Page 3 of Shy Santa

“It’s so good to see you again, Teddy. We’ve missed your Gran for the last thirteen years.” Ms. Shirley said, refilling my coffee cup. “She was always so proud of you. After you enlisted and left for boot camp, she kept everyone in the loop about how you were doing.”

Gran loved Shirley like a daughter; she’d been a couple years older than Gran’s actual daughter. But both knew the pain of losing a child too young. I think that was partly why Gran loved Shirley so much.

“How long you back for?”

“Moved back permanently. Well, as long as I can find a job.” I sighed, balling up my napkin, and leaned back in my chair. “You don’t know anyone hiring, do you?”

She tilted her head, pursed her lips. “Lots of places hirin’, but not sure anything you would be up for. Is there something specific you’re looking for?”

“Anything with a paycheck will do for now. Have some savings to tide us over, but we can’t live the life of luxury forever. Looking for a security gig or something similar but got a degree in history and graphic arts.” I shrugged; it took forever to get the degrees, but it was something to fall back on if I couldn’t find a job at a security company.

“Let me think on it.” Shirley patted my shoulder before heading toward the back to grab a couple of to-go containers for our food.

* * *

The streetlights gavean ominous feel to Gran’s house. Ace and I stood on the sidewalk at the wrought-iron gate that surrounded the front half of Gran’s property. I wished I'd been more involved with the rental company. While the yard looked decent for winter, most of the planter beds Gran spent hours tending were gone.

The screech of metal echoed down the quiet street when I opened the gate. The hairs on my neck stood at attention from the sound. I needed to start a list of repairs and other things needing to be done to bring this beautiful home back to snuff. A sliver of shame crept up my throat over how bad this place looked.

It didn’t have an abandoned air to it, but the peeling brown and tan paint and overgrown bushes in front gave this place a sad suburban feel.

“Let’s get inside. We can unpack the air mattresses and bedding for tonight. The moving truck should be here in a couple of days with our stuff.” I pulled my phone out to open the front door; the darkness of the porch not invaded by the few streetlamps.

“Okay, Mr. Bear.” Ace looked around, her eyes wide, taking a small step closer and placing a hand on my hip.

“You can pick your room out. And the next couple weeks we can decorate it how you want. There used to be a hardware store downtown. We can get paint from there when you decide on the color.” I held the door as she walked in.

Turning, I flicked the light switch for the front entry. A flash and pop answered. Ace squeaked and grabbed onto me.

“Damn. Watch the glass.” I tried to skirt the shards on the floor, but the crunch under my boots shared I wasn’t successful. “There’s another couple of switches around here.”

My hand ran across the wall and felt the button switches near the living room. When the lights flicked on, the sight was depressing.

Garbage filled the room along with a nasty brown couch with burns, and questionable stains, plywood on cinder blocks sat next to a broken, striped chair, everything covered in leaves, dust, and fast-food wrappers. Guess the rental company hadn’t checked the place since summer. I needed to talk with them and get my money back. These were fucking unacceptable conditions to find Gran’s house in. My teeth throbbed from grinding them. I’d end up with a tension headache if I didn’t chill.

“Think we might not use this room.”

“Mr. Bear?” Ace asked, clutching her purple backpack to her chest. “It’s okay. This place isn’t so bad. We can clean it up.”

The desire to punch the brick fireplace surged through my gut. This place was a goddamn disaster, and my eight-year-old kid was trying to reassuremeit wasn’t a shit show.I was getting a gold star in parenting today.

“You’re right Ace. It’s not bad at all. Nothing a little scrubbing can’t fix. Why don’t you find the kitchen and pop the food in the fridge while I close the window?” I carefully picked my way through the room, leaves and garbage mounded to my calf in places.

Ace’s footsteps retreated toward the back of the house. The snick-pop of the button switches marked her progress as she turned lights on along the way. Thankfully, no more flash-pops of lights exploding happened.

The window closed; I headed down the hall. A strange, pungent, bitter smell filled my nose the closer to the kitchen I got.

Ace stood in the doorway stiff, her arm covering her face.

“I don’t think the people liked to clean.” She said when I stopped behind her and surveyed the chaos of the kitchen. The sink overflowing with dirty dishes while rotten food covered the counters and what might be a small kitchen table. It wouldn’t surprise me to find mummified rodent corpses at this point.

“Truth.” I grunted, nudging her aside to see the damage done to the tan colored fridge. “We’ll have our work cut out for us. Holy Fuck.” I swore under my breath at the stench from the fridge when I cracked it open and immediately slammed it closed again.

Turning on my heel, I faced Ace. “New plan. Let’s hit the hotel we passed coming into town and then tomorrow we can come back and clean. We have a few days before our stuff gets here. We just need to come up with a plan to tackle this mess.”

Ace’s shoulders relaxed at my words; she kept her nose and mouth covered as she nodded at me, then turned and headed back to the front door.

CHAPTER3

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