From Santa - 1. Chapter 1

It was Christmas Eve and Dan was standing on the landing of his parents' house looking down into the living room. He and his siblings had all grown up and moved away but every Christmas they returned and took up residence in their old rooms. Dan's nieces and nephews filled the guest room and the den and the house became a noisy festive wonderland.

Presently most of the family was still in the dining room finishing desert. Dan had excused himself and was going to retrieve some presents from his room when he stopped to admire the peaceful scene. All the windows were aglow with warm colorful fairy lights. The enormous Christmas tree held the family's extensive collection of ornaments and under the tree's long boughs lay an assortment of colorful boxes. At the top of the tree was a hand blown glass star.

Beside the tree, a long table held the family nativity scene. It captured the beginning of Christianity in beautifully sculpted and tastefully painted wood. Even the minor characters were there. The shepherds and their sheep were near the manger, the three wise men were approaching on their camels, and at the very end of the table Santa was was trying to catch up.

Santa was a later addition to the antique set but he looked like he could have been part of it from the beginning. He was carved wearing traditional bishop's robes rather than the modern red fuzzy jogging suit. Under one arm the generous saint held a gift box. In the other hand he held a bag. A calm smile graced his face.

As Dan admired the scene his mother walked up behind him. "Daniel, I wish you would get married like your brother and sister," she complained, "You're a handsome boy. Why can't you find a nice girl?"

"Mom, we've been through this already," Dan sighed.

His mother threw up her arms and walked past him. At the same time Dan's nieces and nephews gathered around the Christmas tree.

"I think Santa's gonna give me a really special present this year," said the youngest child.

"Santa's not real," said his older brother.

"You're just making stuff up," answered a third child, "Santa is real!"

"Santa's dead," answered the older boy.

"No!" exclaimed the youngest boy.

"He has a point," his older cousin chimed in, "If Santa is a ghost that would explain how he can squeeze into the chimney."

"I'm scared of ghosts!" sad the youngest.

"He's a friendly ghost," explained the cousin, "You know, like Casper. He can hear what you think and grant wishes."

"Oh, so you don't even have to write a letter?"

"It's probably better if you do but I think you can just say what you want."

With that all the children started making requests.

"I want a cat."

"I want a doll."

"No! I want video games!"

"I want dolls!"

"No dolls!"

"I want a pony!"

"I want Sam to shut up!"

"I want a gigantic tv!"

"I want a phone!"

"I wanna go to Mars!"

"You're gonna get a lump of coal!"

Looking down at the scene, Dan felt sorry for Santa. Anyone who could put up with this all through the Christmas season was truly a saint.

Dan's father walked into the living room to see what was going on.

"Grandpa, does Santa give lumps of coal?" asked one of the children.

"Well," Dan's father thought for a moment, "only to people who really deserve them. You see, he doesn't have much coal left. He gave most of it to your grandmother."

The children all laughed. Then Dan's sister-in-law walked in and announced that they would be leaving for the Christmas Eve parade in an hour. The Christmas Eve parade was a local tradition and almost everyone in town would come to watch. Dan was looking forward to it.

He went to his room and retrieved the gifts he had gone for. As he carried them he met his mother again. "Are those for the kids?" she asked.

"Yeah, I love those kids," he answered

"Well maybe if you tried dating a girl you would have some of your own some day."

"Mom! You know how I feel about women."

"Maybe you would learn to like them if you gave one a chance."

"Ugh!"

They both continued down the stairs without saying anything else. This was not the first time they had had this discussion. Neither one wanted to ruin the holiday cheer. They joined the rest of the family in the living room and listened to Christmas music while eating gingerbread cookies.

It felt like only a few minutes had gone by when Dan's brother announced that it was time to get ready to leave. Then everyone scrambled to get their coats and hats except for Dan's parents who were planing to spend a quiet night at home.

It was a short drive to the to the town square. When they got there it was dark. They parked their cars and walked to where the crowd had gathered with flashlights and candles. The parade always started with the street lights off and the audience waiting in darkness. Everyone watched the empty street and whispered their conversations. Then finally they saw a glimmer of light in the distance. Then it was joined by a few more. Then the sound of an old viking song drifted over the snow covered street.

