Business as Usual
Written December 2003
The music played, a soft hum above the noise of the
shoppers. People moved past Chaya, rushing to meet the deadlines and buy
only the best quality gifts from the best sales. Children bounced underfoot,
begging their parents for all the cool, new toys.
Holiday spirits had caught on to everyone. There wasn’t
a face in the mall that didn’t sport a smile. Laugher and chatter echoed throughout.
Chaya smiled from behind the register. Business was
thriving. Lines were long everywhere, and that included her bookstore. In
the three hours that Chaya had been working, the line had never dropped below
five customers for longer than a few minutes.
Chaya rung up an elderly lady’s order, and money exchanged
hands. “Merry Christmas,” she wished the woman cheerfully.
On the day went, until the crowds thinned and the stores
began to shut their doors. Chaya closed the shop and opened the register to
count that day’s profit.
The day had been a success, just as the last day had
been. There was something about the weekend before Christmas that brought
everyone out, even those who huddled in their houses all day during the rest
of the year, never seeing the light of day other than at Christmastime. Holiday
cheer was contagious, and once it gripped them it didn’t let them go until
after January. It was illness enough that those affected by it could spend
mass amounts of money with a smile and a laugh.
As for Chaya, she was simply a spectator basking in
the financial effects of the season. It was the busiest time of the year,
the time she relied on to make those last ends meet.
The Christmas cheer never caught onto Chaya. She could
spend hours in exposure, fake cheer in her voice, and she remained immune
to it. It wasn’t her culture, and she had never wished it to be. She played
her part as the businesswoman, ran sales, brought in mass amounts of money
for herself and her business, and called it even.
After all, it is a Jewish tradition to make a lot of
money off of Christmas folly.