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Xavier crosses his arms over his chest and narrows his eyes. "And Miss Cherry explained to you why my reindeer can't be here, didn't she?"
"Yes," the kids chorus.
Xavier raises his brows. "So you were being selfish, spoiled little—"
I put a hand on his arm and say in a low voice, "Tone it down, Santa."
He clears his throat. "Let me ask you then, were you being naughty or nice?"
"Naughty," the children chorus.
A couple of kids start to wail.
This event is quickly spiraling into disastrous territory.
I poke Xavier in the side, but mostly hit padding.
Xavier's expression softens. "It's okay. No need to cry. When you're naughty, you can always make it right by apologizing and trying to do better from now on."
"What do you say, children?" The teacher manages to look serious and confident even as she hugs a crying child close.
"We're sorry, Miss Cherry," the children chorus.
"Now." Xavier runs a hand through his fake beard. "Apologize to these reindeer. You've probably hurt their feelings."
"We're sorry, Frankenberg," the kids say. At least that's what it sounds like. They seem to be trying to call the reindeer by the right names, and I don't blame them for not getting it. It's like Josephine purposefully picked the toughest names to pronounce.
Xavier and I get cups of pellets filled for the kids and Josephine tells them all about reindeer while the kids try to lure the reindeer to the fence to feed and pet them.
Josephine is clearly passionate about reindeer and her lecture is definitely on a six-year-old's level, but the kids are distracted by the animals themselves, and probably not learning much unless they're taking it in by osmosis.
"How'd you get stuck with this job?" I ask Xavier as we watch.
"Edgar Brassfield usually pitches in as Santa when the official Santas are busy, but he came down with the flu. Landon is the back-up Santa and since he's out, I got stuck doing it. I told everyone I'm the worst person for this job, but no one listened."
"I think you did great." I bump my shoulder against his.
When the kids finish feeding the reindeer, Xavier speaks with each of them, answering their questions and getting their wish lists for Christmas.
I don't know why he thought he'd be the worst person for the job, because he's great with the kids. They seem to appreciate his honesty and they laugh at all his jokes.
After Xavier and the kids have left, Josephine walks over to stand next to me. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. Just bruised my pride. Those kids were scary."
She chuckles. "Kids get fierce about their magic, especially around Christmas."
"So why don't we just tell the kids these are Santa's reindeer?"
She shrugs. "I tried that in the beginning, but the kids just wanted to see the reindeer fly or they wanted to know why Rudolph doesn't have a red nose." She pats the head of the nearest reindeer. "The expectations for the reindeer are set too high and there's no way I can meet them."
I hadn't thought about that. "I wonder if the kids walk away believing a bit less in Christmas."
She looks at me, her expression thoughtful. "Maybe they also walk away with a greater appreciation of reality. Reindeer are amazing animals in their own right. We don't need to believe in mythical flying abilities when the real thing is so cool."
I tilt my head back, looking up at the bright blue skies above. I can't help but think she's onto something. "What happens when the Christmas season ends?"
"We can stretch Christmas until the snow melts, but after that, business drops to almost nothing." She stretches her arms over her head. "It's lucky I've got enough in savings that I haven't had to worry about making too much. This is my retirement career."
