Yes…Santa Claus was coming to town. We were busy little Elves at Belaggio Jewelers. Christmas 1999 was crazy like usual. The last ten days of the season were always intense. Every day that came closer to the 25th would get busier…exponentially. This year, the tenth day before xmas, I would break away to my Oncology appointment and yet again test my blood for any sign that the DLI procedure was successful.
We all know the drill. Nothing this day was any different. The ride down to the hospital always slowed by traffic and the ride back….the same. In between, the usual pleasantries, quick exam and “We’ll see the results in about ten days.” Just in time for Christmas. “Enjoy the holiday, hope you are really busy!” “Thanks, Dr. Dave”. Back to work ASAP. I would work non stop the next ten days. Quaterbacking the crew was a lot of fun. I would listen to five conversations at once while my team were selling customers. I had to make sure that each customer was getting the right service, price and wished a Happy Holiday. Gift wrapping always complimentary. 🙂
I also had to get my shopping done. My job every year was to shop for the boys. I would bring all of their gifts I had bought to the store and do all of the wrapping. Christmas eve, I would bring the gifts home and put them under the tree after the festivities were over and the boys were finally asleep. Lor’s gifts too. Locking the front door of the store at 5:30 pm on December, 24th was always punctuated with a big “Whew!”. My drive home was so peaceful, especially if it was a white Christmas. Nobody was ever on the road. I reflected on the year of business. With everything that was going on with the Leukemia, up until a few minutes ago, the worrying was put on the back shelf. We would have the best Christmas possible for the boys. They were at such a great age, five and three. I guess Dr. Dave was being compassionate when he didnt give me a call before Christmas. I’m sure my PCR results were ready. He would have called me before, rather than after, if all was good. Maybe the results weren’t in yet. Who knows?
Everyone had a great holiday. Santa was very good to all. Our mantra would be “No news, is good news”. Until the phone rings and the verdict gets delivered. As far as I was concerned, Santa was a no show. I needed results now. The wait was killing me. Where was my Christmas gift Santa?
Next up: Happy New Year