Twas the week before Christmas. Pat's was quieting down for the night.
While everything was normal inside, just about everyone felt something wasn't right.
Mercy and Rachel went outside for a quick smoke.
Rachel thought she heard movement in the trees nearby. Mercy thought it only a joke.
As Rachel entered the door to return to work, Mercy grabbed her arm.
"I saw something out there." She said with alarm.
The two stood at the door, ready to run.
For several seconds, there was silence. Both believed the action was done.
Then, a bright red light lit up the area. Both girls froze in shock.
Mercy, in defense, went to pick up a rock.
The light dimmed. Both girls were amazed at what drew near.
It was the bright red nose of an injured reindeer.
The limp was noticeable as it approached then fell to the ground.
Mercy stayed outside to watch the injured animal as Rachel raced to see if a blanket and drinking water can be found.
The bright nose dimmed some more, then went out.
Until now, both girls doubted Santa's existence. But, this had to be Rudolph beyond a doubt.
Rachel put a pan full of water near his mouth. But, he made no attempt to drink.
He lied there, breathing heavily. Mercy said quietly." Is he dying? What do you think?"
"He looks exhausted." Rachel replied.” I wonder where he came from."
"The North Pole." Mercy replied as Rachel realized what she said and felt dumb.
"What are we going to do with him? We can't move him. Even if we could, where would we go?"
Rachel's comment went without a response as a voice came from the nearby trees." I know."
The shocked girls looked over to the wood line to see an old man, dressed in red.
"I'll take Rudolph home and fix his leg." The old timer said.
"What happened to him?" Rachel said. Not even thinking that she's talking to a mythical man.
"On our practice run, we flew into some birds. The harness snapped, he landed and ran."
Rachel looked past Santa to Rudolph, who finally lifted his head to drink.
As Santa continued, she thought Rudolph's nose had brightened to a reddish pink.
"It took a while to find him. He took us on quite a chase.
I'm glad he settled down near friends at this fine place."
Santa clapped his hands and Rudolph rose from the ground.
"Thanks for watching him until I came around."
Rudolph took a few gingerly steps then went airborne.
"He'll fly home and rest. As you can tell, he's pretty worn."
Rachel and Mercy watched in amazement as the deer took flight.
The old man kept his eyes on the two women as Rudolph disappeared into the night.
"I must be going. I've got plenty to do before Christmas Eve."
Before Rachel could ask her question, he responded:" Yes, only if you truly believe."
Just then, the sleigh bells grew loud and clear.
Landing before then, the famous sleigh and eight reindeer.
Santa walked to the front of the pack.
Checked all their harnesses. Then, to the sleigh he walked back.
He jumped on board the sleigh, shouted to his deer and waved good bye.
As if shot out of a cannon, he took to the sky.
Mercy looked at Rachel and asked:" Do you think anyone else saw him here?"
Rachel went to answer when Jody shouted to them:” Are you two going to restock the beer?"
Mercy went to get the beer bottles. Rachel went for the wine.
Then, from the bar room, Lindsey shouted:" Did you see that outside by the sign?
Jody approaches the window that Lindsey's standing by.
The two are mesmerized as they see parked outside, the sleigh, eight reindeer, and the big guy.
Santa grabs his sack and approaches the door.
He opened the locked door with no effort. Proving he was the man of legend and lore.
"I just wanted to drop these off before heading back."
He reached into his bag and pulled 4 envelopes from the sack.
Lindsey took the first and passed the rest to Jody.
As the two girls came up from the basement and put down their loads, envelopes were handed to Rachel and Mercy.
Each envelope was opened without hesitation of thought.
The four were curious to see what Santa brought.
All pulled out prepaid cards along with a note.
They quickly read what Santa wrote.
"Enclosed is $50 for your last minute shopping. Enjoy."
They heard sleigh bells outside and knew that the old man was the real McCoy.
Without warning, he had disappeared from sight.
