Baby Book - Phase Three
Chapter Fifty-Five - That Santa Person Again
Late December, 2274
As the date of the annual holiday party neared, there was much speculation among the children as to whether or not that Santa person would show up again this year. Some thought that he would, and others did not. None of the adults was saying anything. Not even the captain.
The night of the party, Mama and Baba got all dressed up. Mama looked so pretty, with her hair down loose, curling about her face. Baba kept running his hands through it and Mama kept smiling at him. Amanda and Grayson had on clean clothes, but were not dressed up nearly as nicely as Mama and Baba were.
When they reached the designated day care area, Baba told them that they would not stay as late as they had last year, because he did not want Mama to get too tired. Grayson and Amanda nodded, agreeing with him. Mama still threw up every morning, and sometimes before supper, and took a nap every chance she got.
Grayson spied Jilly and set off across the room to see her, Amanda following behind him. Neither of them got to see her very often. Jilly had a big grin on her face, and gave them both big hugs. The three sat down and started talking, oblivious to anything else going on around them. It was not until they heard a strange jingling noise that they looked up. There was the strangest animal walking down the broad aisle toward them. All three scrambled to their feet to look at it. It had big wide horn-like things on its head and was covered in short brown fur. Its feet were shiny and black, and looked hard. And it was hung all over with some kind of bright red harness, with tiny bells attached everywhere.
They looked at each other, and then at the attendants, and then back at the animal. They shook their heads, and wondered what on earth it was. And then they realized that the harness went back and was attached to something. Some sort of cart or something. And that Santa person was perched on the cart, with his big bag, that was bulging out in all sorts of interesting angles.
All the children came running up then, and gathered around. Some were even brave enough to reach out and touch the animal's fur. The animal turned its head around to see who was touching it and made a strange little noise, causing the children on that side to jump back.
The big man in the red and white suit climbed down from the cart, and reached into his bag, pulling out a package. "This one's for a boy. Is there a boy here?"
One of the older boys rushed right up. He got the package and retreated, leaving room for other children to come forward. The next package was for a girl. The one after that was for a little boy. George Kirk ran forward and grabbed it, hugging the box to his chest as he toddled off. Before too long, every child had a package, and then they were all tearing at the bright paper and shiny ribbon, to see what was inside.
The attendants reminded them of their manners, and everyone said their thank-yous, and the big man in the red and white suit climbed back into the cart and whistled at the animal, which started off again, its bells jingling.
Grayson sat back down on the floor and and started playing with the puzzle he had gotten, while Amanda and Jilly craned their necks to watch. By the time Mama and Baba arrived to pick them up, he had figured it out, and eagerly showed them how it worked. Baba said that was an excellent present to have been given, and Grayson quite agreed with him. It was much better than the toy dishes that Amanda was clutching to her chest, or the brightly colored magnetic shapes that Jilly thought were wonderful. Every single toy from that bag had been different.
