Christmas with the Calvins

Chapter Fifteen

"Reindeer?" Neil observed a pair of reindeer grazing in his backyard. "Laura, did Scott send reindeer to pick up the kids?" Laura joined her husband at the window.

"Yes. He told me it was the easiest way to get them to the North Pole." She said.

"What about the sleigh?" He asked looking away from the yard.

"The Sleigh's too conspicuous." Jess said. She and Charlie had just entered the room.

"Oh of course." Neil replied sarcastically. Sarcasm wasn't part of his usual list of verbal tropes, but Scott's current occupation often generated more questions than it answered.

"Well, we'd better go." Jess supposed. With large duffel bag slung across her chest she held out Charlie's backpack to him. The recently turned ten year old quickly put it on and said goodbye to Laura and Neil. "Take my phone for the summer." The teenage girl forced the phone into her mother's hands. "It won't work at the pole anyway, and it's the only way you'll be able to reach us." Jess explained how to used the snowflake device that was attached to the phone before saying goodbye and meeting Charlie in the yard.

"Ready to go Charlie?" She asked her little brother who was already sitting on Comet's back with a makeshift saddle from the elves. He nodded so she swung her right leg over the back of the second reindeer. "Ok Comet, Dasher, Take us to the North Pole!"

Bernard was pacing nervously outside the stables at the North Pole. He wished he'd gone with Comet and Dasher to collect Jessie and Charlie. So many things could go wrong, but Santa insisted that they would be fine. Biting his lip and walking past the stable entrance once more, Bernard continued to wait. The sound of shuffling snow could be heard in the distance as a chubby elf walked towards his superior. Bernard recognized the face of his number two elf as far back as the workshop entrance. It was Curtis, the keeper of the Christmas Handbook.

"Bernard!" Curtis shouted as he neared the stable entrance. He was short, even for elf, Bernard noted. The round silver glasses he wore somehow made him look even smaller. A young elf at the ripe age of eight hundred and ninety three, Curtis took his duty as Keeper of the Handbook a little too serious for the head elf. He was always ranting about this rule or that rule not being observed at the pole and was no doubt on his way over to lecture Bernard about another guideline he'd neglected in his thousand year reign in charge of the other elves.

"Curtis." Bernard sighed. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I was in the kitchen talking to Abby and Judy." Curtis explained in a huff. "They said Santa's kids are coming to stay at the North Pole. Is this true?"

"Yes Cutris, it's true. Please enlighten me on which Christmas bylaw I've over looked." The head elf rolled his eyes. Curtis frequently forgot that the previous Keeper of the Christmas Handbook had been Bernard himself.

"Page one thousand three hundred, article five subcategory E." Curtis rattled off while flipping through the pages of the Christmas Handbook. "In the interest of preserving Christmas magic for children around the world, no human child shall permanently reside at the North Pole." He didn't look up as he continued to read aloud the next section. "Article five Subcategory F: In compliance with the above subcategory, should Santa Claus have any child slash children..."

"Should Santa Claus have any Child slash children born outside of the North Pole, they must permanently reside elsewhere until their eighteenth birthday." Bernard recited the book of Christmas verbatim. "I know Curtis, I've read the book. And I suppose you neglected to read subcategory G which states: A human child parenthesis not born within the North Pole's borders close parenthesis shall be allowed temporary residency at the North Pole for no greater than five months!" Curtis read over subcategory while Bernard practically shouted it at him.

"Oh, you're right." The younger elf frowned. He knew Bernard hated when he approached him about the rule book, but Curtis was just trying to impress him. Everyone looked up to Bernard. He always knew the right thing to do and the right thing to say. He was hard to surprise. Bernard watch his second in command frown down at the Christmas handbook. Curtis had come all the way out there to try and help and all he'd done was shout. It wasn't Curtis' fault he was worried about Charlie and Jessie making up to the pole safely.

"Charlie and Jessie are only staying during their summer break, which is well under the five month allowance." Bernard promised. "And Jessie turns eighteen in the middle of October anyway." Despite Bernard's assurance that all of the pole's rules had been followed, Curtis still looked displeased. "Look, they should be arriving any minute." The head elf explained impatiently. "Would you like to stay and meet them?"

"You don't mind?" Curtis' eyes widened excitedly. Bernard rarely let him sit in on diplomatic greetings. No matter how informal this one may be, it was still an honor.

"Well you'll have to meet them eventually..." Was all Bernard could say as Comet and Dasher appeared in the sky.

The reindeer landed smoothly just a few feet from where Bernard and Curtis stood. Jessie jumped off of Dasher's back and helped Charlie off of Comet before running towards her best friend. Bernard and Curtis had been carefully walking through the snow when the teenage girl attacked the head elf. Jess had flung her arms out to hug Bernard, but didn't account for the additional weight of her duffle bag and Bernard wasn't expecting for Jessie to throw herself at him which caused him to lose his footing. As a result, Bernard topped to the ground with Jessie flopping down on top of him.

"I'm so sorry!" Jess apologized. She leapt to her feet and offered Bernard a hand. Curtis gasped as Bernard stood up. The typically poised elf was doubled over with laughter.

"Are...are you alright?" The head elf managed to cough out through his laughter.

"Yes," Jessie promised, now laughing herself. "Are you..."

"Oh, I'm-I'm fine." Bernard breathed. After a second or two the laughter subsided and he was able to greet Charlie with a straight face. "Hey there Sport, I see you made it here okay." He ruffled the little boy's hair.

"Yeah. It was real fun riding Comet." Charlie grinned.

"Well, I'll tell the stable elves that you can take him out for a ride whenever you want, if you promised to stay in the center of town." Bernard replied.

"Really? That'd be great!" Charlie smiled before giving Bernard a hug too.

"Hrrr-hmm." Curtis cleared his throat to remind the others that he was there.

"Right," Bernard nodded at him in acknowledgement. "Jessie, Charlie, I'd like you to meet my second in command, and the elfish Keeper of the Christmas Handbook, Curtis. Curtis, these are Santa's children Jessica and Charlie Calvin." Jess and Charlie politely shook hands with Curtis.

"It's nice to meet you both." Curtis smiled. "How long will you be staying exactly?"

"Don't answer him." Bernard ordered Jessie. "Curtis, don't you have some important work to do?" The head elf leaned forward just a little so he appeared to tower over Curtis.

"No." Curtis shrugged, not taking the hint.

"Well, I have to show Jess and Charlie to their rooms. So why don't youget dasher and Comet back into their stalls." Curtis then understood that he'd overstayed his welcome.

"Sure things boss." The younger elf nodded. "Jessica, Charlie, it was nice meeting you!"

"Nice to meet you too Curtis!" Jess replied as he collected the two reindeer and disappeared inside the stable.

"Let me take that bag from you..." Bernard held his hands out for Jessie's duffel. "Actually I insist, I can't have you taking out any of my elves like you did me."

"I thought you said you were fine!" Jess laughed, handing her bag to him just the same.