Bad Santa
AN: I've been working on this story for the past six weeks. But, unfortunately, I could not finish it in a one-shot. First, I contemplated not posting, but then I decided against that. So, here's another Mia adventure... I hope you like it.
Another year later, the Christmas season was alive and well all around. Mia Grimes could not escape it because the Christmas cards continually filled the letter slot each day. The reminders were in the endless Christmas jingles, Christmas specials on television and the Christmas carols on the radio. Their home on Chestnut Close was adorned with all the embellishments of the season both inside and out, including the cottage on the property where Gran stayed with grandpa whenever they came to visit.
Ordinarily, Christmas was her favourite holiday because her grandmother made it fun. She was Gran's little helper. The scent of pastries, cakes, and dinner floated throughout the house, but this year, Mia was preoccupied.
Despite the lightness in the air, as the holidays drew near, nothing was quite the same after last Christmas.
This year, Mia was the lead in the Christmas Story. She was overjoyed when she first got the news, but deep down, her little heart was heavy because she knew words matter, the spoken word as well as those left unsaid. As a result, while she should be happy, there remained an uneasiness about her.
On this night, however, Mia pushed her anxiety down because she had a job to do, and her grandpa, Morgan, always said everyone has a job to do, and they were expected to get it done. She was also a Jones, so she had to get her job done. Not only did she have to get it done, but she had to do it twice as good as everyone else, so she bucked up, and when Ms. Cleo called, "Action!" Mia knew it was time to shine.
...
A soft light lit the stable. The characters gazed at the baby wrapped in a blanket lying in a manager. The instrumental version of We Three Kings of Orient played in the background.
At center stage, a big yellow star crossed, lighting the way for the three wise men who appeared onto the scene to find the child sleeping in the manger while the livestock in the stable looked on.
Rick gently squeezed Michonne's hand as they watched their daughter, Mia, sing her first solo rendition of Away in a Manger in her first starring role as Mary.
Mary sat next to the manger in which the sleeping baby Jesus lay. Joseph sat to the right of the cradle. In front of them stood three wise men bearing gifts for their newborn.
Nearby, the gathering stood a big yellow star through which Logan Kirkman's face shone brightly.
Also in the audience that night, was Mia's grandparents, Morgan and Carol Jones, her older brother, Carl, his new girlfriend, Cindie, his mother, Lori and his stepfather, Negan Kirkman.
At the final curtain, the families waited in the gymnasium for the children to change their costumes and return.
Mia's chestnut curled head came into view ten minutes later, and the bundle of energy known as Mia Grimes burst into the room. She was followed closely by her best friend, Logan Kirkman, but the girls ran to opposite sides of the room into the waiting arms of their fathers, Rick and Negan, respectively, who showered them with kisses.
"Daddy!" Mia squealed in delight when her father scooped her up and twirled her around.
Rick then placed Mia gently on the floor and kissed her forehead. "You were great, sweetheart."
Mia's visage beamed with pride at her father's happiness, and she hugged him and kissed his cheek.
Mia turned next to her mother, "Mommy, did you like it?"
Michonne gave her excited daughter a cello rose cone containing a single red rose trimmed with baby's breath. Michonne hugged an excited Mia and kissed her cheek. "Of course I did, sweetheart. Grandpa filmed it so we can watch it together tomorrow."
But before her mother could finish, Mia moved on to hug her grandparents and then to her first favourite sibling, her older brother, Carl, who she saved for last. Carl crouched his near six-foot figure down and lifted Mia's tiny frame off the floor. And she hugged Carl tight and showered him with kisses because it had been months since he had been home after relocating to New York to finish his law degree.
Carl's radiant smile mirrored his sister's. "You were great, Mimi."
"I missed you, Carl."
"I missed you too, Mimi."
"And me too, Carl?" came a small needy voice from Carl's side.
Logan reached up to her older brother expecting to take Mia's place in his arms.
Mia glared at her.
Carl caught the look but said nothing. He knew the first few hours at home always caused sibling rivalry to flare up.
"Of course, Logan, you were great too," Carl added, setting Mia down and picking Logan up. "I'm so lucky to have two stars in my family."
The girls giggled, but neither acknowledged the other. Instead, they both stared suspiciously at the pretty girl who was now standing in their brother's orbit. Mia cocked her head sideways, but she remained silent.
Carl read the room. He knew nothing good ever came from one of his father's head tilts, so he immediately defused the situation by setting Logan down. He took identical bouquets from the dark-haired beauty and gave them to his sisters.
"Thanks, Carl," the girls chimed, but their gaze remained trained on the stranger standing even closer now to their brother.
"Girls, this is my friend Cindie. Cindie, this is Logan and Mia, my sisters."
"Hi Logan, it's nice to meet you."
"Hi Mia, it's nice to meet you too. Carl has told me so much about both of you."
"I'm older," Logan added to clarify matters.
"My mommy says it doesn't matter." Mia snapped.
"Whoa, girls, what's going on here?" Carl intervened, sensing the tension between the girls. Something was off because his sisters were usually inseparable. His sisters were best friends, almost like sisters even—at least, they were during his last visit, so he wondered what changed.
Neither girl answered him. Instead, Mia took turns sniffing her beautiful flowers ignoring Logan.
