The Twin's Christmas Gift: Reuniting Mom & Dad

The Santa Clause

Ryan

My eyes fluttered open when the announcement of our touchdown blared through the airplane speakers. I sat up, slowly looking through the window at the melting snow covering the sides of the airport building.

I felt nervousness crawl through me and exhaled a shaky breath at the thought of what the future held for me. A hostess came all smiles to usher me and some other passengers in first out of the plane.

Grabbing my briefcase, I downed the rest of the champagne in the wine glass and followed her out of the cabin and down the steps of the airplane.

My breath fogged up as I exhaled, shutting my eyes for a brief moment to take in the air of the city I'd left behind five years ago. Snapping my eyes open, I buried my free hand into the pocket of my dress pants, regretting my decision to wear a suit in the freezing weather.

After going through baggage claim, I received a text from my driver. Who was waiting for me with a placard ready to drive me home? My plan was simple: get Kathryn to confess to Julia that I had nothing to do with her and that it was just a big misunderstanding.

Easy enough, right? No. It took a little while to get in contact with Kathryn, and when I did, I scheduled a meeting at a restaurant. I was five years late; that thought wasn't lost on me, but everything I did, I did for the sake of my family.

I couldn't be the cause of any complications for Julia, especially when she'd been in the last trimester of her pregnancy. I loved her too much to see her suffer for something she had no control over; that was why I made up my mind to sign the divorce papers. Even though I knew she'd hate me for it, it was a price I was willing to pay to keep her and the babies safe.

As a seasoned lawyer myself, I knew how these divorce proceedings worked, but I just couldn't risk putting her and the babies in jeopardy, so I left everything I'd ever worked for, my law firm, behind and left the country. I'd hired a CEO to handle things in my absence, and as the years rolled by, I secretly kept tabs on my family, watching from the sidelines and waiting for the right time.

I walked into the opulent floor of the restaurant Casa Romana, my eyes briefly scanning the grayish interior before a hostess came, her smile wide and flirty as she showed me to my table, where Kathryn was already seated waiting. She was clad in a white dress that was snug against her figure, the front a low-cut V neckline that did nothing to cover her cleavage.

“Hello Ryan,” she murmured in a low, seductive tone as she leaned against the edge of the table, baring her chest the moment I lowered myself onto the chair opposite hers on our table, placing my phone on the table in front of me. I met her fluttering gaze with an unreadable expression on my face.

“Kathryn,” I responded, my tone dry and passive as I waved a waitress over to our table to fill my glass with wine. Picking up my glass, I took a slow sip, nodding in satisfaction as the wine tickled my taste buds.

I set the glass down on the table, and I waited patiently until the waitress finished taking Kathryn's order before leaving. “Why did you ask to see me?” she asked, a smug smile playing at the corner of her lips. “Oh wait, don't tell me you missed you so much that you had to see me before your family,” my gaze narrowed at her.

The fact that she knew I hadn't gone to my family first meant she'd been keeping tabs on Julia, the thought of which got alarm bells ringing in my head.

“Cut the s**t Kathryn,” I sneered, my face deepening with a frown as I pinned her with a dark penetrating gaze.“We have unfinished business.” She quirked a perfectly plucked eyebrow, feigning surprise.

”Oh,” “Last I checked, you wanted nothing to do with me when it's clear we're made for each other,” she smirked, picking up her half-filled wine glass and watching me through the rim of the glass as she took a tentative sip.

“You planned everything from the start; you knew Julia would walk in at that exact moment,” I accused, disdain lacing my tone as I watched the smug smile pulling at the corner of her lips and fought the urge to wipe it off myself.

She gave no reaction to deny my accusations, and that made me even more angry, if that were possible. “She didn't deserve you, Ryan,” she sneered. “I was doing you a favor, but it's a shame you're too blind to see that,” she scoffed, and I sighed, leaning back against my seat to watch her with an unreadable gaze.

If anything, I blamed myself because I should have seen through her facade before everything turned to s**t. If I hadn't been too trusting, then I wouldn't have lost my family in the process.

“This wasn't exactly what I envisioned inviting you here today,” I said, and she scoffed.