Outside, they heard the old man shout "Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night."
While everything was normal inside, just about everyone felt something wasn't right.
Mercy and Rachel went outside for a quick smoke.
Rachel thought she heard movement in the trees nearby. Mercy thought it only a joke.
As Rachel entered the door to return to work, Mercy grabbed her arm.
"I saw something out there." She said with alarm.
The two stood at the door, ready to run.
For several seconds, there was silence. Both believed the action was done.
Then, a bright red light lit up the area. Both girls froze in shock.
Mercy, in defense, went to pick up a rock.
The light dimmed. Both girls were amazed at what drew near.
It was the bright red nose of an injured reindeer.
The limp was noticeable as it approached then fell to the ground.
Mercy stayed outside to watch the injured animal as Rachel raced to see if a blanket and drinking water can be found.
The bright nose dimmed some more, then went out.
Until now, both girls doubted Santa's existence. But, this had to be Rudolph beyond a doubt.
Rachel put a pan full of water near his mouth. But, he made no attempt to drink.
He lied there, breathing heavily. Mercy said quietly." Is he dying? What do you think?"
"He looks exhausted." Rachel replied.” I wonder where he came from."
"The North Pole." Mercy replied as Rachel realized what she said and felt dumb.
"What are we going to do with him? We can't move him. Even if we could, where would we go?"
Rachel's comment went without a response as a voice came from the nearby trees." I know."
The shocked girls looked over to the wood line to see an old man, dressed in red.
"I'll take Rudolph home and fix his leg." The old timer said.
"What happened to him?" Rachel said. Not even thinking that she's talking to a mythical man.
"On our practice run, we flew into some birds. The harness snapped, he landed and ran."
Rachel looked past Santa to Rudolph, who finally lifted his head to drink.
As Santa continued, she thought Rudolph's nose had brightened to a reddish pink.
"It took a while to find him. He took us on quite a chase.
I'm glad he settled down near friends at this fine place."
Santa clapped his hands and Rudolph rose from the ground.
"Thanks for watching him until I came around."
Rudolph took a few gingerly steps then went airborne.
"He'll fly home and rest. As you can tell, he's pretty worn."
Rachel and Mercy watched in amazement as the deer took flight.
The old man kept his eyes on the two women as Rudolph disappeared into the night.
"I must be going. I've got plenty to do before Christmas Eve."
Before Rachel could ask her question, he responded:" Yes, only if you truly believe."
Just then, the sleigh bells grew loud and clear.
Landing before then, the famous sleigh and eight reindeer.
Santa walked to the front of the pack.
Checked all their harnesses. Then, to the sleigh he walked back.
He jumped on board the sleigh, shouted to his deer and waved good bye.
As if shot out of a cannon, he took to the sky.
Mercy looked at Rachel and asked:" Do you think anyone else saw him here?"
Rachel went to answer when Jody shouted to them:” Are you two going to restock the beer?"
Mercy went to get the beer bottles. Rachel went for the wine.
Then, from the bar room, Lindsey shouted:" Did you see that outside by the sign?
Jody approaches the window that Lindsey's standing by.
The two are mesmerized as they see parked outside, the sleigh, eight reindeer, and the big guy.
Santa grabs his sack and approaches the door.
He opened the locked door with no effort. Proving he was the man of legend and lore.
"I just wanted to drop these off before heading back."
He reached into his bag and pulled 4 envelopes from the sack.
Lindsey took the first and passed the rest to Jody.
As the two girls came up from the basement and put down their loads, envelopes were handed to Rachel and Mercy.
Each envelope was opened without hesitation of thought.
The four were curious to see what Santa brought.
All pulled out prepaid cards along with a note.
They quickly read what Santa wrote.
"Enclosed is $50 for your last minute shopping. Enjoy."
They heard sleigh bells outside and knew that the old man was the real McCoy.
Without warning, he had disappeared from sight.
Outside, they heard the old man shout "Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night."