2. Chapter 2
two
Nathan
“ B rick & Mortar, this is the manager, how can I help you,” I greeted the person on the phone that my assistant manager had been trying to calm down for the past five minutes. I watched through the one-way mirror as Ellen went back to the register with an eye roll and I was assaulted by a shrill voice.
“The girl I was talking to said she was the manager, but I knew she was lying,” the woman complained as if there couldn’t be more than one person with the title.
“That was Ellen, our assistant manager,” I explained, keeping my voice calm while trying not to sound like I was correcting her. Even though I was. “Now, what can I help you with, Ms…?”
“Mrs. Martin, and I just explained it all to that shop girl,” the woman continued as if I hadn’t said Ellen’s name and title ten seconds ago. “Am I supposed to go over everything again just because you’re the manager?”
“Well, ma’am, you asked to speak to me,” I pointed out, adding a bit of cheer to counter her anger. “If you need to report something about this location, I’m happy to assist. If the problem is a defective product, I can direct you to customer service.”
“Oh, well I don’t live in the city,” Mrs. Martin scoffed as if suggesting she lived in San Francisco was appalling. “My granddaughter visited last week, and I want to return the atrocious scarf she bought me. It is almost a rainbow,” she whispered, her tone of shock had me stifling a laugh.
“I see,” I nodded, glancing towards the registers on this floor. I caught Ellen shaking her dark hair and grinning, knowing exactly what I was hearing. “You can either return it to your nearest Brick & Mortar location, give it to someone who likes rainbows, or you could always visit your granddaughter in the city and return it yourself, if there isn’t a closer location.”
“But it’s so dirty, with all the people on the street,” Mrs. Martin sneered at my suggestions. “Fine, I’ll donate it, since you’re no help.”
Mrs. Martin hung up on me and I had to laugh. Her granddaughter was probably lucky her rude family member didn’t visit, but maybe one of those people on the street in whatever town she lived in would get a nice, new scarf with the season getting colder.
Being promoted to store manager came with a lot of headaches, but having only in-person locations and no online sales helped cut down on the need for most phone calls like hers. The best part of my job was getting to see the joy and happiness people got from picking out exactly what they needed. You didn’t get the same experience shopping online.
Making my way over to tell Ellen how the rest of my call with Mrs. Martin went, I paused at the site of the charity Christmas tree. We would start having Santa in the store this weekend, but I wanted the tree decorated in wishes until we could get him there in person. The Chariots for Change group asked about doing something this season, and I jumped at the chance to partner with them.
My job consisted of making sure the store made money, reduced theft, and looked good to the corporate office, so the rare occasion when we could give back to a good cause was important to me.
There was a man reaching up to put a note on the tree, and his shirt lifted a bit to show off a hairy belly and I felt myself licking my lips at the sight. Something about him was familiar, but I couldn’t see him clearly with all the people passing by between where I’d left the office door
He stepped back and said something to the mother and daughter who were volunteering, Mary and Tory, before smiling and walking away. I found myself walking towards the tree instead of the registers as I planned.
“Hi, mith-ter Meyer,” Tory greeted me and I smiled down at her. She liked calling me by my last name and said I was the Mayor of the store. “Are you going to leave a note for Santa?”
“Maybe later when the store is empty so no one knows which is mine,” I told her and winked. I spotted the glossy red card with a gold ribbon higher than the other notes and reached out to touch it.
“What’re you doin’?” Tory interrupted me and I had to think fast.
“Santa is coming this weekend,” I said, making it up as I went along, “and I want to see if I can help him make some of these wishes come true.”
“Cause he’s so bu-thy?”
“Yes, he’s very busy,” I nodded and pulled the note loose before I lost my nerve under Tory’s intense gaze. Kids were like cats, it felt like they could read your mind sometimes.
“Let me know if I can help!” Tory exclaimed before her mother called her over to talk to a little boy.
Leaning against the rail beside the tree, I read the note from the sexy older man while glancing up every once in a while to make sure he hadn’t seen me take his note. I’d read some of the wishes the day before, and most were children wishing for specific toys.
This letter to Santa was different.
His words held sadness and yearning, “ ...you never brought me the toy train or squirt gun I asked for—it was always dolls and dresses… ” It had me looking around to find the man again before I’d read the whole thing. I spotted him among the remote control toys and remembered where I saw him.
The man leaving a note for Santa was the same man with glasses from X Club on Folsom Eve.
He had on the same glasses and a jersey for the San Francisco Seals—the football team I was also a fan of—but I remembered being sad I hadn’t caught up to him that night. He’d crossed my mind multiple times since then, and I still hadn’t found any sexy older men who were boys.
Skipping to the end, I saw he signed his name Will . A cute but strong name for a sexy man. Reading on, my breath caught in my chest at what he was asking.
“ What I really want is a Daddy for Christmas.”
Holy fuck. Did he mean it the way I thought? He was at X Club in fetish gear on the kinkiest night of the year, and the club was well-known to be big on queer Daddies. I saw Will was making his way to the register and I realized I should finish reading and put the note back before he came this way again.
My eyes moved back to the scrawled black ink to read on, “A Daddy to give me hugs and tuck me into bed. Someone to watch football games with and maybe throw a ball to at the park. A Daddy who loves me as I am. ”
Oh, you sweet, adorable boy. I swallowed hard and pushed away from the railing, reading on. The next line put a smile on my face.
“Though a cute teddy bear to cuddle in bed would also be nice! ”
Glasses, Will , really was a boy. He wanted a Daddy in the bedroom and out of it, but would be happy to get a teddy bear. I could get a cavity at how sweet he was.
Before I realized what my feet were doing, I was halfway to the registers with Will only a few feet in front of me. Tucking the note and ribbon away in my trouser pocket, I rounded the checkout counter.
“Phone call take a while?” Ellen asked as she handed the receipt over to a customer.
“No, she decided it was easier to donate the scarf than deign to visit our dirty city of rainbows,” I finished by pitching my voice in imitation of Mrs. Martin, but quiet enough the customers wouldn’t over hear me.
Ellen laughed, “Glad you could help her find a resolution.”
Will was one customer away from reaching Ellen, so I decided to do something I rarely did unless a new associate was struggling to learn the point of sale system. “Finish up with this customer then you can take a break.”
“We’re short staffed,” Ellen whispered out of the corner of her mouth while ringing up a last item.
“I’ll take over the register so you can get off your feet for a bit,” I insisted.
She eyed me with suspicion, but scanned her employee card to log out as soon as she handed over the next receipt. “See you in fifteen.”
Will stepped up with his items and I greeted him with a smile, glad to see he was even cuter up close in proper lighting. I had no clue where I was going with wanting to talk to him, but it felt right.
“Hello, did you find everything you were looking for today?”