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"So, are you excited to see Santa, Philip?" Luz asked, her voice as bright and cheerful as Christmas morning.
She and her mother stood shoulder to shoulder with Philip, both holding his hand as they waited in line to see Santa at the mall.
Philip smiled at Luz and nodded.
"Mm-hm!" he happily hummed, knowing that he has been a very good boy all year round... for the most part.
He, of course, made minor slip-ups from time to time, but not enough to receive a hefty lump of coal in his stocking.
Luz and Camila shared an abundance of knowledge about Old Saint Nick and Christmas in general with Philip, including bedtime stories, cooking, baking, caroling, wrapping presents, decorating the tree, and watching popular holiday specials on TV.
They even took him to a parade once where the Santa Claus there performed an adrenaline-fueled motorcycle stunt off of a fire truck.
"Philip," Camila began. "If you're really well-behaved on Santa's lap, I'll take you to go get hot chocolate," she promised, smiling warmly at the brunette.
Philip released a tiny gasp, his blue eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Really?!" he beamed.
Camila, letting out a light giggle at his enthusiasm, nodded.
"Really," she assured him, pulling out her phone to take pictures.
When it was Philip's turn to meet Santa, both Luz and Camila laughed quietly as he rushed up to the male actor dressed in the classic red suit, promptly hopping onto his lap.
"Remember to be nice and smile!" Camila gaily told him, holding up her phone.
"And no biting!" Luz playfully added, pulling out a purple digital camera.
The Santa actor smiled at Philip as he adjusted himself in his red and gold trim chair.
"Ho-ho-ho!" he emitted from his belly, lowering a white gloved hand on Philip's head.
"Looks like someone's excited to see me," he said, gently ruffling Philip's hair, which earned laughter from Luz and Camila.
"What's your name, little boy?" Santa asked.
"Philip!" Philip excitedly told him. "Philip Wittebane! I'm ten years old! How old are you, Santa?"
"Much older than that," he replied with a jolly chuckle, Luz and Camila laughing as well.
"Was there something special that you wanted for Christmas, Philip?" Santa questioned with a smile.
"There is!" Philip chirped, filled with Christmas spirit.
"My very own race horse! I want a brown one with a black mane and tail! I wish to ride him every day! Are you able to fit him down our chimney?"
"A horse? Well, I can try," Santa chuckled again.
Philip slowly shifted his attention to Saint Nick's beard, distracted by its fluffy appearance.
The brunette swiftly began tugging on it without much thought.
"Wow, Santa! Your beard is so soft!" he complimented.
"Why, thank you. I--"
After the fifth tug, Philip accidentally tugs off "Santa's" beard, revealing a man with a stubbly face.
This causes Philip, along with the children in line, to gasp in shock.
Luz and Camila's eyes widened as they silently turned to each other.
Still holding the not real white beard in his hand, Philip turns on a frown as he hops down from the actor's lap.
After the beard is dropped on the ground, he points an accusatory finger at the fake Santa.
"You're not the real Santa! What did you do to him!?" he demanded with a stomp of his foot.
Luz quickly steps in to intervene.
"Alright, little buddy," she said with a sheepish smile, taking Philip's hand as she took him away from the scene.
"Let's just... walk this way."
She returned to her mother.
"But, Luz, the mall lied to us!" Philip protested.
As Luz and Camila began to walk away with Philip, they turned to smile apologetically at the mall Santa, who smiled an embarrassed but understanding smile as he waved goodbye, reaching down for his beard.
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