It All Started On Christmas Morning

This is my entry into the Winter Holidays Story Contest 2022.

When I first started writing this story I wasn't sure where it would go, but, I fell in love with the characters. It's a bit long, at least longer than most stories I submit here.

Please read it, stick with it, and vote for it!

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It was four am on Christmas morning and Cassie Kingston was awake. There would be no happy Christmas morning with the kids for her, their faces smiling as they opened their presents, their laughter filling the air. No, she'd be missing all of that, her parents would get to enjoy the morning with Charlie and Andrea. Cassie was going to work.

She had gladly accepted the extra hours when her boss offered them. Double-time pay for working the holiday was a no-brainer. The store would be packed for the after-Christmas sale that kicked off Christmas morning. She thought the whole concept was a bit crazy, but she needed the money. Her ex-husband was late with the child support as usual. By her figuring, he was three months behind, but she found it hard to be mad at him. It wasn't like he was intentionally behind with payments, he was struggling himself. She put every free penny into making sure the kids were taken care of, even if it meant that she went to bed hungry, and her clothes were a bit worn. It didn't matter to her, the kids were her everything. So she picked up as many hours as she could. And she got up early Christmas morning so she could leave. She'd share Christmas with Charlie and Andrea, and her parents, that evening. At least she didn't have to deal with snow today.

As she made her way through the living room toward the kitchen she saw a small figure under the tree. It was Charlie. He had taken to sleeping under the tree the past few years, desperate to catch Santa Claus. She picked him up, wrapped her arms around him, and carried him back to bed. He barely stirred.

Charlie didn't tell his mom, but the reason he wanted to catch Santa was to tell him how great a mom she is, and that Santa needed to give her lots of stuff, and not give him so much. Charlie loved his mom, and he saw how she struggled. It broke his six-year-old heart. He knew that his sister didn't see it, she was just three and didn't understand how the world worked. But Charlie knew, and he saw, and he was convinced that Santa could fix everything. Santa could bring his mom new clothes, food for the pantry, and a new dishwasher to replace the broken one. Maybe, just maybe, Santa could even bring his mom a new husband. Someone to love her, and take care of Charlie and Andrea, someone who could help her make money to feed and clothe them, maybe even take them on something called a vacation, whatever that was. That would make Charlie happier than anything, and he wanted to tell Santa that he would give up all his presents for the rest of his life if Santa would just take care of his mom.

Cassie returned to the living room after putting Charlie back to bed and plugged in the tree. It was a bit bare, and a lot of the bulbs were burned out, but she loved it. She loved the whole concept of Christmas, giving for the sake of giving and expecting nothing in return. Yes, she thought, this Pagan/Christian mashup of a holiday was pretty good, even if she didn't believe in God. How could a loving God give her and her kids such a shitty life? She just couldn't reconcile her situation with a belief in a loving benefactor in the sky. Her mom always scolded her about it.

She shuffled off to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee then sat at the table and drank a cup. It was hot and strong, just the way she liked it. About halfway through her cup, there was a soft rapping on the back door, it was her mom and dad, and Santa?

"What the fuck, mom! Who is this?"

Her mom chuckled. "Don't tell me that you don't recognize Santa!"

Santa removed his white gloves and offered his hand to Cassie.

"Hello Cassie, my name is Blane, I'm a volunteer Santa. Your parents arranged for me to join them this morning."

Cassie ignored Santa and turned to her mom.

"Mom, you know that Charlie has been trying to catch Santa, just minutes ago I found him asleep under the tree again. What's going to happen when he sees this?" She curled her lip and nodded toward Santa.

"I think he'll be thrilled to finally catch Santa, dear."

Cassie rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration.

"Fine mom, I don't have time to argue with you, and Santa, if anything goes missing I will hunt you down and put a stiletto through your nut sack."

"Stop it, Cassie," her mom snapped, "you don't even have a pair of stilettos!"

Cassie growled and stomped out of the room. Blane Jackson, Santa, just stood there in shock, wondering who this fireball was that seemed to be pissed at the world, and why did she turn him on so much? He busied himself with helping carry in the presents and by the time that was done, Cassie was back, dressed for work, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail. She kissed her parents on the cheek and smiled at Santa.

