“Mama, come quick,” shrieked Angie, as she pulled at the blankets covering her mother’s form. “Come see, Santa was here, Santa was here!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” muttered Samantha. She tried to settle the covers back into a cozy nest, but Angie kept pulling.
“Come see, Mama. He was here and he’s coming back!”
Angie’s chatter began to penetrate Samantha’s sleep-fog. Santa? Here? That couldn’t be right. Maybe she had misunderstood her daughter. Angie was plainly excited, but what was the cause? Samantha reluctantly pushed her feet out from under the covers and swung herself into a sitting position.
“Hurry, Mama, hurry!” urged Angie.
Samantha hurried as best she could. She thrust her feet into worn slippers and pulled a faded chenille robe over her flannel nightgown. She tied the belt as she scuffled in her daughter’s wake toward the front door.
“Look, Mama! Santa left his sleigh, so he has to come back to get it.”
Samantha’s gaze followed Angie’s finger as she pointed out the living room window. Yep, that was a sleigh. Huh? A sleigh? What in the world was going on? She grabbed her coat from the hook near the door.
“Stay here, Angie,” she instructed the girl. “I’m going to check this out.”
The crusted snow crunched under her slippers as she made her careful way to the massive crimson and gold sleigh. It rested across the end of her driveway. Decorative filigree wound around the solid portions of the sleigh, giving it a regal air. The two seats were covered in red velvet with gold buttons. It was beautiful, but what was it doing here?
The sounds of a powerful motor approached as she examined the sleigh. She noticed a diesel truck cab pulling a low trailer rounding the corner. The truck pulled up into the curb in front of the sleigh and began to back up until the end of the trailer nearly touched the elegant front curve. The truck door swung open and a tall figure in an insulated suit hopped to the ground.
“Good morning, ma’am,” he said as he approached her. “I hope my little mishap didn’t cause you too much trouble.” At the sound of the rich voice, Samantha looked up into deeply blue eyes that sparkled with merriment. She was suddenly conscious of the way she was dressed and her messy hair.
“Chris Nicholas, Nicholas Freight,” he offered as he extended his hand in greeting. “I was hauling this sleigh last night when one of the straps broke and it slid off of my trailer. I managed to get it over to the curb, but I didn’t want to start the winch and make too much noise at that hour. I’ll have it out of your way as quick as I can.”
“Where on earth were you taking it?” Samantha managed to ask, as he continued to hold her hand in his.
“It’s part of the Christmasland Spectacular at the Forest Hills Shopping Center,” he answered. “I deliver it late at night so that I won’t cause traffic problems, but I ran into a problem of my own this time.” He chuckled at his situation and released her hand.
He turned back to the truck and began deploying a cable from a drum on the truck bed. A chill zephyr wound around them as he worked. Samantha touched his arm.
“Would you like a cup of hot coffee, Mr. Nicholas?” she asked. Her heart skipped at the brilliance of the smile he flashed her as he nodded assent.
“That would be great.”
“I’ll be right back.”
She entered the house and headed straight to the kitchen to start the coffee. Angie trailed behind her, asking non-stop questions about the sleigh.
Samantha knelt down to hug her daughter.
“Honey, I don’t think Santa will be coming. He sent one of his helpers to get the sleigh.”
“I guess Santa just wanted to test it before Christmas. I hope his helper can make it work real good!” answered Angie.
“I’ll just bet he can, honey. I’ll bet he can,” Samantha smiled.
She ran to her bedroom and changed into slacks and a sweater while the coffee brewed. A few swipes with the hairbrush tamed her chestnut hair and she pinned it back with a barrette. She poured up two cups of coffee and added them to a tray with sugar, milk and spoons.
“I’m going to take some coffee to Santa’s helper,” she told Angie. “Eat your cereal and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Samantha and Chris shared the coffee while sitting on the edge of his trailer. They talked about Christmas and coffee and the weather and their favorite foods. She invited him in for a refill and Angie joined the conversation. After a time, Chris began to say his good-byes.
“Do you like spisgetti, mister?” she asked. “Mama’s cooking spisgetti for dinner and she makes it real good. You should come and eat some.”
He glanced at Samantha.
“Well, it just so happens that spisgetti is my favorite. If it’s okay with your mom, I’d love to taste hers.”
Samantha nodded her approval of the invitation. Within a few minutes, the driver and rig were out of sight.
“Santa brought his sleigh to remind me to be good,” noted Angie with irrefutable 6-year-old logic.
“Maybe so,” agreed Samantha.
And maybe, just maybe, Santa used the sleigh to bring a widow’s Christmas gift a little early.