Free Simon and the Christmas Spirit by Summer Devon Page B

Sally.” He
pointed toward the kitchen area, where two lovely young women
helped their mother unpack the carton from the
greengrocer’s.
    After that, Simon was caught in an
onslaught of introductions to such a crowd of people, he’d never
recall all their names. As Father Christmas, he passed out every
last item he’d bought. The items that wouldn’t do for any of the
assembled relatives and guests spilled over to the neighbors’ house
to gladden their holiday as well. For someone used to a quiet,
well-ordered life, the chaos and clamor was almost too much for
Simon to bear. He was happy to be able to please and help all of
these people, but he was sweating under the heavy robe and needed a
moment to catch his breath and rest his hearing.
    “ Father Christmas, won’t
you come into my room and see about that gift you had for me?”
Christopher’s eyes twinkled at him from across the room.
    Simon caught his breath and looked
around the room, but no one seemed to be paying any attention. If
they understood the byplay, they made no note of it. Only the man
introduced as Uncle Dion, busily arranging a new paisley scarf
around his neck, glanced up and grinned.
    “ Come,” Christopher
entreated. “You look like you could use a costume
change.”
    Simon followed him through the warren
of rooms and the gauntlet of bodies. So many people to jostle
together in harmonious dissonance. Simon had never had such a view
of how the lower classes lived.
    Christopher led him into a room the
size of a closet and closed the door, shutting out a little of the
din. He leaned against it and gazed at Simon. “You seem overheated.
Your cheeks are flushed. Would you care to take off that
robe?”
    “ Yes, I think I shall.”
Simon shed the robe, its red velvet worn and the fur trim
moth-eaten from being packed away and then draped over a mannequin
for a few weeks each year. He took off the hat and the beard hooked
over his ears and wiped the sweat from his brow.
    “ You wore all that underneath?”
Christopher laughed at his jacket and waistcoat.
    “ I’d assumed I’d take the
costume off at some point and need proper dinner attire.” Simon
glanced down at himself. “Am I not dressed
appropriately?”
    “ A bit formal for our
house, but very handsome.” Christopher moved close. “Maybe I could
help you shed a few layers. Turn around.”
    Simon turned his back, and Christopher
helped him off with his jacket. Then he rotated Simon forward and
began to unbutton his waistcoat. He glanced up as his fingers
worked. “What changed your mind?”
    “ I heard about your
brother losing his job and recalled what you’d said about giving
the children a good Christmas.” Simon tried to keep his attention
on Christopher’s face rather than the hands removing his waistcoat.
“I felt it was a bit my fault, the chain of events that led to his
dismissal and I wanted to…”
    “ Help us poor unfortunates
during the holiday season?” Christopher joked, but there was a
slight edge to his voice as if he didn’t care to be an object of
pity.
    “ That may have been the
start of it,” Simon admitted, “but I wanted much more than that. I
wanted to do something useful for a change, and I wanted to be a
part of a large family on Christmas Day. But most of all…” He
caught his breath with a quick gasp as Christopher unfastened and
reached into the front of his trousers, sliding a warm hand over
his groin. “I, ah, wanted to see you again. To talk with you and,
um, spend time with you.”
    He clasped Christopher’s
wrist to stop him, and regarded him gravely. “Not because of this , although I’ll
admit it gives me great pleasure, but because of you . I truly enjoyed
talking and laughing with you and wanted to do it
again.”
    Christopher nodded. “I wanted to as
well,” he answered simply. “I imagined I’d have to chalk it up to a
pleasant experience quickly over and forgotten. But all yesterday,
I could think of little that did not