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Ricky’s face lit up with a smile. “Auntie Sage.”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Would it be all right if we didn’t order Uber Eats for dinner tonight?”

“Sure thing.” Ricky was right. Every night since their arrival, they’d either had food delivered or dined in a restaurant. Living alone, she generally ate frozen dinner or ordered out. Often she picked something up on her way home from the office. Rarely had she turned on her stove.

“You could cook something, right?”

“Right.”

“But not something that goes in the oven, okay?” he asked, and then tried to smother his laughter.

Sage gave his shoulder a gentle shove. “Very funny.”

Dinner wasn’t the best, Sage would be the first to admit. She overcooked the noodles on the packaged macaroni and cheese. Ricky was kind enough not to complain, although he was likely not to notice the difference. A salad came from a bag. Bag or not, they both enjoyed it. Sage didn’t bother to save any of the leftovers.

As promised, as soon as dinner was over, Sage and Ricky drove to the store to buy him his own small Christmas tree.

Once home, Ricky excitedly told his mother about his tree and how they planned to decorate it. That night he went to bed with a smile on his face.

—

Two days later, Sage was at her wit’s end. She’d gone so far as to do an online search for an actor willing to play the role of Santa. Unfortunately, every Santa in the entire Seattle area was booked solid. Even the Santa the HOA had hired for the condo appearance the weekend before Christmas declined, explaining that he was already overbooked.

“Looks like you need to talk to Ethan,” Erica told her with a smug look. This was exactly what she wanted.

Her assistant was right; Sage was completely out of options.

She’d wasted far too much time searching for Santa when she should have been working on the Hudson project. She felt like she’d let her team down. While they were working on creating a tagline to go with the media blitz, she’d been searching for someone real enough to pass for Santa. While confident that the media program was top-notch, the only thing they lacked was a catchy tagline for the soft drink. One that would let the customer know that Buzz was more than an ordinary soda. The taste was great. It competed with the other drinks currently on the market, only with a bonus.

The key factor was that Buzz did more than satisfy thirst. The drink had vitamins and antioxidants. This was the plus. Sage and her team struggled to think of a single line that would stay in the consumer’s mind, highlighting the health factors.

“Sage.” Erica broke into her thoughts. “We were talking about Ethan.”

Deep in thought, Sage realized Erica had spoken. “Right. Ethan.” She had nowhere else to turn. It would be humiliating. “I’ll talk to him this evening,” she said, giving in. He was her last and only option.

Approaching him wasn’t going to be easy.

Most of the office staff had left for the day. Sage approached Ethan’s office, nervously rubbing her palms together. “How’s it going?” she asked casually. She leaned against the doorjamb like she needed its support.

Ethan raised his head from the computer screen. If he was surprised to see her, he didn’t let on. “Hello, Sage.”

“Hi.” Her voice sounded high-pitched, and she immediately lowered it. “I’ve got a small problem, and I was wondering if you might be willing to help.” There, it was out in the open. No need for small talk.

“What’s the problem?”

“As you know, Ricky’s mother is deployed in Florida.”

“So you mentioned.”

“Yes, well, my nephew has this thing. He wants to meet Santa, and not just any Santa. He insists it be the real Santa. I took him to the mall last weekend and was informed that Santa was a fake. For whatever reason, talking to the real Santa is important to Ricky. I need someone willing to be authentic enough to satisfy him. From what I remember, you mentioned you played Santa to your family last Christmas.”

Ethan listened and then gave a slight nod, as if waiting for her to continue. “Erica reminded me you did such a good job no one guessed it was you and not the real Santa.”

“That’s right.”

She brightened. “Would you be willing to play Santa for Ricky? I know this is a lot to ask. I’d be more than happy to pay you.”