Love In Twenty And Five

DAY SIX

“Hey look everyone, it's some guy pretending to be Santa.”

Eden spun around just as the door pushed open and Mike —dressed as Santa Claus— walked into the room.

She hadn't seen him since he practically told her he wanted nothing to do with her yesterday, and while she didn't exactly feel comfortable in his presence, she was thankful for Frankie's presence in the room to hopefully ease the tension between them.

With a smile settling on her face, she turned her attention back to Frankie who had a cute frown on her face.

“Pretending?” She raised a brow. “Who says he's pretending?”

“Well, he's obviously not the real Santa.”

“And how would you know?” Mike spoke with a deeper tone she assumed was most likely his impersonation of Santa. “That's a serious accusation, young lady.”

Frankie sat up straighter and folded her arms across her chest. “Because, I'm psychic and I've seen the real Santa and you look nothing like him.”

Eden giggled, and placed Frankie's medical report on the table. “Once again Frankie, you're not psychic.”

“Oh yeah? Well, he's not Santa.” Frankie leaned back once more. Turning to glance briefly at Mike, Eden shook her head apologetically.

“Maybe it'll be best if you spread some Christmas cheer elsewhere?”

He shook his head and made his way around Eden to Frankie who was now pretending to be asleep. Settling on the bed beside her, he leaned forward.

“How about you and me make a deal?” Mike said. Frankie laid still with her eyes closed. For a second, Eden was almost convinced she had indeed fallen asleep. “How about we tell each other the truth?”

“Are you going to admit to not being Santa?” she whispered, her eyes still closed.

“I could admit to it, if you'll admit to the real reason you think I'm not Santa.”

She shrugged. “You first.”

“Argh, you drive a hard bargain, young lady.”

She giggled. “I get it from my mum. My dad says I'm a tough nugget.”

“I totally agree.”

She opened her eyes and sat up straighter. “So, what's it gonna be?”

Slowly, Mike nodded, and without a word, pulled off his moustache. Eden must have gasped —she wasn't exactly sure, but she felt her eyelids widen. What was he doing? She thought, panicking! Sure, the kid guessed he wasn't really Santa, but this was a sure way of ruining Christmas for her! And what, did he plan on taking off his costume for every kid in the hospital?! Did he plan on ruining Christmas for these poor kids?! Perhaps it was a mistake getting him to dress up as Santa? Obviously, he hated Christmas, and had absolutely no cheer left in him. The man planned to kill himself in the holiday season, for goodness sake!

“I knew it!” Frankie's eyelids widened as Mike revealed his identity to her. But just as quickly, the light in her eyes died and she glanced down at her hands.

“Sweetie,” Eden wanted to smack Mike over the head as she made her way to Frankie who looked completely disappointed to find that the man dressed as Santa was truly an imposter, the janitor no less. She settled beside Frankie and pulled her into her arms. Holding on to her, she fought the urge to shoot Mike a dirty look, as she planted a kiss on Frankie's beanie.

She was thin, she thought, her hand stroking Frankie's back. Her weight loss was so alarming that she looked more like a four year old, than a six year old.