"Carl, I wanna go home," Mia demanded, pulling Carls's hand as she walked towards the gathering of adults who stood talking nearby.
"Mimi, stop it. You're being impolite."
"Carl, I need to go home. I want to see Moni before she goes to bed."
"It's late, Mimi. Simone's already in bed."
"No! Gran promised to wait for me. I wanna go home."
"Okay, fine, let me take Logan back to mother first."
Carl excused himself, leaving Mia with Cindie, and walked Logan back to their mother's pod.
Across the room, Lori made small talk. The group chuckled. Lori rubbed her giant belly and leaned on her husband as though he was a leaning post perfectly placed just to keep her upright.
…
Meanwhile, at the centre of the room, Mia seized the opportunity to learn more about her brother's new friend because she didn't know whether she liked her or not.
"Where are you from?"
"I'm from Savannah, but I live in New York."
"Gran and grandpa live in Savannah. Do you know Gran and grandpa?"
"No. I don't, but I'm hoping to meet them at Christmas."
"You're coming to my house for Christmas?"
"Just for dinner, is that okay?"
"Yeah. Gran always cooks plenty of food," Mia added with a smile while unconsciously rubbing her tummy as she recalled past meals prepared by her grandmother.
"Good because I love to eat.
"Are you a friend like Enid?"
"Enid? I'm sorry—I don't understand."
"Are you going to hurt my brother?" She asked, clarifying her meaning because she had liked Enid a lot. Mia recalled Enid as part of her earliest memories, but she disappeared without even so much as a goodbye. Her departure made Carl sad. But, it made her sad as well. So, Mia definitely didn't want to like Cindie if she would hurt her brother.
But before Cindie could respond, Carl appeared. "Did I miss anything?"
"I wanna go home, Carl."
"Sure, Mimi, let's go."
And with that, the three proceeded towards the small gathering where their parents and grandparents mingled with other parents and grandparents. However, as they approached the happy group, Mia was suddenly seized with trepidation as reality lay bare before her, something she had known all along. Her grandfather's arm snaked around grandma's waist. Other parents and grandparents touched one another momentarily and occasionally, but her parents did neither. Her worst fear was coming true. Logan was right. There were no new babies, and her daddy and mommy didn't kiss or touch like they did before. It was all her fault. If she had told her daddy, perhaps just maybe, her daddy would have found that bad man—the fake Santa and locked him up because he ruined everything when he kissed her mommy last Christmas.
Because of that one kiss, she no longer believed in their annual Christmas trip to the mall, but she pretended for the sake of her sister, Moni, who was excited when their mother took them to the mall to get their annual photos with Santa. Unfortunately, the man who broke into their home the year before was a mall Santa—a Santa helper. Luckily for her family, she stumbled onto the scene before he had a chance to steal their gifts but not before he stole a kiss from her mother. So this year, Mia didn't sit on Santa's lap; Moni did because she was still a baby. Instead, Mia stooped next to the armchair with her face next to her sister's radiant smile.
As they approached the group, their parents and grandparents turned to greet Carl and his friend. Mia was surprised to see they were open to Carl's new friend, which upset her. Her world was changing, and she could do nothing to stop it.
"Carl, I want to go home!"
Both Mia's parents and grandparents looked from Mia to Carl, questioning her bizarre behaviour. Carl simply shrugged. He, too, was baffled by the imposter who posed as his sister.
"Grandpa, would you mind giving Cindie a lift home, please? I have to get Mia home."
"Mia, honey, you're driving home with us," Michonne announced calmly in an attempt to get Carl out of his current predicament.
"I'm going with Carl." Mia snapped back.
Mia's response caught everyone by surprise. Both Rick and Michonne were utterly shocked. But, then, they collectively thought, what had happened to their loving daughter?
Morgan, who understood the territorial nature of the Grimes' sibling relationship with their older brother, responded quickly. "Sure, son, we'll be happy to drive Cindie home."
"I really don't want to be any trouble to anyone," the young woman offered.
"Nonsense, dear. You're family."
"No, she's not. She's a FRIEND!" Mia corrected.
Rick knew introducing Cindie to Mia in this way would be tricky giving the way Enid and Carl's breakup ended. It not only hurt Carl but Mia too. Mia was Carl's shadow, which meant the three of them spent a lot of time together from the time Mia was born till Enid's sudden departure from their lives.
When Carl first announced his news and advised his intentions to bring Cindie home for Christmas, Rick counselled Carl to ease Mia into the news over FaceTime, but his son felt it was something best done in person. Despite knowing what the night might trigger, Rick remained stunned by his daughter's public display of hostility towards Cindie, so he spoke up. "Mia Léonie Grimes, you will apologize this instant!"
Rick's terse reaction surprised everyone but mostly himself. He had never been forceful with his daughter before. Yet, everyone knew Mia had him wrapped around her little finger from the moment she drew her first breath.
At the sound of her father's stern voice, the hair on the back of Mia's neck bristled, and her body tensed. Her clear blue eyes glared at her father in defiance.
Mia felt tortured. She loved her father, but at the moment, she was angry at herself, but most of all, she was mad at him for not figuring out everything was wrong. At times like this, she knew there was only one person she could talk to when things were this bad, and it was her Carl, so she pulled on her brother's arm, and he followed.
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