Just a few weeks before Christmas, after writing a gift list two pages long, Jacob’s mother dragged her son to the mall. Arriving at the shopping center late in the afternoon, Mrs. Perkins took a deep breath, bought Jacob a bag of popcorn then proceeded to plow diligently through the list. Halfway through the second page, carrying several bags of gifts in one hand and pulling her son along by the other, hoping to make it home by eight, Mrs. Perkins came upon a long line of children and their parents in the middle of the mall. The line grew from where the four wings of the mall converged under an atrium. All the children shifted anxiously, rocking back and forth on their feet, peering up toward the front of the line, which started at the entrance of a wooden castle. The castle, quickly put together the night before, reached up to the atrium skylight and was covered in evergreen and tinsel. Inside the castle, a mall Santa Claus and two mall elves had been listening patiently to one child after another recite his or her Christmas wishes since nine that morning.
Mrs. Perkins walked past the children, barely noticing the line. But Jacob stopped dead in his tracks. His fingers slipped through his mother’s hand and the one bag he carried fell to his side.
It was a good ten yards before Mrs. Perkins realized her son was not at her side. When she did, she panicked a moment. She spun around urgently, looking in all directions for her son. Her eyes found Jacob near the end of the line, staring at the wooden doors and the children leading up to it.
“Let’s go Jacob,” Mrs. Perkins said impatiently.
Jacob couldn’t move. He barely took his eyes off the castle. “What’s happening?” Jacob asked his mother.
She looked around, recognizing the children and their parents for the first time. When she finally understood what was happening, she took a quick breath, as if very frightened. Like Jacob, she stood frozen.
Most everyone, from the Perkins’ extended family, to their neighbors, to Jacob’s teacher, agreed that Mr. and Mrs. Perkins were good parents. But neither of them had ever taken Jacob to visit Santa, dressed up like Santa Claus during the holidays, or signed the gifts on Christmas morning “From Santa” instead of “From Mom and Dad.” With no parental guidance in the area of Saint Nick, Jacob had no idea Santa made annual visits to the local malls, zoos and even some churches. Now, with Santa Claus just inside the castle, Jacob’s mother didn’t know what to say.
As Mrs. Perkins stood speechless, Jacob asked a small girl waiting near the end of the line the same question. “What is going on here?” he asked.
The little girl, barely five, unfamiliar with strangers in malls asking questions, nearly started to cry. At that point, her father stepped in. “Santa,” he said, in a tone of disbelief. He looked at Jacob, almost with pity.
Jacob watched the little girl take a tiny step forward, staying very close to her father. Finally Jacob turned back to his mother.
“Santa is here?” Jacob wondered aloud, excited but afraid to show it, thinking maybe he had done something bad to be the only child in town not to know of Santa’s visit. The little girl drifted closer to the wooden doors. Jacob imagined what the castle might look like behind the gray and red walls.
“Can I see Santa?” Jacob asked tentatively, trying to get an answer from his mother. Jacob looked down at the floor. He tried as hard as he could to stop it, but in the middle of all the other kids, Jacob started to cry.
Mrs. Perkins walked up to Jacob and knelt down. She put her hand gently on top of his head. She squeezed Jacob tight then led him back to the end of the line behind a long corridor lined with ivy and candy canes.
As they were about to take their place in line, a security guard blocked Mrs.
Perkins path. He raised his right hand, motioning for her to stop. The guard took Mrs. Perkins aside and spoke softly, in a voice Jacob could not hear. They spoke for a few minutes, the security guard whispering to his mother while glancing over at Jacob.
Finally, Mrs. Perkins nodded and stepped away from the guard. “Okay,” she whispered to him.
With her eyes watering, Jacob’s Mom readjusted the purse strap over the shoulder of her coat and stepped back toward Jacob.
The Security Guard retook his post at the end of the line, which had inched closer to the entrance of the castle.
Jacob’s mother sucked at her lips, unable to talk. Jacob took a breath. “Are we going to see Santa?” he asked.
She stared into his eyes. “Not today honey,” Mrs. Perkins said.
A big lump in his throat made it hard for Jacob to swallow. Mrs. Perkins watched the last child waiting in line move closer to the castle door. When Jacob stopped crying, his mother explained that Santa needed rest after a long day’s work. “But we can see him tomorrow,” Mrs. Perkins assured her son, thankful for mall Santas who work on Sundays.