“I’m almost at your apartment, babe,” Josh said. “Are you ready?”

“Uh huh, I’m waiting in the lobby.” I couldn’t help but smile as I talked to Josh on my cell. There was just something about him that gave me butterflies even when we were just talking on the phone! Josh and I had been dating for a couple of weeks now. During our lunch at Phil’s Prime I’d realized we had a lot in common. Even though I’d planned for our lunch date to be a one off thing—we’d kept dating. To my surprise, dating Josh helped me cope with the stress of not having a job. I was always a saver, so I had enough money to tide me over for a few months—but I was also a worrywart. Josh and his positive ‘you can do it’ attitude had helped me a lot. He was great at keeping my spirits up when I felt down, and he tried to give me job leads. I knew he was ready to go all in on our relationship, but right now, we were taking it slow and easy.

As we spoke, the front door to the lobby opened, and cool air blew in along, with Mrs. Timmons. Elaine Timmons was a nosey, gossipy woman who lived a few doors down the hall from the apartment I shared with Cat, Kristi, and Meg. She shot a snooty look in my direction. A chill ran through me as the cold air whipped my face.

“It feels cold.” I said to Josh. “I’d better run back to the apartment and get a jacket.”

“Yeah, it’s a little chilly, but you won’t need a jacket.”

“No?”

“No.”

“I thought you said we were going to be outside?”

“We are.”

“I don’t need a jacket and we’re going to be outside?” I asked. That was strange. “What are we doing?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“…another surprise?” I couldn’t help but grin.

“Yep.”

“Yay, I love surprises!” Josh was always planning fun little dates for us. Neither one of us had a lot of cash. I was still jobless, and Josh’s position as the director of a homeless shelter for men didn’t pay very well. But somehow, we managed to have the best of times with what we had. On the few occasions we ate out, we used coupons to get discounts. We went for long walks, watched movies on TV…all the things that couples do. We really enjoyed being with one another.

“I’m here, babe…”

I looked up from my phone to see Josh walking into the lobby, holding his cell in one hand as he talked to me. He was grinning from ear to ear, wearing his ill-fitting Santa suit and carrying a bag in his arms.

“What the…?” I stuttered.

“Bud signed up for another Santa gig. This one is at the Sunny Days Children’s Health Center. He thought he could make it, but his leg is not healing well. It’s not a good idea for kids to climb up and down him and make it worse. So I stepped in.”

“So I see.” Out of the corner of my eye I could see Mrs. Timmons watching us, her eyes wide with interest as she listened in.

“But I didn’t want to leave you out. Bud had this in his closet too…”  He pushed the bag towards me.

“What is it?” My face fell as I opened the bag and reached in, pulling out a fluffy red jacket. It looked teeny tiny. “What the…?”

“It’s your Mrs. Claus outfit. The jacket will keep you warm. There’s a hat that goes with it. It’s in there too.”

“Oh no…I don’t think so,” I sputtered. I glanced in the bag. Inside was a soft red bonnet with fuzzy white trim. I shook my head. “You know I don’t do Christmas. And I’m certainly not wearing a Mrs. Claus get up—not in this lifetime.”

Josh gave me a puppy dog look. “Just try the jacket on, please?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not going to fit. It’s too small.”

“It doesn’t have to fit perfectly. The kids would love to see Mrs. Santa Claus. They don’t care what she’s wearing. At least try it. Think of the kids. Please…”

I was not thrilled with the idea, but I could at least show him that it didn’t fit. I placed the bag on the lobby floor, shook the jacket out and pulled it on. It was, as expected, too small—way too small—smaller than I’d even imagined. The cloth barely made it over my arms, and there was no way I could close it. Since when was Mrs. Claus a size six? I caught a glimpse of myself in the shine of the elevator door. I looked like a blimp—a giant, red Christmas blimp.

“See—it looks great!” Josh gushed. “Of course you look great in everything. You’re gorgeous, honey.”

I didn’t think I would ever grow tired of hearing Josh call me beautiful, gorgeous, stunning…and he did it a lot. But right now, I really questioned his taste. It didn’t help that I could hear Elaine Timmons snickering. I glared at her and she burst out laughing.

“I’m not wearing this, Josh. I feel like a fool.” I tried to yank the jacket off, but it was so tight I had trouble getting it over my shoulder.

“You two look hilarious,” Elaine chortled. “Is this for an office Christmas party because the two of you are a hoot! I think you’ll be a big hit. I’ve never seen anything so ridiculous in all of my life.”

“Oh, you think so?” I asked coldly, narrowing my eyes.

“We are on our way to cheer up some sick children,” Josh said confidently.

“Well you barely fit in your outfit,” she said, wagging a finger at Josh. “And you in that red jacket, Amy…well…it doesn’t fit either. I don’t think any kids are going to mistake the pair of you for Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.”

“Um,” Josh frowned. “I don’t think the kids are picky. I think they’ll enjoy seeing Mr. and Mrs. Claus no matter what they look like.”

“And what business is it of yours anyway, Elaine?” I pressed.

She shrugged. “I guess it’s not my business. I just thought the two of you would want to know that you look like fools.”

“Well, I think the kids will enjoy seeing Santa Claus,” Josh said firmly. He turned to me. “Amy, I’m sorry. I know you’re not into Christmas. When Bud told me he had a Mrs. Claus costume, I was thinking that maybe you...” His voice trailed off.

“Amy has more sense than to parade around in a stupid holiday outfit,” Elaine said tartly.

“Yeah, I guess I should have known better,” Josh grimaced. “Anyway, I can pick you up when I’m done, or maybe,” he added hopefully, “you’ll just come along and visit with the kids—without the costume.”

I glanced over at Elaine. She had a smug, satisfied look on her face. She lived alone. I never saw anyone visit her. She was nosey, rude, and she looked pretty joyless. “You know what?” I pulled the red jacket back up onto my shoulders. “I think I look fine as Mrs. Claus. And you’re right, Josh, the kids are happy that someone cares about them.” I grabbed the bonnet out of the bag and pulled it over my hair. “We don’t have to look perfect.”

His face lit up. “Awesome!”

As I put my arm in his, I turned to Elaine. “Josh and I are going to go visit some sick kids and make their day. Would you like to come with us?”

Elaine sniffed and stomped away.