The Night Before Christmas 6

Chapter 6

“Why do you go along with this whole reindeer thing? You seem like you genuinely enjoy it, but I just don’t understand why,” I asked my mom. She was such a refined woman, yet she willingly participated in something so degrading—she even let me stick a candy cane up her asshole. It had to be humiliating to expose herself like that, letting everyone see her pink ass as though she’d been punished like a misbehaving child. I needed to understand, once and for all, what drove her to do this.

I wasn’t buying the whole “it’s the thrill” explanation either—I wanted to know her real motivation.

Mom exhaled softly, her posture relaxing just slightly. “Because,” she began, her tone measured, “this ‘reindeer thing’ is the one night of the year I don’t have to be the perfect mother, wife, or even just … Lilly Davidson. Every other day, I’m the one making sure everyone’s fed, clothed, and keeping it together. Tonight, I get to let that go. I can laugh, play, and take myself a little less seriously. And yeah, it’s silly, crazy, and maybe even embarrassing at times—but it’s my night to have a little fun and do unexpected things. Yes, I love to do it—one night a year, Sir.”

This time, the way she used “Sir” felt different—less sarcastic, more thoughtful. It wasn’t exactly reverent, but there was an undercurrent of respect as if she was acknowledging my role in the game in a way that wasn’t begrudging. Feeling confidence swelling, I wanted to address one more idea that had been nagging at the back of my mind. Others were talking amongst themselves, but it looked like the game was about to get started up again after a short little break to lube up the candy cane.

“Your father doesn’t get it either, but some girls just get a thrill out of humiliation and teasing. I used to be high strung and worry about what everyone thought of me. I still do, 364 days out of the year. Tonight, I’ve worried about what you thought of me, and I am trying not to. You’ll just have to get used to the idea that your mom is a horny reindeer. Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” I admitted I was still having difficulty getting my mind around it. “I don’t have a reindeer, and I know the rules is you have to bring somebody to the party to exchange, but what about Blitzen? She has no rider” I gestured toward Mrs. Sanderson, trying to sound casual. She seemed dejected and lonely, and I liked her.

“Oh, look at Nick,” Cupid teased wickedly, eavesdropping on the conversation. “Already picking favorites. Got a little crush on Blitzen, do you?”

My aunt didn’t expect a response, and I didn’t even look in her direction. I could tell Blitzen overheard as well.

The group of DSL ladies joined in with exaggerated “oohs” and playful mockery. My face burned, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at Mrs. Sanderson, praying she wasn’t as embarrassed as I was.

Mom’s expression hardened slightly. “You didn’t swap for her. You aren’t her rider. I don’t think you fully understand what it means to be a rider. She’s our neighbor and my age,” she said firmly, making it clear the question wasn’t negotiable.

“But…” I trailed off, fumbling for the right words. “If Gary is Donder’s rider, and he’s about Dad’s age, and if it’s uncomfortable for you to obey me, why not let me be in charge of Blitzen? Isn’t it part of the fun for you to follow the rules and be humiliated at least one night a year? I guess that is why she is here.”

Mom’s jaw tightened briefly, and I braced for her to shut me down. But then her shoulders eased, and she sighed. “I didn’t say that I was uncomfortable,” she said evenly, though the look in her eyes suggested otherwise. “But who’s to say Blitzen would be any less comfortable with you playing this all by ear? If I was going to invite you to this party, I would have told you what to expect and not have you learn the rules and expectations by baptism under fire.”

No one at the party seemed to take the rules all that seriously, except perhaps my mother. I understood where she was coming from. It would have been much more mature for me to find out what to expect ahead of time. I made a mistake, but there was no going back and doing it over.

Blitzen stepped forward; her voice soft but steady. “Actually, I don’t mind. I was getting a little bored, anyway,” she admitted, her cheeks pink but her smile warm. “If Nick doesn’t mind putting up with me, I’d be happy to help.”

Mom gave her a relieved glance, her lips curving into a small smile. “Fine,” she said with a nod. “It’s not really up to a reindeer, but you have my blessing. All I ask is don’t wear out my neighbor or make her not want to come back to these parties. And remember, even though you can put me in the corner tonight, I can put you in the doghouse for the other 364 nights of the year! Ask Eddie and the guys what they think.”

