"Guess who!" said a child's voice, as small hands covered Hera's eyes from behind.
"Santa!" she exclaimed happily, hanging up the phone without so much as a goodbye.
"Try again." he said, giggling.
"Is it Rudolph?"
"No Mom, it's me!" replied Corey, as he jumped into her lap, laughing.
She began tickling him until he was hysterical, then picked him up. As he began doing a fair impression of a monkey by hanging upside down, Hera laughed again.
"It's off to bed for you, my little Christmas elf! And no trying to spy on good Saint Nick. I told you, his magic runs on the faith of good children all over the world. And if you see him in action, or see proof, it's not really faith any more, is it?"
"I guess not. But how do you explain the presents in the morning? Aren't they proof?" he asked, curiously.
"I'm going to tell you a secret, Corey. But you can't tell anyone else, even your best friend Ben. These days almost all of the presents for children from families who can afford it, come from the parents. There are some special ones that he has to deliver though. But he's always careful to make it look like someone else gave them. To protect his Christmas magic."
"Santa is really smart!" exclaimed Corey.
"Yes he is, now you need to go to sleep! So I can be in bed too, when he comes to check on us. Remember what I said about him having to deliver some presents? Well, this year, you asked for something in particular."
"A Champions Of Battle board game!" he reminded her, for the hundredth time.
She sighed, sadly. They had finally made it up the stairs, and to his bedroom. She gently sat him on the edge of his bed. While she didn't want to ruin his Christmas Eve, this was the perfect time to break the news.
"When you came down, I was on the phone with Daddy. The game that you asked for has been sold out for weeks. We tried everything, I'm very sorry. We ordered one online as soon as you asked, but it's not here yet. We've been trying to find a store that has one for over a week."
A little shocked, Corey laid back. "Did he call to say that he found one?" he asked, his voice shaking.
"No Sweetie, just to say that he would be home soon, and to ask if you are asleep yet. He wanted to tell you goodnight in person."
"I'd like that. And I want to tell him it'll be fine, Santa will bring it!" he said confidently.
"Well since you already have one coming, he might not. There are only so many of them, because they're still new."
"I understand, Mom." he said, grinning from ear to ear.
Hera tucked him in, and went downstairs. They just had to keep looking. But was there one to be found anywhere?
She would convince Luke to go back out. Maybe if he drove to Pinewhich. They had at least twenty toy stores, and he hadn't checked there in three days. Unfortunately it was a six hour round trip. It would be morning before he could be home, even if he started now.
A half hour later, she heard him pull in. She had sat back down to her coffee after putting Corey to bed, and was beginning to worry.
"Honey, you won't believe what happened. I hit a pothole, and it must have had a glass bottle in it. I got a flat."
"Oh, now you're using the donut? I guess Pinewhich is out of the question." she said, disappointed.
Luke turned his back for a second. He faced the living room which he had just walked through, to get to the kitchen. Thinking that he was preparing to leave, Hera got up.
"There's nothing else we can do, Honey. You did your best."
"I didn't tell you the rest yet. This was just a couple of blocks over, on Cherry Way. While I was changing the tire, I heard an animal over by a trash bin. It sounded like a puppy or kitten."
She froze. Had her kind-hearted husband just brought home a stray, despite her allergies? And on Christmas Eve no less!
She sat back down. Unsure if she wanted to hear the rest, she waited.
"I went over to investigate. Come into the living room, and see what was next to the bin."
"You know how much I love animals. But I just can't go in there, I don't want to be sick on Christmas day."
He held out his hand, and smiled. "Trust me."
Reluctantly, she followed him into the living room. Sitting on the coffee table was a Champions Of Battle board game! She almost sat down on the floor.
"There wasn't an animal in sight, or anything else for that matter. Just this brand new game beside the bin. And I couldn't hear the noise any more. It had been very distinct. I tapped on the bin, and even opened it. Nothing but garbage."
At that comment, she noted the right sleeve of his jacket. It had what appeared to be ketchup on it. So he had been quite determined to find that animal!
"I guess if they threw it away, it's alright... We can go find out if it was a mistake - after the one we ordered gets here. Let's get this wrapped!" she said, relief flooding over her for several reasons.
Ten days later, the couple visited Cherry Way, and Luke located the house. He knocked, and a young woman answered.
"Hello, did you throw a game away on purpose, on Christmas Eve? I'm here to replace it, if it was an accident." he said as an introduction. The game was tucked under his arm.
"No, I've never seen it before. I don't have any children, I live here alone. I just bought the house a few months ago. It's a little big, but it's close to my practice. I'm a lawyer." she said, handing him a card.
"Thank you. Do you by any chance have a pet? The reason I went over to your bin was that I heard an animal crying."
"No, I'm afraid I just don't have time for a pet yet." she replied regretfully.
The two parents looked at each other, and Hera smiled. "It had to be Santa."
Cover image is from Canva, using their gallery