The Holiday Gamble

by Sam E. Kraemer

  “Ms. Mays, I’ll be honest. Hannah’s brother, Cris, is the Santa at the Holiday Toys’ store in West Philly. I’m one of the elves, and…” Ridge began. He told the woman much more than he’d even told his family, because what she thought of him, in light of the fact she was going to entrust him to possibly take her son for a tuxedo fitting, was important.

  Once Ridge ambled through the story, he heard the woman laugh. “That’s quite a big undertaking just to be able to date that girl’s brother,” Ms. Mays offered. Thankfully, there was no judgment in her voice because of Ridge’s orientation.

  Ridge knew she was right, but she’d never met the man. “Ma’am, with all the respect you’re due, it’s not even a blip on the radar of what I’d do for the two of them, and you’d understand completely if you ever had the opportunity to meet Cristian Gamble. He’s one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, and his sister is just as amazing. She believes your son is pretty special, too.”

  “All I’m trying to do is provide Hannah with an evening to remember. It seems she wants your son to share it, and you can definitely come with us for the fitting, Ms. Mays,” Ridge suggested.

  After a silence, which worried Ridge more than anything, he heard the woman laugh a little. “Tell us when to meet you, Mr. Holiday. I’m very familiar with your store because I shop at the one near me. Oddly, I believe what you’re telling me, because nobody could make this up. Don’t worry about enlisting your sister to babysit. I have a neighbor who can help out that night if Bauer wants to go to the dance,” the woman offered, which had Ridge pumping his arm in victory.

  After he hung up with Janae Mays, he realized there was a big problem he hadn’t considered. To Cristian, he was David, a photographer who drove a shitty car and worked part-time at a toy store as an elf. What would Cristian think of him when the truth came out?

  That was going to require a mastermind…

  Chapter 9

  “Can I sleep at Livy’s? Her mom is going to New York City for a bachelorette party this weekend, and Livy doesn’t want to be home by herself. Do you care if I stay over?” Hannah asked Cris on Thursday night when he got home from the store.

  “Which night?” Cris asked, feeling so tired he wanted to drop onto the floor. The day had been nonstop at the garage, and that evening at Holiday Toys had been a bit trying. Lou… Eve Holiday… had abruptly quit her job, and Cris was more than concerned about the implications. Was it the nail in the coffin for the employees? He certainly hoped not.

  “The weekend, Mrs. Walls is taking the train tomorrow night, and she won’t be back until Sunday afternoon. Livy asked if I could stay for the whole weekend, so she isn’t alone. You understand the concept of time, right?” Hannah pressed, which didn’t make Cris happy at all.

  “You know, I’m tired of you thinking I’m stupid, right? No, I didn’t go to college, but I’m not an idiot, Hannah. Am I an awful person for wanting to know where my sixteen-year-old sister is staying? I think it makes me someone who cares about you, not an asshole who enjoys being a dick about things,” Cris snapped at Hannah, before he stomped down the hallway to shower.

  In all honesty, he wasn’t pissed at his sister. He was frustrated, because he and David hadn’t been able to do anything more than a kiss in the shadows, before they went their separate ways. Between Cris’ job at the garage and his Santa gig, he barely had enough time for Hannah, much less trying to find time for a love life.

  He still found himself unable to walk away from David, even though his brain kept telling him it was the right thing to do, because Cris had other responsibilities. Cris knew in his heart the man was dream-worthy, and they’d enjoyed being with each other, even if it was just at the store. That was a lot more than Cris could say for anyone else who had ever come along.

  “JESUS, CRISTIAN! I’M GONNA STAY WITH LIVY, SO YOU AND DAVID CAN HAVE THE PLACE TO YOURSELVES! YOU NEED TO GET LAID!” Hannah shouted at him, before her bedroom door slammed.

  Sadly, Cris couldn’t disagree with her assessment of the situation, or her proactive thinking. She was a brilliant woman, not that he ever doubted her.

  In truth, Cris definitely wanted David, but not just for sex. Though, he was definitely interested in the sex. He was sure it would be incredible when/if they ever got down to rounding home, but Cris had more ideas for David than just hot, bone-melting fucking with the frisky photographer.

