job. He was the perfect man to play Santa. If we weren’t in public, I’d want to slide into his lap and tell himmywishes, too.
I felt my cheeks heat up at the thought.
The day continued pleasantly. Families flowed in at a steady stream, all of them leaving with smiles on their faces. Whenever a spare moment passed in which we weren’t busy, Minnie gave both of us an enthusiastic thumbs-up for all our hard work.
Karl sank back in his chair with a content sigh. He’d been working for hours now and must’ve wanted a break. It was lunch time and visitors were sparse, though the afternoon rush would start soon.
“Hey, do you need something? Don’t hesitate to let me know. It’s my job to take care of you,” I reminded Karl.
As soon as the words left me, I forced myself not to blush. I didn’t mean it in a romantic way, but I also didn’tnotmean it in a romantic way... It was literally in my job description to ensure Santa was comfortable and had his needs met.
Karl smiled. “Ho ho ho! You’re chomping at the bit like a reindeer on Christmas Eve.”
