Christmas Wishes Past

By

Chris B.

Three Days Before Christmas…

It was Christmas time and time for the annual Nelson Institute of Marine Research family Christmas party. Lee Crane, Captain of the SSRN Seaview stood off alone near the cafeteria patio doors watching the parade of children running up to meet Santa to relay their fondest Christmas wishes and garner a gift from the jolly old elf. His face sported a rather wistful grin as the kid’s faces burst into huge smiles as Santa listened attentively to their earnest requests and then dispensed his presents.

Seeing Lee off by himself, his best friend and executive officer Chip Morton sidled over to join the Captain and offer him a cup of the adult cheer.

“You know I never get tired of watching the kids get so excited over meeting Santa and then seeing their faces light up as they unwrap their presents.” Chip remarked.

“What?” Lee responded totally lost in his own thoughts.

“Earth to Lee. Where were you off to?”

“Oh thanks” he said taking the cup of eggnog, “No place in particular, just enjoying the party and watching the children.” Lee responded.

“I remember those days myself.” Chip smiled fondly. “I’d make up my list and make sure it had ALL the goodies I wanted to see under the Christmas tree, then Mom and Dad would bundle us all up and head for Grindles department store to go see Santa. Seemed like I waited in line forever to sit on Santa’s lap to let him know that I had been a good boy and what I wanted. I also wrote my letter to Santa and deposited it in the Christmas mailbox in case I missed anything.”

“You…good boy…?” Lee smirked and burst into laughter as Chip shot him a particularly nasty look. “This is the same guy that was the bane of ever underclassman at the Academy?”

Chip broke into laughter as well. “I seem to remember you were right there with me and I believe the correct term for you was “instigator”. Anyway, by then I was pretty sure Santa wasn’t the least bit interested in what I wanted for Christmas.”

“So what was your Holy Grail of Christmas gifts, a Red Rider BB gun?” Lee inquired laughingly.

“Nothing so mundane.” Chip responded. “My best present ever was a Nintendo 64 game console when I was 8 years old. That was the coolest thing in the world and I played it until the circuit board fried.”

“So what did you ask Santa for? I bet with that baby face and shy little look you spring on people when you really want something you probably got your wish list pretty much filled.”

“I never really went in for all of that. I tried it once and nothing ever came of it so I figured what was the point.” Lee said.

Chip looked at Lee questioningly. “What do you mean? What was it you asked for, a nuclear submarine?” he joked.

Lee laughed rather sadly and shook his head. “No. I think I was 6 years old and the orphanage brought a Santa in for the Christmas party. They had us write a letter to Santa and then go sit on his lap and let him know what we wanted. Everybody else had a really long list of things they would like to have. I just had one thing, a red Schwinn Stingray bicycle with a banana seat. It was such a cool ride and I would have given just about anything to get one. So I wrote my letter and put in the box and waited for Santa to bring me my present. Come Christmas Day there was nothing for me under the tree so I kind of figured Santa thought I hadn’t been good enough that year to rate a present. Heck I would have been thrilled with a lump of coal; it would have at least been something.”

Chip stared at Lee with a stunned look on his face. “Oh man that was a really insensitive question, I’m sorry.” Chip knew that Lee had not had the greatest of childhoods and still marveled at the exceptional individual Lee was, given the hardships he’d endured during his early years.

“It’s no big deal; it’s long gone. As I grew older I just found the whole thing a rather cruel joke, to build up those expectations and then not come through with anything. Nobody actually got what they asked for, they got useful stuff like socks and underwear and I can see the reasoning behind the “gifts” as an adult but it would have been better off if they hadn’t brought Santa to the party. ”

They stood together in silence lost in their own thoughts watching the last little boy have his meeting with Santa. With the last gift opened the party began winding down.

“Hey you want to go out and grab a burger and some brews?” Chip asked.

“Sure. Let’s go wish everyone a Merry Christmas before they head off for the holidays and then we can go snag us some grub.”

Earlier Admiral Harriman Nelson had snuck out onto the patio to grab a quick smoke hopefully undetected by the Chief Medical Officer. As he started to come in he saw Lee and Chip standing by the doors and intended to join them until he heard Chip’s question. As he listened to Lee relate his childhood experience his heart ached for the disappointed little boy that still lived within Lee. For a man who presented such a confident and self-sufficient front he was still surprisingly vulnerable in certain aspects of his life.

