“Well hello again, girls!” Santa greeted them in his rich, warm voice. “If I’m not mistaken, the Christmas turkey and Christening roast?” The both grinned and nodded. “And both looking especially scrumptious!” he complimented them with a chuckle. “So, what pictures would you like?”

“Can we both sit on your knee first?” Samantha asked sweetly.

“Of course! Of course!” Santa picked up the cushions which, the girls noticed, seemed to have some slightly damp patches on them, positioned them on his parted thighs then patted them. Giggling, the girls hopped up onto his lap and put their arms around his shoulders like they had before, leaning their heads in towards him while he put his arms around their waists. Taking care not to get in the way of the elf taking the official photographs, Josh took a few snaps on his phone to send to Laura as a preview.

Next, staying in the same position, they both kissed Santa on the cheeks then they invited the elf to come kneel in the middle of the picture as the three girls in the previous group had taken it in turns to do. They then had some solo pictures, starting with Amelia sitting on Santa’s knee on her own, then one where she stayed in the same pose but the elf stood beside them then finally one where she knelt in front of Santa on her own while he pointed at her with both index fingers, a comically surprised expression her his face. Samantha then repeated these same poses but with an extra one requested by Josh, remembering what Laura had asked for. In this picture, Samantha sat on Santa’s knee again but turned towards him to hug him, giving the camera a very clear view of the meat stamp on her rum.

As a final, fun picture, the elf suggested getting a photo of the three of them from the back, herself in the middle, to show off their delicious rumps while Santa leaned around the side making a shocked face towards the camera. Before they made way for the next pair, a girl of about fourteen with two younger sisters or cousins of maybe eight and six, both girls hugged Santa again then both gave the elf a very big hug, wishing her a Merry Christmas and Hogmanay!

“That was so much fun!” Samantha gushed to Josh as he handed them their clothes and they began to get dressed, trying not to be in anyone else’s way. “You are going to order all the digital photos, right?”

“Of course!” her dad grinned. “I think I might have to get myself a keyring of the two of you!” The girls giggled and finished getting dressed, zipping their coats back up against the cold that they knew awaited them outside the marquee’s heated interior.

“Not one with our friend too?” Samantha teased.

“I’d like to stay married, thank you!” Josh chuckled. “If your mum wants to get some of her pictures printed up then that’s her business!” Both girls giggled.

“Do you mind getting a snow-globe of me?” Amelia asked. “Maybe the one where I’m kneeling in front of Santa? I’d love to give that to my parents for Christmas!” Josh readily agreed and they made their way out to the photo cabin where he spent another small fortune as Samantha insisted on a keyring for every stocking as well as assorted baubles for the tree at home, a snow-globe for him and Laura to keep and one for the prize table at the party too, as well, of course, as the full set of digital photographs and assorted cardboard-framed prints for both girls.

When they came back out, the schoolgirls were back at the raffle stand and Samantha and Amelia went to chat to them while Josh made another run to the car, noticing that there were still plenty of girls either with a parent or on their own going into the grotto for the special session. He wondered if there was a protocol for erasing all the photos taken through the day at specific intervals or at the end of the say or whether someone was going to be going home with a very interesting SD card or two! He wondered if Santa would be getting any prints for his own personal portfolio!

When he came back from the car, Josh found the girls back in the middle field, listening to a man singing what appeared to be festive comedy songs he had written himself in a folkish style, accompanying himself on the guitar and working the audience like a seasoned pro. No doubt he was a very experienced and entertaining performer! Stopping a passing vendor, Josh bought more cups of hot, spiced apple juice for himself and the girls and listened with them until the end of the man’s performance which was met with a very warm and heartfelt round of applause before he was replaced on the little stage by another choir of carollers.

Although they were both still feeling very full, the girls asked to stop by the hog roast stand again to see how the teen they had watched spitted was coming along. They found that the girls girl’s carcass had been completely stripped and the bones cleared away leaving the middle table empty while the girl on the spit was no longer moving and was already missing most of one of her breasts, most likely since these would cook quicker than the rest of her, and at least one slice had been taken from her right buttock.

“I hope I look that tasty and pretty on the spit!” Amelia sighed, taking some more pictures before they set off for a final look at the stalls and to pick up and final bits and pieces that they had needed more time to think about earlier. By that time the clear sky was pitch dark and the stars and moon shone down prettily. Burning torches around the inside of the castle wall provided warmth and some light for the path while the stalls themselves had their own electric lighting so that shoppers could see what they were buying.

In the car on the way home, worn out from the walking, the fresh air and general fun, both girls fell asleep, Amelia’s head lolling back and Samantha’s on her shoulder. Finding the scene heart-warming and endearing, Josh waited until they were stopped at some traffic lights then turned and took a couple of pictures of the sleeping girls on his phone. It was with some reluctance that he woke them up when they arrived back at the house since they looked so adorable sleeping together like that but they were more than happy to help bring everything in from the car, excited to show Laura the prizes they had won and all the cool things they had bought, including the souvenirs from both their photo shoots with Santa but not, of course, the presents that Samantha had picked out for her which she quickly took up to her room to safely hide away.


To be continued...