Secret Santa - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

 It was that time of year again. As luck would have it, Mary was taken by the Secret Santa at work again. Why did she put herself through this? 

It wasn't until she got her mysterious note about who she was Secret Santa that she remembered the broken Christmas candle she got from her Secret Santa last year. And she'd precisely noted on her form NO CANDLES. 

It made her furious then. Now she'd had a year to think about it. Yes, she understood. There never seemed to be money for Secret Santa. Of course, she'd found a feast for her's that year at Dollar Tree. Of course, it was possibly junk, but she'd found some good reads, even some great leave-in hair conditioner, and those warm and cozy socks. Mary vowed she was a good shopper, not just cheap.

It didn't help that she had Barry, her significant other, to contend with. He was always giving. He liked it best if he could help a family in need. He had a list, and he stuck to it.

She found this annoying and yet remarkable how he could go the distance. Oh, Christmas was a giving time. And this year, he had signed both of them up at the assisted living place where his grandmother lived.

"Oh, you know, how much fun we had at the Halloween party," Barry reminded her. Of course, Mary wasn't  giving off THERE's SOMETHING ABOUT MARY vibes even now. Mary was one of those girls who never smiled.

Mary sighed thinking she'd have to go through that again at Christmas. Naturally, all the old people were in love with Barry. They all asked how did she get so lucky?

Evidently, Mary was engaged to Secret Santa. And this worried her.  He did like to spend money so freely while she was perhaps a year around Scrooge. It wasn't that she had any ghosts of Christmas past. She just wanted to survive, and she was a bargain hunter. 

They'd gotten their couch seventy percent off, waiting until January to get it. Of course, Barry had to haul it in the company truck in the snow and ice, and some friends from work helped him up the stairs to their apartment. For their kindness, he got everyone a six-pack of beer and even smoked sausage for them to take home. 

Yes, she was in love with a giver which her mom and dad informed her, Barry was a keeper. Still, she got dragged along to these outings. Because of his giving, they got to camp out in the cold by the new Cat House at the zoo back in October. Mary didn't see this as a prize, but Barry was delighted to be outdoors and to listen to what went on at the zoo after hours. Mary didn't sleep a wink.

"Well, you must love him," her supervisor told her he was the best. "I love the chocolate cake he made for us on my husband's birthday when he was in the hospital."

Yes, even Barry came through for her. He was always offering to do something. He'd cleaned their gutters without even asking.

"What is your secret," one of the new girls at the office asked about Barry.

"I don't have any secrets?" Mary blinked as if no one had the right to ask her about secrets. 

"You must," Gwen smiled as if Mary had been playing too hard to get or something. 

Mary decided it was best just to get to work. That's all she knew, hard work was what got the job done.

"See, you have your own way of being Secret Santa," Barry told her later while he was chopping onion for their stirfry that night. "You always stay late. You make sure everything is done by the book. You do take care of people."

Mary guessed he wasn't the only Secret Santa. Or maybe she was learning from her sweet Barry, after all. He embraced her and told her they still needed to shop for the family in need. He had a list. Yes, it was the best part of Christmas seeing the joy in others.

Mary finally smiled. Maybe she understood this Secret Santa stuff after all.