Quote:
The line for Santa is miles long and doesn’t seem to be moving. At the front, it appears there isn’t enough help to keep everything running smoothly. Suddenly you are tapped on the shoulder and turn around to find a woman dressed as an elf looking at you with panic in her eyes. “There you are! Where have you been? Why aren’t you dressed? Hurry up! We need more hands up there!” It appears she has mistaken you for one of the missing elves. Do you go along with it? Set her straight?
Ignacio wasn't planning on being at the mall for much longer. He'd already gotten his shopping list done and packed away in the car, but the temptation of a nice box of a chocolate was enough to draw him back in. Then, the smell of a premier coffee bean shop pulled him over for a round of free samples and three bags of coffee. Three more shops later, he found himself chuckling at himself with arms full of bags again.
"Oh boy, guess I need to go to the car again." He said, rolling his eyes. The holidays were certainly a test on the nerves and the wallet, weren't they? It was a good thing he had plenty of savings or else he might just splurge everything he owned away on sweets and coffee!
He sauntered along, weaving his way through the crowd as best he could, and paused again to marvel at the line that was spiraling out from the center of the mall. Good Lord, was that the line for Santa? Bless the souls of those people standing there waiting at the end, it would be hours before they even caught a glimpse of a white puffy beard! He shook his head, giving silent thanks that he had no children of his own, and moved toward the exit.
"There you are!"
Ignacio turned and looked down. There, with a hand clasped around his sleeve, was a woman dressed in full elf costume. She didn't look too happy with him, for whatever reason, but the sight of her with that ridiculous makeup had him stifling a laugh.
"Can I help you, miss?" He asked.
"Yes, you most certainly can!" She replied, pointing back toward the line. "I've been standing around waiting for you for the last three hours! You've had all the time in the world to get dressed, but I see you've spent it shopping! Don't you see that we're swamped up there?"
"Miss, I don't-" Ignacio began, his rebuttal being cut off short as his attention was refocused. ...These poor people were being bombarded, weren't they? Though he knew it wasn't his problem,
he felt cruel to leave them when they clearly needed help. He took a deep breath and put on his best smile.
"My apologies, I was swept up by some last minute shopping." He said, sighing as he looked to his bags. "I don't suppose I could drop these off somewhere while I get my costume on?"
"Ah, well, I guess I can let it slide just this once." The woman said, waving him forward. "There's a space behind Santa's chair that's concealed enough. Your bags should be safe there until later."
"Thank you very much." Ignacio replied, dutifully following the woman across the mall.
The elf costume had proved to be a bit degrading, but seeing the smiles it brought to the children and parents out there made up for most of it. In fact, part of him felt sad as each child hopped up onto Santa's lap and recited their most treasured desires. There was no way he could become a father now, he was far too old and only getting older by the day. Plus, children were so much work... Maybe he could settle for being a father figure to his students? The idea seemed pretty far-fetched, but perhaps a young boy in need of a mentor could be like a son?
Of course, he did have his nephew and niece to look after, but they only visited during the holidays. Then there was always adoption, but that process was lengthy and raising a child on his own would be difficult. He allowed the thought to mull over in his mind as he lead the next child over to Santa and took a step back as they immediately had a meltdown.
Perhaps it was best to remain a childless bachelor.
Word Count: 636
