The Holidays
"We are running late." I yelled up the stairway.
"Coming." Lisa yelled back, not near as loud as my yell.
She looked stunning when she carefully guided her high heels down to the landing where I was waiting. I I gave her my arm for support to the foyer.
"You are absolutely gorgeous."
"Oh, you like my dress?"
"Absolutely!" Not mentioning the cute wobble of her breasts. Lisa is one of the few women I know who can go without a bra in a slinky dress without being insecure. I guess because she chooses her outfits carefully. I have admired that about her since we first started going out.
Outside, she walked ahead of me to the car, with just a slight hesitation, she gave me the moment I needed to get the door for her.
We arrived at the civic center, home to one of Lisa's charity events. One of several, she is constantly roped into all sorts of volunteer events. I always tag along for moral support, plus I enjoy any time out with her.
It's always fun to get dressed up and go out, even if she is one of the event planners. This night should be easy, she has arranged an event for kids to meet Santa. There is a palpable buzz of excitement in the air when we leave the car with the valet. The line has already formed with excited youngsters.
"Wow, Valet parking, y'all have gone all out this year."
"Yeah, we are trying to accommodate the wealthier citizens this year. Our plan is to up the ante for donations. Our invitation list has all the uppity-ups this year."
"Interesting." I replied. Thinking it should be interesting to watch how the wealthy mix with the not-so-fortunate.
We are just finishing our second glass of champagne when Stephanie Rogers rushes up with a worried look. Stephanie is Lisa's partner in most of these charity things. She always seems to be hyper compared to Lisa's calm confidence.
"Santa's helper hasn't shown!" Stephanie said in a loud whisper.
Lisa told her to just get one of the other volunteers to fill in.
"Lisa, it's just you and me tonight, the others are at the gala downtown. I'm handling the nursery, on my own. You are going to have to fill in.
"Ok, what can I do?"
"We need you to be Santa's helper, an elf actually." Stephanie's tone sounded like she expected an argument. "The elf, helper, greets the kids and keeps everything in order for Santa."
"I can do that, but not in these heels. I have some flats in the car. Chuck can go get them while you fill me in."
Stephanie grinned. "Oh, you don't need that, there's an elf costume, complete with cute green slippers. You are going to look adorable!"
Lisa gave her friend a look, but said "Lead the way to the elf headquarters."
Here we go, I thought. I'm about to be left dealing with all these strangers.
Lisa looked over her shoulder at me, "Hon, I'm going to be busy for a little while, you can manage by yourself for half hour or so can't you?
I told her I would be fine as the two of them rushed off behind some curtains.
Fifteen or twenty minutes later, I moved closer to where the line of children and their parents were lined up to see Santa. Lisa indeed looked adorable. This must be an expensive Santa act, the Santa himself looks just like he stepped out of a story book, and Lisa has a green outfit, complete with little pointy ears and a sparkly hat that partially covers her face. The top is satin with intricate designs of tiny beads and sparkling rhinestones along the scoop neck. The skirt is velvet, short, but full. It swings with her movement. The outfit must have been for a larger elf, I can see where they pinned both pieces at her waist. She is adorable.
I can sense excitement from her as she brings each child to sit on Santa's lap. The adults are watching intently from behind the rope setup.
Lisa has control, as usual; she patiently leans in to speaks to each child, then escorts each him or her to meet the parents at the top of the steps on the other side. This takes extra time, but the anticipation builds in the next kid waiting for their turn. Her cheerful smile and smooth movement sets the tone for an organized yet very exciting time.
The visit with Santa is apparently running longer than planned. I find myself a table to sit where I can watch the festivities and wait for Lisa. One of the servers comes by and I take two glasses, one for both of us. I add an extra tip and ask if she can make sure the Els has a glass too. She smiles and promises to make sure the new Elf will have plenty.