"Sorry I was such a bitch, Santa, Merry Fucking Christmas."

With that, she was out the back door and gone. Blane fought back the urge to go after her, wrap his arms around her, and kiss her full on her lips. She had stirred his passion no longer than he'd been around her.

Cassie's parents wanted to let the kids sleep a little longer so she poured coffee for the three of them. Blane pulled his beard down and sipped his coffee while he hung out near the tree. Scattered around the room were photos of Cassie and the kids. The kids were always smiling, but Cassie always looked tired, even when she smiled. But he could see through the tiredness, and he thought she was beautiful.

It was time to wake the kids so Santa knelt next to the tree as if he was placing presents.

"SANTA!" screamed the kids as they nearly bowled him over. Blane loved this part of his job. Playing Santa with kids telling him what they wanted was fun but exhausting. Surprising kids on Christmas morning was his real joy.

Blane talked to the kids, watched them open their presents, and even played a game with them. Cassie's parents sat in the kitchen sipping coffee and watching their grandkids have one of their best Christmases ever. As Blane was getting ready to leave, Charlie tugged on his sleeve.

"Santa, can we talk?"

"Sure Charlie, what can Santa do for you?" Blane said as he sat on the sofa and pulled Charlie onto his lap.

"It's not for me, it's for my mom." Charlie spilled his soul to Santa. He told him what a great mom he had, and all he wanted was for Santa to take care of her. He even told Santa about his mom needing a new dishwasher . . . and a new husband.

"Santa, if you can help my mom then I promise to never ask for another Christmas present my whooole life."

Blane nearly lost control of his emotions. This little six-year-old boy had more of the spirit of Christmas in the tip of his pinkie than all the kids that Blane had ever met before put together.

"Well, Charlie, it's kinda late to do anything about your mom this year. All the presents have been made and delivered."

Charlie was crestfallen, and Blane knew he had to rescue this moment.

"But I'll tell you what Santa will do, I'll put your mom on the top of the nice list and I'll see what I can do next year, ok?"

"Ok, Santa," Charlie said, an air of disappointment in his voice.

As Blane left, he felt like shit. This was not how a volunteer Santa was supposed to feel. Something about this little family got under his skin, a beautiful, exhausted divorcee, a boy with a heart of gold, and the cutest little girl he'd ever seen.

— — —

The day after New Year's Day, Blane Jackson was back at work as the CEO of JacksonCorp, an international conglomerate created by his great-grandfather. The first thing he did was call in his head of security.

"Chris, I need a deep background on a woman by the name of Cassie Kingston, she lives here in town. I need everything you can find on her, contact information, her work history, and her criminal history, I even want to know her favorite foods and what clothing sizes she wears. She has two small kids so I also need background on her ex-husband. And Charlie, this is strictly between us, take care of this personally and your report is for my eyes only. Got it?"

"Yes boss, but can I ask why?"

"No, Chris, you may not."

A week later, Blane had his report. It had everything he needed. That afternoon he put his plan into motion by purchasing a dishwasher at an appliance store near Cassie's home, cash of course, so it couldn't be traced.

The next day, Cassie got a call.

"Ms. Kingston, this is Gail with Bob's Appliances. We have your dishwasher ready for delivery and installation and I'd like to schedule that when it's convenient for you."

"Dishwasher? I didn't order a dishwasher."

"Well, ma'am, a gentleman was in here yesterday and ordered one for you and it's ready. Can we deliver and install it tomorrow?"

Cassie was confused. Had Bill bought her a dishwasher for Christmas? That would be so like her ex, buy her a dishwasher instead of giving her the child support he owed so she could spend the money how she needed to. She could wash dishes by hand but she couldn't put food on the table without some cash.

She agreed to accept delivery and installation for the next day. It was a very nice dishwasher, she thought when the installers brought it. Gleaming stainless steel, smudge-proof, and with more cycle options than she'd ever use. Once the installer left, Andrea promptly tested the surface finish by smacking it repeatedly with both hands. No smudges. She loaded it up and started it through a normal cycle, as it quietly hummed Cassie smiled a little. Maybe this wasn't such a bad gift after all.

