Page 25 of Christmas at Watson Memorial
“Are you one of those elves who come to the hospital at Christmas?” a little girl in a wheelchair asks, tugging at Arya's costume.
“Just a very festive doctor — the Christmas elves are much sneakier. They're in Safira's office right now, stealing all her office supplies so we can have a drawing contest.”
“I heard that, Dr. Kumari,” the administrator calls from the other end of the hall, probably on her way home.
“Where should I put the kids' food?” Miguel asks, sporting a blinking reindeer nose. “They brought so much it barely fits in the playroom.”
It's like half the hospital decided to show up with something — nurses, interns, even some doctors chose to stay tonight to help. Everyone's dressed up however they could — some just wearing Santa hats, others as elves or Santa Claus — and watching the amazement on the kids' and parents' faces is priceless.
“Per la mia bella pilota e la sua dottoressa,” Marco announces, arriving with several plates of fresh-made food.
While I wait for Alexia, this usually somber part of the hospital fills with joy. Parents who've spent months watching their children battle diseases no kid should face smile happily, if only for a few hours. The pediatric nurses who've held these families through their darkest days help the little ones hang garlands.
“You okay?” Arya asks as I wipe tears with my palm.
“Yeah, it's just… damn, it's perfect,” I sigh. “My sister Emily would have loved this.”
“She's here,” she whispers. “In every one of these kids' smiles. You brought the magic.”
“Dr. Winters, the elves came!” Holly shouts as Alexia appears, freezing in place, her mouth open as if words got stuck in her throat.
“Oh my God,” she finally breathes.
“Doctor, the Christmas elves came,” Holly insists. “The real ones. Well, and Selene and Dr. Kumari dressed up too. But the hospital elves set all this up,” she declares, pointing around while her mother keeps crying.
“You need to wear elf ears — new hospital protocol,” Arya states, handing Alexia a pair of ears that she stares at in confusion.
And there it is — at that moment, the final ice wall crumbles as she kneels before Holly's wheelchair and lets the little girl place the pointy ears on her head.
“Now you match Selene,” the little girl declares proudly.
“Wait, one more thing — someone take a picture,” Arya interrupts, pulling out mistletoe and stretching her arm to hold it above our heads.
I turn to Alexia, expecting her usual eye-roll at Dr. Kumari's antics, but instead, she grabs my costume lapels and kisses me in front of everyone, making my heart skip several beats.
The floor erupts in cheers and whistles — okay, mostly from Arya, but everyone else joins in.
“When I invited you to dinner for New Year's Eve, I just meant dinner, this is…”
She doesn't finish because tears escape my eyes. If Emily's watching me from somewhere, she's probably laughing at her big sister dressed as an elf. But I know she'd be proud, too. Proud that her final Christmas wish before dying — bringing joy to other kids trapped in some hospital — lives on.
Chapter 15
Alexia
The pediatric wing falls silent as night descends, tiny patients tucked into their beds. For the first time since I started working at this hospital, I've welcomed the New Year from the rooftop. What was meant to be a romantic date with Selene transformed into an impromptu gathering — our intimate moment crashed by the folks who'd come to help with the elf situation. Even the staff from the New Year's party two blocks away ditched Times Square to join us up here.
“Ready to head home, Doctor?” Selene's lips brush against my forehead as we rest in one of the on-call room beds.
“Perfect night,” I yawn, stretching my arms with a smile playing on my lips.
“It really was. Who knew celebrating New Year's at a hospital could be this romantic?”
The snow-covered streets feel different tonight as we walk home. The city sleeps, and holding Selene's hand feels like pure magic.
“Stop!” My heart leaps into my throat as I turn the key in the lock.
“What's wrong?”