The Nick Spinelli Romance Mystery Series

Chapter 10

Spinelli stood in front of the mirror and looked at his arms as they stuck out beyond the fat suit he just fastened to himself. He turned sideways to view himself in the mirror before bending over to pull up the red velvet pants. The enormous gut-roll made the task nearly impossible. He caught his breath then bent over to pull on the big black boots he needed to wear, again a near to impossible undertaking.

He reached into his locker and pulled out a matching plush red velvet coat trimmed with white fur. He threw the coat around his shoulders and buttoned it. The coat fit snugly around his midsection. Next, he grabbed a wide black belt with a big gold buckle, flung it around his waistline, and fastened it on the last notch. From the shelf in the locker, he retrieved a wig with long white wavy hair and a red velvet hat trimmed with white fur and tassel at the top. He tugged the wig over his head until it felt snug then he fastened on the matching beard. Instantaneously the beard caused his nose and face to itch.

Spinelli turned to face the mirror once again. He couldn't help but wonder how he came to be wearing a Santa suit at the mall. He wanted to be an elf but there were no elf positions available and Human Resources told him that there's no such thing as a six foot-two elf. As he stared at his ridiculous self in the mirror, he could hear Captain Jackson's laugh echo throughout his head. He recalled the words she said to him the day before, "Maybe playing Santa will do you some good. You know, soften you up a bit."

He took one last look at himself in the mirror. He reached up under his beard and scratched his itchy chin. "Well, working a homicide undercover as Santa beats child recovery and placement any day," he whispered to his reflection.

Spinelli strode out of the employee locker room and into the busy mall, his big belly swishing from side to side, as he walked. He didn't recall ever being in the mall on a Saturday during the Christmas holiday season before, and he knew it probably wouldn't ever happen again by choice. Hundreds of people, mostly women with their whiny kids in tow filled the mall.

He made his way through the crowd to Santa's village. He took in the sight of the wintery display as he walked through toward the red velvet chair. He glanced at the long line of children waiting for him. Panic rippled through his body.

Spinelli walked past the snowy field of colorful eight-foot candy canes and passed by the red sleigh overflowing with presents. He stepped onto the low platform, which housed his chair, and took a seat. He glanced to the left where a couple of elves stood wearing their green smocks and tights, as well as, their pointy green hats and matching shoes which curled up at the toes. They whispered amongst themselves in front of the fifteen-foot Christmas tree decorated with large silver and gold ornaments and big red bows. Glancing up he took notice of the large sparkly silver star perched at the top of the tree. He shifted his gaze toward the line of children who anxiously waited to see him. Good God, how did I end up here?

A soft feminine voice rang in his ears, "Good afternoon, Santa. How are you today?"

Spinelli glanced in the direction of the voice to find Shannon, his little Santa's helper. The sight of her caused his heart to beat out of control. Never in his life had he seen anything as beautiful as the sight he saw now. He slowly eyed her from top to bottom starting with the big candy cane striped bow that held her thick long wavy ponytail in place. Some of her loose red curls dangled down over the side of her face and around her neck, resting softly on her shoulders. The white furry trim of her scoop neck velvet dress lay upon her chest just low enough allowing him to catch a glimpse of the tops of her small pale breasts. A wide black belt equipped with a big shiny gold buckle snuggled her dress to her slim waist, causing him to take note of her hourglass figure. Lowering his eyes further, he saw how the white furry trim on the bottom of her dress fell several inches above her knees exposing her slim but shapely legs.

He raised his eyes to meet hers. He locked in on her gaze. She took a step toward him, pulled a frown, and squinted as if trying to figure out his identity. He quickly released his gaze. He suddenly felt the need to keep his identity a secret from her.

Spinelli watched as Shannon approached the line of children. She extended her arm toward the first little boy in line and he took her hand. "What is your name?" she asked the boy as she walked with him toward Spinelli.

"Matthew."

Shannon and Matthew walked up to Spinelli and stood right in front of him. Matthew looked up at him with his big brown eyes. Spinelli easily detected the fear in them. With as scared as Matthew seemed, Spinelli knew Matthew's fear level couldn't begin to compare to his own as he realized he didn't know the slightest thing about playing Santa or what to do with Matthew and the other fifty kids in line behind him. Spinelli flashed his confused gaze in Shannon's direction and almost as if she read his thoughts, she took charge of the situation. She looked down at Matthew. "Do you want to climb up on Santa's lap and tell him what you want for Christmas?"

Matthew nodded his little head. Shannon reached down, scooped him up, and placed him on Spinelli's lap then she crouched down in front of them and kept her eyes aligned with Matthew's. Spinelli still wasn't sure what to do. He could feel the sweat beading up on his upper lip and temples. His perspiration caused his face to itch even more under his strap-on beard. It took every bit of strength he could muster not to tear the beard off his face and scratch his chin raw.

Shannon shifted her gaze from Matthew's to Spinelli's and quietly mouthed, "Ho, ho, ho."

Shear panic ran through his veins as she coaxed him along. He looked down at Matthew, sucked in a deep breath, and let it out with a mighty and cheerful "Ho, ho, ho." The authenticity even surprised Spinelli. Matthew's eyes went wide and a smile grew across his chubby little face as he began to rattle off his extensive Christmas list.

Four hours later, the mother of the last child in line worked desperately to coax her daughter to climb up on Santa's lap, give him her Christmas list, and get her photo taken. After several failed attempts, the woman simply scooped her daughter up and planted her on Spinelli's lap. The little girl shifted her terrified blue-eyed gaze to Spinelli's and upon contact, she immediately started wailing. She slid down his leg to get off his lap but not before she peed her pants. Spinelli sprang to his feet as he realized what happened. The wetness penetrated through his plush red velvet pants causing his pant leg to stick to his skin. He wanted to swear a blue streak but contained himself in front of those who remained in the Santa village.