When Charlie got home from school, it was a different story. She never dreamed her son would be so excited about a dishwasher.

"It was Santa, mom! I told Santa we needed a new dishwasher and now we have one! I knew Santa would come through, even though he said it was too late!" exclaimed Charlie as he danced around the kitchen.

"What do you mean you told Santa?"

"When he was here Christmas morning, I told him we needed a new dishwasher, new clothes, some food, and some other stuff."

Cassie wondered what the volunteer Santa had to do with her ex-husband buying a dishwasher. Maybe they knew each other? She decided to call Bill later and thank him for the gift and tell him to thank Santa as well.

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about Cassie, and I sure as hell don't know anyone that volunteers to play Santa," Bill told her when she called. Cassie was thoroughly confused now so she called her mom, who referred her to the non-profit that had provided Santa. But they weren't any help either.

"I'm sorry miss, we don't know how to contact him. He comes in every week or so during the holiday season and we give him a list of events to attend, we won't see him again until next year," the young woman at the non-profit told her. Now Cassie was getting frustrated.

Two weeks later, she received two gift cards in the mail for the department store where she worked. Inside was a note that said, "Use one of these cards to buy clothes for Charlie and Andrea, and use the other to buy some for yourself." The next day at work she scanned the cards through her register to check the balance. They were two $1,000 gift cards, and with her employee discount that meant they were worth $1,200 each! That was more than she had ever spent on clothes her entire life! After her shift, she bought a few things for the kids and herself. Then on the drive home, she realized that Charlie had told Santa that they needed new clothes.

"I told you Santa would come through for us, mom!" said Charlie when she quizzed him about his conversation with Santa. Charlie had decided that he would not tell her about asking Santa to bring her a new husband since she was already kind of flipping out about the dishwasher and the gift cards.

— — —

It had been a month since that Christmas morning, and Blane wanted to see Cassie. She had been on his mind constantly since that brief meeting in her kitchen. Blane had always been able to have his choice of women, but he'd never married and didn't have a steady girlfriend. When women found out who he was it seemed to bring out the inner gold-digger. To protect himself from that he had stopped letting them know who he truly was, and he knew he'd need to do this with Cassie. On Saturday morning he dressed in the clothes from the back of his closet where he kept the "average Joe clothes" and headed to Cassie's. He knocked on her door.

"Hi, Cassie. I'm Blane James, Santa from Christmas morning. I was having my Santa suit dry-cleaned and I realized I lost my gloves. Did I by chance leave them here?"

"Who are your really, Blane? Things have been really strange around here since that morning. We have a new dishwasher and $2,000 to spend on new clothes. Aren't those things that Charlie told you we needed."

"I don't know, ma'am, I talk to a lot of kids during the holidays," Blane lied. He felt bad, but he had to protect himself, "Do I look like I have that kind of money to throw around? Maybe your parents overheard your son, or maybe he imagined the whole conversation, Santa can have strange effects on kids."

"Well, I've not seen your gloves, Blane."

"Very well," he said as he started to turn away and then turned back. "Cassie? I think you're very pretty and, well, I was wondering if I could take you out sometime?"

Cassie had softened over the weeks since her mystery benefactor had come into her life, and she thought Blane was a good-looking man, the "tall, dark, and handsome" type, so she agreed to go out with him. She hadn't been out on a date since her divorce two years ago.

Blane picked up Cassie the next afternoon, her mom was there to watch the kids. They spent most of their afternoon at the zoo. Cassie enjoyed their time together and was warming up to Blane. He seemed very nice, and he was the perfect gentleman. On the walk back to his car she let her hand brush against his, he took her hand and their fingers intertwined.

Back at her house, Blane walked her to the door, he saw Charlie looking out the window as they stood on the porch.

"I enjoyed this," said Blane.

"Me too."

"Can I see you again?"

"I'd like that," she said as she blushed.

"Dinner and a movie next Saturday?"

"That sounds lovely,"

"All right, I'll see you at five," said Blane, and he left her standing there as he walked back to his car. He waved as he drove away.

Cassie found herself a little disappointed that Blane hadn't kissed her.

