Skyler watched excitedly as they set Noel's cupcake in front of her. It was going to be hilarious to watch her dig into it. At first, she looked at it suspiciously, as she had never had a cupcake before. She put one finger on the icing and then brought it to her mouth. Her face lit up with a smile and she grabbed the cupcake and tried to stuff the entire the entire thing in her mouth. They laughed and his mom pulled it away from her, so she could break it into smaller pieces. Noel had icing all over her face and hands and even in her hair.
"This is going to be fun to clean up," his mom said.
When Noel finished, his dad held her while his mom wiped. Then Noel got to open her presents. Noel seemed more interested in playing and crawling over the boxes the presents came in than the toys or clothes that were in them.
His grandma laughed. "Well, at least we know what to get her next time, boxes."
Noel was pumped full of sugar and scooting all over the place, bobbing her balloon. It had gotten dark outside. Skyler couldn't wait to go to bed because then Santa Claus would come. He kept asking if he could, but they kept telling him to wait. There was a knock on the door. Skyler looked around. His dad had disappeared, but his dad always had to disappear. It was just his mom, his grandma, and Noel. He had no idea who it could be.
His mom opened the door. "Why, Santa Claus, what are you doing here?"
Santa Claus had an unusually deep voice as he answered, "I've come to visit with Skyler and Noel. I've heard they've been extra good this year. Ho ho ho."
He picked up Noel, as she was scooting in his pathway, and she said, "Dada."
Skyler peered closely. Santa Claus did look like their dad. "I'm not your dada, little one," he said, passing her off to their mom.
"Since you've been so good this year, I wanted to deliver a present to you in person." He pulled a small present out of his deep pocket.
Skyler took it and quickly tore off the wrapping paper. "Wow, this is just the action figure I wanted!"
"I'm Santa Claus. I know--excuse me. I'll be right back."
Skyler couldn't help but think Santa Claus moved fast for a fat man. His grandma had turned the radio to a station that played Christmas songs, but it was suddenly interrupted.
"Special Christmas bulletin. Santa Claus is rescuing children from a burning building as we speak."
His mom shook her head, "What a disgrace to the news industry. Can't they report on real news?"
His grandma turned on the TV. On the screen appeared Santa Claus flying into a burning building and bringing out children. "I stand corrected," his mom said, looking like she was struggling not to laugh.
"Super Santa has just saved all the orphans," said a reporter at the site. "Have a Merry Christmas everyone."
It went back to the Christmas programs. Skyler smiled, "Daddy forgot to take off his Santa suit."
"What makes you think your Daddy's Santa?" Lois asked. "Santa can withstand fires too. He has to or he couldn't go down the chimneys."
"Because Santa can't fly without his reindeer," he said, pointing to the window where the flying Santa landed in the yard.
Santa came in with soot on his beard and suit. "Daddy, that was funny, but can we go to bed, so the real Santa Claus can come?"
He pulled down his beard, "So I didn't fool you or your sister, huh? Yeah, you can go ahead and get in bed."
Skyler ran upstairs to the air mattress in his grandma's room. His grandma stopped to put Noel in the playpen in the bedroom his parents would be sleeping in. Skyler lingered a moment at the top of the stairs to see if his parents were going to bed too.
His sooty dad was chasing his mom around the living room. "Come on, Lois. Come sit on Santa's lap."
"In your dreams, Smallville. This is a brand new pair of pajamas. If you get it dirty, I'll--"
She didn't get to finish what she was saying because his dad caught her and kissed her.
"Skyler's watching," his mom said.
"So?" his dad laughed. "Now he's seen his mommy kissing Santa Claus."
Skyler smiled. There was a funny song that went like that. He hurried off to bed with his new action figure, barely able to wait until Christmas morning. He knew it was going to be a great Christmas.
TBC
