Bright Red Christmas Blushes by Marian Casillas, Ed.D.
Bright Red Christmas Blushes by Marian Casillas, Ed.D.
Gretchen: “Do you think you’ll ever get tired of Christmas?”
Noelle: “Does one ever get tired of being told they are loved? Does one ever get tired of eating ice cream, or of watching spectacular sunsets?”
Gretchen: “But you’re Christmas 24/7/365! If it’s all the time, then it’s not special.”
Noelle: “When I was a little girl, I loved all the lights, the decorations, the presents, the songs, the food, and I never wanted it to end. So now that I’m all grownup it doesn’t have to end. Every morning I wake up to see the Christmas tree all lit up in my bedroom decorated with holly and tinsel, and the Christmas music channel playing merry, happy songs. I get out of my comfy Christmas covered canopy bed, wearing my cuddly Christmas pajamas, and go to the kitchen to make Abuelita hot chocolate with a candy cane stirrer. I give thanks to God for giving me the gift of my life and another day to celebrate the greatest present of Christ’s Birth and His Life. It’s the best way to start a morning.”
Gretchen: “But it’s July, it’s summer!”
Noelle: “The Christmas Spirit is not only for December, or for winter.”
Gretchen sighs, shaking her head, and walks to her cubicle.
Noelle returns to her computer with the screen displaying various Christmas themed wallpapers.
There’s a tiny Nativity Crèche in the corner of Noelle’s cubicle, since only one personal object is allowed, because corporate doesn’t want employees distracted from their work.
Today for lunch Noelle packed tamales, Christmas tree shaped cookies covered in green and red colored icing, and red punch to drink. Her white napkin says “Merry Christmas” in red cursive letters. She stocks up for the entire year on everything Christmas at After Christmas Sales.
Everyone thinks she’s quirky, but she’s so sweet and cute, she can get away with it.
No, she doesn’t ride on a reindeer sleigh, but rather a bright red convertible with a snow white colored top. Classic.
Her jewelry all Christmasy; earrings, necklaces, rings, and bracelets.
It’s easy for friends and family to shop for Noelle, anything Christmas will make her joyfully ecstatic.
She longs to live in a town named Christmas, so she can say she’s Noelle Navidad from Christmas, Colorado, or even Navidad, New Mexico, if there are even towns with those names.
To say she’s obsessed with Christmas would be an understatement; she eats, prays, loves Christmas.
To step into her apartment is to step into a winter wonderland. Every year she purges her belongings to make room for new Christmasy things by donating to charitable organizations around Christmas-time.
She wishes every Mass could be like Midnight Mass, so she attends the Traditional Latin Mass at the Cathedral downtown which is as close to heavenly peace as she can get here on earth.
You must say she is very confident to daily dance to her own Christmas chiming bell tunes.
It’s the After Christmas Sale and Noelle is walking out the store carrying several hefty shopping bags full of Christmas items to stock up for the year.
To her surprise she spots a skinny Santa with a kettle and a bell. She can’t resist walking over and making a donation. She sets her bags down and someone in a motorcycle whisks off with her shopping bags. A security officer runs up to her and inquires if she is okay. She responds in the affirmative. The security officer informs her that he will have to file a report and needs to have her go inside the store to the office. She explains to the security officer that the young man probably needed the Christmas items more than she did and that she doesn’t want to file a police report. The guard persists and she kindly insists. She tells him those items probably weren’t meant for her anyway, and she turns to go back into the store.
Again Noelle walks out the door with shopping bags filled to overflowing. This time the officer greets her with an offer to walk with her to her car so her items will make it safely to their destination.
She looks at his badge and politely responds, “Thank you Officer Christos, I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and kindness in providing protection against thieves and robbers.”
He responds, “You’re welcome ma’am.”
“You can call me Noelle Navidad.”
“I’m Christian Christos, and if I may say that’s a beautiful name.”
“ Likewise yours,” she compliments.
“I’m sorry your first set of shopping bags got stolen.”
“Well thank God we made it to my car this time. Thank you Officer Christos, God bless you for the work you do here at the store.”
“You’re welcome,” he replies as he holds the car door open for her to put all the shopping bags in the back seat, making sure the motorcycle thief doesn’t catch her off guard and swipes them from her again.
Having put all the shopping bags in the back seat, she closes the door, and beeps the car locked.
She informs Officer Christos that she is going back inside the store to inform his supervisor about how helpful he has been to her.
She notices that he is blushing and she shyly smiles.
She walks to the Customer Service counter and requests to speak to the supervisor of the store security guards.
Noelle waits patiently until the security guard supervisor is contacted.
Noelle is guided to an office where Officer Christos is sitting behind the desk.
He stands, motions for her to sit down, and then tells her that he is the store security guard supervisor.
“Well then I must speak to someone above you.”
He informs her, “That would be Captain Jesús Belén, and he’s at the downtown office.” He hands her a card with Captain Belén’s contact information.
“Thanks, I’ll call to make an appointment to talk with him.”
“You don’t have to go to all that trouble. You can just call the receptionist and tell her about your experience and she’ll take down all the pertinent information. That’s what everyone does, whether it’s a complaint or a compliment.”
“Oh, but I insist on speaking directly to your superior. I think you went above and beyond your duty to be of such great assistance to me.”
“Well yes, but I had an ulterior motive,” he embarrassingly admits, “I saw you and I thought you were so beautiful that I wanted to keep on talking with you.” He hands her his card and now it’s Noelle’s turn to blush bright red like the color of her Christmas dress.
She brings her shoulder bag that looks like a Christmas stocking, up to her lap, and she takes out her business card and hands it to him.
He boldly inquires, “Do you have plans for New Year’s Eve?”
“I always go to the Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God at the Cathedral, which starts at 5:00 pm. Would you like to go?”
With a big smile on his face, “A good Catholic girl! That would make my mother very happy! Yes, I’d love to go Mass with you. What a wonderful way to start the new year with God’s blessings. And after Mass would you like to go to the security company New Years Eve party?”
“Yes, thanks for asking, I would very much like to go. I usually don’t go out that late, but with you by my side I feel very safe being out at night. But I have to warn you, all I have is Christmas dresses, I don’t have anything elegant to wear for a New Years Eve party.”
“Whatever you wear, you’ll be the most beautiful woman there!”
The room is aglow, filled with both of them beaming with bright red Christmas blushing faces.