I summoned the courage to ask Eddie and the guys if I could be Blitzen’s rider. Eddie barely even looked up at me. “Sure, why not, if she wants it, and you do too, go for it.”

I grinned faintly and decided not to push my luck any further. There was no lengthy debate – it was done. The game continued, and I really didn’t care any longer about it. There was a lot of trash-talking from the reindeer and the guests. I was on cloud nine.

I took stock of the victories I had achieved. It wasn’t about hand-eye coordination and winning at pinning the tail on the reindeer. I got a few slaps on the back and “nice jobs!” for that. However, what mattered to me was I was allowed to stay at the party; More importantly, my mom’s respect for me had grown. Comet wasn’t just tolerating my presence anymore; she was playing along, giving me room to assert myself. I also had an official reason to speak to Mrs. Sanderson – I was now technically “her rider”.

Whatever that really meant.

The playful chaos of trash talk and laughter filling the room. Prince’s 1999 thumped in the background, with everyone, especially my parents’ generation, bobbing their heads and singing along to “2000-zero-zero, Oops, out of time!”

I barely paid attention to who was up next and the trash talking around the pin the tail on the reindeer – or the shaking asses of the winners as they stuck their butts out and playfully heckled or aided the next guy in line.

Blitzen and I had been in the back rank together, two shy newbies navigating an unfamiliar space. I noticed she was standing eighth in line, which meant I had opportunities to chat with her during each cycle.

I didn’t bother to even try to pin the Reindeer when it came my turn to do it. I had accomplished what I wanted with the game.

As I stood near the back of the line again, I caught Mrs. Sanderson glancing my way with a small, knowing smile. Her quiet demeanor and introspective nature stood out in the midst of the chaos. I smiled back, looking into her deep, doe-like eyes. It felt like now or never.

“That was kind of you,” she said softly, leaning in so her voice wouldn’t carry.

“Asking if you could be ridden by me? I mean, if I’m your, uh, rider?” I stammered, feeling my cheeks flush as the words left my mouth. I cursed myself for being tongue-tied. Talking to girls my own age was hard enough; talking to a woman like Blitzen—beautiful, sensitive, mature, and as voluptuous as any of the others—was something else entirely.

Blitzen’s smile turned sweet, her laughter light and genuine. “That as well,” she nodded warmly and chuckled, laughing as if I had intentionally stumbled – like an adorable Paul Rudd in every rom-com when he first meets the love interest that Paul’s going to sweep off her feet.

“But I meant asking your mom … you know, if she liked being a reindeer,” Blitzen clarified why she was impressed with what I said. I hadn’t even thought about it until that moment.

I blinked, caught off guard by the shift in the conversation. I hadn’t thought about it as a big deal – but presumably, the other men didn’t question the women’s reasoning for being here – or at least they still didn’t. They must have asked that question when they first started coming, and now, they were satisfied with the big butts and the big smiles as reason enough.

“I mean,” she continued, her voice lowering further, “it’s not something most people would think to ask—if it hurt to be pinned or if they enjoyed it. But I get why you did. I was wondering if I’d enjoy being here.”

At that moment, I wasn’t sure why I asked my mom if she liked it, but it felt important. Now, thinking about it, I realized I just didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable—or worse, hurt. I shrugged, still unsure how to explain it. “I guess I just didn’t want to make it weird for her—or, you know, hurt her.”

Blitzen nodded in agreement with me thoughtfully. “You didn’t want to hurt your mom, and you wanted to make sure she actually liked the game. I respect that. Lilly’s tough—she doesn’t let much faze her—but I think she appreciated it. It says a lot about you, Nick.”

I had stopped thinking of my mom as “Mom” or “Lilly” and now really processed her as “Comet” only – but I immediately recognized that to my neighbor, my mom was “Lilly”.

“What about you; you said you wondered if you would enjoy being a reindeer? Do you?” I asked.

