Christmas with the Calvins

Chapter Fifty-One

A very excited Quintin charged through the halls of the main building. He was carrying rolls of blueprints with him and nodding politely to other elves as they greeted him. The head R&D elf had come inside to find Jessica. It was the final day of construction on the new house and he couldn't wait to show off all the team's hard work.

"Ah, there you are Jessie." The mother-to-be was chatting with Judy inside the busy kitchen. She was leaning against a counter munching away at carrot sticks.

"How's my house, Q?" She smiled when she spotted her friend. Five months had passed since Bernard and Quintin had first drawn up the plans for the house. Those five months passed like days for most elves, but for Jess Calvin each morning had brought some new decision for either the house or the twins; who still haven't been given official names.

"They're hammering the final nails in as we speak." Quintin announced proudly. "Santa and your husband asked me to escort you to the grand unveiling." Jessie snorted and began to rub circles across her stomach. She was six months into her pregnancy, and her baby bump was starting to show.

"Did my family decided that since they can actually see my pregnant stomach, I'm no longer qualified to walk outside alone?"

"In their defense," Quintin countered. "You did slip on the ice yesterday when you went to visit the reindeer. You would have fallen if it weren't for Curtis..."

"We all just want to make sure Holly and Jolly are safe." Judy interjected. The kitchen elf packed a candy cane striped tupperware container full of carrots and celery as she spoke. "Which reminds me, how much longer are you and Bernard going to keep us waiting for the twins real names?" Judy frowned and so did Jess.

"Well Judy, Bernard and I would have to agree on a name first." Jessie sighed. "Thanks for the veggies." She turned her frown upside down. "Come on Q, let's make sure Dad and my husband haven't destroyed my house without you there to guide them.

With help from Quintin; Jess trudged through the snow, without slipping or falling thank you very much. Most elf houses were only one or two rooms big, and the outsides were painted red or green. Jess and Bernard's original house was considered grand with three rooms and a bathroom. With all the additions that had been put on in preparation for the twins, the new house was practically an elfish castle. Jessie leaned her head on her husband's shoulder and admired their castle.

The outside of the house had been painted a shimmering silver that glistened against the North Pole's snow banks. The front door and the trim around the house was brilliant gold. Someone had hung a silver and gold wreath on the door, and wrapped silver garland around the railing of the front steps.

"Well come on," Scott waved them both inside. "You haven't seen the rest of it yet!" Walking carefully, but hand in hand, Jess and Bernard stepped into their new house together for the first time. while their home had been under construction the Head Elf and his wife had been sharing a guest room off of the workshop's main floor. It hadn't been the most ideal situation, but it was close to work, and the center of town.

What had once been a small sitting room full of Bernard's books had been transformed into an Entrance hall where the Head Elf could hang his prized collection of velvet hats and his wife and children could keep their coats. The Entrance Hall was also where the base of a new staircase sat. The kitchen looked almost exactly the same as it always had with the same peppermint striped wall paper and large picture window, but it had gained a few square feet. The construction team had managed to rig up a dishwasher and replaced the old fridge with a slightly larger white one. What had previously been Bernard and Jessica's bedroom was now a red and green decorated living room. A fifty inch TV had been squished against a wall, and every video game system imaginable had been connected to it. Another wall in the living room was covered corner to corner with video games, DVDs and BluRay discs. Somehow they had also managed to fit a couch and two reclining chairs into the room.

"We wanted your family to be able to visit you comfortably." Quintin explained. "We even raised the height of the ceilings considerably."

The tour continued as Scott led the way upstairs. These were the rooms he was most proud of since he had a lot of say in designing the twins new bedrooms. For "Holly" they had chosen a Sugar Plum Princess theme. Everything was pink and covered in tool with ballerina's and handsome a Nutcracker just like in the play Scott had taken his own daughter to see when she was very young. For "Jolly" they had chosen a blue, white and silver theme. Most of the decorations on his walls were snowflakes, but a giant photograph of a polar bear hung over his crib. There was also a bedroom upstairs for Bernard and Jess. A second bathroom had been added upstairs as well. But the room that everyone had been most excited to show off, had been kept a secret from both the Head Elf and his wife. Scott and Quintin had worked the hardest trying to make this room perfect, so with baited breath they swung open the final door on the second level.

Inside was an office with wall to wall bookshelves. Some of the book shelves were full of Bernard's books, some Jess', some of the book shelves had things Bernard would need for work and some of them had arts and crafts supplies for Jessie. A large ceiling to floor window had been installed and in front of it sat the easel Bernard had purchased years ago. in the middle of the room there was a desk and chair exactly like the one the Head Elf had in his workshop office.

"We thought that since you're going to have kids now and all, you two are going to be doing a lot of work from home."Scott said. "And we all wanted to make sure you had a perfect place to do all of that."

It was clear that a lot of time, work, effort and love had gone into constructing the one of a kind home. Not only had the team made sure there was plenty of room for the growing family, they had also added in lots of convenient modern technology that most elves didn't have. Like motion activated baby monitors, satellite television, wireless internet, and a small washer and dryer in the downstairs bathroom. It might have been overwhelming at first knowing that they were about to become parents, but with a new house that seemed equipped for every situation; both Bernard and Jessie couldn't have felt more confident in the life changing experience they were about to embark on.