From the time he had first met Lee as a plebe at the Naval Academy, he had felt a connection to the young man. With his appointment as Captain of the Seaview for the last two years that connection had evolved from one of friendship to that of deep affection that a father feels for his son. When Lee and Chip became quiet Harri backed away undetected by the two men. As he watched Chip and Lee work through the crowd wishing everyone a happy holiday his mind replayed the conversation.

Christmas morning…

Christmas morning dawned as it usually does in Santa Barbara with blue skies and a cool nip in the air. Lee was excited about the day as the Admiral and Chip were coming over to exchange gifts and spend the day as neither one was heading home for the holidays. Since coming to the Institute Lee had received the greatest gifts he could ever imagine, those of a job that he truly loved, the most beautiful submarine in the world to command and most importantly the family he had always longed for, a father and brother who he dearly loved.

He got up out of bed and moved the bathroom to grab a shower and get dressed. He needed to whip up some breakfast as Chip and the Admiral would be arriving shortly to start off the festivities of the day. He pulled on his favorite jeans and green stripped oxford and headed downstairs to fire up the coffee pot and do a little food prep before things got too crazy.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs and headed into the living room towards the kitchen he came to a screeching halt. He closed his opened and closed his eyes a number of times to make sure that he wasn’t hallucinating. It just wasn’t possible. There parked in front of his Christmas tree was a brand new cherry-red Haley Davidson Roadster with a huge red bow on the seat. He stood there slack-jawed, gaping like a beached fish at the beautiful bike.

He slowly walked over to the bike and tentatively reached out his hand to touch it, not really expecting it to be real. But real it was! He ran his hands seductively over the entire length of the bike just drinking in its beauty. As he reached the handlebars he found the gift tag. To: Lee. From: Santa. Lee shook his head in total disbelief.

Lying between the handlebars was an envelope addressed to Lee. Lee carefully opened the envelope and pulled out two pieces of paper. The first was the title to the bike, already registered in his name. The second sheet was a letter. He unfolded the sheet and began to read:

Dear Lee,

Please forgive me for being so late in getting you the red bike you asked for so many years ago. Your Christmas letter got lost in the mail and only now has reached me. I have long wondered why you never wrote me and now I think I have my answer.

I want you to know that you have always been on the “Good” list and I have never known anyone who so embodies the true meaning of the season all year round. Because it has taken your letter so long to arrive, I have taken the liberty of updating your wish to something a little more appropriate for your age. I truly hope you enjoy the gift. Merry Christmas!

Yours truly,

Santa

Lee wiped a couple tears from his eyes overcome by the enormity and thoughtfulness of the gift. Up until the NIMR Christmas party he had never told anyone about that Christmas wish so many years ago. There was no way Chip would have sprung for anything like this and was at a loss to explain how anyone else knew, let alone was able to get it into his house undetected in the middle of the night. As he stood there contemplating his new toy his smile grew bigger and he found himself as excited and giddy as the kids at the party. He couldn’t quit smiling and in fact his face was starting to hurt he’d been smiling so long.

He climbed onto the bike and started making vrooming sounds just as Chip and the Admiral walked in. Looking far younger than his years to begin with, Lee now looked about 8 years old as he rocked and bounced about on the bike. Both the Admiral and Chip burst into laughter at the spectacle and as Lee became aware of their presence he blushed turning the same color as his new bike.

Lee flashed one of his most joyous smiles and suddenly blurted out, “Look what Santa brought me!”

“Geez Lee you must have been REALLY good this year for Santa to lug that thing all the way from the North Pole.” Chip said as he chuckled at his friend.

“Santa said that my letter got lost in the mail and he’s only just received it. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?” Lee asked looking intently at his friend.

“Oh sure, like I would give you a dream ride like this when I can’t afford one myself. I love you bro, but not nearly that much.” Chip laughed. “No I think Santa was telling the truth or maybe…one of his elves overheard us at the party.” Chip responded still smiling at the gleeful look on Lee’s face. Chip glanced surreptitiously over at the Admiral.

The grin on the Admiral’s face and light that twinkled in his eye told the whole story. Harri became aware of Chip’s scrutiny and just gave him a “who me?” look and a shrug in return. As their eyes met they both laughed and watched the little boy still inside Lee delight over the toy long wished for.

Lee climbed off his bike and walked over to his “father” and his “brother”. “Thank you Santa for ALL the gifts you’ve given me.” He gave each man a hearty hug which was readily returned and they moved to the kitchen to get on with the day.