15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Shimmersnap

I had heard horror stories about human Santa events—crowds of crazed children, anxious parents, lines that stretched on for what seemed like days, and kids who were too excited to contain themselves. I mean, who wouldn’t be thrilled to see Santa? I grew up around the man, and I was still excited whenever he said hi to me. I always thought those stories were a bit exaggerated, just a tall tale that elf parents told their children to get them to behave, but now, experiencing it firsthand, I realized just how real they were. And how tame they had been.

Reality was so much worse.

Of course, I had dressed for the occasion. I wore candy-cane-striped sparkle leggings and a white shirt with a glittery snowflake front and center. I even found an elf hat that looked suspiciously like the one I wore as an elf figurine. Hopefully, it wasn’t close enough for Walter to make any connections.

Then there were my boots. Green leather with red fur cuffs and the twirly toe, complete with one of the official Santa jingle bells.

When I arrived, the children were already lined up, eagerly waiting for their moment with Santa. They were all dressed in their best, and I was pleased to see many of them wearing sparkles. I approved wholeheartedly. The excitement in the air was contagious, and I could feel it in my bones. I was practically bouncing on my feet.

“This is insanity,” Walter muttered beside me. “All this just to sit on the big guy’s lap?”

“It’s more than that,” I said. “They’re telling him their hopes, their dreams, what they really want this year.”

“I want to find my elf,” he said quietly, almost as if admitting a secret.

I put my arm around him and squeezed. If only he knew that I was his elf, standing right next to him. “Well, maybe we can tell Santa that.”

Santa number thirty-five, who was currently waving at the children in line, was doing an excellent job of building the hype. It was as if the kids knew that he was the real deal. Not all of these events had a real Santa, but sometimes one of the Santas would be the genuine article, visiting to spread a little extra cheer. I didn’t know Santa thirty-five personally, but he seemed like a good fellow. All Santas were. It was part of the job.

“So what’s our role here?” Walter asked, looking around at the organized chaos.

“Wrangle and contain,” I said, trying not to laugh. “We keep the kids entertained and make sure the line runs smoothly.”

“How the hell are we supposed to do that?”

“Well, we’ll go down the line, write down the kids’ names, hand that information to Santa when the kid goes up. Oh, and we have to give them their goody bag.”

“Santa should just know their names, shouldn’t he?” Walter winked.

I smirked. “He does, but we can’t go flaunting magic around the humans. Gotta keep it on the down-low, or they’ll get suspicious.” That was entirely too close to the truth.

“Oh, good, you two are here!” A man with a too-stiff suit and a clipboard bustled over. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “I’m so glad we have some help tonight. We’ve got more people than we expected. We might run out of gift bags, so just try to keep things calm, okay? Parents get crazy if their kid doesn’t get something.”

“We’ll take care of it,” I said with a bright smile, grabbing Walter’s arm. “Come on.”

I led him to the front of the line, where Santa gave me a wave. I waved back. “Santa! Good to see you.”

“And you as well,” Santa said. “I hear you got yourself a new job. How’s that going?”

“It’s going great, Santa. I couldn’t be happier. This is Walter. He’s my boss.”

Santa held out his hand, and Walter shook it. “How do you two know each other?” Walter asked, a slight frown on his face.

“Oh, you know,” I said, brushing it off.

“I’ve seen him around these events before. Shimmersnap loves Christmas.” Santa winked and tweaked his nose like he was making an inside joke.

“I’ve noticed,” Walter said dryly.

Santa let out a hearty laugh, hiking up his red pants. “Well, I better get to work. You stay out of trouble now, Shimmersnap.” He winked at me.

“Of course, Santa. I wouldn’t dream of being on the naughty list.”

Walter stared at me like I’d grown a second head, but his smile was soft, almost fond. “You’re something else, you know that, Shimmersnap?”

I grinned. “I’ve been told.”

“It’s a good thing.”

“Thank you,”

“You are very refreshing, Shimmersnap, and I am lucky to know you.”

My cheeks warmed, the heat spreading down my neck, and I couldn’t hold back the grin that overtook my face. “I’m glad you think so.”

“I do. Now let’s get to work. Let’s make these kids’ day.”

We quickly fell into a rhythm—me talking to the kids while Walter wrote their names and handed them goody bags. He didn’t need to know that I was sneakily refilling the bags with a little magic every time we started running low. And with a blink, I added a few extra-special prizes here and there.

We were making good progress when we came across a young girl in a wheelchair. Her leg was propped up with a cast, her face drawn down in a frown. I kneeled down to her level.

“Oh no, Elizabeth, what happened?”

Walter shot me a look, probably wondering how I knew her name. I winced a little on the inside. Oops, probably shouldn’t have done that.

“I fell off the stage during my ballet recital,” Elizabeth said, sounding both proud and disappointed. “I twirled too hard.”

“Oh, but I bet you were magnificent up there! You’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

“I hope Santa brings me a speedy recovery,” she said wistfully. “I really want to be ready for the spring recital.”

“Well,” I said, “he’ll do what he can, but these things take time. In the meantime, how about you jazz up your wheelchair? Put some sparkles on the wheels!”

Her eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! Why didn’t I think of asking for that?”

“That’s what I’m here for,” I said with a smile, handing her a gift bag. “You’ll be just fine, Elizabeth, I promise.”

“Thanks, Shimmersnap!”

As she wheeled away, Walter turned to me, looking both confused and suspicious. “How does she know your name? And where are all these bags coming from? I swear I counted after we started running low, but every time I count, the number’s the same. What’s going on?”

He glanced around like he was waiting for someone to jump out and tell him he was being pranked.

“It’s nothing,” I said quickly, trying to brush it off. “Walter… I can explain everything, but just trust me for now. Please.”

Walter sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I suppose I can do that. Besides, we’ve got more kids to wrangle.”

I nodded, relieved. “Yeah, let’s focus on that for now.”

But I knew the moment of truth was coming. Soon, I was going to have to tell Walter everything—the magic, the elf thing, and… well, everything else. I just hoped he’d take it as well as he had the mysteriously refilling gift bags.