Airport Christmas

Eleven year old Nathan sat in a chair in an Airport in New York next to his mother, father, and pristine little five year old sister Alice and his seventeen year old brother Joe and to make matters worse, their flight to Dublin was put back six hours and it was Christmas Eve. And it was snowing in New York and Dublin and all his friends where there and here, not so much. ‘You just had to see your sister,’ said dad, rolling his eyes. ‘You think I wanted to see her? She’s an emotional wreck and a drama queen! Colin, it’ll be her first Christmas alone since the divorce!’ his mum screeched. ‘Well it isn’t my fault she packed up her bags, waved goodbye to the family and swept away on an ‘extended holiday’ to New York! And keep your voice down!’ he whispered urgently. ‘Well guess what, Colin? You do it for family, you do it for family! Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got some last minute Christmas shopping to do!’ And with that, Nathan’s mum swept away. It’s true when they say Christmas is the most stressful holiday. Joe was listening to his iPod and Alice was colouring in a colour book and Nathan just sat and felt bored. After a while, Nathan’s father handed him a five euro note and told him to ‘go crazy’. But everyone knows it would take a fifty to ‘go crazy’ and that a five was not. Nathan headed for the small shop that sold chocolates, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and faced Alice. ‘Did you follow me?’ he asked. Alice nodded and smiled, showing her clear white doll teeth. Nathan took her hand and entered the chocolate shop. He bought her a small bar with nuts in it. Nathan got the same; they both shared a hankering for chocolate and nuts. Her pale ginger hair shone in the lighting of the airport as they walked in and out of shops. Then, in a miniature version of a ‘Toys ‘r Us’, Alice spotted a Santa’s grotto and tugged on Nathan’s top. ‘Can we go??’ Alice pleaded. Nathan considered this. It was free admission...they had time to kill, and, if he said no, Alice wouldn’t stop pleading and crying until they did, and there was no queue. ‘Sure,’ Nathan shrugged. Alice jumped in joy and ran over to a teenager badly dressed as an elf. Nathan followed and the teenager said, ‘Santa will see you now,’ and he opened the grotto door and Alice went in. Nathan went around to the other end of the grotto and ten minutes later, the teenager opened the door and Alice emerged holding a small purple package was a purple notebook. She smiled ear to ear and skipped outside the small ‘Toys ‘r us’ shop. And then, at that second, a speaker blared and said, ‘flights to Dublin will be leaving in five minutes.’