  Maybe there was a future there, or maybe not, but Cris needed to re-evaluate his hasty decision to walk away, to keep from getting his heart ripped to pieces when he thought David was interested in Lou… Eve Holiday. Cris wasn’t going to dismiss the relationship without investigating things further… starting with Saturday night.

  Cris knew he’d love to have David over for both nights, but in all honesty, Cris had to be up by four on Saturday mornings to get to the garage by five. He decided to set up their date for Saturday so he could get plenty of sleep on Friday night.

  Cris was planning for the two of them to stay up most of the night on Saturday. It was definitely the best idea he believed he’d ever had.

  “HEY! YO!” Cris heard over the Christmas music he was playing in the garage that Saturday morning. He was under Mr. White’s Ford Fusion to reattach the exhaust system that Mr. White had dragged off when he ran off the road near the railroad tracks by his house.

  Cris wondered when the old man’s son was planning to take away the keys, because Mr. White was in his mid-eighties with failing sight and already-failed hearing. Cris wouldn’t go so far as to label the old man as a menace on the roads, but he was certainly headed in that direction.

  Cris rolled out from under the Ford and looked up to see his boss, Bobby Jobe, standing over him with a mug of coffee in his hand and a smirk on his face. “I got a call from the security company. You forgot to hit the pound key when you put in the alarm code,” Bobby told him, before he offered a very loud yawn.

  Cris stood from the floor and wiped his hands on the grease rag in the back pocket of his blue coveralls. He needed to take those ugly blue things home to wash them, but he had been too busy to think about it as of late. “Shit, Bobby. I was only half awake when I came inside. I fell asleep in the Lyft. I’m sorry to drag you out this early,” Cris explained.

  He dared not mention he hadn’t really slept the night before, because he was too excited at the prospect of having the whole night with David. The handsome man said they needed to have a serious discussion, and Cris continued to stress about what topic David wanted to undertake when he followed him out of the store the previous night.

  Cris walked David to his car and leaned forward to open the driver’s door. “Uh, I didn’t say anything before now because I was trying to pay attention to the kids so I could pull off a believable performance. I’m still not sure how I did it, but here goes.

  “Hannah’s going to stay with her friend, Livy, tomorrow night. I wondered if maybe you’d like to come over after work and have a late dinner? I’m going to make meat sauce tonight, so all I have to do is cook some pasta when we get back from work. I also bought a bottle of Chianti, so if you don’t have to drive home tomorrow night, we could have some wine and get to know each other better.”

  He saw David’s sly smile. “Why, Santa, are you trying to seduce me?”

  Cris chuckled, feeling his face flush with excitement at the very prospect. “As a matter of fact, I am. I think we know each other well enough to be naked together. You’ve seen my pee-pee, and I’ve seen yours. I think it’s a logical next step,” Cris suggested as he placed his hand on David’s sexy ass, after looking around to check nobody was there to catch them.

  “I’d love to come over. Uh, I have something important to discuss with you, anyway. We work together all evening, but we really don’t get to talk privately, and I’d like to know more personal things about you, namely the color of your sheets,” David teased.

  Cris laughed before he leaned forward and kissed David’s lips. After he closed the man
’s car door, he headed to the bus stop with his heart flying somewhere above him.

  The entire time Cris stirred the sauce that night, he imagined the many positions he and David could try, since they didn’t have to be quiet, because Hannah wouldn’t be there. Cris was counting the seconds.

  Just as Bobby was about to respond, the phone to the shop rang. Cris started to answer it, but Bobby reached for the handset. “Jobe’s Garage,” he greeted.

  Cris couldn’t hear both sides of the conversation, but when Bobby rolled his eyes, Cris went over to the small table where the coffee maker and the non-dairy creamer were located. He usually drank his coffee black, but Bobby and the other guys who worked at the shop preferred it much too strong for him, so Cris had to doctor it a bit to tolerate it.

  Cris emptied the creamer into a clean mug and used one of the wooden stirrers to blend it. He turned around to face Bobby while taking his first sip of coffee, feeling the jolt of caffeine as it began making its way through his system.

