Christmas with the Calvins

Chapter Fifty-Five

Christmas morning 2003 found Santa Claus leaning back in an arm chair with his two favorite grandchildren snoozing in his lap. Of course it was easy to be his favorites when they were his only grandkids. They were only three days old but Nick and Noel had were already developing their own personalities. Like his father, Nicholas was fidgety, restless, and he hated to be left alone. Noel on the other hand could sleep through the worst of blizzards and she loved being snuggled up in someone's arms.

"You're going to spoil them." Jess sighed as she entered the room, a platter of baked goods in her hands.

"Spoil them?" Scott laughed as his daughter set down the tray. "And why shouldn't I? Come on, that's what Grandfathers do!"

"Well for starters spoiling your children can lead to sever abandonment complexes when they are older..." Neil started to explain.

"Dr. Miller, I'm not sure we could avoid spoiling our children even if we wanted to." Bernard sighed from the couch he'd been sitting at. "The elves will just do it for us. Quintin filled our house with all kinds of expensive gadgets, Judy's already knit them a drawer full of hats..." The Head Elf sighed again. "I dare not ask Curtis what sort of 'surprises' he's been working on."

"Curtis did a great job helping us this year, you should give him some credit." His wife scolded. Bernard nodded in agreement.

"You're right. But It's just what Curtis and I do. He goes out of his way to impress me and I get annoyed by him. He's like the little brother I never had."

"It's not too late to return your presents." Charlie joked as he and Lucy now entered the room. Fittingly both brother and sister were carrying a stack of presents. "I got gift receipts for everything!"

"I said he was like the brother I never had, not the one I do." Bernard explained, now flustered.

"Oh so you can tease but you can't dish it out?" Scott chuckled. His laugher jostled the babies in his lap, which immediately made Nicholas start to whine.

"Why don't you give Nana a chance to hold him?" Laura suggested before scooping her grandson up from her Ex-Husband's lap.

"Hey!" Scott complained. "Who said you could pilfer my baby?"

"They're not your babies!" Laura laughed. "And you'll have plenty of time to spend with them. Whereas Neil and I will only be able to see them during visits."

"You know what, it's fine." Scott huffed. "Noel and I will just stay here and cuddle in our favorite chair."

"I think you guys had held my kids longer than I have." Jess complained.

"Don't fight them!" Bernard interrupted. "Come 3am we will be very glad your parents tired out our children."

"Can we open presents now?" Lucy asked one she and Charlie had stacked the last of the gifts in Jess and Bernard's living room.

"Yes." Jessie jumped to her feet. "And since Christmas is at our house this year, I get to play Santa. Luce, Charlie, have a seat." After her younger brother and sister were seated, Jess started to dig into the pile of presents and pass them out to their respective receivers. As the gifts were being opened the Millers and the Calvins talk about some of the best, and worst gifts they'd ever received.

"The best thing I ever got from Bernard was that climbing gear!" Charlie announced enthusiastically. "I use it all the time..."

"Do you break into the High Schools of other towns and fix their principals up with your friend's single parents?" Carol questioned sarcastically. "Or was it just me you graced that honor with?" Charlie looked down at his shoes sheepishly. "And you," Carol pointed to Bernard accusingly. "Expert level climbing gear for a sixteen year old?"

"What else would you get for the son of Santa?" Bernard shrugged. "He's had practically every toy or game system he's ever wanted since he was eight." Charlie wanted to defend his brother-in-law but her honest didn't have any defense.

"Well Dad," Jess interjected, changing the subject as she found a present addressed to the big guy himself. "This present is from Neil and I both. Though technically it was from Mom originally."

"Oh boy!" Scott rubbed his together sourly. "A present from Neil? Is it a glow in the dark sweater?" Everyone laughed, but Neil and Jess laughed the loudest. Scott didn't know how to react when he opened his gift to reveal an actual sweater. "You...actually...got...me a sweater?"

"Does that sweater look familiar to you at all?" Jessie probed.

"I don't own that many sweaters Jess." Scott reminded her. "Most of the time I just wear my red suit.

"Yes," Jess nodded "but sometimes you go visit mom and Neil and sometimes you borrow Neil's sweaters..."

"And on one particular night you borrowed my sweater and took Carol to a Christmas party." Neil concluded.

"That's the sweater from our first date?" Carol questioned excitedly. She leaned over her husband's shoulder to give the garment a closer inspection. Sure enough she remembered the sweater from the night of the faculty Christmas party. It was a green cable knit sweater. "I remember, because it seemed so tame compared to the other sweaters you'd shown up at the school with."

"Well now that you know Neil, you know why." Scott smiled. "This was really thoughtful Neil, Jessie, thank you."

Shortly after presents were open, Noel and Nicholas were tucked into their beds for an afternoon nap. The rest of the family had shared a feast of glazed ham, bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots and other favorite holiday foods. After dinner Neil, Laura, Lucy and Charlie returned to their home Chicago with promises to visit again soon. Once of the rest of the family had arrived safely home, Carol and Scott returned to the main workshop building to enjoy the last of their vacation day. By the time the day was over, Jess and Bernard were completely exhausted. They had survived their first Christmas as parents and hosted their first Christmas party. It the end, all of their hard work from the year seemed to feel worth it.