As he kept walking, one player after another handed Taylorhis water bottle. Most just grunted and Taylor just accepted them. Heknew this wasn't right....The trainer should be doing this task but heguessed it wouldn't do any harm to fill these bottles - just this once.In the top half of the second inning, a player on the opposing team hita high fly to his position in right field. It wasn't deep so this wasgoing to be an easy out. He got under the ball and looked up. For amoment, he was blinded by. It is a very particular walk that people perform in outdoor hot pools. They don't want to be seen to run between pools or the steam room but the cold necessitates that you walk quickly to minimise exposure to the cold. Well this was the walk that I performed and I felt particularly self-conscious. This was not helped by the look on his face as I slipped into the pool beside him. I dug my elbow into his hips which just made him smile. He had chosen an excellent spot, this was the warmest and. Little girl? Well not really. She had breasts. She had hips. I had just killed a miniature woman. I was shocked, crushed, confused and panicked. Suddenly, behind me came a shout, “You killed her. You killed my elf.” I spun around and there before me was Santa Claus himself. Now I am a grown woman. I don’t believe in Santa. It wasn’t just his suit, it was his face, his demeanor and his spirit, which even in these dire circumstances seemed to warm me to my core. I looked back toward the deceased. He felt that heshould not have to travel. That all women should come to him. Whatever.When we entered his establishment, we both noticed one thing. That ishow small he is. He is a generous 5'7" and 150 pounds. He looked likethe exact definition of a computer geek. If you were to look up geek inthe dictionary, there would be a picture of The Czar standing next toit.He told us to make ourselves at home. He revealed that Emerson was hisreal name, but to continue calling him The Czar. Fine, we knew.