by Elle Rush
He had set an alarm on his phone to give him a ten-minute warning to get changed for Santa’s appearance. When it sounded, Kris handed off her duties to another volunteer. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Despite our best efforts, Aunt Vivian found the elf costumes at the bottom of the pile in the storage room. I was informed it would be wasteful not to wear it while I helped Santa.”
Marie had told Tucker about those costumes. “You poor thing.”
She smiled, and the intensity scared him. “Thank you for your sympathy. She also sent a costume along for you. It’s in the back. Come on, let’s get changed.”
“Um…” he stuttered as she dragged him down a corridor toward the hockey dressing rooms.
“Nope, if I can’t be wasteful, neither can you.”
“I, uh, already have my own costume.”
Kris howled. She collapsed against a wall and doubled over; her arms wrapped around her waist. She couldn’t catch her breath because she was laughing so hard, and tears streamed down her face. “Why? Why do you have your own elf costume?”
“I do not own an elf costume.” That was absurd. “I rented a—” he remembered to look around to ensure there were no pint-sized eavesdroppers this time “—S-word costume. I couldn’t find an actor, so I have to do it.” He’d thought that was the worst thing ever to happen to him, but he was relieved to be wrong. The elf costume was scarier.
“You’re going to be S-word? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was still looking for actors until last night.”
“Then you’d better hurry and get changed. We have less than ten minutes before you need to make an appearance.”
She shoved him down the hall. He broke into a trot. The pillow adjustment alone would take a couple minutes. Fortunately, he could pull on the rest of his costume over his clothes.
It took quite the balancing act for him to get into the pants once he had the pillow strapped to his chest. Upon reflection, he should have put the pants and boots on first, then added the padding.
The suit itself was easy enough to don. The pants had an elastic waistband which stretched over his generous belt and had suspenders to keep them from sliding down. The large brass buttons on the coat fastened easily, and the thick black belt matched the boots. The fake-fur collar tickled his face, but once he hooked the long white beard over his ears, and added the matching wig, he didn’t notice the slight scratching over the general itch attacking his face.
There wasn’t a mirror, but he could see a reflection of himself in the glass front of the fire extinguisher box. He looked…passable. It was better than nothing.
“Ho, ho, ho,” he said for practice before he reached for the doorknob.
Then there was nothing.
Chapter 14
Kris
Kris should have tried on the elf costume at home. The tiniest of the tunics hit her at the knee and the short sleeves went down to her elbows. On the other hand, the largest of the tights were too small, turning her legs into red-and-white-striped sausages. “You owe me big for this, Aunt Viv,” she muttered.
She straightened the floppy hat in the mirror and adjusted the pompom. Despite the bad fit, she still thought she looked adorable. “It’s only for an hour. At least I’m not dressed as Mrs. Claus.” She slung a sack over each shoulder and stepped into the hall.
She reached out to knock in the storage room door to get Rudy moving, but froze when she saw him step out of the bathroom. He was a truly spectacular Kris Kringle. Bright blue eyes sparkled beneath thick white eyebrows. His face was covered with a long white beard, and an impressive moustache hid the bottom half of his nose. It looked incredibly lifelike. She’d expected cotton fluff, or a stringy nylon wig at best. “You look terrific!”
“Ho, ho, thank you, young lady.” Rudy’s voice was a little lower and louder than normal, which would make it carry better in the hall over the noise from the kids. “Shall we bring out some Christmas spirit to all of these party goers?” He offered his arm.
“We shall.”
The cheer was deafening. Rudy, er, Santa, swaggered to the front of the room, drawing candy canes from seemingly bottomless pockets to hand out to children along his route. Without an introduction, he began to recite “A Visit from St. Nicholas” from memory, pausing to let the kids shout out various words and phrases even the youngest of them knew, as he moved the stool they’d provided out of the way. Then he launched into a selection of “Up on the Rooftop”, the first song on the singalong list. “Hello, everyone, and merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Santa,” they chorused back.
“There are only twenty days left until Christmas, so I’m a pretty busy fellow. Do you think my list of chores to do is this big?” He held his fingers an inch apart.
“No,” shouted the crowd.
He moved his hands a foot apart. “This big?”
“No!”
He spread his arms as wide as he could. “This big?”
“Yes!”
“You’re right! But I had to get away to visit all the good boys and girls and grown-ups at the North Calgary Community Christmas party. Are you having a good time? Did you all get some lunch?”
“Yes, Santa.”
Kris stayed back and let Rudy work the room. He was magical. No matter where she looked, the audience was completely enthralled and engaged with the Santa at the front of the room. He led them in another song, then explained how the present delivery worked.
“Now, I’m asking you to be patient because in a few minutes, my very good friend Elf Kris is going to take charge of the presents, because I have to get back to my workshop at the North Pole.”
Variations of “No, Santa, please stay” erupted from the crowd, but he raised his hands until they died down. “I’m very sorry, folks, but you saw my reindeer ride outside. We have to go. But don’t worry, I’ll see you again soon. But you won’t see me because you’ll all be asleep in your beds. Ho, ho, ho!” And then the man in red ducked out a door at the back of the room.
