Standing in for Santa

 

Standing in for Santa

Samantha headed for the checkout line. This was going to be great - her Secret Santa recipient was going to totally love these gifts! She had found an awesome eyeshadow palette with sparkly colors in every shade of the rainbow, some really pretty earrings that had crystals dripping down like raindrops, and fuzzy socks with aloe soaked right into them. Sam almost wished she was buying for herself, because these were right up her own alley!

A splash of blue on an end-cap display caught her attention and she paused. Oh, these were nice - advent calendars with little chocolates in the windows, one to open for every day until Christmas. 

“But, the Secret Santa program doesn’t start until Dec. 6. If you give it to her the first day, she’ll have to eat six pieces of chocolate in one day.” 

The little voice in her head sounded suspiciously like Carol, the rail-thin teacher in room one. She had probably never eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one sitting like Sam had. Six pieces of chocolate in one day was no problem, but Sam wouldn’t tell her that.

The rules said the program didn’t start until the sixth, but who was it going to hurt if Sam gave the calendar early? She counted up the presents in her arms. She was supposed to give four small presents, one each day of the week, and end with a fifth present at the party when everyone revealed who they had been Santa to. If she started with the calendar, gave it a week early, but somehow let it be known that the rest of the presents would follow the rules…

Which present would she give at the final reveal, then? The earrings? The image of her recipient flashed in front of her, her smile wide and a macaroni necklace around her neck, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. The t-shirt she wore had a silly giraffe on it. The toddlers in her class loved her. 

Shoot, these earrings wouldn’t do. Really, neither would the palette of eyeshadows. Samantha chewed on her lip, thinking. She wished she knew this teacher a little better. It was easier to pick out presents for people she knew well. Hang on….Sam felt an idea simmering. 

She returned the other items she had picked up and then grabbed three calendars. She would deliver one calendar a week early, with a note to explain the next gift would come on Tuesday when everyone else was getting their second gifts. The other two calendars would go on the mantle in the living room, where she would be able to watch Shannon and Meghan, her two foster children, enjoy the countdown, too. Now, to get the rest of the presents. 

A smile spread across Samantha’s face. She sort of wished she really was Santa Claus, surprising people with gifts was so much fun!  

I hope you all remember to take a breath and enjoy the preparations for your holiday celebrations!

Where in the world...?

 Wow, it's been a hot minute (or ten) since I've paid any mind to this blog! I'm all done with the claims that I'll be a better blogger, I'll be more disciplined, I'll post regularly...I won't. (If you would like to hear from me regularly, I invite you warmly to sign up at piperdow.com for my newsletter, which I typically send out twice a month.) But I will still post periodically when I've got something fun to share, like today. The Christian Indie Writers' Podcast ladies have posted a challenge to use the following sentence as a sprinting prompt. Where in the world is Jenifer Carll-Tong? Here it is, 15  17 minutes of un-edited fun. Enjoy!

(Cat was going to be in the story but I didn't get to his part, lol!)

Jamie pushed the hangers further along the garment rack listlessly, passing a casual eye over the dresses while trying to keep her ear attuned to the voices murmuring around her. She paused as her hand fell on a cream colored frock with tiny pink flowers, but no, that neckline would never do. How was it even still staying on the hanger? She slid the hanger and fingered the aqua gown behind it, but Jenifer's character would never have a reason to wear a dress this fine, so she passed that along, too. 

Fretfully, she stepped back and sent a searching glance through the crowd. Where in the world was Jenifer Carll-Tong, anyway? Jamie was sure she had sent the text about the playhouse opening its doors for the last time as soon as she saw the notice stuck to the bulletin board next to the door at the convenience store when she stopped in to pick up that bottle of pop yesterday. 

This was just up Jenifer's alley, so to speak, and Jamie knew Jenifer would be kicking herself if she missed out on the opportunity to grab some of these costumes. Heck, some of these would make great images for covers for Jamie's stories, not just Jenifer's. In fact... Jamie returned to the garment rack with determination. She could think of a perfect story to go with that aqua gown. She grabbed it up, then added the cream frock just for giggles and grins. She could probably get Rhonda to sew some lace or something in that neckline to make it more appropriate.

"Hey, Jamie! I've been looking all over for you! I thought, when you texted me yesterday about the costumes being for sale, that I might be able to find something from that play they did last year about the guy who froze to death in Alaska, but someone must have already gotten all those props. They would have looked great as props on the table for images for my next book." Tina wandered over with her arms filled with velour fabric.

Jamie tried to hide her surprise. Had she texted Tina, instead of Jen? "What are you going to do with all that cloth, then?"

"Oh, I'm going to make curtains for my glamper," Tina's grin was enthusiastic.