McDonald_NoELFngWay_GEN_Dec2015 (11 page)

Nicky laughed. “You’re not supposed to tell secrets.”

Santa nodded. “You’re right. Now I’m going to have to put myself on the naughty list. Vixen and the other elves are going to laugh. Oh well… even Santas make mistakes.”

“Are you
really
the real Santa?” Nicky asked.

“Yes. But it’s more like a title than anything else. My name is Michael Santa… just like you’re Nicky Santa. As you can see from the way I’m dressed, I take my Santa-ing very seriously. If you ever decide to get into this business, you’ll know exactly what I mean. All those other guys wearing costumes and working the malls… well, they’re volunteers. It’s really the elves that deliver letters to me and the other real Santas. Since you’re in the running to become one of us, I thought you should know.”

Nicky nodded. “Thanks. Okay. I guess you can go now.”

Santa chuckled as he rose and walked to the door. “You are going to be just fine, Nicholas. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Santa,” Nicky said, waving back when Santa waved goodbye.

***

Blix had gone out in the cold to warm the car. Cupid followed the “Santa” to the door. “Should I thank you for coming?”

Santa laughed. “Your grandson definitely got your sense of humor,” he said. He reached into a coat pocket. “Do you still believe, Cupid? Or have you lost your sense of magic?”

Cupid tilted down her head and stared. “Depends. Why do you ask?”

Laughing, he held out an envelope. “Because the man who wrote this is trying to find a way into your life and heart. I bet he won’t even take up that much space. He’s a good sport—just like your grandson. Here. Merry Christmas.”

“Thank you.” Cupid took the letter from him. “How’s Nicky? I mean… how is he really?”

Santa dropped his smile. “Better than Vixen and Dash is my guess. He caught them kissing. You might want to let your son know. Nicky was mostly there in his reasoning before I made a single suggestion.”

Cupid sighed. “I see. Well, thank you for everything… Santa.”

“Always my pleasure,” he said, stepping out the door.

She listened for the car to pull away and then slipped the paper out of its holder. It was a letter to Santa… a letter written by Blix. A comprehensive list of everything he liked about her filled the entire front and back.

Cupid walked numbly to the kitchen trying to take it all in. It was a lot of trouble to go through just to get a date.

For some reason, the idea of Blix going to all this trouble for her suddenly made her laugh.

Dash was staring at the tree. There were at least forty presents under it—mostly for his son. He sighed and hoped they would make up the difference.

His son appeared at his side and leaned on his leg. “Dad… we need to talk.”

Dash knew then the moment he’d dreaded had arrived. It was Christmas Eve and he was surprised it had taken this long. “Okay. You want to sit in my lap or sit face-to-face on the floor. Your choice tonight.”

“I better sit on your lap,” Nicky declared. “You might need a hug after.”

“You’re right. I might need one. It’s been a tough week.”

Dash figured he knew who would need the hug after and it wasn’t necessarily him. But he’d play along for as long as he could. “What do you want to talk about? It sounds pretty serious.”

Nicky nodded. “I wrote a letter to Santa and I didn’t tell you because I thought you might get mad at me. Did Mima tell you?”

Dash shook his head. Technically, it was true. It had been his fellow Santas who had informed him. “No. Mima never told me anything.”

Nicky sighed. “Maybe she was afraid you’d be mad at her too.”

Dash ran a hand down his son’s stiff back. “No. I bet she just didn’t want to tell your secret. Mimas are loyal like that.”

He could practically watch Nicky run through all the possibilities in his head before electing to believe him. The boy was either going to be a business person or a lawyer like his mother had been.

“So… do you want to talk about what you asked Santa to bring you?”

Nicky shrugged. “Can I ask you a question first?”

“Absolutely,” Dash replied.

“How much do you like Vixen?”

Dash felt his eyebrows go up. He hadn’t been expecting that question. “I like her a lot.”

“Like do you ever think you might want to… you know…
marry
her or something? Like one day?” Nicky asked.

“Maybe… would you like it if I did? Dancer is Vixen’s daughter, you know. She would come with the deal.”

Nicky chuckled. “Yeah. I know. She’s ‘ococious.”

