CHAPTER 20
“You’re really fond of that Santa, huh?” Dad asks me as we get in the car.
“I like him,” I say. “Blizzard too. She’s really nice.”
“Kaity, I want to talk to you about that actually,” Dad says. “Look, I… You’re not going to like what I’ve got to say but I think you should hear it. I’m not sure you should be spending so much time with that Santa. I mean, he’s nice and all, but he’s a little weird. Did you know he’s got a sleigh parked on the roof?”
“Well, he’s just getting into the role,” I say.
“Yes, but that’s the strange part. I can understand putting a sleigh on the roof for everyone to see, if the Santa we hire happens to have one handy then sure, why not put it on the roof so all the children know that Santa is there? Now here’s the weird part. His sleigh on the roof is out of sight. No one can see it.”
“Maybe he just hasn’t got around to putting it up properly yet?” I interrupt Dad.
“Nope. I asked him, and he just said that he was keeping it out of sight in case it got stolen. So what’s the point? What’s the point in having a sleigh on the roof if no one can see it?”
I shrug.
“He’s just a bit weird. Don says he doesn’t know how he gets to work in the mornings. He doesn’t seem to have a car or a van, but every morning he and his daughter let themselves in the back entrance, completely in costume even at seven o’clock in the morning.”
“Maybe they walk in,” I suggest.
“I don’t know. Don says they’re always carrying their equipment, and they bring that great big plastic reindeer in every day instead of just leaving it here overnight. Don thinks there’s no way they could’ve walked very far with it. We were curious so we rewound the overnight tapes, and I swear Kaity, there’s no sign of them walking across the parking lot. One moment it’s empty and the next moment, both of them are there at the door with this pile of Christmas stuff, but there’s no sign of where they came from. It gave me the creeps to be honest with you. Don and I had a little joke that maybe he was flying in on the sleigh every morning and climbing down off the roof.” Dad laughs like it’s the funniest thing in the world.
“I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, Dad,” I say. “I think he’s just a harmless old man who loves this time of year and is getting into the spirit of things. Don’t be so uptight.”
Dad laughs again. “Now you sound just like your mother. Seriously, Kaity, I know you like them both and I know I can’t stop you spending time with them, I’m just telling you to be careful. There’s something a bit odd going on there. And another thing, he is very old to be her father. The man is at least twenty years older than I am and yet he has a daughter the same age as you. It’s very strange.”
“But not impossible, right?”
Dad shrugs.
“Blizzard is older than me anyway,” I say.
“Look, I’ll be careful,” I add when Dad doesn’t respond.
The truth is that I don’t even know what I think about Blizzard and her whole crazy story myself yet, let alone what my dad thinks. I like her though. I can’t help it. There’s something about her that just makes her instantly likeable. Her father too, you can’t help but warm to him. And okay, the whole ‘I’m the real Santa’ thing is a little dodgy, and honestly the fact I’m even considering that it might be true is like walking insanity, but it’s undeniable that there’s something special about him, and Blizzard too. Something in the air feels different, almost magical, when they’re around, and I thought that before I heard what Blizzard told me today. Am I crazy for even considering it might all be true? Maybe. But Blizzard made it all sound so logical, the way she explained it, with the time zones and the paparazzi. And all these stories have to originate somewhere. Who’s to say that Santa isn’t really just a man who wanted to do his very unusual job in private?
That night I pluck up the courage to ask Mum if Seth will be coming to the Light Up fest with us. Dad will already be there as he’s working anyway, but he won’t be with us because, well, Mum would probably stab him with a reindeer antler. And he gets paid extra to work through it in case anybody tries to steal something while everyone is distracted.
“Of course not, honey,” Mum says. “Seth is working that night.”
I keep my sigh of relief to myself.
“Kaity wait,” Mum says as I go to walk out of the room.
I turn back.
“Honey, I know he’s not your father but you should really give Seth a chance. He’s really very nice when you get to know him.”
“I was under the impression that if you had to get to know someone to prove they are nice then they’re doing something wrong.”
“There’s no need to be like this, Kaity. You’re making all of this much harder than it has to be. Your father and I are over, Kait. We’re not going to get back together, and the sooner you accept that then the easier it will be. Sooner or later your dad will start dating someone else too and you’ll have to cope with that as well. I have no idea how you’re going to manage if you can’t even deal with me dating Seth.”
“Yeah, well maybe Dad will date someone who’s not a complete jerk,” I counter.
“You don’t know him well enough to judge him like that,” Mum says sternly.
“Neither do you,” I fire back.
“Kaity, I’ve had just about enough of all the cheek from you lately. I understand that this year has been hard on you but you have to stop taking it out on me. Your dad isn’t an innocent little angel that big bad Mummy threw out. It was a mutual separation. We both agreed that it was for the best and your dad was the one who volunteered to move out. You have to learn to accept that.”
“But you brought him here,” I say. “You don’t even know him. You met him on the internet for god’s sake. He’s so secretive and sneaky. He’s just a jerk and you can’t even see what’s in front of your face.”
“Seth is not a jerk, Kaity, and you shouldn’t use words like that, it’s not nice. You know, of all people, I thought that you would be the one mature enough to give him a chance.”
Great. Thanks Mum. Always go back to maturity when you know it’s a constant battle of mine to get you to treat me like an adult. I hate that. If the grown ups are losing an argument, they always go back to your age like it somehow makes you less of a person than them.
“At least I wouldn’t put my children in danger by inviting in a mad man,” I snap.
“You can’t judge someone like that when you’ve barely spent any time with them,” Mum says. “Seth is a very nice, very decent guy, and he’d love nothing more than to get to know you, and—”
“I don’t want to get to know him,” I yell. “I want him gone. He’s horrible.”
“He’s not horrible, Kaity. You just don’t like him because he’s not your father.”
“I don’t like him because he’s a creepy jerk.”
“Kait, you’ve got to give him a chance,” Mum sighs.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Yes, you have. Because I love you, Kaity, and I think I might love him too. You and your sister are the most important things in my life, and Seth is very important to me too. I don’t know how I’ll cope if you can’t get along.”
“You can’t love him.”
“Why not?”
“You just can’t,” I mutter, and I turn and walk away before I start to cry in front of her.
She can’t love him because she has to still love Dad.
She has to.