  “Uh, it’ll be about fifteen minutes. Yes, sir. See you soon,” Bobby stated, before he hung up the phone.

  “What’s up?” Cris asked.

  “Dead battery. It’s over in Chestnut Hill. I can go on my way back home,” Bobby explained.

  Cris hated the idea that Bobby had to come out in the first place, because of something he’d done… or hadn’t done right. Bobby had a family, so he didn’t usually work on weekends in order to spend time with his wife and three children.

  Cris wasn’t about to allow the man to take the call. Bobby had been too kind to him over the years, advancing him salary when he needed it and allowing Cris to pay it back in instalments without another word spoken.

  “Hey, let me go. You don’t wanna get caught up in something like this, and we need to have the tow truck at the shop. I’ll go. If it’s not the battery, it might be something more time consuming, and I know your mom is in town this weekend to watch the kids, so you and Charlene can go Christmas shopping. I’ve got it,” Cris offered.

  “You sure?” Bobby asked.

  “Yeah, man. You can probably get a couple more hours of sleep before the kids get up,” Cris suggested.

  Bobby nodded and placed his cup on a workbench, turning to Cris. “Oh, Charlene wants to have all of you guys over after the first of the year. We decided to wait until your Santa gig is up for the party this year. I was going to do this at the party, but I’m guessing you can use this now.”

  “Thanks to your hard work this year, especially over the last six weeks, we had a great year. Everybody gets a holiday bonus, and I hope it helps get Hannah presents besides just paying the bills. Bring her to the party, and if you’re seeing anyone, bring him as well,” Bobby insisted before he offered his fist to bump with Cris’.

  Cris couldn’t speak, because his heart was in his throat, so he accepted the envelope and nodded his head. Thankfully, Bobby left him alone so he could allow the tears to fall without embarrassment.

  Bobby Jobe was a great guy. Cris made a point of telling him he was gay when he applied for the job, but Bobby didn’t seem to care. Cris was nineteen when he’d started working at the garage, and his sexuality had never been an issue. Cris knew for a fact the other guys, except Jorge Costa, were homophobes, but they never said a word around Cris. He knew he had Bobby to thank for it.

  Cris slid the envelope into the pocket of his coveralls before he bundled up in his coat, hat, and gloves, glancing out the window to see it was still snowing. He grabbed the keys to the Dodge tow truck and looked at the information Bobby had handed him with the envelope.

  Cris drove the twenty minutes from the garage to West Master Street, looking for townhouse number 8008. He saw a man standing on the street in front of a charming townhouse with the porch light on.

  There were some Christmas lights wrapped around the columns on the porch, and given it was about five-thirty in the morning and the snow was falling like crazy, Cris deduced it must be his customer. Thankfully, he was able to pull into the curb facing the car in the event he needed to jump a dead battery.

  Cris stepped out and walked over to the man, seeing he was blond and very handsome… like, GQ-handsome. He looked a bit familiar, but Cris couldn’t pinpoint why. “I’m Cris from Jobe’s Garage. You couldn’t get someone to come out from a garage in the neighborhood?”

  The man smiled. “I actually called a buddy, and he recommended your shop. I’m Elliot. Something’s wrong with my car. I think it’s the battery, but it’s relatively new. I know nothing about cars,” the handsome man with the bright, white teeth offered.

  The car was a Cadillac crossover. It looked new, which made Cris wonder why the owner didn’t call the roadside assistance number he was sure came with such an expensive vehicle. Cris reached for the flashlight in his pocket and shone it at the engine of the car, seeing the battery was gone.

  “Uh, Mr…” he started, not remembering the man’s last name.

  “Holiday. Elliot Holiday,” the man explained, which surprised Cris.

  “You related to the Holiday Toys’ people?” Cris asked, feeling his body stiffen upon hearing the man’s name. The guy had to be part of the family, because Cris remembered seeing a picture of them all on a Christmas card addressed to the employees at the store. It had been on the bulletin board in the break room, but he didn’t remember seeing it since that one time.