Dash snickered. “She’s what?”

“Like she thinks she’d always right,” Nicky explained.

Dash thought for a moment. “Do you mean
precocious
?”

“Yes.” Nicky bounced up and down in his lap. “It’s a big word. I could barely think of it.”

“It’s a very big word… but one that fits Dancer quite well. Where did you hear her called that?”

As usual, Nicky didn’t reveal his source, just asked another question of his own.

“So if Vixen became your
wife
, would that make her my
mother
?”

“Yes. That’s how it works,” Dash said.

“Then I approve of Vixen for the job. You can kiss her and then you can marry her.”

Dash burst out laughing. He couldn’t help himself. “I’m sorry, Nicky. It’s not really funny… well, yeah, maybe it is. Vixen is very mad at me right now. She may not ever want to be my wife.”

“Is it because you watch too much TV?” Nicky asked.

Dash barked out a laugh. “Where in the world did that come from?”

Nicky shrugged. “I saw you kissing her. She seemed to like it as much as you did.”

Out of the mouth of babes comes the stark truth, Dash thought. “You’re right. We both like kissing each other. She’s mad at me because I said some things that hurt her feelings. Girls get upset when you aren’t nice to them. It could take Vixen a long a time to forgive me.”

“Oh noooo…” Nicky whined. “Now I’m going to have to wait forever. She’s the only one who might have worked.”

“You lost me son,” Dash declared.

Nicky hung his head and sighed. “I asked Santa to bring me a new mother. Only I couldn’t spell it, so I wrote m-o-m. Mima said he’d figure it out. Then Santa came to see me and told me that you would have to marry the mother he brought me. He said it would be a lot easier if you just picked someone you already liked so she would stay. And I knew you liked Vixen. Dad… she’s almost perfect.”

Dash nodded. “Yes. Yes, she is. And I don’t know what worries me more—that you’re alarmingly right or that I actually understood all you said. Except for the Santa part.”

“Don’t worry,” Nicky said, patting his father’s cheek. “The real Santa is a very nice person. Do you think I would make a good Santa one day? He said I would have to train as an elf first. But if you married Vixen soon, maybe she could train me as an elf while I was little. Then I wouldn’t have to wait twenty whole years to become a real Santa.”

Dash leaned his head back in his chair. “I am definitely going to need that hug. My brain is threatening to explode. This is a lot to think about all at once. I don’t know how you did it.”

Laughing, his son attached himself to his neck. Dash gathered him close and took a moment to feel grateful. “When I find someone I want to marry, she will want to be your mother. I promise. You and I are a package deal, buddy.”

“You mean like Vixen and Dancer,” Nicky said against his shoulder.

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Maybe we could be a bigger package all together,” Nicky declared.

Dash thought any minute now he was going to be the one dissolving into tears. “Bigger package. Got it. I’ll try that one on Vixen next time and see if it helps my argument.”

“And someday I would like a brother. Are there any reindeer names left?”

“There’s Rudolph,” Dash declared instantly.

“Noooooo….” Nicky said, collapsing into giggles. “My brother cannot be named
Rudolph
.”

“Okay. How about we forget the reindeer names? How about we call him George Vincent Bernard Sleigh?”

“Sounds a little better,” Nicky said. “Maybe we need to keep thinking about it.”

Nicky sighed and slid off his lap to the floor.

“Mima said it was early, but I’m going to bed now. It’s going to be a lot of work in the morning opening up all those presents.”

“I’m sure it will be. But you’re okay about not getting a new mom this year?” Dash asked, needing to hear it one more time.

“I guess. Do you think we can get one next year?”

Dash smiled. He hoped so. It depended on his ability to finagle another chance. “I promise to work on it.”

Nicky nodded tiredly. “Okay. Don’t forget to tell Vixen about your big package. It sounds like something a girl would like. They’re all crazy, but even Santa said they were worth the trouble. I sure hope he’s right.”

Dash grinned and nodded. Sometimes he felt like the luckiest man who ever walked. “I will definitely tell Vixen about my big package. You are a wise man, Nicholas Sleigh.”

“Yeah,” Nicky said, yawning. “Santa said that too.”

