CHAPTER 9
As he leaves, I realise I’m shaking. My knees are knocking together and trembling. God, who was that guy and how on earth did he know all that stuff? How did he know my name? How did he know that Mum and Dad got divorced? And did he... smell me standing there? I give my armpits a quick sneaky sniff, and nope, they’re fine. I don’t smell at all. He’s really creeped me out. He’s going to be working here? No way. I have to do something about that, and fast. I spin around and stride back into the mall itself, careful to avoid the corridor where he is setting up. I pass the nice Santa’s grotto on my way back to Dad’s office. His men are still setting things up there but it already looks awesome. I don’t see any sign of Santa himself though, so I keep walking. I wonder if he knows that there are two Santas this year. I can’t believe the mall would do this. I can’t believe that Dad would let them, let alone ignore the fact that Santa2 is a complete jerk.
“Dad,” I burst into the office. “Did you know there are two Santas this year?”
“Oh yeah, Kaity Kait,” Dad says dismissively. “They hired the main one first, then this other one came along, offered to pay good money for a spot so they hired him too.”
“But... but...” I try to protest. “Don’t they care that the children will be confused?”
“Kaity, no one really believes in Santa anymore,” he says. “Even from a really young age, kids are aware that the parents are buying the presents and that Santa, although a cool concept to believe in, is nothing more than a bit of fun.”
“Pippa still believes in him,” I say.
“Well, even Pippa is nearly old enough to know better. It won’t be long before she knows what we all know, but I agree that it’s nice while it lasts.” Dad looks straight at me and he must notice the look on my face because he says, “Don’t worry so much, Kaity. The Santas aren’t even that close together so the children probably won’t even notice. And the second Santa is tucked away in the back hall. Why he wanted that spot I don’t know. He probably won’t get many customers, but from what I hear, he was quite keen to spend the season here, and he actually paid good money to buy a spot to put his grotto. Usually we pay Santa to come here. Except this year. Funnily enough, this year’s Santa is voluntary. It’s quite strange really. One pays us, and the other one doesn’t want any money. Must be the Christmas spirit going to their heads.”
I sigh.
“You met Santa though, I see? I saw you talking to him on the CCTV. Nice fellow this year, eh?”
“Yeah,” I say distractedly. “I met the other one too, did you see that?”
“Hmm, no,” he says. “Must be out of camera range. Oh well.”
“Can’t you do something?” I say.
“Well I could adjust I suppose, but—”
“Not about the camera range, Dad. About the second Santa.”
“Well, what do you want me to do about him, Kaity? It’s nothing to do with me. The mall hired him, end of story. I doubt he’ll get a very good trade and I have no idea why he wants to spend Christmas playing Santa in a back hall but apparently he does and he was willing to pay for it, so there you go.”
“But he’s not very nice,” I say.
Dad spins in his chair. “Why not, honey? Did he say something to you?”
“Well, I...” I have no idea how to voice all the things he did say, and I really don’t want Dad to know that I still cry myself to sleep at night.
“He just wasn’t very nice,” I say eventually. “He was revving his motorbike in the car park—”
“Oh yeah, I saw that. Well, that wasn’t really him. It was someone delivering something to him. I mean, I’ll have a word, make sure he tells them not to do it again if they’re going to come back, but chances are it was just a one-off courier delivery and it really had nothing to do with him. Is that all it takes for you to dislike him? A bad delivery driver?”
“No,” I say. “He just wasn’t very nice. He was acting weird. He said some really weird things and he knew my name.”
Dad laughs as if it’s a joke.
“Dad, this is serious.”
“Well, he’s probably been talking to some of the guys, they probably told him to look out for the curious little girl in her dad’s security hat.”
“Would everyone stop calling me a little girl,” I almost scream. “I’m not little anymore.”
“Okay, okay,” Dad holds his hands up mockingly. “Okay, Kait, what other ‘weird’ things did he say?”
I shrug and bump one toe against the other.
“Well, he said he sees me when I’m sleeping and he knows when I’m awake. Quite frankly, he struck me as a bit stalkerish.”
Dad stares at me in horror, and I think that finally we’re getting somewhere. Finally Dad will realise what I’m trying to tell him and sack this Santa2 bloke sharpish.
Then Dad bursts out laughing so hard that he doubles over in his chair. “Oh Kaity, you crack me up so much,” he giggles. Yes, that’s right. My dad is actually giggling. At me.
“Honey, I know we haven’t sung it since last year, but don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the Santa Claus Is Coming To Town lyrics already? He’s just quoting a song, Kaity. He was probably trying to be nice. Don’t worry about it so much, you’re overreacting.”
Arrrgh. Don’t you just hate that when an adult tells you what you’re doing even though you’re not? And they always make it something to make you feel immature and like they know better, like saying you’re overreacting, even though you’re clearly not.
“Dad, please will you go and talk to him? See if you can persuade him to leave?”
“Kaity, what has gotten into you today? It’s not up to me to keep or fire the man. I had nothing to do with hiring him, and as far as I can tell, all he’s done to upset you is sing a Christmas song.”
“He didn’t sing it, he said it,” I protest.
Dad sighs. “Look, Kaity, like it or not, kids are growing up faster these days and they’re old enough to know that the Santa they visit in the mall is a man in a dressing up costume. We could have six Santas and it doesn’t change anything. Santa is just an idea these days, not a belief. Kids want these fandangled new things like iPhones and MP3 players, and they know very well that it’s not a bunch of elves in the North Pole making them.”
“You know earlier when you said something about giving Santa the keys? Does that mean the second Santa will have keys too?”
“Yeah,” Dad says. “Whether you like it or not, the Santas are regular mall employees during December and they have to be able to let themselves in.”
“I don’t think you should give the second Santa a set of keys, Dad,” I say. “He doesn’t seem trustworthy to me.”
Dad rolls his eyes again. “Kait, look, there’s a night security guard on most of the night. He’s not gonna break in and rob the place blind, okay? And he works with children. Keith wouldn’t have hired him unless he’d passed all the security and police checks, you know that. Now, if for whatever reason you don’t like him then just stay away from him. He’s not going to do any harm, and even if he is thinking about it, then there are plenty of my men here to stop him. So just stay out of his way and leave him to do whatever he wants to do. We’ll keep an eye on him and make sure he’s not doing anything wrong, okay?”
I shrug.
“Well, I saw you meet the main Santa, did you like him enough? Did he meet with your approval?”
“Yes, but he’s normal,” I say. “He looks like a real Santa. The new one is all scrawny and skinny and way too young.”
Dad laughs. “It’s just for a month, Kait. Don’t worry about it. It’s time to go anyway, I hope your mum’s home by now otherwise you’ll have to come back to mine for a bit.”