Tuesday Tales: Picture Prompt Time

Hello, and welcome back to Tuesday Tales, the weekly blog where a select group of authors share a post from their current work in progress. This will be the last post from His Christmas Family since the  manuscript will be on its way to the publisher by he time you read this. I’ve enjoyed writing this novel. Jenn’s four children have been modeled after my own grandchildren, and some of the quirking way they have of saying things come straight from them, bringing back great memories.

This week’s post is based on a picture prompt and limited to 300 words. Here’s the picture I chose. Enjoy!

Serena, Santa’s elf, indicated the door outside. Lee turned to Jenn.

“I’ll get your cape,” he whispered. “Serena’s waiting for us by the bench outside.” He grinned. “Ready for Zack’s secret gift request?”

Jenn chuckled. “Given the look on Santa’s face, I’m not sure I want to know.”

“These are the things your kids asked for.” Serena handed her a list. “Most of the items are routine, but that last one. I almost lost it. Your little boy’s going to be a heartthrob  someday.”

Jenn nodded. “He’s a cutie.” She read through the list silently. No surprises there.

“He couldn’t have!”  she cried, rereading the last item. Eyes wide, she turned to Serena, who could barely control her laughter. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This isn’t really what he asked for, is it?”

“What?” Lee asked, noting the stunned look on Jenn’s face. “What did he ask for? A trip to the moon? A face-to-face with Batman?”

“I … I…”

“What Mrs. Wilson is trying to say is that Zack’s special gift from Santa, the one that can come next year if he can’t manage it this year, is a baby brother or sister. He doesn’t want to be last anymore. He’s even supplied names for them to help Santa out: Zeke, if it’s a boy, or  Zoe if it’s a girl. Twins will work, too,” Serena said. “I shouldn’t laugh, but he’s really thought this through. Santa was asked for a lot of different things tonight, but this tops the list. I have to give it to the guy. He tried to reason with him, but Zack’s determined. When he said he could wait until next year, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.”

Jenn turned to him, her cheeks flaming. “This is definitely one present that won’t be under the tree.”

That’s it. Don’t forget to check out all the other posts on  Tuesday Tales.