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The Liverpool Christmas Eve party had been a real bash. Music blared from the speakers—Tsimikas was the DJ, as usual—and the light show, managed by Taffarel, was exceptional. Carvalho and Elliott were quickly turning out to be some of the best dancers in the team, and they only further proved that point during the party. But the real stars of the dance floor had to be Klopp and Florrie. The pair, who were fifty-two years apart in age, had attempted a “dance” that everyone had found adorable.
But now, after all the music, dancing and holiday snacks and treats, it was time to go to bed. And for six young children who’d stayed up way past their bedtime and had way too much sugar, that proved to be especially hard.
“When’s Santa coming?” Florrie asked for the fiftieth time that night. She clutched her stuffed llama, Senor Mullido, in both hands. “I wanna see Santa!”
“But Santa only comes when we’re asleep,” Kanchana pointed out, tucking Kairo in next to Florrie. “And he’s going to leave coal for the good girls and boys, and presents for the naughty ones.”
“Chan! The good kids get presents and the bad ones get coal,” Vera corrected her wife. “And you kids are all good boys and girls. So good, right CeCe?”
Grace replied by sticking her tongue out, bouncing on the crib mattress while holding onto the rails.
“What about Kostas?” Kairo snuggled up to his unofficial twin sister, fluffy hair peeking out from the blanket. “He should get a whole sack of coal for his rap song earlier today.”
“Robbo definitely wasn’t enchanted.” Kanchana laughed, fluffing Florrie’s pillows. “Sorry for the confusion. Back in Thailand, most of us don’t celebrate Christmas.”
Florrie frowned in confusion. She’d seen Salah’s Eid-al-Fitr decorations, and Henderson had shown her Hanukkah decorations while they’d been Christmas shopping. But Salah celebrated Christmas with the others, and she’d seen an old Jewish couple who lived near Kirkby lighting a menorah and a Christmas tree.
“Most of the Thai are Buddhists, just like me,” Kanchana explained, taking a seat on the bed. Vera sat next to her, leaning on the taller woman’s shoulder.
“Of course, not all of us are Buddhists. Some celebrate Christmas just like we are doing here. But for Buddhists, one of the most important holidays is Bodhi Day.” Kanchana smiled, touching her stomach for the fifth time that night.
Florrie raised an eyebrow at the strange behavior. Kanchana hadn’t done that before, not even when she’d come to Liverpool for the first time and caught a stomach virus.
“What that?” Henrietta piped up from her crib. The one-year-old hadn’t fallen asleep either. She was still jumpy and bright-eyed from all the sweetened whipped cream and strawberry jam she’d licked from the plate of eclairs.
“Just like Christians have Jesus Christ, Buddhists have Gautama Buddha as their leader and founder. Bodhi Day, simply put, is the day that the Buddha reached Nirvana. And this year we’re celebrating on December 30.”
“Yay! Can we celebrate too? Do we decorate a tree? And make cookies, sing songs, and get presents?” Florrie felt like she could burst, she had so many questions.
“Well, we do decorate a tree. So you got that one right,” said Kanchana. “But it’s not a pine tree, it’s actually a Bodhi tree. We’ll decorate it with lights and statues of the Buddha.”
“But where would we get a Bodhi tree?” Kairo wondered aloud. “We don’t have a Bodhi tree.”
“But we do!” Vera pointed out the window, which overlooked the garden. “Do you remember the fig tree in the greenhouse?”
“Oh, yeah!” said Florrie. “Mo’s had it since he was at Melwood, right?”
Kanchana nodded. “Indeed, he’s been growing the tree under special conditions so it’s small enough to take care of here. And that just happens to be the same thing as a Bodhi tree!” She glanced at the clock on the wall, frowning. “And you‘d all better be going to sleep. I don’t think the others would be too happy if we kept you up.”
One by one, Kanchana and Vera kissed the children goodnight, leaving the room hand in hand. “Goodnight, children. Happy Christmas Eve, and tomorrow morning will be full of surprises.”
Florrie yawned, snuggling under the covers. Somehow, Kanchana and Vera’s story had made her sleepy. “Goodnight, Tante Vera. Goodnight, Auntie Chan.”
*
A strange noise awoke Florrie from her slumber. She yawned and glanced at the clock. It said 2:45.
The strange noise came again, and Florrie realized that it sounded like footsteps. But it couldn’t be—the only ones who could be awake at this time were Henderson and Klopp, and both of them had been exhausted when the Christmas party finally ended.
A figure caught Florrie’s eye, moving in the dark. She gasped, diving under the blankets. Before she could yell for the adults, a dim yellow light shone on her pillow.
“Kairo?” Florrie whispered, wrapping her green butterfly blanket around her shoulders. “What are you doing awake?”
“Let’s explore!” Kairo pointed outside the door, where a faint glowing light cast long shadows across the walls. “The grownups left the Christmas lights on, they look so pretty in the dark.”
Florrie grabbed Senor Mullido from the bed, tiptoeing to the door so as not to awake the younger kids. “Okay!”
They passed multiple rooms, including the players’ shared bedroom, the staffs’ rooms, and Arwen’s room. Everybody was asleep.
Finally, they tiptoed inside the rec room. As Kairo had said, the Christmas tree lights were still on.
Florrie scrambled onto one of the couches, setting Senor Mullido on her blanket. “It’s so pretty, Kairo.”
Kairo nodded, sitting next to Florrie. They quietly sat together in front of the tree, admiring the lights from afar. All was tranquil—nobody but Florrie and Kairo were awake.
