Page 35 of Frosty Felicity
“Bethany.”
“What do you want for Christmas, Bethany?”
“I want a Baby Alive doll, and a Pop-Popper toy. You know, the squishy things you push. I collect them.”
“Ahh, yes! Pop-It toys!” Just then, Felicity returned to stand by his side. “I like those toys, too. In fact, I believe I have some.” As if they’d rehearsed this very moment, Felicity did the honors and rummaged through a big sack. She found one shaped like a unicorn and handed it to him. Taking the girl’s hand, he placed it in her palm, and squeezed her fingers around it. “I’m sure you’ll get that baby doll, too.”
“Thank you, Santa! I hope so!” The girl giggled.
“Santa knows what you want,” He winked at the mother, and she smiled wide. “It’ll be taken care of. Just keep an eye out for it!”
Oh, no…
“Oh, not an eye for it! I mean, it’ll be there. You’ll see!” Shit! No! You won’t see! “It’ll be there soon. Yes… on Christmas Eve!” The little girl looked downright confused but kept smiling all the same. “I mean, Christmas morning!” The girl’s mother, on the other hand, seemed to have heard enough. Frowning, she took her daughter away, looking over her shoulder a time or two in disapproval. When the coast was clear, he met Felicity’s gaze… and they both burst out laughing.
“I really messed that up! I knew not to look at you! You would’ve just made it worse. You probably enjoyed that,” he teased, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to gain his composure before calling the next child over.
“You were turning red, Brett. The more you spoke, the worse it got!” She was really laughing now. “In cases like that, you just have to relax, and not acknowledge the mistake. When you keep trying to fix it, it always makes things worse.”
“Thank you, Ms. Know-It-All. Doesn’t help much now, does it?” All she did was laugh again as he motioned to the next child to come and tell him all of their dreams. The night wore on, and a few hours later, the place was mostly clear of people. The platters of Christmas cookies had nothing left on them but red and green sprinkles and a few crumbs. The eggnog was gone, the pizza was a thing of the past, and the donation jars were full, being watched by fellow officers.
“I’ll be right back.”
He went to the restroom, changed out of the costume, took a much-needed piss, then entered the main gallery where a few police officers still lingered. His father stood close to the doors on his phone. After helping Felicity with her coat, he gave her a sound kiss.
“Thank you for coming, baby. It really meant a lot.”
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“Admit it,” he put his coat on and fixed the collar in the reflection of one of the windows. “You had a good time.”
“Eh, it was all right.” She shrugged, barely able to lie with a straight face. “Dealing with bullying, smart-alecky children who try to cause a scene definitely has its perks. Figure I may as well earn my keep while I’m here.”
He kissed her once again and headed to the door where his father was standing.
“Dad, I believe you already met Felicity, but—”
“Yes! I had the pleasure of meeting this funny lady! I asked if it was true, you know, that you two were dating like you’d told me earlier tonight, and she said no, that you were just participating in an antifungal study, and she had to closely monitor you for research purposes to see if it spreads from your toes to your neck. I pointed to your head and said, ‘Yup. Look at that terrible face. It’s far too late.’”
Felicity gave him a sheepish look, and they all started laughing then.
“Thanks a lot, Dad. It’s nice to know you’re in my corner,” he teased.
The three of them waved their goodbyes to the other officers and headed out of the store, into the brisk cold. There was no falling snow, but the streets were slick with ice. In fact, they looked almost like mirrors had been glued to them–pretty, but awfully treacherous. Dad left them alone and headed off to the car.
He held Felicity by the waist, hating that moment when he’d be forced to let her go on her way.
“I’m driving my dad home. He rode with me tonight. But I’d love to come by later, spend some time with ya, if that’s okay?”
“That’s definitely fine with me.” She wrapped her arms around him and brought him in for a kiss.
“Hey, I know you’re going over to your mother’s for Christmas, and you’re still on the fence about your dad, but, if you could spare, I don’t know, thirty minutes, I’d love for you to stop by my aunt’s house and meet the family.”
There it was. Her complexion deepened once again. This time, not from mirth or embarrassment, but seemed genuinely touched by his words. She ran her fingertips along the lapel of her raspberry-colored coat, then nodded.
“I’d love that. You know what? I have an idea. I thought about what you said a while ago regarding my father, as you know, and I’m probably going to at least stop through.”
“Good… good.” He caressed her arm.