The line below my table seems to be growing, I think the girls underestimated their ability to pull off a popular function. Watching,,I can see Lisa is in her element, serving and helping people. I say to myself again, She is adorable. The green outfit is a perfect color for her reddish hair and fair complexion. I love the way the skirt swirls around when she turns. From where I was before, the lighting was more from behind, now, seeing the full illumination from this side, she looks even better. Although, the green tights are truly sheer, not opaque as it looked from below and to the side of the small Santa's stage. The sheer tights really show off her toned thighs.
It is another hour before the line dwindles to the last little boy. I wonder if he is a special kid, there are quite a few people that have moved closer to the side of Santa's stage, all have their cameras and phones out snapping away. They continue as Lisa escorts her last charge off the stage and spends a few minutes speaks with his folks. That's just her way, making sure everyone has a great visit.
Once the last child has gone, Santa motions for Lisa to join him. He invites her closer so he can whisper something. She shake her head and laughs, but he pulls her on to his lap and speaks softly. I can imagine he is asked what her Christmas wish is. They speak in whispers, with Lisa giggling. Then he points to a shelf above his grand chair, with another comment that makes her laugh. She tries to reach for what ever it is he is requesting. The shelf is too high, he extends a foot and slides a stool closer. The shelf above has a door covering it and she needs to raise the door to look inside. While she is doing her best to accommodate the old gentleman, Santa grips her waist to hold her steady. From where I'm sitting, it appears to me that the super Santa is enjoying have his hands on Lisa. My suspicious mind wonders if this is a ploy, but Lisa doesn't seem to notice and finally steps out of his reach and hands him an antique, gilded box.
Lisa is all smiles when he hands her a necklace. She fastens it on and turns for his approval. He smiles and takes her hand, turning it to kiss her wrist. Strange, I think. I'm looking forward to hearing what that was all about.
When she walks off the set, I stand and wave for her attention. It takes a loud whistle to finally get her to look my way. Once she spots me, she rushes in my direction. She goes straight into my arms and says, "That was the most fun I've had in ages!" I notice a slight difference in her voice and ask if she got the glass of champagne I sent.
"Oh, Yes!, that one and all the others too!" she said. "You must have given a large tip, every time I took a sip, the glass was full. I think I'm a little tipsy!
"Good for you! It doesn't show at all and I think you had a good time!"
"Most definitely, the best time I've had in ages, Thank You for helping me do this."
"I had a great evening watching you with those children, you really went all out!"
She had remained standing, after the big hug, while I had sat back in my seat watching her obvious pleasure. She was almost bouncing with delight. She did several twirls,,asking if I liked the elf outfit. I stuttered a bit, watching how the velvet skirt leveled out with each turn. My eyes got stuck on her shapely thighs covered in very sheer green nylon. She turned back to the table and reached across for my glass. That's when I noticed that even though they had pinned the waist, the top opened up to present her perfect breasts, nipples and even below to where the pinning held it at her waist. "Oh my." I thought to myself. I need to get her out of this outfit before she figures out how revealing this is and has been all evening.
"Hey, where are your clothes, do you want to change and head home?"
"Oh, don't worry, Stephanie has them , except for the dress, I gave it to a mother who showed up with raggedy jeans and a sweatshirt. It seemed like the right thing to do."
Before I could comment, Stephanie walked up with Lisa's heels. "Santa wants the slippers and elf hat back, but he said enjoy the rest of the outfit." "Can you believe that?"
Lisa took off the slippers and slid her heels on. Standing, she said, " Don't worry, you never know when we will need an elf outfit, I kind of like it." She said with another twirl.
Stephanie gave her a funny look, I think she caught on that Lisa had been into the champagne and was feeling it. She asked, "Do you feel like signing a few more cards for a few of the kids and parents that got left out?"
"Sure, just lead the way!" Lisa said with a happy grin.
"This way." She took off with Lisa and I in tow. We stepped through another dark green curtain where there was a small table set up with cards and pens, and a small group of children with their parent, of adults anyway.