Kris froze. That wasn’t the plan. Santa was supposed to stick around and hand out the presents himself. She had no idea what Rudy was thinking. “Fellow helpers, can you please get started on bringing out the gifts?” She raced into the corridor.
But she didn’t run into Rudy. There was a door leading outside, but it was attached to the fire alarm; it would have gone off if he’d opened it to make his escape. She checked the men’s bathroom, but it was empty. Then she heard pounding coming from inside the storage room.
Kris tried the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. “Hello in there?”
“Kris? It’s me, Rudy. I’ve been stuck in here forever. Get me out!”
“Why are you in the storage room?” she asked as she jiggled the handle. She jerked on it twice and heard something click inside the knob. She twisted one more time and the door flew open. She stared at Rudy in shock. “What on earth did you do to your costume?”
Gone was the spectacular Santa from minutes ago. Rudy looked good, but second-rate to the man she’d just seen. His beard and wig were obviously fake, whereas Santa #1’s could have passed as genuine. Rudy’s suit hung on his padded frame; the other guy’s costume was tailored to fit. It also had a different belt buckle.
“I thought I looked pretty good,” Rudy said.
“You do, but why the costume change? Did you have to give the other one back by two o’clock or something? It looked really good on you. The contact lenses were amazing. How did you get them out so quickly?”
He stared at her. “What other costume? What contacts? Kris, what are you talking about? I’ve been stuck in that room for the last ten minutes.”
“That wasn’t you out there?” Her tone matched his quizzical look.
“Out where?”
“There was a Santa out there! Out there, in the hall, with us and the kids. He smiled and sang and told stories and then disappeared out the back door. I thought—we all thought—it was y
ou!”
“It wasn’t,” Rudy said, crossing his heart with his fingers.
“I know that now.” Her head was spinning, but she didn’t have time to figure it out. “We can’t let the kids see you in this Santa suit. They’ll know something is wrong. Get back into the storage room. I’ll bring you the other elf costume. Then you can help with the present delivery.”
Rudy’s face dropped, and his rosy cheeks drained of all colour. “Please, Kris, not the elf costume,” he begged.
“Right now, Gillespie!” Kris was glad she kept the bag she brought for Rudy with her other belongings. She handed it through a crack in the door and headed back to the party. Then she stopped at the community centre entrance.
She had to look.
The parking lot was filled with cars except for the area near the front where the temporary reindeer paddock had been. That space was bare now, not even a whisp of straw left on the icy ground. She minced outside in her thin outfit to get a closer look. There weren’t even any marks in the snow to show where the fencing had been. “Wow, they’re good. And fast. How could they clean up and leave so quickly?” she whispered to herself.
“Kris!”
Jennifer beckoned from the door. She wore a gorgeous cream and red knit sweater and jeans. Kris was jealous. “The kids are two minutes from rioting.”
Kris took one last look at the barren area and ran for the door. “Let’s do some present-ation.”
Jennifer groaned. “I’ve loved working with you, but I won’t miss your puns.”
“I don’t know why. They’re fun-tastic.”
“Move it, elf.”
The two tables they’d set up to hold gift bags were filled to overflowing by the time they returned to the front of the room. Other parent volunteers waited in the wings with more, while Jennifer took a seat, armed with a tablet and electronic pencil.
Kris clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, and especially boys and girls, we’re about to get started. I know everyone is excited, but please wait until Mrs. Chang calls your name before you come to get your gift. My fellow helpers will be handing the gifts to me, and we have to make sure you and your present match before I can hand it over to you. Are you ready?”
Cheers and applause and whistles answered her. She knew Jennifer had a system, and the others were delivering the bags in a certain order. All she had to do was stand in place and call out names as the gift bags were handed to her.
It went surprisingly fast and without a hitch. Because of Jennifer’s planning, they even had extra bags for four unexpected children, although those kids had to wait while the present carriers “had to dig all the way to the bottom of Santa’s sack to find them.”
Just as the last present was being handed out, Rudy finally reappeared. His tunic and shorts reminded her of a high school gym uniform, covering what it had to while being as unflattering as possible. The tights, which had looked mustard yellow in the bag, were a blindingly bright sunshine yellow on him. His hat was so small it sat atop his head rather than on it. He looked adorable. “Where have you been?” Kris whispered.
“I got locked in the storage room again.”
Chapter 15
Rudy
The games were played, the food was eaten, and the presents were opened. The party had been a success from start to finish. Parents hustled the last of the children back to their cars, gathering the dropped scarves and mittens the little guests left in their wakes. When only the volunteers were left, somebody turned off the carols playing in the background and silence reigned. For a moment, everyone stood still and simply enjoyed the quiet.
Rudy’s first move was to get out of the elf suit. Kris changed too, although she kept the hat. Jennifer paired them together on clean-up duty, so as they filled garbage cans and recycle bins and packed boxes with leftover game pieces and prizes, they had a chance to talk.
“You must be exhausted,” Rudy said.
“I am, but it’s a good exhausted.”
