Chapter 13
“You’re not Santa,” Jonah said. “You’re not fat enough to be Santa.”
Jack’s face wrinkled in protest. “I most certainly am Santa.”
It had been going well up to this point, but Jonah was a tough customer.
The kid rolled his eyes. “That’s a fake beard.” Jonah gave me a look. “And who’s he supposed to be?”
“He’s an elf. He makes the toys.”
Jonah wasn’t buying it. He muttered to Jasmine. “Where’d you get these guys? The mall?”
Jasmine whispered to Jack, “I warned you he might be a little challenging.”
“We came in all the way from the North Pole,” Jack said.
Jonah scoffed. “Yeah, and I’m Superman.”
Jack squinted. “Well, it says right there on your chart, Jonah, Super Hero.”
The kid gave him a doubtful look.
“Well, you’re tremendously brave,” Jack said. “I hear this is your second time in here. They tell me you’re doing just fine. A man of steel. No, a man of titanium. Even better.”
“If I were made of titanium, I wouldn’t have any of these problems.”
“Think of it as an opportunity to prove how strong you really are. A man made of titanium can overcome any obstacle. You got this.”
Jonah wasn’t sold yet. His doubtful gaze persisted.
“What do you have there?” JD asked, pointing to a sketchbook at Jonah’s side.
With a modest shrug, Jonah said, “Just some doodles.”
“Can I take a look?”
“I guess. But they’re just sketches. They’re not very good.”
Jonah handed Jack the leather-bound book. As he flipped open the pages, his eyes widened with surprise.
I huddled over his shoulder.
“Not very good, huh?” JD said. “These are fantastic!”
Jonah gave another modest shrug.
The kid had sketched out characters that belonged in a finished comic book. Perfect proportions and anatomy, a command of fabrics and materials, a sense of motion and action. Impressive talent.
“Who’s this guy here?” JD asked, pointing to a heroic figure with bulging muscles, rippled abs, and a flowing cape. The hero had a jaw so sharp it could cut diamonds.
“That’s Captain Immortal.”
“What’s his super power?”
“Captain Immortal can heal anyone. He can control an energy field that makes cells regenerate and destroys mutations. But every time he uses his power, it shortens his life. He’ll eventually die if he saves enough people.”
“Sounds like a helluva guy. But if he can die, he’s not really immortal, is he?”
“The last person he heals will inherit his power and continue the mission. In that way, Captain Immortal lives on forever.”
“And what happens if the person who inherits his power decides not to use it?”
Jonah thought about it for a moment. “That’s part of the hero’s journey. Coming to accept his responsibilities.”
“Sounds a lot like life,” Jack said. “That’s really cool. And you created him?”
“Yup,” Jonah said. “Too bad he’s not real.”
“He could be. You never know.”
“I’m not stupid, you know. He’s a figment of my imagination, that’s all.”
“The imagination can be a powerful thing.”
“Trust me, I’m using my imagination, and I still don’t believe you’re Santa.”
Jack frowned at him playfully. “Sometimes you’ve just got to believe. How do you expect your Christmas wish to come true if you don’t believe?”
“I want Captain Immortal to visit me and make me well. Can you make that happen, Budget Santa?”
“Captain Immortal is your creation. Maybe you can will him into being.”
Jonah rolled his eyes. “Captain Immortal doesn’t exist, just like you don’t exist.”
“I’m standing right here, aren’t I?”
Jonah stared at him for a long moment. “How do I know you’re not a figment of my imagination?”
The kid was tough, alright.
“Maybe you conjured us up for a reason,” Jack said.
Jonah’s doubtful eyes persisted. “Okay, Dollar Store Santa.” He glanced at me. “Elf.” His gaze returned to Jack. “I’ll give you an easy one. If you’re really Santa, make it snow for Christmas.”
Jack tried not to look defeated, then muttered. “How about a game console? What’s your favorite?”
“Nope,” the kid said, folding his arms. “I want snow.”
JD thought about it for a moment. “You know it’s never snowed in the Keys.”
“There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there? You weren’t here when dinosaurs roamed the earth. How do you know it didn’t snow then? Anything is possible.”
“Okay. You want snow, you’ll get snow. But on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You can’t ever give up. I don’t care if you believe in me, but don’t ever stop believing in yourself. You just said it yourself. Anything is possible. Do we have a deal?”
Jonah considered it. “Deal.”
The two shook on it.
“Well, we’ve got a lot of kids to see and a lot of wishes to fulfill,” Jasmine said. “Jonah, tell Santa and his little helper thank you.”
I gave Jasmine a playful scowl.
With a reluctant frown, Jonah said, “Thanks, Discount Santa. Big Elf.”
JD smiled. “You behave now. Listen to the nurses. Do as your parents tell you. Stay on the nice list.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered.
We stepped into the hallway.
Jasmine said, "I told you he’d be a tough one."
"Smart kid," Jack said. "Talented.”
"Poor guy has been through a lot. Intense chemo. Multi-week infusion cycle. Looking for a matched donor now for a stem cell transplant. He’s an early relapser.
ALL, acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His prognosis isn’t good,” she said with a heartbreaking frown.
“I just don’t want to get his hopes up, then be disappointed.
You’ve got to be careful about what you promise these kids. ”
“We’ll deliver on everything,” Jack said with confidence.
“How do you plan on making it snow?" she asked.
Jack smiled. "Easy, peazy. We hire a snow machine."
"It will melt when it hits the ground," Jasmine said.
"I said I’d make it snow. I didn’t promise it would stick around.”
We continued on and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the kids, exchanging Christmas wishes. I kept all the requests in the notes app on my phone.
Afterward, we returned to the Avventura, changed out of our costumes, and started placing orders for the toys online. In a few days, we’d return and deal out the gifts.
JD couldn’t help but order something for himself. It was the biggest present of the bunch. He showed me on his tablet.
I gave it a curious look. “What are we going to do with that?”
Jack grinned from ear to ear. “It’s going to be awesome. Just look at it.”
It did look pretty cool.
“Be here tomorrow.”
“What did that cost?”
“You don’t want to know.”
After our shopping spree, we headed up to Oyster Avenue for the tail end of happy hour.
We chowed down at Wetsuit on calamari, crab cakes, and lobster bisque, watching divine waitresses prance around in bikini bottoms and tight neoprene tops.
I had just taken a sip of whiskey when the sheriff called. I almost didn't answer.
"I need you to nitwits to get back over to Stingray Bay."
"What's going on?”