Almost all the characters belong to Janet. Merry Christmas to all!
Santa stretched and shifted in his overstuffed chair. It had been a long but productive afternoon. More than 25 children had sat on his lap and whispered their heartfelt wishes into his ear. Each had left with a warm pair of gloves and a hat, just in time for winter in Trenton, as well as a dozen home baked Christmas cookies.
Santa worked a red and white striped candy cane at the corner of his mouth while he thoughtfully regarded his handwritten list. With just a week to go before the big day, the "elves" should be able to make short work of these requests, and provide some surprises as well. He noticed though, that one name seemed to be missing from his list.
The girl with the curly brown hair had stuck close to him all day, but she hadn't made any requests. She had no reason to be shy. She wasn't on the naughty list, Santa felt sure of that.
Almost instinctively, Santa reached out and wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, pulling her into his lap. His green eyes twinkled and he waggled his eyebrows as he growled, "Stephanie, come tell Santa your heart's desires."
"Lester!" shrieked Stephanie as she playfully smacked his chest. "You startled me!"
"Sorry, Beautiful," chuckled Santa. "This was such a great day. You should be proud."
