"Thanks again for offering to help me out, Nick," Snarlov said as he pushed his shipping cart through the aisle.
The two had been browsing through the store for a short time, looking for something that would make a good present for the holidays. Snarlov always had a bit of trouble when it came to finding the perfect gift for his wife around this time, so Nick kindly offered to join him on his trip to Targoat.
"No problem," the tod replied. "Besides, I can also do some last-minute shopping for Judy while I'm here."
Snarlov sighed as he pushed the cart passed the section where holiday decor was being sold. "You know," he said, "this has got to be what I enjoy the least this time of year."
"What do you mean?" asked Nick.
The polar bear answered, "The stress that comes with holiday shopping. Christmas is just another commercialized holiday centered around draining your wallet on presents. It's just another holiday, isn't it?"
The vulpine walking next to him replied, "I used to have the same perspective on the holidays. I used to think is was nothing more than what you just said. But when Judy came into my life, she showed me what the true reason for the season is. It's not just about shopping for presents; it's about goodwill and spreading cheer."
"I suppose you're right about that, Wilde. Sorry if I sounded like a scrooge; just hasn't been the best year for me, so I haven't been in the most festive mood."
"It's no trouble," the vulpine said. "I'm sure, though, you'll feel the Christmas spirit sooner or later. It's all around us."
Snarlov walked into an aisle where fragrances were being displayed. "Here we are," he muttered as he browsed the selection.
"What are we lookin' for?" Nick inquired.
"My wife's been implying that she wants some new perfume, so I thought we should look at what's here," Snarlov replied. "I can't find that one she really likes for the life of me, so I need to find something similar."
"What was it?"
"I don't remember. I'm not a fragrance expert," the polar bear replied. "All I can recall was that it was in this round blue bottle. But if I don't know the name of it, that ain't gonna be too helpful."
"I'm sure she'll be happy with whatever you decide to get for her." Nick looked away from what was displayed in the aisle and over at the bear to his right. "By the way, I see you've been growing quite a beard."
"Very observant, Wilde," Snarlov joked after the fox pointed out the obvious. The fur that was around his face had grown into a visible beard. He rubbed it as he turned around to look at what was on the opposite side of the aisle.
"You know," Nick said with a smirk, "it almost makes you look like Santa Claws a little bit."
The polar bear snickered. "Har, har..."
"It does, though. I mean, not only that but you're also wearing red, too. And you know what they say, don't you?"
"What?"
"When you look like Santa, you officially are Santa."
"Nobody says that. Besides, I'm not old like he is in the stories of him. I'm a middle-aged mammal."
"Oh, they most certainly do say that. And it doesn't matter what age you are. Remember that movie where the guy puts the red suit on and becomes the next Santa? He wasn't old."
"Alright, that's enough of this Santa talk," Snarlov finally said, ending that conversation.
"Still resemble him, though," Nick muttered under his breath.
And it was true; Snarlov was wearing a red shirt, the color reminiscent of the kind the holiday figure wore in the depictions of him in books and movies. However, this was not intentional whatsoever. The fact that he had facial fur grown out into a small beard and was wearing red was entirely coincidental.
"Santa!" came a young voice from the other end of the aisle, followed by the click-clacking sound of hooves sprinting against the plain tile of the shop.
Running directly up to Snarlov was a young zebra, who appeared to be no older than the age of six. The smile on the child's face was wider than any of the ones seen on the shoppers he had passed up in the store.
"Told ya," Nick muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Snarlov to hear him. "You do look like the guy."
The polar bear quickly turned around and shushed the fox, then turned his head back to look at the young child, who continued to grin back at him.
"Oh my gosh," the zebra said as he jumped up and down, hardly able to contain his own enthusiasm. "It's really you, Santa! I can't believe it!"
Snarlov looked over at Nick again and whispered, "What do I do here?"
"I don't know," the fox whispered back. "Be Santa Claws."
The bear was unsure of what to do or say, but he had to improvise. In his best impression of Santa's jolly voice, he said, "Of course it's me."
"I knew you were real," the zebra answered. "Those kits in school told me you weren't real, but I knew they were wrong! So what are you doing at the store?"
Snarlov was hesitant for a moment, but quickly figured out what to say next. "Well, Santa has to do his own shopping, you know. Got to get some things for Mrs. Claws, too."
Pointing a hoof over at Nick, the child asked, "Is that your helper?"
"Yes, I am," the fox chimed in with a smile. "Wherever Santa goes, he always brings one of his designated helpers along with him. And today he chose me."
"Cool," the zebra answered.
"So, have you been good this year?" Snarlov said to him, continuing his impression of Santa Claws.
"I've been extra, extra good!"
"That's great," Nick said. "Santa and I will let the others know up at the North Pole to wrap up your present."
Snarlov looked back over at the young one and asked, "So what kind of cookies are you gonna leave out for me?"
"Sugar frosted!" the zebra answered with even more enthusiasm, as expected of a child that was meeting Santa in the flesh.
"Those are my favorite." Snarlov's smile grew wider as he spoke. Just then, he saw someone else entering the aisle in the corner of his eye. It looked like it was the child's mother.
"Caleb, come back here," she called.
"But it's Santa Claws, Mom," the young zebra said back to her. "Look, it's really him!"
"I see, honey, but you need to let Santa get back to his shopping." When her son came back to her, she looked at Snarlov and said, "I'm sorry. My son's..."
"No need to apologize," the polar bear said to her with a smile, holding up a paw. Looking down at the young one that he now knew was named Caleb, he said in his Santa tone of voice, "And you have a merry Christmas."
Caleb giggled before waving back and saying, "Merry Christmas."
The zebra mother and child walked away and over to another section of the store, resuming their regular shopping. Snarlov smiled as he turned his attention back over to Nick, who was smirking broadly back at him.
"What's with the grin?" he asked.
"You seem to have caught the Christmas spirit," the fox replied. "You can try to convince yourself otherwise, but no one's immune to it."
The white-furred ursid saw no point in trying to deny that, so he ended up agreeing with him on that. "Alright, Wilde, you're right. It seems that this time of year can bring cheer to just about anyone, even if the rest of the year wasn't the greatest."
Nick smiled. "It doesn't get any truer than that."
"And it appears that I can do a good impression of Santa, if I do say so myself."
Little did he know then that he would eventually end up being Santa Claws for the ZPD's holiday charity event some time later, and would do so in the years that followed.
Author's Note: Hey, readers! With Christmas just around the corner, I thought it was a good idea to write something. I've got several more where that came from that I'm excited to share real soon. When it comes to holidays, Christmas is one of my favorites to write about. :)
This was inspired by an adorable story I read about a little girl who believed an old man with a white beard in the store they were in was Santa, to which the elderly shopper played along and pretended to be him.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little story and that it got you in a festive mood. With how this year this has been, we need all of the smiles and holiday cheer that we can get. :)
'Til next time, everyone!