Dash watched Nicky trudging tiredly out of the room. He tucked himself into bed these days. In many ways, his son wasn’t the baby he had a tendency to think he was. Maybe he should be discouraging his Santa fantasies, but with the way things had worked out, he was going to say nothing against them.

But now his failure with Vixen loomed even larger. What could he possibly do or say to change her mind? He’d love to kiss her until she melted against him, then laugh with her over Nicky’s big package comment. And those two thoughts alone told him all that was important. Vixen was the woman he’d been waiting to show up—the one that wouldn’t let him hide in unresolved grief.

He had to fix the misunderstanding between them. He had to fix it tonight. No one would ever call him a saint like the original Nicholas, but he was going to find a way back into Vixen’s heart.

Mind made up, Dash stood and went to see if his mother was still awake.

Dash walked into the hospital and looked around. It was after nine on Christmas Eve and no one was on duty at the information desk. Some quiet janitorial person was mopping the floor in the lobby. Dash thanked him profusely for helping him find his way.

Two elevators and a small hike down a hallway later, he’d arrived where he’d been headed.

The elf he’d been tracking down for the last hour was sitting in the middle of a group of children. Some were in wheelchairs. Some were attached to IVs. Nearly all of them were wearing some sort of Santa or elf hat to hide the reality of their situation.

He stopped where he was, frozen by the goodness of a woman he barely knew, but was more determined than ever now to get to know. Understanding how he’d hurt her now hurt him. If there was a miracle happening, it wasn’t in just finding a way to gain Vixen’s forgiveness. It was in the way he now viewed the world.

Vixen smiled and passed out presents, her elf hat jingling merrily. Lust and love and genuine like for her rolled simultaneously through him. It was going to be difficult to want a woman this much again, but the idea of not having her in his life was equally painful. Maybe his mother had been right about his fears, but he was going to get over them. There were at least four people counting on him to do so.

When Vixen looked up and saw him, her face grew pink with surprise… and a bit of embarrassment at being found. His desire to spare her any more discomfort was all it took to push him forward, regardless of his welcome. Not having another chance—a real one Dash was determined to make count—was a future he refused to contemplate. He was a patient man… or would be one until he won her again.

Dash stopped just outside the circle of children and waited while Vixen separated herself and waved goodbye. She gathered her now empty gift bag and her purse before walking to him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked immediately.

Dash reached out a finger and make the jingle bell dance on her elf hat before speaking. “I heard my elf was out delivering presents on her own. What kind of Santa would I be if I didn’t come help?”

Vixen nodded and dropped her gaze. “I see. Booma tell you where I was?”

“Only after both Blix and Cupid vouched for my good intentions.”

“Do you actually have any?” Vixen demanded.

Dash turned as she started to move past him. He smiled and made sure she saw.

“Yes. I have a lot of intentions. Only you can decide if they’re good. I was hoping you’d at least talk to me about them.”

Vixen sighed as she pushed the elevator call button. “Since you went to all this trouble to track me down, I guess there’s no choice. Would you mind giving me a ride home? I took a cab to the hospital because I didn’t want to be out on Christmas Eve dressed like an elf. Most adults tend to give you weird looks, especially policemen.”

The hospital elevators opened and they stepped inside.

“If you’re not on Santa’s naughty list, you should be fine with the police,” Dash teased, selecting the parking garage level.

Vixen softly chuckled as the elevator descended. “The naughtiest thing I’ve done this year was sleep with you. Come to think of it… that may be the naughtiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Well, outside of getting pregnant with Dancer without marrying her father, but maybe keeping her and loving her balances it all out. At least that’s what I tell myself.”

Dash shook his head and turned to look at her. “I can see you haven’t had much practice at being naughty. What you just described is the sort of thing that zooms you to the top of the good list… and bringing presents to the children’s oncology ward here is yet another.”

“Stop… I do this at one of the local hospitals every year. Their parents are with them, but an elf is a surprise. I like to think it helps them forget for a little while.”

“This is as bad as any other discrepancy between us. You may actually be too good for me. But I can’t let that affect my decision. I want you anyway. Men are selfish like that sometimes. I’ve decided to indulge my worst flaws if that’s what it takes to get you back.”