This is the second part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I before continuing.
“Hey, boss, you should come see this.”
Santa spun his chair around so he could use his legs to propel himself backwards, slowing to a stop just as he reached Benjy’s desk. “What is it?”
“Check out this Christmas wish we just got in.” He pointed at the section of the screen containing the wish in question.
Santa furrowed his brow as he read it.
“Have we ever gotten a wish like that before?”
“A few, but they are rare. Adults don’t usually make Christmas wishes.”
“That’s what I thought. What should we do?”
“Is she on the nice list?”
“Definitely. She’s a blood donor, volunteers at her local animal shelter, and is always pitching in to help friends and family when they need it. She even helped an old lady to her feet after she fell on a set of stairs earlier this year.”
Santa nodded slowly, still looking at Benjy’s screen. “That’s very promising. What about the other girl? Pippa?”
“She’s also on the nice list, but just barely. She tends not to do anything to hurt anyone, but she also doesn’t exert herself to help anyone unless she absolutely can’t get out of it.”
“That’s a tough call, but I think we should grant this wish.”
Benjy smiled and sat up straighter. He hadn’t even realized how much he had hoped Santa would say that. “Great! How do we do that?”
Santa stroked his beard as he thought. “It is tricky. If Pippa is also on the nice list, we can’t hurt her. Can you do some more research on her and find something we can use?”
“You got it, Boss!” Benjy saluted before turning back to his desk to get to work.
It was a matter of moments before Benjy was calling Santa over again.
“What did you find?”
“Pippa has been texting her mom about how much money her boyfriend’s dad makes.”
Santa’s jaw dropped. ”She’s a golddigger?”
“Looks that way.”
“And she’s on the nice list?”
“Must have been an oversight.”
“This changes everything. Feel free to go after her with everything you’ve got. Hold nothing back.”
“And by that you mean…?”
“I mean hurting Pippa is no longer off the table. I wish we could still put coal in people’s stockings, but as it is, you’ll have to get creative. And when you’re done with that, schedule a team meeting to update our process for putting people on the Naughty and Nice lists.”
“Yes, sir,” Benjy said, wondering if he should be put on the naughty list for the amount of enjoyment he was taking in granting this particular wish.
To be continued…