Maybe eating by myself for a while wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
2
Thirsty
Winter wonderlands could be draining for even the most resilient of mall elves, and after another long shift, I was beat.
A parent jiggled their fussy baby, rearranging the bib protecting their fancy festive wear, and glared at me. “How much longer?”
“We’ll see.” My cheeks ached despite the rosy hue I dusted across them this morning. “I’d guess around fifteen–”
“Anotherfifteen minutes?”
I shifted my weight from one throbbing foot to another, smiling wider as soon as the baby peeked at me. The pom-pom on my hat and sparkles on my lashes always captivated little ones. I leaned forward and placed my hands on my knees. “Santa’s a good listener, so when you go up, be ready to–”
“Spare me,” the parent muttered, jiggling their kid again. “We’ll be in and out in a minute. What are all these other people doing?”
Enjoying the magic, probably.
But I couldn’t say that to anybody. I couldn’t say much at all. My throat was as dry as the fake snow next to the red satin carpet they rolled out for Santa. I hadn’t had anything to drink since the milk with my cereal this morning. How was I supposed to conduct another sing-along if I could barely croak out a greeting?
Flashing the parent an apologetic smile, I turned around and snuck a bit of crushed candy cane into my mouth. A little sugar could perk me up. Or at least coat my throat.
“Sugarplum?” Santa called.
I sucked in a breath to answer–and promptly choked on the jagged candy cane crumble. Pounding my fist against my chest, I wheezed as discreetly as I could to dislodge or at least melt the obstruction. I hurried over to Santa’s makeshift sleigh throne and clasped my hands behind me, swallowing around candy shards. “Yes, Santa?”
We had two Santas on rotation. Today’s was Frosty Santa, so nicknamed for his authentic silver-white facial hair and icy demeanor.
He didn’t smile at the elves orho, ho, hoat any of the kids. My coworkers thought he took this job too seriously, but I figured he was just conserving his energy. And cheek muscles. I rubbed my aching face in sympathy.
Frosty Santa sat atop his sleigh throne, his discerning eyebrows raised in judgment. His brown eyes didn’t exactly twinkle as he bounced a child on his meaty thigh. “Would you check on Dasher for me?”
That was code for 'take a break.'Finally. “I’d love to. I’ll get some carrots.” I spun around, my polyester uniform swishing out like the velvet skirt under a Christmas tree.
The next kid in line tugged his mom’s hand, his eyes wide as I skipped by. “Is she going to feed the reindeer?”
“Maybe,” the mom answered.
The kid’s eyes lit up. “That’s so cool.”
I hid my smile and ducked behind a tinsel tree where we had our nook for candy cane boxes and various other things. Petting reindeerwouldbe neat. What wasn’t to love about those big snouts, fuzzy chests, and majestic antlers? They might not smell great, but most people didn’t, either, and we still liked hanging out with them.
Chestnut chased me behind the tree. “Hey, wait.” He tugged on the end of my hat, drawing pressure on my bobby pins, hair, and scalp.
“Oww, what?” I swatted him away and pouted.
“Do you think you could get me a coffee at The Bern? I’ll send you the money,” he said.
I righted my hat so the head elf wouldn’t ding me for violating dress code while I was still on the floor. “Sure, but when will you have time to drink it?”
“Trust me, I’ll–”
A parent shook their bags at us and a child’s wails pierced my ears.
“Go,” Chestnut hissed. The implied sentiment of ‘save yourself’ almost made me laugh.
I bolted to the break room, tossed my hat in the cubby, and yanked my winter jacket over my uniform. My elf-ness was hidden enough for my marathon to the front of the mall. There was no time to waste. I pocketed my cold sandwich and booked it for the coffee shop. Hopefully, mall security would recognize me and assume I wasn’t on the run from anything. They checked our bags after every shift, but I was on the Nice List where they barely glanced at my stuff this year. I wanted that bonus, after all. Of course, sometimes, I couldn’t help being alittlenaughty… But I only danced around the rules. Like hiding a water bottle under the Christmas tree or sneaking a peek at my phone during the shift. I didn’t commit crimes or anything.
