Santa’s Pick
On Christmas morning, Pedro got up as soon as he woke up, and he ran downstairs to the living room. Under the tree were two heaps of gifts: one big and one small. Like every year, the small heap was for Dad and the big one was for him.
Pedro sighed. He and Dad had written up a wishlist of gifts just the week before Christmas and sent it to Santa by email.
“Email is faster than conventional mail,” said Dad.
“Do you think he’ll get it in time?” said Pedro.
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll have time to get his pick this year,” said Dad.
“Can’t we ask him to date you anyway?” asked Pedro.
“Pedro! I’ve told you before, you can’t ask things like that,” said Dad, raising his eyes and hands skywards. “Dating is a personal thing. It has to come naturally.”
So now Pedro had a heap of presents, but he was sure the one gift he most wanted was not in it: a Mr. Right for him and his father.
He heard Dad come down the stairs. Dad had showered and put on his best clothes. That was a surprise! What was going on?
“Good morning, Little Bear,” said Dad. “And Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Dad,” said Pedro. “Why did you dress up?”
“What?” said Dad. He looked down at his clothes. “Well… we have company for breakfast. I think you should go up and dress, too. He should be knocking at the door any minute now.”
“Company?” said Pedro. “What company?”
“Uh… well… ah…,” said Dad. “Mm… I invited Nicky over.”
“Nicky?” said Pedro.
“Nicky,” said Dad.
“The fake Santa,” said Pedro.
“The fake Santa himself,” said Dad.
“I thought he had a boyfriend,” said Pedro.
“Turns out I was mistaken,” said Dad. “He’s as single as I am.”
“Well, I better go up and get dressed then,” said Pedro, trying to keep a straight face.
But by the time he reached the stairs, he was grinning madly.
After all, a fake Santa was better than none. Especially a fake Santa who matched Mr. Right’s robot portrait so perfectly.