Santa sat pondering his list of good or bad boys and girls. Age never mattered to Santa; all of us are boys and girls to this jolly old man. This time of year, Christmas, was hard for him. The easy decisions were already made, and the hard cases were still left to be pondered and fussed over. So many hurting souls, he had to bring some glimmer of happiness...some hope. They were all pieces in the puzzle of life, fallen away and lost. Santa's job each year was to match the pieces and bring them together. This was the hard job, to find their true shape, and bring a bit of happiness.
Santa leaned back, blew a large smoke ring. The smoke ring acted as a bullseye and circled name of who to help next. There was his California boy, finally at home, hard fast at work, empty past relationships, sort of floating without effort...just wanted true love. Santa knew this boy desired something, but the boy had forgotten the answer to this quandary long ago. The boy was an odd puzzle piece with many ins and outs, many loops and keys to fit. With a twinkle in his eye, Santa lifted his finger and sent a sprinkle of knowledge the boy's way. The truth had been festering in the back of the boy's mind for a very long time, but this friendly little push should be enough. It would take some time, but the boy would face the truth, good or bad.
Santa sat back happy with his work. One more puzzle piece pushed to connect. This one may be problematic, but the old man did have a twisted sense of humor, at least for pain-in-the-ass adults.
Drew walked out of his office and stumbled forward. He spun looking for his assailant, but no one was around him. "What the hell was that." he thought. It had felt like someone had smacked him on the back of the head. He turned down Main Street and started his walk home. Passing the Wine Bar, its windows wide open to catch the afternoon breeze, he heard a series of female laughs. His steps faltered; he recognized one of the laughs. "It can't be" he said out loud.
It was her. He could see Jean; she was with a group of women sharing a bottle of wine. What was she doing this far north, hundreds of miles out of her home territory? He could not hear her voice, but how he remembered her. He had not seen her in ten years, since their ending. It had taken a lot to get over the hurt, but through it, he had gained a better knowledge of himself. The inner peace with life he had found, did not stop the desire to walk up and say hello. He just wanted to look into her eyes, oh those eyes.
He stood there on the sidewalk frozen in place. "I must look like an idiot" he thought to himself. He looked down at his feet and wondered why they were not moving. As he looked up, he met her eyes, now very round and surprised, looking right at him.
Santa spent time helping many others, and then he found his little girl, hurting and sad. Santa took and extra deep puff to view his special California girl. She had given her all, to family, friends and community. Old friends had been left to drift away. She had settled into a life of service and duty, good solid devotion to her kids. But he could see the deep emptiness; this was not the real girl he knew. Santa's heart slowed just a bit...too much love and passion fenced away in his girl's big heart. She was an easy puzzle piece, pure, beautiful, and full of faith. In some ways easy to fit, but Santa wanted to try and bring the potential of something lost long ago.
