My friend Merry took me Christmas shopping last Wednesday. She knew I had been down in the dumps about life. I moved out of my parents’ house earlier this year, living on my own. I had my own studio apartment, a decent job, and… And that was the problem. I wanted a boyfriend, a man.
Merry had a boyfriend. His name was Jared and he was as a courier. Merry was hoping he would deliver an engagement ring to her for Christmas. I crossed my fingers for her. That was part of my depression. My best friend was anticipating marriage and I didn’t even have an open prospect. Still, I could be happy for Merry.
“Maybe you’ll get it for your birthday,” I told her.
“No way,” Merry said, “I’ll kill him if he does that. He’d better do it on Christmas Day as a Christmas present.”
Merry’s birthday was on Christmas Eve. Her parents spelled her name after the holiday greeting. She hated it. When she got older, her parents became understanding. They celebrated her birthday on June 24th every year. And Merry now expected her man to do the same.
At the mall, we passed by the usual holiday spectacles and displays. Of course, there was Santa Claus and the elf photographer. We came closer and closer to this setup as Merry and I went in and out of stores. She had to have a good outfit for Christmas. She had to look good for Jared’s proposal.
“What if he doesn’t propose?” I asked.
“I’ve been dropping hints for a long time now,” she replied, her voice a little sad. “He better!”
We came up to the Santa Claus entrance. There was no line. The elf, some lady in her forties, looked ridiculous in her costume. And bored.
“Let’s ask Santa!” Merry exclaimed; a little too loud too, as other shoppers looked in our direction. She got an embarrassed look on her face. “Whoa, sorry.”
“Come on,” I said, “That’s stupid. Let’s keep going.”
But Merry wouldn’t budge. She may have hated her birthday next to Christmas, but then that was because she loved it so much.
“Come on, Kat,” she pled, “I’m not the only one who wants something big for Christmas this year.”
“But asking Santa Claus?” I retorted. “That’s kids’ stuff.”
“Now don’t start that with me,” Merry said seriously. “You better watch out. Santa can hear you.” Merry was a true Santa believer. Don’t get me wrong. She knew the big secret. But she still went around acting like there was a real guy from the North Pole who rode a sleigh through the sky. She always talked about what Santa was going to bring her and whether or not she’d been good that year, or rather, how naughty. I put up with it. It was cute the way she did it. And I loved her, so…
“Okay,” I said, “I know.”
Merry took my hand and pulled me into the Santa exhibition. I thought of Merry’s words. Her saying ‘You better watch out’ made me think of that Santa Christmas song.
“You better not cry,” I sang aloud, “You better not pout…”
“I’m telling you why,” Merry joined in. Then we stopped because we had reached Santa’s throne. It was always this big, soft, red chair. The Santa had this really fake beard. He was a big guy though. I couldn’t tell if he was actually fat or if he was just wearing a big suit. But he was definitely tall.
“Welcome, welcome,” he said in a deep voice. He wasn’t faking the voice. He had a nice deep bass. Very gentle. Merry jumped right on his lap. She always took advantage of these guys.
“Come on, Kat!” Merry waved for me to join her, “Take his other knee.”
Santa put out his hand and I obliged. I took his hand and sat down across from Merry. Our knees squished into each other as Merry began.
“Santa? I know what I want for Christmas but I don’t know if you can bring it to me,” she said. “I need you to convince my boyfriend to ask me to marry him on Christmas Day.”
“Oh ho ho!” he laughed. It was obviously fake, but I guess he was actually amused at what she was asking. “Well, that depends dear, on how good you’ve been this year. What is your name?”
“Merry, Santa. As in ‘Merry Christmas’.”
“And what is your name?” he asked me.
“Kat.”