The next Saturday went the same, a lovely time with him but no kiss at the door. They arranged another date in two weeks, dinner and a movie. Cassie went shopping for a new outfit, something sexy, so she could stir Blane's feelings and get a kiss from him. It didn't work, he left her at the door again. Blane had a plan, and it did not involve succumbing to her charms too soon, though he had incredible difficulty keeping his hands off her that night. Next date, two weeks, another afternoon date, horse riding, and a picnic at the local State Park. Cassie went shopping again, this time it was a pair of stretch denim jeans and a plaid shirt, some new shoes too. When she arrived home there was a package on the front step. It was heavy and she had some difficulty getting it inside. When she opened it she found it full of food, cans, and boxes of food. On top was a package of Lindt truffles, her favorite. She grew curious again about who her benefactor was as she packed away the food into the pantry. She plopped onto the sofa and wrapped her lips around a truffle then sank her teeth into it.

The picnic date was another fantastic afternoon. Cassie was falling for Blane, and she thought he seemed to be interested in her, so mid-picnic, she asked him.

"Blane, why haven't you kissed me?"

"Do you want me to kiss you?"

"I asked you a question first."

"Well, this is only our fourth date, so I was saving it for today."

"So you plan to kiss me today?"

"You haven't answered my question," he grinned.

"Yes, I do want you to kiss me. I've wanted you to kiss me since our first date."

"Then maybe we shouldn't put it off any longer, because I've wanted to kiss you since Christmas morning."

Cassie's heart skipped a beat as she thought back to Christmas morning. She'd not been in a good mood and was rather bitchy to him.

Blane leaned forward across the picnic blanket and placed his lips softly against hers. She pressed back and took his face in her hands, pulling his lips against hers. The kiss took her breath away, not that it was filled with passion, but it had been a long time since a man had kissed her.

"That was nice," he said as they broke the kiss.

"Yes, it was, can we do that again?"

"Now?"

"Yes, please."

They kissed again, and this time the passion took Cassie's breath away. She felt her nipples press against the fabric of her bra. As they finished their meal, Cassie couldn't help but fantasize about the two of them together, naked on the picnic blanket and wrapped in the throes of passion. She blushed at the thoughts running through her head. Blane had similar thoughts, thoughts of running his hands over her naked body, kissing her from head to toe, and everywhere in between. He got uncomfortable in his jeans, and though he thought that she didn't notice, she did. She liked what she saw. That evening when he walked her to the door they kissed. Charlie saw them. He walked away from the window and thrust his fist in the air, "Yes!"

— — —

Cassie and Blane went on like this for several more months, a date every couple of weeks, a kiss goodnight at the door. Then one evening at the door, as they planned their next date, Blane asked if they could take Charlie and Andrea with them.

"You want to take my kids with us?" Cassie asked.

"Yes," said Blane, "I took a liking to them on Christmas morning, and since we seem to be hitting it off so well shouldn't you let them weigh in on our relationship? I mean, if they don't like me then maybe we should stop seeing each other, you are all three a package deal after all. Let's spend the day together, lunch, then the zoo, then a movie, and then dinner."

Cassie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her heart soared. If Blane wanted to impress her kids then he must be getting serious and that made her happy because she had feelings for Blane that went way beyond casual, she was routinely having naughty thoughts.

The day came for the big family outing and it was filled with giggles and smiles. When Andrea grew tired of walking, Blane put her on his shoulders and danced her through the zoo. He shared Charlie's fascination with penguins. At the movie, he sat with one kid on each side and laughed each time they did. Then finally at dinner, he helped them behave by giving a little lesson in proper manners. Cassie smiled all day. That night she asked him in to help put the kids to bed and afterward, they sat at the kitchen table sipping glasses of water.

"You were great with the kids today," she said.

"They're great kids, I discovered that Christmas morning."

"I've never seen them look at a man like they look at you, not even their father."

"Maybe they sense my inner Santa Claus."

"Why do you do that? The Santa Claus thing?"

"I love seeing the wonder and amazement in kids' eyes, the way they look at me, it's a look of unconditional love. Sometimes their moment with me is the happiest moment they've had in a long time. I let them escape into a different world and for a brief instant I am their world, all the crap they may be going through at home disappears and it's just the two of us."