“You should be. You also finished the North Pole Unlimited contract this week. Head Office is thrilled. They expect to sell out in the preorder.”
“We did make some pretty amazing cookies.”
“You made me a hero for getting the contract signed, so thanks double for that.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome, Rudy.”
“Now the party is done, too. We put a lot of work into it, and every second was worth it, but I will happily hire out the rest of my Christmas present wrapping for the rest of the year.”
Kris’s eyes got wide. “You aren’t wrapping your own presents? Blasphemy!”
“You have a storage container full of wrapping paper and ribbons, don’t you?”
She waggled two fingers.
Kris could say what she wanted about her aunt being the biggest Christmas junkie in the family, but she didn’t fall far from the yule tree. “What if I stuffed them in gift bags? Would that count?”
“I suppose.”
Rudy stretched, then scratched his face where the itch from the fake beard lingered. “This was a lot of fun. The kids had a blast, and I think the parents did too.”
“I know they did. Your reindeer rental was inspired. Everybody loved it. I still think that was the best Santa I’ve ever seen.” She levelled a stare at him. “Are you sure you didn’t switch costumes while you were in the storage room to freak me out?”
“I’m certain. It was just me and that one awful costume.”
“Then where did the other guy come from? The North Pole?”
Rudy knew it was a joke, but her crack got him thinking. He had asked everybody he knew for recommendations. Maybe one of his coworkers had arranged for a ringer.
It was a comforting idea, but he dismissed the thought as quickly as it had popped into his head. Even if someone had found a holiday Santa, they would have told him about it, if for no other reason but to avoid what did happen: having two Santas at the same location at the same time and upsetting the kids. “I have no idea.”
She glared suspiciously, then burst into laughter. “If you say so.”
“What will you do with all your free time now?” he asked.
“Sleep. Sleep and laundry all day tomorrow. Then I’ll be relaxed and refreshed and ready to go at Totally Iced on Monday and get back to the regular Christmas madness.”
That was what he hoped to hear. Despite his earlier comments, he knew neither of them were in any shape for a date the next day. “Will you be back to your regular hours?”
“Yes.”
“No more working evenings, or extra early start times in the morning?”
“No, just my regular four-thirty to two-thirty.”
“Will you have time later this week to go out with me? I think we deserve an extra special fancy date night. Dinner. Maybe some dancing or a show. It’ll be a well-earned Christmas present to ourselves.”
She nodded enthusiastically, then drew herself up short. “Are you certain you want to start something with me? I don’t know how long I’ll be in Calgary. I have no control over what my aunt decides. I like you a lot, and the more time we spend together, the harder it will be at the end.”
“You have no idea how long you could be working for her. And if the worst does come to pass, there are other bakeries in Calgary. They’d be lucky to have you. I think we should make the most of every day together while we have it. What do you say? Super big date night next Saturday, so you can sleep in Sunday morning?”
Kris bit her bottom lip. Then the corners of her mouth twitched.
Her answer was interrupted by a woman pushing the hall door open. “I’m sorry,” Jennifer called, “the party’s over. Oh, hi, Vivian.”
Kris’s aunt closed the door behind her. “I took an exit poll in the parking lot. This was the best party ever. I’m sorry I missed it.”
Kris hurried over. “You’re supposed to be home, resting.”
“I’m recovering, not on my deathbed. I didn�
��t do any of the work here, but I wanted to tell you I think you’ve been permanently recruited to the North Calgary Christmas Party committee. What did I hear about reindeer? People were raving.”
“We had two reindeer that guests could greet as they entered the party. It was very cool,” Kris said. Then she pointed at him. “It was Rudy’s idea.”
“It was brilliant,” Vivian said to him. “Everybody loved them. A little birdie told me Cynthia Quinn bailed at the last minute and you saved the day by organizing all the games and prizes as well.”
“That was Kris,” Rudy said.
“Thank goodness for all those afternoons I substituted at my sister’s daycare. I think the kids had fun.”
“I’ve heard nothing but good things. You did such a good job filling in for me, I think you should be on the committee permanently. Jennifer has already asked me to convince you to come back next year.”
Kris looked at Rudy, then her aunt. “I’m sure you’ll be back on your feet by the time the next party rolls around,” she said.
Vivian smiled at him, like she had a secret. Rudy had an idea of what was coming. “Perhaps I should excuse myself.” He desperately wanted to stick around and eavesdrop, but if what he suspected was about to happened, he owed Kris her privacy.
“There is a conversation I need to have with Kris, but not here, and not now. Maybe you should come over for supper some night this week, and we can discuss whether or not you’d be interested in staying in Calgary and buying into Totally Iced. With all the new business we’ve picked up, I’m considering expanding. I’ll need to work with someone I can trust,” Vivian said to Kris. Then she added, “Does Wednesday work, or all you already engaged?” and Rudy knew why he’d been invited to hang around.
“We don’t have anything planned for Wednesday. She’d be delighted to have dinner with you,” he answered on her behalf.
“Excellent. I need to talk to Jennifer for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
He waited till Vivian was out of earshot before he nudged Kris. “Breathe.”
