Page 1 of A Man for the Holidays

It’s the same every year, shoppers always leaving their Christmas shopping till the last minute, then they race to the shopping malls in stampedes, trying to grab the latest best-selling Christmas gift. I see it every day. I’m the manager of the toy store located on the other side of the mall. Even though many people; customers I mean, know me, I still stand behind pillars on my lunch breaks to avoid them staring at the lost and lonely look on my face.

Yep, I’mthatguy. The one that watches all the mothers and fathers’ shop with their children. Husbands with their wives, boyfriends with boyfriends, girlfriends with girlfriends––all types of couples really. It’s the end of my working day, so I make my way over to the bookstore, looking at the latest best-sellers spread out across the wall, checking out the sexy male models on all the covers as I do. A staff member approaches and asks if I need any assistance, I shake my head and give her a smile as she wanders back through the crowd of people in her store.

Making my way out of the bookshop, I then walk through the mall and into my favorite men’s clothing store. Okay, so it’s not full of books, or toys, or any other stuff that kids and adults might find fun. But it’s the only store that bringsmea lot of joy whenever I walk in here, and not for the reasons that you may think either. I walk through the long line of new arrivals in store, occasionally pulling a coat or jeans off the rack and admire them in the mirror as I keep heading toward the back of the store.

“Hi, Spencer,” Olivia, the shop owner waves at me from behind the counter.

“Hi, Liv,” I say and keep heading toward the back of the store.

“Hello,” I hear another staff member, call out to me, who I’ve never seen in here before.

I give him a wave, then take a quick look around the shop, making sure there are no customers around, as I pull open the door that leads to a mannequin display which faces Fifth Avenue. I quietly close the door behind me, positioning myself in front of the mannequins with my back to the window. I fold my arms across my chest as I stare at each of the statuesque models. The first one is a dark African American man with a black wig. His eyes have been painted emerald green and he’s dressed in a black suit and shirt with a bright pink tie around his neck and black dress shoes. The next mannequin is a slightly taller man, white with a brown wig, painted blue eyes, pink smile and painted teeth. He’s dressed in a blue sweater with a navy-blue scarf around his neck, white jeans and sneakers. But it’s the last of the mannequins that really captures my attention, and the real reason I come into this shop every single day, Quinn; that’s what I call him, short for mannequin. Now I know this is going to sound completely insane and even crazy because I’m talking about a mannequin here, but Quinn is spectacular in every single way.

For the past two weeks Olivia has had him dressed in this tight-fitting white suit, with a black shirt and a white tie, with almost knee-high black boots, you know the kind men wear in the military. And to top it all off, he has the most piercing brown eyes and a blond wig with a streak of silver running through his bangs which cover most of his forehead I might add. Now here’s the insane part, I can’t stop thinking about the guy. I know, nuts right? He’s just a piece of plastic in a clothing store, used to display items of clothing for people to buy. And the even creepier part, is that I can’t help but imagine what this guy would look like as a human, a human that I could have all to myself, just for the holidays, or maybe… forever.

“What are you doing in here all by yourself staring at a statue, Spencer; waiting for the shopper’s special?”

I gasp in fright as Olivia stands beside me.

“I… I’m sorry,” I say.

“Hey, it’s all right, but I am worried about you Spencer.”

“Worried… Why?” I ask.

“Because you’re always in here. Same time, every single day and you never buy anything. All you do is sneak in here and stare at these mannequin’s while on your break. Is there something that I should know?”

“No!” I answer too quickly, then turn back to look at Quinn as he stares out the window.

There’s a slight pause for a moment, and then I hear Olivia ask, “Wait, Spencer; do you have a crush… on a doll?”

“What?” I gasp. “Don’t be dumb… of course not.”

“Then why are you in here all alone?”

“Because… I really like what he’s wearing, that’s all.”

“Mmhmm,” she replies.

Embarrassed, I brush past her, open the door and walk through the store and back out into the shopping mall. I make my way to the nearest café and after I get my latte I wander through the crowd of shoppers, staying within the vicinity of the clothing store but out of sight of Olivia. The last thing I need right now is for her to find out about this crush, well okay, an obsession that I have with Quinn. It’s bad enough that I’m a hopeless romantic who can never get himself a date and spends Christmas with my also single best-friend, Paige. My parents moved to Australia ten years ago, so I’ve been on my own ever since, well, myself and Paige anyway.

I slowly make my way back toward the clothing store, but then change my mind and decide it’s probably safer to head outside and sit on a bench in-front of the store on the sidewalk. It gives me the perfect view of the window display, and I get to look at Quinn without being told I have to leave, by Olivia. Once I’m outside, I walk over to the bench and sit down, slowly sipping at my coffee as I look into the window. I see Olivia; dusting the mannequins and quickly smoothing out any creases in the clothing with her hands before she starts cleaning the window. I pull out the book I’ve been reading for the past month-and-a-half and quickly cover my face, so as to not be seen by Olivia. Once she’s finished, I lower the book and go back to my visual ecstasy of eye fucking Quinn.

It gets dark quickly, and as the cold front moves through, I tuck my scarf inside the front of my coat, and raise the zipper, as I pull up the collar. I then look up at the window display as the lights flick on. A few minutes later, I see Olivia walk out of the main entrance of the shopping mall, and I know that she’s heading home, finally leaving me alone with Quinn. I get to my feet and walk over to the window and press my forehead against the glass when out of nowhere, I hear a man’s voice beside me.

“Something interesting in that window?” he asks.

“Huh?” I say, pulling away and turning to face him.

“You’re here every night, and all you do is stand here and look inside this window.”

“Have you been spying on me?” I ask.

“No. But every night at this time when I leave to head home, you’re always here. What is it about this display of mannequins that you find so fascinating?”

I say nothing, then turn my attention back to the window and stare at Quinn. He’s smiling, and I’m convinced it’s directed at me, but of course I don’t say that to anyone.

“Nothing, it’s just… never mind,” I say, turning around.

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