Until a fat man in a red and white suit paraded through their door and tripped over the only electrical cord in the entire room.
Florrie gasped, prodding a dozing Kairo in the ribs. “Kai! Look at that.”
Kairo noticed, his childlike grin growing wider. “It’s Santa!”
Scrambling off the couch as fast as they could, the two children bolted for the man. They crashed into his padded legs, barely able to fit their arms around him.
“Santa! Is it you?” Kairo asked. He could hardly believe his eyes.
He laughed, slinging his toy sack over his shoulder with a wink. “Of course it is!”
Florrie stared at Santa, flabbergasted. “And you’re bringing presents?”
“Of course I am, ho-ho-ho! Good children get their presents on Christmas Eve, and you two have been very good this year, right?”
Florrie nodded, linking arms with Kairo. “The boss says that us and our cousins are lucky. That means we’ve got to be good!”
“Can we meet your reindeer?” Kairo tugged at Santa’s pant leg, momentarily pausing to stroke the red velvet and faux fur. “And get a selfie with Blitzen? Papi Milly says Blitzen’s the sarcastic one.”
“Well…” Santa stroked his beard, fiddling with his silver. “Sorry, kiddos, but the reindeer aren’t with me now.”
“But why?” Florrie asked, crossing her arms. “Daddy Hendo says that you only travel with the reindeer. Don’t reindeer like carrots and mincemeat pies?”
Santa shook his head, setting his toy sack down. “They do. But you know how people are, Florrie and Kairo. I’m sort of a celebrity in the world, and if the others saw me, I’d be too distracted to get my job done. That’s why I travel by night,” the portly gift-bringer explained with a hint of pride.
Florrie nodded, understanding the logic. Santa is a genius! “So how do you fit in? Dress like Kostas?”
“No, that’ll never do!” Santa chuckled. “When I’m here, I come in a black car so nobody suspects anything. I only use my reindeer up in the North where people use reindeer a lot.”
Kairo’s eyes widened. “Oh. That makes sense.”
“Glad it does!” Santa turned towards the Christmas tree, hoisting his sack again. “Now if you don’t mind children, I must get the presents under the tree and be on my way. There are at least 2 billion children on Earth right now and I need to get a move on. And you two need to get to bed so you’ll be awake on Christmas morning.”
Florrie yawned, suddenly realizing how tired she was. “We’ll let you do your job.” She and Kairo quietly tiptoed away from the room and back towards their bedroom. “Goodnight, Santa.”
Santa waved them off, opening his sack. Florrie tried to see what was inside, but the opening was positioned towards the Christmas tree.
*
Four hours later, Florrie and Kairo were sneaking around again. This time, though, they were accompanied by the other children and a few children at heart.
“Are you sure the gaffa isn’t going to be mad?” Ramsay whispered, ruffling Grace’s hair. “I mean, he seemed pretty tired yesterday.”
“The gaffa always wakes up early. This will be a piece of cake,” Robertson claimed. “Now, on the count of three!”
They pounced onto the still-asleep Klopp, shaking him and jumping on his bed. Finally, the German stirred, yawning. “What time is it?”
“Boss!” Kairo yelled, waving a pillow in the air. “It’s Christmas!”
Henrietta flopped next to Klopp, her little body quivering with joy. “Chri’mas, Opa, Chri’mas!”
“On the first day of Christmas, the Gaffa woke up! Hallelujah!” Robertson and Ramsay yelled at the top of their Scottish lungs. “Come on!”
Carvalho nodded eagerly, tugging on another Christmas sweater. “Let’s see what Santa brought us!”
“Lots and lots of gifts,” Florrie announced, matter-of-factly. “Kairo and I saw Santa last night, bringing us presents!”
“Santa?” Milner rolled his eyes, bouncing a grumpy Tristan. “No way. Only the naive believe in Santa.”
“Santa’s left me presents every single year without fail!” Carvalho argued. “He’s never missed a year, he does too exist!”
“We saw him yesterday!” Kairo insisted, crossing his arms. “He was wearing his suit, and he drives a black car—”
Henderson shook his head in amusement. “Now, now. What have I told you two about telling tales?”
Florrie pouted. She caught a sight of the chair in the corner, which held a red Santa hat.
Klopp yawned, propping himself up on one arm. “Come on Hendo, it’s Christmas! Magic can happen, you never know.”
Milner left the room grumbling, while Henderson led the others out, distracting them with talk of the upcoming festivities.
Florrie and Kairo were the last to leave the room. Just before they left, Florrie pointed out the hat to Kairo. Klopp saw the brief exchange between the two toddlers, but said nothing.
“Alright, I’m coming boys! Just give me a moment or two to change,” Klopp laughed upon hearing the players’ excited chatter. “Nobody needs to see me shirtless, or…”
Milner rolled his eyes, hurrying the others further down the hall. “We get it.”
Klopp turned to his closet and selected a snowman-themed Christmas sweater with jingling bells. It was rather…interesting, but the sweater had been a gift from Lijnders the previous Christmas and Klopp had promised he’d wear it.
Once he finished getting dressed, Klopp couldn’t help but notice the Santa hat still on his chair. Chuckling quietly to himself, he removed his felt reindeer-antler headband and slipped on the hat. Looking in the mirror, a very familiar face appeared in front of him.
“Now children, Santa drives a black car so nobody suspects anything. Ho-ho-ho!”