I tilted away from Ruby to whisper, “It’s hanging in my closet.”
“Can you put me on speaker?” When I pressed the button, his voice boomed out. “Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas, Ruby!”
Her whole face lit up as she squealed. “Merry Christmas, Santa!”
“You weren’t home last night,” he said, his voice sweet. “Could I visit you today?”
“Really?” she said, bouncing on the bed and looking at her grandma.
“I have to feed the reindeer first. Will you wait for me?”
“Of course, Santa!”
As I hung up, Jean snickered. “Not your boyfriend, huh?”
Snowflakes covered his knit cap when he walked into my office, holding the garment bag. After he’d rolled in last night scruffy and exhausted in his expensive business suit, I expected to see lingering fatigue, but he was freshly showered and clean-shaven, dressed casually in jeans and a soft sweater. ”Thanks for asking me to do this.”
I hadn’t, really. I’d hoped he'd lighten her spirits, not expected him to volunteer.
As he donned the velvet jacket, he inspected my festive red snowflake sweater and black trousers, fitting the hospital’s dress code yet able to transition easily to dinner. “You’re not joining me?”
“Ruby’s already seen me like this,” I said. “She only cares about Santa anyway.”
“But how am I supposed to kiss you under the mistletoe?” he teased. “I’m not allowed to kiss staff members, only my Mrs. Claus.”
“Guess you’ll have to wait until next year,” I said before instantly regretting it.
He didn't reply as he finished dressing, then reached into the bottom of the garment bag for a terribly-wrapped lump.
Ruby shrieked when he walked in. Her quick glance at her grandma revealed that she hadn’t expected him to show. Her short life had been rife with hardship, but somehow she still clung to hope … and I felt relieved that I didn’t break my promise to her.
Alex’s lopsided grin appeared beneath his white beard. I guided him to wash his hands then sit gently on the end of her bed. When she scrambled closer, his smile faltered at seeing her in a hospital gown hooked up to medical equipment, but he recovered quickly.
“I thought you might like this,” he held out the lumpy gift with a rare hint of uncertainty. “Mrs. Claus wasn’t home to wrap it.”
Ruby unwrapped a well-loved blue My Little Pony with rainbow hair, then threw her arms around Alex’s shoulders. “Look, Grandma, it’s Rainbow Dash!”
“I remembered that you liked unicorns,” he said. Where the heck had he found that on such short notice?
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Santa, Rainbow Dash isn’t a unicorn, she’s a pegasus.”
From my perch on the arm of Jean’s uncomfortable hospital chair, we watched as Ruby explained, in great detail, the difference based on their wings and horns. I bit my knuckle to keep from laughing as Alex kept a straight face through multiple follow-up questions about how a unicorn grew wings to transform into an alicorn. Jean wiped away a tear then squeezed my hand, and Alex’s eyes softened at the tender moment.
Since Ruby had Santa all to herself, she was in prime performance mode, reenacting My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. His applause was eager, and I imagined a younger Alex giving a similar ovation to his now-famous brother. Next she rambled about baking sugar cookies with Grandma that they planned to leave out for Santa before she’d gotten dizzy. Alex rubbed his fake belly and rumbled that he’d had enough treats, so Ruby should eat them when she got home.
Ruby said maybe they'd have them for dinner, since the doctor said that she could leave soon but her grandma hadn’t had time to cook so she said they would stop at McDonald’s on the way home.
Alex’s hopeful eyes asked me, ‘Can we?'
When I hesitated, he pursed his lips.
I sent him a look that said, ‘Your choice, it’s your house.’
His eyes rolled slightly, then he rubbed his beard. He couldn’t invite them, not as Santa.
“Do you two want to come to our Christmas dinner?” I whispered to Jean, who startled at the request. I dropped my voice lower. “At his parents’ house.”
“Oh no, we couldn’t impose."
Over Ruby’s head, Alex mouthed, ‘Please come,’ and looked relieved when she nodded. I promised to followup with the doctor about discharge plans. Alex hugged Ruby and gave Jean a shoulder squeeze, just like he’d seen me do.
At the nurses’ station, I paged the attending to request discharge. While I waited, I texted Helen for permission to bring Jean and Ruby to dinner and received a rapid reply asking if they had dietary restrictions. Then I shared that Alex would be with me too, and he'd explain when he got there.
When the doctor called, Alex shifted at the buzz of families aware of the lingering Santa in the hallway. I fidgeted with my badge, ready to take him back to my office to change, until his gaze flicked down the hall then back to me with a request in his eyes. ‘Can we? Please?’
Shocked, I tucked the phone's headset into my shoulder and made a hand gesture to remind him to wash his hands in every room.
When I tagged along as his escort, I caught details the families might not have shared with me as a social worker, but the kids let their guards down around Santa. He visited patients for almost two hours until I reluctantly pulled him out of the final room at the end of my shift.
I always work Christmas … and this year had turned into the best one ever.
Chapter 23Alex
I crawled under the dining room table to lock the leaf in place. When I arrived with Grace, Mom shot me a ‘we’ll talk later’ face, offered appetizers to Jean and Ruby, and put me to work setting the extra places.
