Marva stood there at the cash register, wishing she could take off the sweater. She had gotten some dirty looks. One man grumbled, “Another feminist.” Another asked her, “Are you saying that Santa should be a woman?” “Are you pushing that gender equality stuff?” Parents glared at her. One mother shook her head and hustled her kids to another cashier. Others didn’t seem bothered about it at all while others thought it was silly. “Everyone knows that Santa is based on St. Nicholas. If you want to wear such a sweater, go for it. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“It’s a bit silly, if you ask me,” a woman standing in the other line remarked. “Everyone knows that Santa is a white bearded man in a red suit and there’s Mrs. Claus.” Another woman said, “She’s just trying to get attention. Just ignore her.”
All day she was subjected to unkind remarks and unsavory looks although there were a few smiles and chuckles. She couldn’t wait for her shift to be over. And when it was, she rushed to get her coat and put it on. Her supervisor, Anne looked apologetically at her. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she said. “If you weren’t married, I would have let you wear one of the other sweaters.”
“You mean nobody else wanted to wear it.”
“That too. Well, at least we know now that the sweater’s not popular with most shoppers which means that the sales, if any, will be very low. I will have to get in touch with the account manager and let her know that the product isn’t selling and to discontinue it. Thanks again for helping with the promotion.”
“I think I made some enemies.”
“Don’t worry. Tomorrow, our busiest day before Christmas will be featured on the local news at noon and Wendy will let them know that this was a promotion of our latest Christmas wear and she will talk about them at length. Everyone will see that you were wearing it not by personal but for professional reasons. You did well today. Go home and rest up for tomorrow which will be like a zoo. And you wear what you want–as long as it’s red or green–to get people into the Christmas spirit.”
Marva smiled. “I can do with a nice warm bath,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early. Have a good evening.” She turned and walked away. As she was heading towards the doors leading into the shopping mall, a young woman intercepted her.
“I just wanted to say, it’s your sweater, it’s your thoughts…so, it’s your business. Ignore the haters.”
Marva smiled. “Thank you.” She didn’t bother to say that it wasn’t her sweater and those weren’t her thoughts. And her reason for wearing it was strictly business. “Have a Merry Christmas.” She popped into Moore’s to get a couple of shirts for Adrien and then headed to their luxury condo facing the CN Tower and within walking distance from the waterfront. He should be home by now.
When she let herself into the spacious unit, a tantalizingly delicious smell wafted into the foyer and she quickly removed her boots and coat. She scurried to the bedroom to hide the bag with his shirts in her side of the closet and then, hurried into the kitchen. Adrien was standing in front of the stove and turned when he heard her. He froze when he saw her sweater. He placed his hands on top of his head. “You wore that to work?”
She nodded. “Yes. It was part of a promotional event. You have no idea how badly I wanted to take it off. I got nasty looks and people made all sorts of remarks.”
“I’m not surprised. People love Santa. They act as if he’s real. Sometimes, it seems like Christmas is more about him than about Jesus.” He went over to her and kissed her on the lips before hugging her. “By the sounds of it, you had a really rough day.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why don’t you go and get undressed while I draw you a warm bath. By the time you’re done, dinner will be ready.”
She smiled and rumpled his hair. “You read my mind,” she said. “Thank you, Baby.”
“Anything for you.” He released her and taking her by the hand, he led her to the master bedroom and while she got undressed, he got the bath ready for her. It felt so good being submerged in the warm, sudsy water and so relaxing too. She rested her head against the side of the tub and closed her eyes.
Twenty minutes, dressed in red silk pajamas, she emerged from the bedroom and went into the dining-room where a candlelit dinner awaited her. Adrien held the chair for her to sit down. He leaned over and kissed her on the nape of her neck before he went to the head of the table and sat down. “Did you enjoy your bath?” he asked as he unfolded his napkin.
Marva nodded. “Yes, I did. Thank you. Dinner looks and smells amazing.”
He smiled then they bowed their heads as he said a prayer. “Bon appetit.”
She eagerly tucked into the Sole Meunière with perfectly golden roast potatoes and salad. He was a much better cook than she which was why he did most of the cooking. “This is delicious,” she said. “You should have been a chef.” He was a
“I love cooking, yes but I love my job as a Construction Manager even more. Besides, you are a fantastic cook too. It’s one of the reasons why I married you.”
She laughed. “What are the other reasons?”
“You’re beautiful, sexy and I’m crazy about you.”
“I like those reasons.”
“When we met five years ago, I didn’t think you would be interested in me.”
“Why because you’re Jewish and I’m Christian?”
“Yes. And I’m not Jamaican.”
“I’m a couple of years older than you but none of these things matter when two people love each other. I admit that when you took me to meet your family, I was very nervous because I wasn’t sure if they would approve of you marrying a black Christian woman but they welcomed me and treated me like I was a part of the family.”
“My family knows what it’s like to be discriminated against and that’s why they make it a policy to love Jews and non-Jews alike.”
“That’s how it should be. In both religions, we are taught to love our neighbor as ourselves.”
“Yes. My parents arrived in Toronto yesterday. They will be staying with Anouk and Michel.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing them and celebrating Hanukkah with them.”
“And I look forward to celebrating Christmas with you, especially the part where we get to kiss under the mistletoe.”
Marva laughed. “Is that why you hang one in every room?”
He smiled. “Yes. Would you like dessert?”
“Sure. What’s the dessert this time?”
“Your favorite.”
Ten minutes later, they were lounging in the living room having Rugelach while watching a couple of their favorite Christmas movie classics. It was after mid-night when they finally decided to turn in. When they were snuggled under the covers, he turned on his side to face her. “I hope our evening together made up for your rotten day at work.”
Marva was lying on her back. She turned her head towards him as she placed her hand on his thigh. “It did, Honey. Thank you.”
He smiled. “I’m happy to hear that and you’re welcome.”
“I learned a very valuable lesson wearing that Christmas sweater. People judged me unfairly because of what I was wearing. They made all sorts of assumptions about me. It was no different from how I’m treated because of my color and my accent. I had a choice not to wear the sweater but I wore it because my manager asked me to. It reminds me of the times when God asked me to do something I didn’t want to do or wanted to get out of like Moses did when He asked him to go to Pharaoh and ask him to let His people go. During those times, I had to lay aside my feelings and doubts and misgivings and just trust God. Wearing that sweater has given me an idea for my own line of clothing. You know I’ve always wanted to get into designing my own clothes but was too afraid to go for it. Now, I think that I will do it.”
Adrien leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. “I think that’s a fantastic idea.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I’ve seen your sketches, remember? Maybe now’s the time for you to do this.”
“Maybe. It would be nice to start my own business.”
“Speaking of business, how about you and I getting down to our own business right now…”
Marva giggled as he disappeared under the covers.
Sources: Trade Schools; Bon Appetit;
Notes to Women 