Originally, this was my entry for the 2010 Literotica Holiday Contest but was removed from the site several years ago for personal reasons. After getting so many requests, I am bringing it back. Thank you and please email or leave a comment.
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Christopher Lewis was having a wonderful normal Christmas shopping afternoon with his son. And it felt great. Occasionally, Tommy would get real quiet, but soon something would catch his eye and bring him back around to the excitement level that Christopher loved seeing in his son.
Finally, dad needed to recharge his batteries, so the twosome made a pit stop to the mall coffee shop and were soon sitting with their hot drinks at a table edging the mall hallway.
"So Thomas, what do you want for Christmas this year buddy - we're running out of time; it's Christmas Eve already," Christopher looked at his son as he licked at the whipped cream on the steaming cup of hot chocolate.
Thomas' tongue stopped in mid slurp, sticking from his mouth with a small dollop of cream on the tip which dripped down to splatter the white table top. Thomas' eyes narrowed as he stared at his father.
"Are you gonna get me the gifts?" There was an edge in the four-year-old's words.
Christopher sighed, "Some of them yes. But Thomas, Santa would love to bring you presents. It's what he does, kind of his job."
Thomas exploded, slamming his tiny fists on the plastic table spilling the drinks about, "I don't want anything from him. I don't want anything to do with him."
"Sshhh, sshhh," his father said holding his hands out palms up. "Take it easy sport. It's alright. Look, you need to get over this."
Thomas was inconsolable, "NNoooo, please don't see him. He'll take you away too!"
"What?" Christopher stared at his panicking son mindless of all the other patrons staring at them. "Take me away? Wait, do you think Santa took mommy away?"
Thomas pushed himself off his chair shoving the table which spilled the hot drinks onto his stunned father who leaned back quickly to get away from the scalding drinks tipping his chair to crash to the floor bringing the table down on top of him. As he twisted his body on the floor, he could see the short legs of his son as he sped down the mall hall out of sight.
"Thomas, Nooooo!"
By the time Christopher Lewis was able to get out from under the table and down the hall his son was no where to be seen.
Not long after, Thomas was in the big department store feeling very nervous. He wanted his dad. He wanted his mommy too but he had been missing her for almost a year now. He wondered if when the store closed they would put him in the room with all the other lost things. He remembered how once he had lost Gilly, his precious stuffed fish he had gotten on a family trip to Cape Cod. His mom took him to a worker, and they mentioned this lost and found room and sure enough there was Gilly. He wondered if his dad knew about these lost rooms. He wanted to go home too much to take a chance. No, he would have to find his dad on his own. Taking a deep breath, Thomas Lewis steeled himself for a trip back into the scary part of the mall when he looked up and saw him.
Santa Claus.
The one who ruined everything. The one who stole his mother.
Tom saw red and rushed forward, "Give me back my mommy!"
Tim Drew was just taking a break to catch a quick smoke when out of nowhere this little kid started screaming at him and punching and kicking him.
Tim reached down but the kid kept jerking away, his red-face all scrunched up with tears streaming from both eyes.
"Julie, Julie. Help me." Tim saw the clerk hovering over by the jewelry aisle.
Julie came over as quickly as she could, navigating around the counters and displays.
"Little boy, hey little boy." Julie called as she edged into the punching, screaming child.
Thomas felt the metal hit his side; he turned to see the big wheel and metal around it and the thin legs leading up to the woman above.
Thomas stopped moving and stood still with his mouth hung open.
Julie Simmons smiled at the staring boy, "Hi, what's the matter?"
Thomas' mouth opened and closed a couple of times. "Can you...can you transform?"
"What? Oh this." Julie looked down at the wheelchair she was sitting in. "Ah, well it is a part of me and helps me move."
"That is so cool." Suddenly Thomas remembered the man next to him. He shrieked and hid beside Julie's chair away from Tim. "Help me. He stole my mommy."
"Tim, what's he talking about?" Julie looked up at the obviously baffled store Santa.
Tim shook his head, his beard and bell on the end of his pointed cap jingling, "I have no idea what this kid is talking about. I've never seen him before in my life."
"That's a lie. You took my mommy and little sister. You are a thief. Now my dad is lost." Thomas glared at the Santa.
"Lost dad? Wait a minute," Julie turned her chair around so she was facing the angry and scared boy. "Is your name Thomas Lewis?"
Thomas nodded his head still with eyes locked on the Santa Claus.
Julie took a small earpiece with mike and spoke for a minute before turning back to the sniffling boy still hiding beside the wheel away from the smiling Santa.
"Okay. Tell you what. How about we go in the back away from Santa Claus and you can tell me all about your mommy and little sister; that sound good?" Julie brought her smiling face closer to boy in an effort to block out the image of Santa. "Tim, go ahead on your break 'kay?"
As the Santa silently backed away, Thomas stared deeply into the woman's eyes. "Are you taking me to the lost and found?"
Julie sat back and laughed, "Well, kind of why?"
"I don't know if my dad knows about them. My mommy did but dad wasn't with us that day." Thomas looked worried.
Julie reached down and ruffled his head, "We'll tell your dad where it is just to be sure. He's worried about you and has already talked to us."
Thomas beamed a very happy smile and walked beside the wheelchair as Julie led them both through the maze of the store nodding to the new girl coming out to replace her on the sales floor.
Thomas was amazed with the metal chair the nice woman sat in and used to move around everywhere. He had never seen anything like it. And Santa listened to her. She made Santa go away.
"Tommy," Christopher came running into the security office. He knelt, scooped up his son and held him shaking.
"Chris? Chris Lewis...and Thomas Lewis...your son?" Julie stared at the two hugging with an open mouth.
Christopher turned his head from his son's shoulder to look at the familiar face of the girl in the wheel chair.