Page 27 of December Wishes
Everything culminated when they were due to meet back up for Santa’s Village in the middle of the mall. Sally and Tucker had passed it more than once, and every time they walked by, Tucker once more feigned disinterest in sitting on Santa’s lap and telling the big man what he wanted for Christmas. That had been his big thing since turning eight. Or was he nine now? God, Sally could hardly remember how oldshewas. The only age she properly kept track of was the baby’s, and that would change as soon as she hit three years and the minute tracking of months was no longer a “thing” in Sally’s head.
She didn’t know what she expected when they rounded Santa’s Village a final time and encountered Candace and the twins already standing in line, a ton of bags spread between them. Both Paige and Gage held a bag each. It mostly looked like discount Christmas decorations and baby toys. Good. That was exactly what Sally would saddle them with, too.
“I can’t believe you guys are dressed like this for your picture with Santa.” Sally motioned to the superhero costumes on her children’s bodies. Tucker, in his baggy T-shirt and jeans, looked woefully underdressed compared to his siblings. The baby was in a festive Christmas onesie, at least. Although Sally dreaded handing her off to Santa and watching the waterworks start. “Your Mom and I got you those nice sweaters to wear for your pictures this year, remember?”
Paige dropped her bag and slung her red cape around her arms. Her crown was askew. When she got hopped up like this, Sally wasn’t allowed to fix a strand on her daughter’s head. “Those sweaters are ugly!” She saidugly!with a hop of her feet and swing of her arms. “Super scratchy!”
“You’re wearing polyester. There ain’t nothing scratchier than that for a kid.”
“Come on, Sal, let them wear what they want. Twenty years from now we’ll be laughing at those pictures and talking about when Gage wanted to ride his shield down the handrail back there,” Candace said.
“He did what, now?”
“He didn’t bring the shield, remember? We made him leave it at home.”
Right. Because Sally had to draw the line somewhere.Though it’s cute she makes it sound like she helped in any way.Candace was an enabler to their children unlike anybody else. Probably because she always had to be bad cop at work. At home, she wanted to be good cop, which meant Sally suffered with the dirty looks and screams of defiance.
They moved up one spot in the line. “Did they raise the prices?” Sally asked, getting a load of the photography cost list hanging by the entrance. “Do we have enough for this?”
“Relax, Sal, we’re only getting one photo. It’ll cost the same either way, right?”
Great. Candace wasn’t listening to her again. Probably because the baby currently on Santa’s lap was screaming its head off. Sighing, Sally checked on her baby and pushed the stroller a little forward. One of Santa’s elves came down the line and did a headcount. When she saw the twins, she bent down and said, “Wow! Captain AmericaandWonder Woman! Santa’s been waiting to meet you two!”
“There’s no such thing as Santa,” Paige declared.
“Now, that’s not a nice thing to say…”
“Paige,” Candace said through clenched teeth. “Remember what we said about talking about Santa in front of other kids your age?”
“It’s so dumb we pretend he’s real. You know who’s real?” Paige smacked her hands against her chest.“Wonder Woman!”
Her voice carried across the mall, silencing conversations among other families and gaining the attention of another elf. The crying baby was taken away from Santa and given back to her mother. Sally sucked in her cheeks and hoped Paige didn’t pull a stunt with Santa.
The kids filed in, including Sally pushing the stroller while Candace stood off to the side. The big guy in red offered a cheerful laugh to the superheroes climbing on him and the slightly older kid hovering nearby while trying to not smile.Tucker’s gonna be a hilarious teenager. I hope.Sally picked up Daisy from the stroller and kindly asked the man playing Santa to not touch a small bruise the baby had acquired when throwing a tantrum a couple of days ago.
“Oh, don’t worry,” he said, bringing Daisy into his lap while Gage and Paige fought over the other knee. “Santa knows all about keeping the little ones complacent, if you know what I mean. Ho, ho, ho!”
The elf taking pictures motioned for Sally to move out of the way. She joined Candace by the gate and held her breath.
“ADMIT IT, OLD MAN!” Paige grabbed the white of Santa’s coat. “You’re a fraud!”
Two elves lunged forward. Sally started screaming. Gage jumped in front of the camera and posed dramatically, as if he were about to kick some bad guy butt. Tucker scooted away and hid behind one of the giant present props.
“I’ve got my Lasso of Truth, Santa! I’ll find out who you really are!”
Candace slung her arm around Sally’s shoulders. “That Paige is sure gonna set fire to the world one day, huh?”
Sally slumped against her wife. While everything fell apart in front of her and the parents in line behind her condemned her maternal skills, Sally allowed the helpless feeling of powerlessness completely consume her. Only then was she free. Even if she were only free from the loud, ear-piercing screams Daisy emitted as an elf returned her to Sally.
“I really hope she doesn’t literally set fire to the world one day,” Sally said. Paige tore across the breadth of Santa’s Village, vowing vengeance against Jack Frost and Krampus. Gage made“whoosh!”sounds, lost in his own crime-fighting world. Tucker had completely disappeared and wouldn’t be seen again until it was time to leave.
“We’ve got good kids,” Candace said.
“We’ve got a zoo,” Sally corrected.
She received a kiss to the forehead and a friendly shake of the shoulders. Well, this could have gone a lot worse. Paige could have come dressed as She-Hulk.
Chapter 16
