Mini Matchmaker

Before Christmas

"These tights are the worst," you muttered to your co-worker while still maintaining the fake perma-smile required for your temporary job. You tried to covertly pull up the tights that threatened to sag down to your knees while simultaneously resisting the urge to scratch your itchy legs.

"Just remember, it's almost over and think of the extra cash you'll have for all the presents you're going to buy me," smirked the redhead, handing a cane cane to an obviously underwhelmed child.

"You wish, Nat," you replied before ushering the next kid forward to take a seat on Santa's lap.

With a frustrated huff, you considered your current situation. In addition to the awful red and white striped tights that were the bane of your existence, you wore a green velvet dress that fell to mid-thigh, a pointed green hat, and of course, the curly-toed shoes with bells attached. Just to add a festive touch of humiliation.

You had busted your butt the past four years in college, even pushing yourself to graduate early with the intent of joining the workforce before the rest of your classmates. Technically you had finished all your classes and graduated in early December rather than the projected April end date. What you hadn't realized was that no one would be hiring until January except seasonal retail work, so you bit the bullet and took a job at a clothing store for the holidays. They barely paid above minimum wage, so in addition to your usual 35 hours a week, you had signed up to be an elf at Santa's Village at the center of the mall.

So here you were, three days before Christmas dressed up in a ridiculous outfit catering to a fat man in a fur-lined red suit. Natasha, your friend and co-worker at the clothing shop had joined you and the two of you shared a lot of shifts, so it wasn't all bad. Plus the money really would help. It would be nice to pay rent AND buy a few gifts for friends and family. You spent most of your shifts fantasizing about having a well-paying job in your field that paid for both rent and groceries so you could stay in the city like you hoped.

Surveying the slow-moving line, you noticed a father struggling to keep his impatient daughter from having a meltdown. Part of your job as an elf was to keep the crowd happy, offering candy canes, talking with the kids, and even doing a truly humiliating dance as a last resort. Please, please don't let it come to that, you prayed.

"I'm gonna go check the line," you relayed to Nat, then heading for the father and daughter. As you approached you heard a bit of their conversation.

"I know, princess, but we'll come back another day."

The little girl looked to be around 4-years-old and she was doing a very specific kind of dance in the line as she shook her head at her father.

"No! I have to tell him! I have to tell him my wish!"

"You'll get a chance, Jimmer, just not today. We don't have enough time to go to the back of the line and wait again after the..."

"Excuse me," you interrupted, touching the sleeve of the man before you. He straightened up and turned your way.

The man was tall with a muscular build, dirty blond hair and a well-trimmed beard. His startling blue eyes almost made you forget your reason for approaching. Frankly, the man was gorgeous.

"Hi," he smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry for disrupting the line, it's just we have a bit of an emergency and my daughter really doesn't want to leave and lose her place."

"I see," you replied, smiling at the adorable young girl who clearly thought a visit to the bathroom would ruin her dreams of meeting Santa. You went into problem-solving mode.

"The cell phone reception is terrible in here, is your wife in a nearby shop? Perhaps I could go find her and..."

"Daddy doesn't have a wife," innocently blurted the child.