As promised, Drew drove them to the clinic. Artem sat silently in the passenger seat, looking uncomfortable in the clothes he borrowed from Drew. He suspected the demon was more than capable of walking around the city on the bitterest of winter days in a T-shirt and shorts, barefoot in the snow. If he wanted to fit in and avoid drawing too much attention he required a proper outfit. The parka was a touch bulky and the hat sat askew on Artem’s head, but He looked the part and that was all that mattered.
At the clinic, they were informed by a very friendly, bubbly secretary that the Lab was going to be okay, his injuries weren’t as bad as originally feared. He was chipless and potentially homeless, which seemed to bother Artem. His frown was quickly washed away, though, when she offered him a candy can from the basket on the counter.
Back in the car he sucked on the minty treat. “I like this,” he said. Then he twisted the radio dial. “And this song, it’s catchy.” Drew smiled, rolling his eyes. Leave it up to a demon to fall in love with the twentieth version of “Jingle Bells” they’d heard so far that morning. “What’s next?”
“I want to go to the mall and purchase gifts for less fortunate children. I drop them off at the local shelters along with a few blankets and articles of clothing.”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
On the drive over, Artem continued to enjoy the festive music piping through the speakers. He even began to sway in his seat and tap his fingers on his thigh. All of which made it easy for Drew to forget, almost, that Artem wasn’t human. When he allowed himself to think about it, he wondered just what he was going to do about this whole situation. Bringing Artem along popped into his head shortly after he woke and while he was standing in the shower. It seemed to him the demon needed a distraction from the troubles in his life, and wasn’t that a doozy, a demon with troubles?
Drew figured at some point they were going to have to talk. For now, he happily let Artem embrace his escape from his problems. In a way, it was helping him do the same.
There was a flicker of doubt when they arrived at the mall, seeing as he had no clue how Artem might conduct himself around the hordes of people. Then again, the demon had mentioned more than once about having to fit in in the human world in order to do his job. Still, Drew crossed his fingers.
They nearly made it to the first store when it happened. Artem froze in place, his gaze trained on Santa’s throne and the man sitting there, a child on his lap.
“Artem?”
“What are they doing?”
“Telling Santa their Christmas wishes,” explained Drew, realizing Artem took in all the bits and pieces of the holiday like a young child just discovering the magic of the holidays. “And tomorrow he’ll travel around the world leaving gifts under trees for all the good kids.”
“Can I do that?”
Drew blinked. “Do what?”
When Artem turned to him, he saw the faint shimmer of unshed tears. “Tell Santa my wish?”
The request was innocent and touched Drew, once again making him question the truth behind Artem’s claim. To have such compassion and sincerity, no wonder he was made a mockery of; where was his deceitfulness, his lies and wicked ways?
“Sure. We’ll have to wait in line, though.”
When it came time for Artem to walk the faux stone path through the fake piles of snow, he turned down Drew’s offer to go with, making his way to Santa alone. Drew hung back, giving Artem all the privacy he could, even if he was burning with curiosity to know what the demon wished for. He watched as Artem settled on Santa’s knee, hands clasped in his lap, head hanging down.