Christmas with the Calvins

Chapter Sixty

"Charlie will you help me with my homework?" Lucy asked her older brother. He was laying across his bed playing a video game Neil had bought him for his birthday. His sister was holding her math homework out, hoping he'd agree to help her.

"Sure Luce," He nodded. "Just let me turn this off." He saved his place in the game before jumping off the bed and powering the game system down. "So what are we doing today?" He questioned, offering Lucy a place to sit on his bed.

"Multiplication." Lucy sighed. "I'm suppose to memorize these by tomorrow." Charlie took the sheet from her and skimmed it over before smiling.

"You have to learn your nines tables?" She nodded. "Well lucky for you, I know an easy trick so that you don't have to really memorize them."

"Isn't that cheating?" She frowned.

"Not really. It's still memorizing, just in a different way. Watch, hold up your hands." Lucy did as he told her. "Ok, one times nine is nine. If you hold your first finger down, you still have nine finger's left right? One times nine is one."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Ok, this is the part where it starts to get confusing, so pay close attention. Start back at ten fingers again. Two times Nine is eighteen. Fold your second finger down, Now you have one finger on one side and eight on the other. Eighteen. Which is nine times nine."

"So if you go back to ten," Lucy tried to understand the pattern. "and then fold the third finger down, three times nine is 27?"

"That's right!" Charlie smiled. "So you have to memorized the pattern, but it's still easier to remember then the who times table."

"I like this trick, Charlie." Lucy smiled too. "Where did you learn it?"

"Your Dad taught me, when I was learning, and now I get to teach you."

"Thanks for helping me!" She said before wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"Hello?" A familiar voice called up the stairs from the first floor.

"Uncle Scott?"

"Dad?" Both kids raced out of the room to find Scott standing at the base of the stairs.

"Hey guys!" He held his arms wide open and was overjoyed when Charlie and Lucy both flung themselves at him. How he wished things could stay as happy as they were in that moment.

"How long are you going to stay, Uncle Scott?" Luce asked excitedly.

"Not very long this time, I'm sorry Lucy." Santa frowned. "I have something really important to talk to your brother about, a Secret Santa mission that I need his help with."

"How old do I have to be before I get my own Secret Santa mission?" Lucy frowned.

"I'll tell you what," Scott said crouching down and looking her in the eyes. "The next Secret Santa mission I have, it's all yours alright?"

"Promise?" She asked with crossed arms.

"I promise."

"Okay. Good luck with your secret mission, Charlie." Lucy told her brother before running back upstairs to practice her nines tables.

"What's up, Dad?" Charlie asked, taking a seat on the stairs. "Is everything okay?"

"No, Sport, I'm afraid everything is not okay." His father exhaled. "Bernard was fiddling with the lights on he and Jessie's house and he fell off the roof."

"He fell off the roof?" His son repeated with wide eyes.

"Yes. He's got a few broken bones but they say he's going to be fine. The problem is," Scott took a seat next to Charlie on the stairs. "Bernard's lost some of his memories. He still thinks it's 1994. He doesn't remember your sister, the kids, or anything that happened since I became Santa Claus."

"But how can I help?"

"Well, Sport, I'm not really sure. I don't think there's a way to treat the amnesia. I think either Bernard will get his memory back or he won't. But your sister seems to convinced that having you there will help out in some way. She said that having you around makes her feel like anything is possible."

"She said that?"

"She did. I offered to fly your mom up so she could help your sister with things for now, but the only one she wants to see is you. Do you think you can take some time out of school and help us out?"

"Yeah of course." Charlie got to his feet. "Let me pack some things and then you can take me up there right away. Oh but we should probably tell Mom and Neil first..."

"Don't worry about it." Scott waved him off. "I'll take you up to the Pole and once you're settled, I pop back down here and give them the whole story."

The second Charlie entered the workshop he could feel in the atmosphere that something was different. The elves were still bustling here and there trying to accomplish their tasks, but the usual cheer seemed to be missing from the air. Curtis was walking through the workshop when he spotted his friend with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder and a trouble expression on his face.

"Charlie, I didn't know you were coming for a visit."

"Yeah." He nodded. "I guess Jessie's been asking for me. Have you talked to her at all?"

"Bernard only came out of his coma this morning." Curtis explained. "He doesn't remember her. And I don't know how to help."

"But he still remembers you right? That's the best way you can help right now. Stay with Bernard, talk to him. I'll be there for my sister." Charlie assured. "If anything changes, please let us know. I'm going to head over to her house now."

"Charlie!" Jessie was relieved to see her brother standing in the doorway of the house. She threw her arms around him the second she saw his familiar round face. "Oh I'm so glad you agreed to come."

"After all those times you took care of me, how could I not?"

"Well come in, come in. We don't have a guest room but Quintin made sure we got an excellent sleeper sofa." She invited.

"Sleeper sofa's fine, Jess." Charlie promised. He carelessly tossed his duffle bag into the living room before poking his head back out. "Where are the kids?"

"Sleeping upstairs in Nick's room. He hates sleeping alone, kind of like his Mom." She sighed.

"Gross." Charlie winced. She made a face back at him. Then her expression changed. She leaned against the kitchen wall and sighed.

"Char, I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. Ten years ago, I was totally prepared to be alone. Didn't have a boyfriend, the family was pretty broken up too. Then I met Bernard and his neurotic personality gave me a center. I've built a whole new life here, and faster than you could say Merry Christmas, it was all pulled out from under me. No one understand why I need you here, Sport."

"You don't have to explain it to me." He interrupted. "I get it. I'm here, with as much believe as I could bring with me. And I can stay as long as you need."

"Thank you so much for understanding."