“Don't tell me you were hoping I'd help you convince your ex-wife to take you back,” she laughed, flicking tears off the corner of her eyes, and I shrugged.

“Not exactly,” I muttered in response.

“Are you blind, or do you just choose to ignore me the truth right in front of you?” she asked incredulously, but I gave no reaction in response.

“She doesn't love you; if she did, don't you think she'd have believed you over me?!” She raised her voice this time; her expression almost pained. Before I could respond, the waitress came wheeling a cart towards our table. She carefully placed a dome-covered dish in front of Kathryn, then proceeded to refill my wine glass before walking away.

“Don't you think you're trying too hard to convince me?” I chuckled, shaking my head in pity. Leaning over the table, I met her gaze with a hard expression.

“You never stood a chance, not with me or against her,” I growled, enunciating every word to get it through her thick skull.

“Now, a piece of advice: stay the hell away from me and my family because the next time you think of trying something, you will wish you didn't,” I seethed, watching her face turn ashen with satisfaction.

Rising to my feet, I reached into the inner pocket of my jacket, pulling out a couple hundred dollar bills and slapped onto the table, my eyes never leaving her stunned expression.

“Enjoy your meal,” I said with a smile that didn't reach my eyes before turning and walking out of there.

***

I spent the next few days planning my next move because, let's face it, I couldn't walk into Julia's office demanding to see her.

That would only escalate the situation because I knew she'd never want to see me, not easily. I had to make my move carefully and catch her when she least expects it, which was why I was sitting in the freezing cold in my car a few houses down hers, waiting to see when she'd leave.

So far she hadn't left home, which was weird given it was just two days to Christmas, and I was so sure she'd take the kids out, but it seemed unlikely at that point. Still, I sat there, hoping by some miracle she'd drive out and, like some creep, I'd follow her. I didn't care at that point; I was desperate to set things straight no matter the cost.

The sound of a car's failing engine drew me out of my thoughts, and I looked out the window to see smoke oozing out of the hood of his car. A man dressed in a Santa costume alighted from the car, a string of curses tumbling out of his mouth as he pulled open the hood of his car.

He cursed even more when he inhaled the smoke, causing him to cough uncontrollably for a little while. When the smoke cleared, he fumbled with the engine of his car, frowning and cussing the entire time.

I sighed deeply, shaking my head as I could no longer beat to watch him fumble with the engine of his car without trying to help in any way. I unlocked my car door and stepped out, pulling my coat closer to retain my body heat.

Snow crunched loudly underneath the sole of my lace-up boots as I made the short walk to his car. He looked up at the sound of me approaching.

“Hi, do you need help with your car?” I asked, gesturing towards his car, and he quickly nodded in response, dragging the red hat off his head as he sighed in relief.

“Oh yes, please,” he sighed, moving aside to let me take a look at the engine. I made a bit of a tweak with the spark plugs then asked him to start the engine, and it actually worked. He grinned, hopping out to thank me profusely.

“You're a lifesaver, man. I was already running late for a gig, but then my car decided to act up,” he sighed, running his gloved hand through his dark hair.

“A gig?” I asked, slamming the hood of his car shut and burying my hands into the pocket of my coat. “Oh yes, apparently some kid in this neighborhood wanted Santa so bad his mother was willing to pay twice the fee, so I agreed to show up even in this shitty weather,” he chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Wait, this neighborhood?” I asked, scrunching up my face in a frown. “Well yes,” he murmured, scrolling through his phone, then raised his head to look around for a bit before meeting my eyes.

“A few blocks away, I think,” I nodded, shifting on my feet as I was about to turn around and go back to my car.

Something in the back of my mind nags at me to ask the specific address of the house, but another part of me knew it'd be weird for a stranger like me to ask that. But I threw caution to the wind and decided to ask anyway.

“Which address specifically?” I asked with a curious tilt of my head, and he frowned, looking down at his phone for a moment.

“187 Elm Street?” he responded, blinking in confusion. A smile broke out in the corner of my lips, and I chuckled, walking closer to where he was standing by the door of his car.

“What do you say we make a deal?.”