  The man, Elliot ‘Elliot’ Holiday, chuckled, which reminded Cris of someone, but he couldn’t figure out who. “Guilty as charged. You shop at Holiday Toys?” the man asked with an infectious, yet familiar, smile.

  “I, uh, I’m actually the Santa at the West Philly store. Mr. Holiday, someone has stolen your battery. I can tow it and get you a new one, or you can wait until the parts’ store opens and get a new one. I can give you instructions regarding how to install it yourself, or I can send one of the other guys over this afternoon to put it in if you have other plans,” Cris offered nervously.

  “Let’s go inside. It’s freezing-ass cold out here,” Mr. Holiday stated as he slammed the hood closed. Cris was about to protest when Mr. Holiday swept a hand toward the porch.

  Cris followed the man up the stairs and quickly slipped off his boots so as not to dirty the man’s floors, which Cris was sure were very expensive. Mr. Holiday slipped off his shoes and put them into a tray just inside the door while Cris left his on the porch.

  He quickly took off his gloves and hat, following the man down the hallway and into a pristine, white kitchen. “Uh, Mr. Holiday, my clothes are covered in grease. If you’ll just give me your number and tell me what you’d like to do about the car, I’ll happily…” Cris began.

  “Actually, don’t worry about it. I think I can figure it out. So, you know my sister, Eve?” Elliot Holiday asked.

  It was probably as bad as Cris assumed it would be. The store was going to close, but why was a member of the Holiday Board talking to him, personally. “Yes, I met Miss Holiday when she introduced herself as Louise Ridges. I liked her and was sorry to learn she was there to assess whether the store would be closing or not. I understand those sorts of things have to be done, and I don’t hold it against her, because she was doing her job. I thought she was a good person. She brought enthusiasm to the job, and she brought the Christmas spirit to the rest of us so…”

  “My little sister is a pain in the ass, so don’t bother. Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but she drives me nuts. However, let’s clear up one thing. Evie wasn’t there to assess the viability of the store, Mr. Gamble. There is a rumor floating around that the company is looking to downsize, but that’s bullshit. We’ve had good years of late, and based on our market research, there is no indication we need to downsize in the near future.

  “We’ve expanded our online presence to follow national trends, so we’ll be fine. Maybe you could reassure the employees in West Philly? That store is one of the more profitable stores in this area, and if the employees are worried about their jobs, it could affec
t holiday productivity. I know you’re well-liked, and if you could…” Mr. Holiday continued.

  Cris was stunned. “Wait, did you call my garage so you could talk to me? Is this all a bunch of crap, your battery being stolen?” he asked, trying not to let his temper get the best of him.

  The guilty smile on Elliot Holiday’s face was confession enough. The man was wasting his time, and it pissed Cris off. “Mr. Holiday, you could have called me on the phone for this little staff meeting. I only work at the store from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve.

  “If you want a cheerleader to carry the Holiday flag, you should have talked to Kirby. Kirby Visintine, the store manager. He’s great at his job, and I don’t think it’s exactly fair that someone from headquarters isn’t bothering to make an appearance at the store to assure the employees that Holiday Toys isn’t going to downsize.

  “I only work there during the holiday season to make extra cash so I can pay my sister’s tuition and get a few Christmas presents. There are a lot of your employees who are worried about whether they’ll have a job come January. I’d say the compassionate thing to do would be to let them know they have nothing to worry about.

  “If you don’t hire me next year to be the Santa, I’ll find another way to make extra cash, but many of your employees are full-time and deserve to hear their jobs are safe from headquarters in person,” Cris responded vehemently, trying to control his anger.

  When Mr. Holiday laughed, Cris’ blood boiled.

  “No, wait, Mr. Gamble. I’m sorry if I’ve put you in a tough spot. It’s just that I’m not savvy enough to come up with another way for us to accidentally meet. Eve told me…” the man began, which made Cris stop in his tracks.

  It suddenly occurred to him that maybe the reason Mr. Holiday wanted to meet him was that his sister had a crush on Cris, and if that was the case, Cris needed to shoot it down immediately.