It was likely that the original tune was lost but the sentiments survived. The sound resonated off the shops as a group of men with torches approached. Each was dressed in a heavy fur coat and carrying his torch high as he sang of hope and the coming of spring. They were followed by a group of young women who danced with a lit candle in each hand. They looked like winter fairies in the flickering light. Like the men, they sang a song except their song was an old Christmas carol. As they passed the crowd the street lights began to go on.

Then a float came around the corner with the mayor riding in front of a small forest of Christmas trees. He shouted "Merry Christmas!" from his perch and threw red and green bags of candy to the onlookers. His float was followed by a few others and a school marching band. After the band came a group of young dancers also from the local high school. They were supposed to be doing a Seventies themed act. Dan smiled in amusement. It looked like a cross between Bollywood and disco.

A few more floats came around the street corners and then a church choir came down the street singing "Silent Night." They were followed by a float with a live nativity scene. Then the last float arrived. It was Santa's sleigh pulled along by plastic reindeer. Santa smiled and waved until his sleigh came to a stop. The choir had already gathered around the towering tree that grew in the middle of the town square. Santa slowly walked over to a chair that had been put out just for him. Next the mayor plugged in the Christmas lights and the tree came alive with color and glittering ornaments. Everyone was invited to meet Santa and a line immediately formed.

As Dan was standing in line with his siblings and their children, Dan's parents were getting ready for bed. Dan's father was upstairs brushing his teeth while Dan's mother went downstairs to turn off some unnecessary lights. She paused for a moment to look out on the neighborhood. Every house looked like a gingerbread cottage with a light dusting of sugar on the roof. Dan's mother thought about her family.

As she looked out the window, her children and grandchildren were only a few feet away from Santa. For the first time in years Dan did not recognize the man playing Santa. Dan was surprised. He thought he knew ever old man in town. A few minutes later his nieces and nephews were filling Santa's ears with all kinds of unreasonable requests. Santa listened patiently, then he gave the children candy canes and wished them a merry Christmas. As Dan helped the youngest child off of Santa's lap, Santa turned to Dan and asked "What would you like to get for Christmas?"

Dan looked down at his smiling nephew and then answered "I think I have everything I want."

As he said these words his mother turned away from the big living room window and

went over to the nativity scene. She reached to turn off the table lamp above it and smiled at the statues of the two loving parents. Then she thought of her son who refused to find himself a wife. She switched off the lamp and turned to the figure of Jesus as if she were about to complain but Jesus was sleeping so she looked over at Santa.

Putting her hands on her hips she said aloud, "Couldn't you find him someone to love?"

Dan's mother went to bed. Meanwhile her children and grandchildren were going down the street towards the coffee shop. The street was crowded and all the shops were full of people. The children were now decked out in glowing wristband and busy trying to throw snow balls at each other as they ran ahead of their parents.

At the coffee shop Dan's sister ordered hot chocolate for everyone and they sat down at the biggest table in the room. Soon old acquaintances began to walk in the door and join the table. The merry conversations went on for several hours. Everyone was laughing and sharing stories. It could have continued all night but the children and some of their parents started to get sleepy and the gathering began to shrink. Eventually the only people left were Dan and a couple of his parents neighbors. Seeing the sleepy expressions of the faces of the coffee shop's staff, Dan and his neighbors decided to go home. Dan's companions offered to walk him to his car but Dan decided to go back to the Christmas tree and take some pictures.

Many of the shops were closed now and the street was empty and quiet. The night was just cold enough for snow to fall. Big flakes drifted lazily through the air and landed lightly. In the light of the street lamps the snow sparkled as if every flake were dusted with glitter. Dan watched them land on his coat as he walked.

After he had gone a few blocks he noticed someone walking briskly on the other side of the street. Dan looked away from the snowflake that had just landed on him and recognized the man on the other side of the road as the man playing Santa. He was still dressed in red and carrying a large bag over his shoulder. He smiled at Dan and wished him a Merry Christmas as they passed each other.

