Page 19 of Blame It On the Secret Santa

A whole week had gone by before Cassidy and I worked a shift together. Waldon’s had started their extended holiday shopping hours, meaning they opened earlier and stayed open later, so we had a lot of shifts that were opposite each other.

Waldon’s had been especially busy today with it being less than two weeks until Christmas and people struggling to get their shopping done. I headed into the break room after Bruce forced me to take a lunch break and was pleasantly surprised to find Cassidy in there having lunch with Rachel.

I grabbed my bag from the fridge and sat at one of the tables across the room from them to give them privacy since Cassidy had her back to me and hadn’t seen me come in yet. I pulled a sandwich out and unwrapped the saran wrap before taking a bite.

“I don’t know what to get her,” Rachel said, tossing a corn chip in her mouth. “When I ask her what she wants, she gives me this long list of things she makes up in her head. Like a robot elephant that blows bubbles and then poops turds when he’s done. That doesn’t even exist!” She threw her hands up in frustration.

“Five-year-olds can be hard,” Cassidy agreed with a laugh. “What about one of those robot dogs we just got in?”

“She already has one. I swear, this kid haseverything. It’s hopeless. I’m going to be the mom who ruins Christmas because I don’t know what to get my kid. Even her list to Santa wasn’t helpful. It was just more of the stuff she made up.”

“Oh, man. That has to be hard.”

“It’s so difficult this year because she’s old enough to decide what she wants on her own, but yet she gives me nothing to work with.”

“What about arts and crafts stuff?” Cassidy offered.

“She has a ton.”

“Legos?”

“We have enough to make a complete replica of Sugarplum Falls and all of its residents,” Rachel said sarcastically.

“Well, shit. I’m running out of ideas.” Cassidy crumpled up the foil her sandwich was wrapped in and tossed it into the trashcan beside them.

“What was your favorite gift when you were a kid?” Rachel asked, leaning back in her chair as she took a swig from her can of soda.

“Hmmm. That’s a tough one. I think it was probably a book calledThe Christmas Cabinthat my grandmother bought for me. It’s this fun story about this big family, and as the children grow up, they get too busy to spend time with their loved ones during the holidays. So their parents buy this old, rundown cabin. They call each child out at a different time throughout the year to help fix up a portion of it. They never tell the other kids what is going on, and since the children are always so busy, they never check in with each other. Then, one day, all of the children get a letter in the mail inviting them to the Christmas Cabin.

When they get there, they find their parents and see all of the work that’s been done at the cabin. They realize that each of them helped build a portion of it, and hanging on the wall is a collage of photos that is built like a puzzle. Each picture is of the adult children coming to work on it and the progress they made. There’s a lot more that I won’t get into, but at the end, they all get stuck at the cabin because of a big storm, and no one cares because they are happy to be together again. It’s basically that the Christmas Cabin worked magic and made them remember the importance of family and being together.”

“Aww. That’s a cute story. I bet Sharon would love it. Do they still sell it?”

“Unfortunately, no. I somehow lost my copy a few years ago and haven’t been able to find one since. I’ve looked everywhere for a new copy but haven’t found anyone that sells it. When my grandmother passed, it broke my heart that I lost her and the gift she had given me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Rachel said.

“It’s okay. Things happen. But I would give anything to have that book again. I used to read it every year right before Christmas and it somehow always made it feel like the holidays were so magical.”

“I definitely need some magic on my side this year. I work every day until Frosty Fest, but I can’t even take a day off because I promised the kids I would take them to the parade. You and I both know that you can’t go just for the parade. It ends up being an entire day thing with shopping and hot chocolate and more sugar than anyone needs in a single day.”

“Yup. But that’s what makes Frosty Fest so fun. I’m off that day, too, so maybe I’ll see you guys there.”

I wanted to stay and listen to Cassidy talk, but I knew it wasn’t my place to keep eavesdropping on their conversation. I got up from the table and threw the rest of my lunch away, knowing that I had startled them by the sudden movement when Cassidy spun around and looked at me. I gave them a quick wave as I rushed out the door, determined to find the impossible.

---