“Alright then," he said, "what say we finish brunch here and then see about getting the sleigh outside the right way up?”

“Sure thing!"

In her excitement, she quite forgot her manners. For such a small and slim creature, she could sure put away food like nothing he'd ever seen. He sipped at his hot chocolate and took a few cookies and a slice of spiced cake from the tray to eat as he watched her gobble up the rest. When she finished the last crumb, she punctuated the finale with a loud burp.

“Charming,” he noted with faint amusement.

“I'll just get showered and dressed then I'll be right down."

"Ok!" she nodded.

She didn't move, watching him intently as she awaited him to disrobe.

“You should probably wait downstairs."

“Are you sure? I could help!"

It then occurred to him that he was standing in his bedroom with a beautiful, young twenty-something who was apparently very nonchalant about seeing him naked. Wait, did she just mean she'd help him disrobe or did she want to help him out in the shower? It had been months since... No! Hey there evil train of thought, stop right there.

“No, that's fine. Thank you, Callie. I'll be down in a little while.

You wait downstairs."

“Sure thing!" She hopped once on the spot and then zipped out of the room leaving a trail of cookie crumbs in her wake.

Wendall took a deep breath and went for a cold shower. This was crazy.

He was crazy. Everything had gone completely nuts. On the other hand it sure had taken his mind off his divorce for a while. Kind of in the same way breaking a finger can make you overlook stubbing your toe on something. Freaking Santa Claus?

As he stepped out of the shower, he looked across into the bathroom mirror. He certainly didn't look much like a Santa. He looked more like a “before” example of a guy they'd use in an ad for male pattern baldness. Looking down over himself, he gave his belly a poke. Ok, perhaps he'd made a start towards the Santa look in that department.

Though it wasn't Like he was hideous to look at. His jaw was pretty chiselled, and his smile was warm and inviting. By far and away his most striking feature were his eyes that were a very intense shade of vibrant blue.

Now all he needed was a massive white beard and a white wig, along with the rosy cheeks and red nose of a man with a long-term drinking problem. After developing a short-term drinking problem, it wasn't a phase he was keen to revisit. Not even to make himself Look the part.

Not wanting to leave Callie waiting, he rushed back into his bedroom and picked out some clothes. Then, figuring he might be away for a few days, he pulled the suitcase from under the bed that he'd packed up to move out there. He repacked the things he'd been using including his

PJ's, dressing gown, and slippers. He took one last look around his bedroom and hauled the suitcase downstairs.