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Dinah Stilinski had been a very, very good girl this year.
She had eaten all of her vegetables-even slima beans, which Daddy had agreed tasted like a bad word that Dinah wasn’t allowed to say and promised that she would only have to eat them when at Poppa’s-cleaned up her room when it was dirty, and even made sure to ignore nasty Jason Whittemore at school.
Everybody hated Jason Whittemore! Including the teacher! So being nice to him had been extra hard and everybody had looked at her like she had lost her mind.
So she was extra sure that Santa had her on the very special Extra Good List this year.
Mr. Hale had been the one that told her about the special Extra Good List when Daddy had invited him over to dinner to Poppa’s place.
(He had shown up in a suit and tie, which meant that the dinner was really important, so Dinah made sure she was on her best behavior in case anyone was watching. Mr. Hale had also called Poppa ‘sir’! That had made her laugh, but Poppa seemed to like it and said that he was happy Daddy was dating someone with manners this time.
Nobody would tell her what that meant.)
Daddy had wondered why he had never heard of this mystical list and Poppa had snorted before saying he could give him a list of reasons why, starting when he was Dinah’s age.
Daddy had said that they didn’t need to bring up ancient history, giving her Poppa a look that made him laugh before Mr. Hale had distracted her by saying that the special Extra Good Lists were the people that Santa let see him as he left the Christmas presents!
Dinah was afraid that she would have a heart attack when she heard that.
(The only reason she knew what a heart attack was is because Daddy almost had one when she had lost him in the mall earlier that week, which was not her fault, because Daddy had walked away from her, she had stayed right where he put her.)
So, here she was, snuggled up in front of the tree on Christmas Eve, trying to stay awake in time for Santa to get there.
Daddy had said that the only reason that Dinah hadn’t been able to see Santa before is because she had fallen asleep before he got there, to which Dinah had said was because Daddy had made her got to bed because ‘Santa wouldn’t come otherwise’.
Poppa had seemed pleased that Dinah had inherited Daddy’s ‘use of air quotes’.
Mr. Hale had looked really guilty about Daddy and Poppa fighting, probably worried that he was going to end up on the naughty list for it, so Dinah had invited Mr. Hale to wait up with them for Santa to make him feel better.
Mr. Hale had looked at Poppa for permission, and Poppa had looked at her before sighing and saying, “No shenanigans with the kid in the house. That goes for both of you.”
Mr. Hale had simply nodded while Daddy had asked Poppa what kind of parent he thought Daddy was.
Poppa had laughed at him.
A rattle had the front door has her jerking to a sitting position so fast that the tree rattles a little behind her.
(“But how will he get here if we don’t have a fireplace?”
"He’ll get in through the front door, like everyone else, munchkin."
"Do we need to unlock it?"
"Nope, there’s way too many weirdos in this part of the neighborhood. He can use magic to unlock it."
"What if he forgets to lock it back up?"
"One of his elves double check it before leaving.")
Another rattle and then there’s the sound of the front door swinging open…
Santa Claus is standing in Poppa’s living room.
Santa Claus is standing in Poppa’s living room and he’s looking at her with the same sparkly blue-green eyes Mr. Hale has.
Dinah is finding it a little hard to breathe.
"Hey, there, Dinah. A little bird told me that you had been a very good girl this year.”
It’s official, Mr. Hale is her favorite person after her Daddy.
She can’t speak, years of Christmas wishes coming true in front of her, so she just nods her head and Santa gives this little laugh that makes his suit rustle strangely but Dinah can’t really focus on that.
Santa Claus is in her Poppa’s living room!
He’s moved to the tree now, putting presents under it that have her name, her Poppa’s name, and her Daddy’s name on them.
Wait a minute…
"What about Mr. Hale?"
Santa pauses where he’s kneeling, big red sack empty at his feet, and Dinah feels upset that Santa didn’t bring anything for the man that told her about the special Extra Good List in the first place.
"You didn’t bring any gifts for Mr. Hale… Mr. Hale is a really good guy, real nice to me and my Daddy! Why didn’t you bring any gifts for Mr. Hale?”
Santa swallows and his voice is a little rougher than before when he answers her. “Mr. Hale staying here was a bit of a surprise and I had already starting my run when I heard about it, so his presents are at his house. I didn’t forget him, sweetheart, I promise.”
Dinah nods, sniffing a little, and says, “Good. He can help me with my presents while he’s here, then.”
Santa gives her a kiss on her forehead before picking up his bag and heading out the door, a “Merry Christmas.” the last thing he says.
Dinah waits until she hears the click of the lock and then she’s bolting up the stairs.
“I SAW SANTA CLAUS!!!”