I heard the crowd go nuts for some girl getting pinned, or an epic failure to pin them – I am not sure which. Eddie passed around half-tequila shots, and the song changed. It was Van Halen’s “Jump” -creating excitement.

“This is blowing my mind. I’ve never done anything sexual like this. I’ve never been tied up or spanked. It’s the wildest thing I have ever done.”

“So, you will be back next year?”

“I am not sure,” my neighbor said introspectively. “What about you?”

“I’d like to come back. I think my mom would allow it as long as I am here.”

“Your mom isn’t in charge of anything tonight,” Blitzen reminded me. “She’s like me – we are here to serve you. If you stand her in the corner or tell her to squat and hold her mouth open, she’ll do it. I will too. When you were in the kitchen, your Dad and Eddie took her into another room and spanked the snot out of her- to make it clear that she wasn’t to run you down and keep giving you the evil eye. I know it’s got to be weird to French kiss your mom, but she’s supposed to be just another reindeer to you, the same as me or your sister and aunt.”

“It’s weird – are any of these other women related to one another?” I felt it was a bit unfair that I had so many family members in the party.

“I don’t know the DSL girls that well. I feel like they look a lot alike, but you’d have to ask them.”

“How did you get interested in this?” I said, while grooving to David Lee Roth’s rock anthem and Eddie Van Halen’s guitars and synthesizers.

“Lilly talked me into coming tonight,” she admitted, her tone soft. “I wasn’t sure about this at first. We started talking a few months ago. I was living vicariously through all of your mother’s grand adventures, listening to her stories. I didn’t dare do anything naughty, especially not like this. My husband … well, he’s not exactly the adventurous type. He’d lose his mind if he knew I was here.”

I was disappointed to learn that Blitzen had a husband – she wasn’t wearing her wedding band. I had hoped somehow maybe there would be some connection after this, and I could stop by her house.

“Then why did you come?” I asked, genuinely curious. I was also curious about my mother’s “grand adventures” – what were those all about?

Blitzen smiled, but there was a flicker of something deeper—nervousness, maybe, or excitement. “Because sometimes, you just need to do something different. Something unexpected. Something that reminds you who you are, outside of all the expectations. Lilly promised it’d be fun, and, well, she wasn’t wrong.”

I hesitated, the words forming before I could stop them. “But … you’re married. Doesn’t that make this—”

“Complicated?” she finished for me, her voice soft. “Yeah. It is. I am cheating on my husband, or at least I intended to. You know that at the end of the party – as my rider you get to fuck my brains out, right?”

“Wha…?” I tried to contain my happy shock and play it off like I obviously knew that.

“If you want to, that is, I am fat and old enough to be your Mom,” she offered in a self-deprecating way. She was gorgeous and intoxicating to me. In a room full of blondes, she stood out because she was sensitive, and different.

Most of them were metaphorical hot rods, and she was more of a sensible sedan – but I wouldn’t mind losing my virginity to her!!

“I want to be naughty, Nick!” she bit her lip and slid forward slightly out of line – I could have embraced her and kissed her right then.

At that moment, Marty missed his pin on Dasher, and the room erupted in playful jeers. “Better luck next time!” someone called out while Dasher threw her hands in the air triumphantly. “That’s what happens when you aim too low, Marty!” she teased, laughter echoing as the game carried on.

Blitzen’s gaze lingered on me; her voice soft but curious. “So … what made you decide to come to a party like this? I mean, it’s not exactly the usual crowd for someone your age.”

I was glad that Blitzen didn’t bring up when I was caught by my Uncle Eddie and almost frog-marched before my mother in the living room, disrupting the reindeer swap.

She must have noticed my hesitation because her expression softened as if she could sense the nerves creeping up on me. “I grew up hearing about this party,” I began, trying to sound casual, “but no details—just that it was for adults only, and every year, my sister, little brother, and I had to go somewhere else. Harley went last year and seemed to enjoy it. So now that I’m an adult, I wanted to check it out for myself. I didn’t know what to expect—honestly, I kind of regretted coming at first. It felt like I was intruding. But now … I’m glad I did. I feel like I’m starting to understand my mom, my family, and maybe even myself a little better.”

Blitzen chuckled softly; her smile warm.