The Heartbreak Factor - Part Four

Chapter Ninety-Three.

“Have you been a good girl, Katy?” Santa smiled. 

Katy, who was grabbing hold of his beard, smiled back at Santa, nodding constantly. 

“Are you sure?” Santa asked, turning to me. “Has Katy been a good girl this year, mummy?”

I looked at Katy, who was looking back at me with puppy eyes. A face I could hardly resist. “Of course she has,” I grinned. 

“Very good. Well, we’ll just have to see what myself and Rudolf bring you on Christmas Eve, won’t we?” 

Katy grinned like mad. 

“What about you, mummy? What would you like for Christmas?” 

I looked at Santa and then froze. I hadn’t even thought about what I wanted for Christmas. Maybe not a dysfunctional marriage that was breaking apart at every bad point in our lives? Or maybe even just no bad points so we wouldn’t have to break down? I shrugged my shoulders. “I just want Katy to be happy.”

“You’ve got a very lovely mummy. Don’t you?” Santa smiled to Katy. “You’re very lucky.”

Katy beamed at me before grabbing hold of Santa’s beard again. 

“Now I want you to be a very good girl for your mummy and if you are extremely good, I’ll bring you some lovely toys at Christmas. How does that sound? Do you think you’ll be able to do that for me, Katy?”

Katy nodded ferociously. 

“Good girl. Here’s a little present to say thank-you for coming to see me as it’s been lovely,” Santa smiled, giving Katy a little box that was neatly wrapped in reindeer wrapping paper. “And merry Christmas to both you and your mummy.”

Katy nodded, hanging over every word that Santa spoke. They both quickly posed for a photo before Katy clambered down off his lap and ran towards me, holding onto the present with dear life. 

“Shall we go get some lunch now?” I smiled, completely forgetting the real reason we came shopping anyway. 

*

Sitting in the restaurant, I looked across at Katy as she sat in her high chair, looking down at the present that Santa had given her just half an hour before. I told her she had to wait until we had had dinner before she could open it but her eyes were so hard to resist as she quickly glanced at me before glancing back down at the present. 

“Fine,” I groaned, handing the present to her. 

I sat back and watched her face light up as she opened up the present to find a tiny bear wrapped up in a winter coat in a presentation box beneath the wrapping paper. 

“Mummy!” she beamed. 

“Isn’t that cute?” I smiled, collecting all the bits of ripped paper that she had chucked around her. 

Just as Katy shoved the box in my face so I could open it for her, my phone began to ring. Answering the phone, I put it on my shoulder and caught it with the grip of my ear as I attempted to multi-task. 

“Hello.”

“Sammy, are you coming today? I’ve brought the presents for Katy as me and Elle are going on holiday tonight until January 3rd so we won’t get to see her.”

“Coming today?” I asked in confusion. “To what?”

“The Christmas performance at Westfields,” JJ replied. 

I had completely forgotten. With everything that had gone on in the past week or so, I had hardly had time to remember what day of the week it was, let alone about the boys’ performance they were doing for the Countdown to Christmas event at Westfields.