Saving Rain(3)

I looked at the tree and felt a little sad. If I went to bed, I wouldn’t get to see if Santa liked it or the tinsel I’d helped put on the branches. But I really was getting sleepy, and what if he didn’t come if I was awake anyway?

So, I stuck my lip out and nodded, and Grampa chuckled, picking me up once again and zooming all the way up the stairs and down the hall to my room.

Mommy’s door was open, and she wasn’t inside.

She hadn’t been inside in a long time.

Grampa swooped me down onto my Mickey blanket and knelt at the side of the bed. He smiled, and I told him I thought he looked a lot like Santa. That made him happy, and he smiled even bigger.

“You think so, huh?”

I nodded. “Yeah. ‘Cause you have a big white beard and glasses.”

“Do you think”—Grampa came real close and made his eyes big—“I could be Santa?”

I couldn’t stop laughing. “Nooo!”

“Oh, no? And why not?”

“Because you’re not fat!”

Grampa laughed. I loved Grampa’s laugh. He didn’t sound like Santa, but it made me just as happy.

“You know, if you and Gramma keep baking all those cookies, I will get fat. And then can I be Santa?”

I thought about that, but then shook my head. “You don’t have reindeer.”

“Maybe Sully wants to be my reindeer.”

“Grampa,” I groaned, smacking my hands against my fluffy Mickey Mouse blanket. “Sully can’t be a reindeer. He’s a dog.”

“Hmm …” Grampa cupped his chin and closed one eye. “I guess you’re right. I don’t really fit the criteria.”

I didn’t know what that meant, but I agreed anyway.

Then, I asked, “Is Mommy coming home soon?”

It had been a long time since I had seen Mommy. I’d heard Gramma say something to Grampa about picking her up in a few weeks, but how long ago was that? When did a few weeks end? And where had she gone anyway? Nobody would tell me, and it made me sad.

Grampa sighed and said, “Soon, buddy.”

“Where is she?”

“She went on a little trip, but she’ll be back soon.”

“But not for Christmas?”

He sighed again and shook his head. “No, not for Christmas. Not this year.”

Mommy was going to miss Santa and the tree and Christmas, and now, I wanted to cry. What if Santa didn’t know where she was? What if she didn’t have presents? What if she didn’t get me anything after she said she was going to?

“Hey, hey, hey.” Grampa wiped away a tear as it rolled down my cheek. “Mommy will be here before you know it. She just needed to go on a trip for a little while, but I promise she’s coming back good as new, okay?”

“B-but what if Santa can’t find her?”

“Ah, buddy …” Now, Grampa looked sad as he put his hand on top of my head. “He always knows, and I bet he’s gonna bring Mommy the best present in the whole world.”

I didn’t know what that was, but I fell asleep, thinking about it. Maybe it would be a fire truck or a castle or a gigantic pirate ship. Those were things I’d like, and maybe Mommy would like them too.

When I woke up, I ran down the stairs with Sully before Gramma and Grampa were even awake to see if Santa had come, and he had. A great big pile of presents was stacked under the tree in colorful, sparkly wrapping paper, and I bounced against the bottom step at the sight. Even the stockings above the fireplace were full—Mommy’s too!

“Look, Sully. Presents,” I whispered loudly. “Let’s see if Gramma and Grampa are up.”

We turned around and ran back up the stairs to burst through Gramma and Grampa’s door. They grumbled and growled as I jumped onto the bed and crawled between them.

“Santa came!” I cheered, jumping up and down.

“Did you hear that, Gramma?” Grampa mumbled, sounding too sleepy to be excited. “Santa came.”

“I heard,” Gramma replied, her eyes still closed.

“Let’s go open them!” I jumped some more.

“Soldier, why don’t we—”

“Ah, come on, Gramma. We can sleep later,” Grampa said, already climbing out of bed and pulling his red-and-green robe on. “Want a piggyback ride, Soldier?”

I never said no to piggyback rides.

We went downstairs with Gramma shuffling slowly behind us and Sully hopping around our feet, and we opened hundreds and hundreds of presents. I got lots of cool stuff, almost every single thing I had asked Santa for. But when everything was opened and there was wrapping paper all over the floor, I looked at all of my new toys, and my eyes felt like they could cry.

“Hey, what’s wrong, buddy?” Grampa asked.

I lied to Gramma and Grampa sometimes. I knew it was wrong, but sometimes, it felt right. But today, I didn’t lie when I said, “I miss Mommy.”

Gramma looked at Grampa, and I thought maybe they’d cry too. But they didn’t.

Instead, Gramma said, “You know what, my little man? I think it’s time you gave Mommy your present.”

I sat up real straight and asked, “What?” Because the only present I had gotten for Mommy was a new pencil at the school Christmas fair, and how was I supposed to give it to her if she wasn’t here?