Chapter 6- Santa, and a New Friend
AN: Part of this chapter is inspired from a scene from the original "Miracle On 34th Street," which is a beautiful Christmas movie.
The shops of the RMS Titanic were just as beautiful as the rest of the ship. They too, were festooned with Christmas decorations, mainly silver and gold stars. All the same, it was very pretty.
"Thomas, when are we supposed to dock, and where?" I asked cheerfully.
"New York, on Boxing Day," he smiled warmly. "Then, the ships heads back to Southhampton on New Years Eve. We throw a massive New Years Eve party to ring in the New Year, which starts at 10 pm, and finishes at 2 am," he grinned.
With that, we all split up, looking for gifts. As I hummed "Deck The Halls," to myself, I suddenly bumped into an elderly man coming from the other direction. He had long white hair, a long white beard, a red velvet coat with gold buttons and a black belt, long black pants, and shiny black boots. His face was filled with warmth as he gave me a smile.
"I'm awfully sorry," I said apologetically, and he just gave me another warm smile. It then suddenly struck me that this kind old man reminded me of someone. Santa Claus.
"Ho, ho, ho, that's quite alright, Sapphire. You have been a good girl this year," he said, and I was now convinced that either he was a family member, God, or Santa Claus. How else could he have known my name? Well, there was another person he could have been, but he seemed far too nice, and anyway, it's nearly Christmas, so I didn't want to go there.
Deciding to see if he was Santa, I smiled and said, "Well, I still use the big present you gave me for Christmas the year I turned ten."
His smile vanished. "I couldn't give you anything that year."
I nodded. "That's right, I was still in W.A. or Hell, as I called it. However, thanks for the present you gave me the following year, assuming of course you are Santa Claus."
He smiled. "Indeed, I am, and you are most welcome for the-" he began, but I cut him off.
"Don't say it. I'm going to include it in my next story," I said, and he smiled again.
"Very well. Now, Sapphire, would you like my assistance with choosing Christmas presents?" He asked, and I nodded. I wasn't about to pass this opportunity of shopping with Santa Claus.
Over the next twenty minutes, Santa and I laughed and chattered, very happy in each others company. No, I didn't ask him how it was possible for him to fly around the world in a single night, as that was one part of Christmas that I wanted to remain a magical secret. By the time we had finished, I had presents for Mr. Andrews and Olivia. The other people I bought presents for were in another world, and I wasn't sure if I had parents or an aunt in this one.
When I get home, or if I discover that I have more people to buy for here, I'll get them something then, I thought to myself as I headed up to the counter to pay.
For Mr. Andrews, I had bought a pen that changed colour as you wrote, a snow globe with the city of New York inside, and a black tie with holly berries on it. For Olivia, I had bought some Ferrero Rocher, a pale gold nail polish, and a Christmas bauble.
After having paid up, I had just bid Santa Claus "goodbye," when a young girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes entered the shop. Her eyes widened when she saw Santa, and she opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again, looking crestfallen.
I walked up to her, smiling. "Are you alright?" I asked.
"Spreek je Nederlands?" she asked, wondering if I spoke Dutch.
I smiled brightly. "Ja, dat doe ik, en Vrolijk Kerstfeest," I said, explaining that, yes, I did speak Dutch, and I wished her a "Merry Christmas."
She grinned. "Bedankt, ook al is het nog niet helemaal kerst," she thanked me even though it was not quite Christmas.
She then pointed to Santa, and asked, "Is hej de Kerstman?" *Is he Santa Claus?*
I nodded happily.
"Ik ben Lottie, hot heet je?" She asked, introducing herself as Lottie, and wanted to know my name.
"Ik ben Sapphire," I said, introducing myself and shaking Lottie's hand. I then led her over to talk to Santa, and from their friendly conversation, I gathered that she was eleven, had been adopted by the First Officer, no less, and wanted a book to help her learn English, some chocolate, and a colouring book. All of which Santa said he was only too happy to give her.
I smiled to myself, feeling warm inside with the Spirit of Christmas. Laden down with my purchases, I decided I would take my leave, and wrap them up in my stateroom.
I happily whistled Christmas songs as I made my way back to my stateroom, and was in for a delightful surprise when I unlocked my door.
One of the stewards or stewardesses had fashioned my towels into the shape of a manger, animals, and people. It looked like the Nativity scene, and I smiled when I saw it.
I sat my parcels down on the coffee table in my private lounge, then walked over to a cupboard where I had seen some Christmas wrapping paper earlier. I removed a role of light green wrapping paper, along with some scissors and a role of sticky tape. I set them down with my presents, and turned on the nearby radio to listen to some festive music as I wrapped up all the presents, and then wrote out Christmas cards to people I had met.
After wrapping up all of those presents, and with everything else that had happened so far, I was quite tired. So, I ran myself a lovely hot bubble bath, and found some of those candles that are powered by a battery, not heat. I dimmed the lights in the bathroom, turned on the candles, and soon fell into a comfortable, relaxing doze.
When I awoke some forty minutes later, nearly all of the bubbles were gone, and the water was lukewarm at best. Still, I felt more energetic after that blissful sleep, so I climbed out of the bath, and after wrapping a towel around my waist, went to see what the time was. It was a quarter past five, which allowed me three quarters of an hour to get ready for my first Titanic dinner.
In the end, I decided on an ankle length, deep blue dress, which had a slit up the right hand side that ended just below my knee. The top part had pale blue rhinestones embedded into the material, and the bottom part was topped by a layer of pale blue sequins. It was my favourite dress, which I usually wore with a smart dinner jacket, silver pumps, black tights (if I was wearing it in the winter), and a white gold chain from which hung a small aquamarine stone in the shape of a heart.
As the clock in my stateroom rang out the hour of six o'clock, there came an instant knock.
"Come in," I called out cheerfully, and in walked Olivia, accompanied by her "father," Thomas Andrews. They both smiled at me as I slid my feet into my silver pumps, and then straightened up again.
"You look very pretty," Mr. Andrews smiled warmly at me. He was wearing a smart two-piece tuxedo, and a cologne that smelled absolutely divine.
"Thanks, Uncle Andy," I said smiling. Apparently, I had called him "Uncle Andy" when I was younger, so the name had stuck and he loved it.
I turned my attention to my beautiful "cousin." She had her hair done up in a bun, with curls on either side, bouncing just above her shoulders. She was wearing a pale gold dress with a pink sash around the middle, and black rhinestones in a zig-zag formation on the top half. She was also wearing pink diamond earrings, a pair of pink pumps, a black jacket, and a warm smile.
"You look lovely, Olivia," I smiled as Mr. Andrews held out an arm for each of us to take, and we left my stateroom together.
"So do you," she smiled back, as I happily locked my door.