Page 3 of Santa Daddy’s Accidental Little Helper

CHAPTER THREE

Elaine

By the time I got off work that night, I was so exhausted that I almost considered blowing off Jessica and just going to bed as soon as I got home. Part of me wanted to change my mind and see if Henry's offer still stood, but I knew it wasn't fair to Jessica. I had promised to help her, and the least I could do was go home and help her with her chores.

As soon as I walked in the door, I saw Jessica slaving over the stovetop, stirring feverishly at a boiling pot of what looked like pasta. Confused, I closed the front door behind me and hung my coat on the coat rack before removing my boots in order to avoid tracking snow into the apartment we now shared. Once ready, I made my way over to the kitchen.

"Hey there," she said without even looking in my direction as she stirred the pot. "How was your first day at work?" Even though she was younger than me by two years, she sounded much more mature than was normal, and I couldn't help but smile as I spoke.

"It was interesting," I informed her. "Some little boy yanked off Santa's beard in the first hour of my shift." She threw her head back and laughed musically as soon as she heard it.

"That's not surprising," she commented as she turned to face me. "Was Henry the one in the suit?" Confused by her question, I shrugged.

"I think so," I told her. "I didn't really get his name." Taking a deep breath, she shook her head at me.

"Even that's not surprising," she said as she put her hands on her hips. "If your head wasn't attached to your shoulders, you would forget it every second of the day." When she saw the look of confusion on my face, she continued. "Henry is the only one who works as Santa at the mall. He's been Santa for at least the last ten years, and the mall never hires anyone else. The children love him too much." Remembering how kind he had been when he offered to buy me a snack after being unmasked, I couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"I can imagine why," I told her, not wanting to give myself away. "He seems like he knows what he was doing." Seeing the look on my face, she smiled at me.

"Did something else happen today?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious despite the knowing look on her face.

At first, I wanted to deny everything, especially after seeing the way she was looking at me, but, knowing my sister, she wouldn't let it go. I decided that it was better not to argue. Instead, I shrugged as I stared at her.

"He asked me out," I finally admitted to her after a moment. Immediately, her eyes lit up as she stared back at me in shock and disbelief.

"Really?" she asked, and I nodded in response. "What did you say?" Scoffing, I shook my head at her.

"What do you think?" I asked. "I told him I was going to have to take a rain check. I didn't know what else to do, especially after remembering that you needed my help tonight. I guess I panicked a little." She rolled her eyes at me as she turned her attention back to the pot on the stove, which was about to boil over.

"You're hopeless," she commented as she set to work stirring the pot. "This could have been your chance to find somebody you actually enjoy being with, and you blew it." Raising an eyebrow at her, I crossed my arms across my chest.

"First of all," I began as I stared her down, "I promised you that I was going to help you with some housework tonight when I got off work." Immediately, she shook her head at me.

"I could have done it all by myself," she responded, sounding annoyed as she spoke. "Either that, or I could have waited. All you had to do was tell me that you got asked out, and I would have told you to go for it. So, that part was on you." Rolling my eyes, I continued.

"A promise is a promise," I reminded her. "Besides I didn't know that. All I knew was that I had made a promise to you, and I intended to keep it. So, don't play dumb with me." When she didn't respond, I continued. "Also, I don't know how I feel about him, anyways." Turning to face me, she looked confused.

"What's not to like?" she asked, sounding confused as she spoke. "He's a great guy, and he's not that bad looking, either. I don't understand what your problem is." Taking a deep breath, I shook my head at her.

"I don't even know him," I informed her. "Therefore, I don't know what he's like." Seeming to grow annoyed at me, she turned to face me.

"That's what dating is for," she reminded me, her voice stern as though she was rebuking a child. "You take the chance to get to know somebody. After that, whatever happens is entirely up to you, but at least you get the chance to get to know them. How hard is this for you to understand?" Taking a deep breath in order to remain calm despite her words, I sighed.

"It was just a rain check," I argued, getting annoyed at the way she was treating me. "I never officially said no, even though I didn't go out with him tonight." Rolling her eyes, she shook her head as she went back to work.

"Whatever you say," she decided as she turned her attention away from me. "However, don't go crying to me when he's no longer interested in you just because you blew him off tonight. I know plenty of girls around the city who have had their eye on him for a while, and it's only a matter of time before he decides to go with somebody who's already interested in him." Growing more annoyed by the way she was acting, I rolled my eyes and shook my head at her.

"Whatever you say," I retorted back, using her words against her. With that, I started towards the hallway. "Call me whenever dinner's ready. I've got stuff I need to do, anyway." Having said my part, I went over to my room and shut the door, making sure to slam it just enough so that she knew I was angry with her.

Once alone in my room, I was finally able to sit down and take a moment to think about everything clearly. Jessica wasn't going to be any help, so I was on my own at this point. As far as figuring out what I wanted to do about Henry, he seemed like a great guy like Jessica said, and I did find him handsome, but I didn't know him that well. The only reason why I had turned him down tonight was because of my promise to Jessica.

Now that I knew what her stands was about dating him, I decided that anymore promises I was going to try to make to her weren't worth making and that I was going to take the chance to get to know him rather than spend time with her, especially after her know it all attitude tonight. Resolving to ask him the following day at our shift, I laid on my bed and turned on the TV, waiting patiently for dinner to be ready. Once I had eaten, I showered and went straight to bed, fantasies of Henry helping me drift off to sleep.