"Merry Christmas," Dan called to the jolly old man.

Dan smiled thinking that Santa was quite believable. The energetic way he walked and the way he smiled made it seen like he really had a sleigh full of gifts to deliver. As he walked past the old clock that was mounted in front of the post office, Dan saw that it was almost midnight. Santa would have to hurry, Dan thought. He walked the final block to the tree and stopped. The tree looked perfect. Every ornament reflected the light of thousands of little lightbulbs. Snowflakes slowly danced their way to the great branches. It was as if Dan had somehow found himself inside a life-size snow globe.

He took his phone out of his pocket and turned on the camera. He walked a few paces to the right and then a few back and then took the perfect picture. He looked at it on the small screen and was delighted at how well the color and the reflections had come out. Then he noticed something small at the base of the tree. At first he could not tell if the object was under or just close to the tree.

As he zoomed in he realized that the object was a man. At first Dan was disappointed. He had been hoping to capture the tree by itself but as he looked at the man's upturned face and his expression of wonderment Dan's disappointment faded. There was something powerful about the image of a small human standing next to something many times his size.

Finally Dan looked away from his phone and saw the live scene. The man in his photo was slowly walking around the tree. It appeared that he was taking pictures of the ornaments. Dan decided to do the same. They circled the tree in opposite directions and met half way around.

Dan greeted the man with a cheerful, "Merry Christmas!"

The other man answered with a joyful smile, "Merry Christmas."

"I'm Dan," Dan said extending a hand.

"Nice to meet you, Dan. I'm Steve," answered the other man.

"Are you from around here?" asked Dan.

"I live about fifty miles East but I travel for work and pass through here a lot. Normally I would just go strait through but I stopped for the parade. Don't you love this tree?"

"Yeah, It's my favorite landmark in town."

They took another long look at the tree. Then Steve clapped his gloved hands together and said, "It's getting cold. I better be heading home."

"I bet your family is waiting for you."

"No, I live alone. All my family is in New Hampshire and I'm single so its gonna be a quiet holiday," replied Steve, "Do you know if there's still an open coffee shop? I could use some coffee before the drive."

"I think they already closed," said Dan, "If you have no one waiting for you, why don't you spend Christmas with my family?"

"Your family doesn't know me. Won't that be a little weird?" asked Steve.

Dan laughed, "You don't qualify as weird next to some of the guests we've had. It'll be fun."

Half an hour later Dan was quietly laying blankets and pillows on the living room couch.

"I guess you get to sleep under the tree," said Dan looking at the branch that was hanging over the armrest of the couch.

"That definitely beats driving in the snow. Thanks," answered Steve.

Dan wished Steve a good night and went to his own room. They soon fell asleep as Christmas lights glowed through falling snow and children dreamed of magical gifts.

The next morning while it was still dark Dan's mother got up. She was almost always the first one up. She went down stairs and turned on the coffee maker and then went to the living room to look at the tree which was gently glowing with a string of lights she had left on for her children. On the couch near the tree she saw a stranger asleep. If she had lived in a big city the sight would have certainly inspired fear but in this snow covered small town it was merely amusing.

Her children had always been free to invite friends and there was always extra food in the house. The guest room was always clean and on Christmas there were even a few wrapped boxes of candy to give to unexpected visitors. As she looked at the sleeping figure she smiled and quietly said, "Looks like Santa brought someone a friend."

She patted the little Santa figurine on the head confident that she understood everything that went on in her home. She was wrong about one thing. The stranger under the tree was, if legends are to be believed, actually Santa's gift for her. Santa had not given her what she wanted but he had given her what she wished for. Her son did not know it yet, but he had found himself someone special to love.

If the story were to end here, it would seem like Santa had played a nasty joke on a poor old woman. Santa, however, knew from many years of experience that it would all end well.

When Dan came to visit the following year with Steve by his side he was expecting the worst. His mother opened the door and Dan nervously introduced his new fiancé. His mother immediately led Steve into the house and hung up his coat. "Aren't you the young man Santa left under the tree last year?" she asked.

Steve laughed.

Dan closed the door behind them and whispered "Thank you, Santa."