Author's Note: Cathy-got your notes in the review. Thanks for clearing that up. But no matter what name you review under, you've always submitted detailed, articulate, eloquent, enthusiastic, and often humorous feedback, which I love. So keep it coming girl, and thanks for your support!
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merrry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year
Good tidings to you,
And all of your kin,
Good tidings for Christmas,
And a Happy New Year
Michael Sanchez looked up and smiled. In the doorway serenading him was his wife, Clara, and their two children, 5 year old Paul and 4 year old, Stella. It was Christmas Eve and he was still in the hospital, still in pain from his accident, and still not able to work to afford gifts for his family. But they had each other.
"Hi, Daddy", they chimed.
"Hey. You guys get over here. Give your Daddy a hug."
The approached him carefully before jumping on the bed. He winced, as his tired body ached all over but seeing their little faces and having tiny arms wrapped around him made it all the more better.
"Daddy, what's this for?" little Paul asked, pointing to the IV in his father's right arm.
"Bud, it has medicine in it and it helps me feel better."
"Does it hurt?"
Michael managed to smile.
"No, buddy. It doesn't hurt at all."
"When are you coming home?" Stella asked.
"Soon, Ladybug", he sighed. "Hopefully real soon. You know, I miss you guys a whole bunch."
"And we miss you, too", Clara bent down and kissed her husband's forehead. "But it's Christmas Eve and we wanted to come be with you."
He smiled sadly. Of course he was glad they had come but in a lot of ways he hated his family seeing him so hurt and vulnerable. And he hated looking into the beautiful, innocent, brown eyes of his beloved babies, knowing he couldn't provide them with the Christmas, they and every other child, so deserved.
"Daddy, did you know tonight is the night when Santa comes?" Stella informed him happily.
Mike hung his head.
"Yeah…about that…"
"We have to go to bed early cause Santa won't come if you're awake, right, Mommy?"
Clara nodded her head and sighed.
"That's right, baby."
"Come here, guys", Mike said, pulling the children in close. "I want to tell you a story about why Christmas is so special, okay? Tomorrow is the day Jesus was born. It's his birthday. Remember all the stuff they taught you about Jesus in Sunday School and what he did for us?"
"Yeah", they nodded.
"Jesus was a good man and he stood for a lot of good things so that's why we celebrate tomorrow. The true meaning of Christmas is love and family. We might not have a lot of toys or presents but we have each other, right?"
It broke his heart to disappoint them.
"It's okay, Daddy", little Paul said. "We won't be mad if Santa doesn't come by this year."
He felt hot tears stinging his eyes as he thought of the list Paul and Stella had scribbled down together. Stuffed animals, train sets, race cars, puzzles, coloring books and dolls. All the many things kids their age wanted to have.
"But Santa will come…won't he?" Stella looked up at her parents.
They were at a loss for words. It was tough news for any child to comprehend but Paul, just a kindergartener, seemed to understand more than his sister. But how could the parents expect for ones so young to grasp onto something so unfair and so grown up.
"Honey, he…" Clara began.
"There is a Santa Claus and he will come see us tonight, right, Mommy? Me and Paul was real, real good."
Mike and Clara opened their mouths but no words came out. They couldn't even force them and their hearts were breaking.
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" came a hearty laugh from the door.
The visitor was unmistakable. Black boots, big belly, red suit, long white and fluffy beard, glasses…hat. It was none other than good old Saint Nick himself.
"Santa!" the children yelled with glee.
He took a seat on a nearby chair, putting down one of two sacks overloaded with toys. The kids jumped from the bed and climbed onto his lap.
"Special delivery for Paul and Stella!"
"Wow!" Paul exclaimed. "Santa, how did you find us here?"
"Santa knows everything", he said in a loud, jolly voice.
"Are all these for us?"
"Were you a good little girl this year, Stella?"
"Yes!"
Santa pushed one bag towards the children. They began rummaging through it. The train set, stuffed animals, dolls, race cars, games, puzzles, coloring books, and action figures. It was heaven for two small children.
"Thank you, Santa!" they shouted.
"You're welcome but Santa has to go. I have to take this other bag and deliver toys to the all the sick little boys and girls in the hospital."
"Bye, Santa!" Paul and Stella waved.
As Santa turned to exit the room, he caught the eye of the ailing man in the bed. He smiled as tears of joy streamed down the face of Michael Sanchez. The man was speechless. And seeing his little ones so happy was more than enough of a present for him.
"Thank you", Michael mouthed.
Santa just winked as he left and closed the door behind him. A few seconds later it opened again and Clara was hot on his heels. He turned and found himself face to face with the short, dark haired woman.
"Mrs. Sanchez…"
She put a finger to his lips to shush him before wrapping her arms around him. The hug was short and sweet and he could see the sincerity and gratefulness in her tear filled eyes.
"Thank you" she whispered.
He nodded.
"You're welcome."
"Merry Christmas and…God bless you, Santa."
He felt his own tears coming but he held them back. After all, Santa Claus didn't cry. And he had other toys to deliver all over before getting back to his waiting reindeer.
News of Santa's presence in the hospital spread rather quickly. And just as promised, every girl and boy hospitalized received a brand new toy on Christmas Eve. After all the hugs and joy and the huge smiles that made it all worthwhile, it was time for Santa to go. The reindeer were supposed to be waiting on the roof to take him back to the North Pole to Mrs. Claus and all the elves.
But it was a minute after midnight and the fairytale was over. Just like in the Cinderella story, the coach of reindeer turned into a black, Chevrolet Tahoe SUV. And it turns out the North Pole was just a few miles up the street in a private community on a hefty piece of gated property. And the elves had names like Dan and Deb and Royal and Mae and Keith and Jules. And Mrs. Claus' first name was Megan.
Yea the fairytale had ended but "Santa" had nothing to feel bad about. He had done his good deed. He had brought smiles to faces and joy to hearts. And that's the least he could do. He owed everyone that. One step at a time towards changing his life around.
He removed the itchy beard, hat and spectacles. He ran his finger through his dark hair and sighed. So what if his own Christmas wasn't going to be that merry? He felt good inside and that counted for something. Nathan Scott smiled as he removed the pillow from his Santa suit and like Clark Kent, changed back to his alter ego. It was time to return to the madness.