Christmas with the Calvins

Chapter Sixty-Eight

With the Council meeting officially called to a close, Mother Nature and Father Time bid the other attendees a kind farewell. One by one the other Legendary Figures made their exits too, until only Jack Frost, Tooth Fairy and Santa were left in the kitchen. Frost himself was snacking on the corner of an unattended Gingerbread house while Scott, Curtis and the Tooth Fairy chatted excitedly about some of the Christmas' top toys. Considering this now as good a time as any, Jess tugged at her father's sleeve and cleared her throat loudly.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt Tooth Fairy, But Santa, can I talk to you for a minute? We won't be long." She dragged her father off to a quiet corner of the kitchen without waiting for an answer. "Um Dad, what are you doing?"

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked.

"Frost, Dad!" She remarked in exasperation. "Christmas is already behind, Carol's going to have her baby any day now. Curtis has been struggling to fill Bernard's shoes. I've got enough going on at home, what are you thinking?"

"Well, Jess, I was thinking we could really use the help. We have so much going on this year. C'mon how bad could it be?" Santa looked across the kitchen to where Jack was. The winter warlock looked up from his gingerbread and waved. Everything about the gesture felt false to Jessica.

"I don't want to be responsible for him, and I don't want him anywhere near my elves." Jess folded her arms over her chest. A signal that she wouldn't soon change her mind about this.

"Oh-ho, they're your elves now?" Scott raised an eyebrow at his daughter.

"You know what I mean!" She huffed.

"Jessie, Princess, I don't like the idea much more than you do, but we really do need all the help we can get. I was even thinking of inviting your mom and Neil up while the Newman's are here. It might make things feel a little more normal."

"Let me read something to the two of you!" Jess once again removed the Christmas Handbook from her bag and began flipping through index. She found the section she was looking for and turned to the Chapter on Legendary Figures. Somewhere towards the end of this section she found a two page, full color, article on Jack Frost. Even from an artist's sketch in pen and ink Frost managed to rise an annoyance out of her.

"Jack Frost is the title given to the Herald of the winter season. Frosting fruits, flowers, tree and other vegetation as well as covering the cool climates in a blanket of chill are among his primary responsibilities. Like most Legendary Figures the title is passed from person to person in a non-linear fashion...Blah Blah Blah, here it is! Although Frost is well liked among most magical folk, he has been known to have a mischievous agenda. Certain incarnations of the figure have been known to display a one-sided rivalry with Santa Claus. Father Christmas and high raking elves must be wary of Frost's icy grasp. He should never be given too many details about Santa, or the inner workings of the North Pole. Jingle-Bells, Now I know what Bernard used to be so angry about has anyone read this book?"

"The Handbook doesn't always represent people in the right light." Curtis explained. "Jack deserves a second chance."

"No." Jess shook her head. "He deserved to be suspended but thanks to the two of you he's going to have, how did the book put it? 'Too many details about Santa and the inner workings of the North Pole.' I hope you two are proud of yourselves, I'm done for the day!" She announced. "I'm going home and first thing tomorrow morning I'm going to get Mom and Neil. Maybe one of them can talk you out of this ridiculous idea. Oh, and wait till someone tells Carol!"

Jessica entered her home humming and hawing in a very out of character way. Bernard was in the Living Room reading a book with the twins played at his feet. He was surprised to see his wife home so early. Since she'd become Keeper of the Handbook she'd worked almost sunrise to sunset. Some nights she didn't come home at all. He'd suspected she was sleeping in her office to avoid him. Not that he blamed her. If the situation were reversed, he could very much see himself doing the same thing.

"Jess?" He watched her over the back of the couch. She was grumbling louder now, having just entangled herself in her own scarf. Bernard stood as quietly as possible so he would not gain his children's attention. With soft footsteps, he edged over to the doorway between the entrance hall and the kitchen. Thoroughly giving up on her scarf, Jess tossed the infuriating thing onto the floor in a ball.

"I know I'm not supposed to be here." She sighed. "I don't want to give you, Nick or Noel false hope that I've come back, but if you knew they day I've just had..."

"Jessica, this is your house." He told her, and he meant it. The small cottage he'd once called home was only a skeletal frame for the house that stood in its spot now. Whoever he had become since meeting Jessica Calvin had built this place for her. It was her house, his had been demolished years ago, and for good reason.

"It just doesn't feel like it anymore. I don't know who I am anymore, Bernard."

"You're Jessica Calvin." He answered plainly. "You're a smart, creative human turned elf who threw away what could have been a perfectly normal life for me. Well, a different me anyway. You made a life here and as fast as it had happened, everything was taken away from you. It's only normal for you to feel the way that you do. What's important is what you do now. It doesn't matter where you've been, it matters where you go next."

"That's the problem though! I don't know where I'm supposed to go. Curtis needs me to be, well Curtis, because he's so busy trying to be you! Something that shouldn't be so hard by the way since he's wanted to be you since he was five hundred. Carol needs me because my dad is too busy to be there for her. Dad! Oh man, my dad! He's so worried he's going to ruin his new family that I think he is actually doing it all over again. He wants Carol's parents to come here! Here to the North Pole! Can you imagine? As if that weren't enough, he and Curtis told the Council that Jack Frost could stay with us through Christmas..."

"Jack Frost? The Jack Frost?" Bernard snarled. "Keep away from Santa and the North Pole at all costs, Jack Frost?"

"The very same." She nodded. "They're losing their minds."

"Jessica," Bernard gently placed one hand on each of her shoulders and looked into her eyes. It was the most loving touch they had shared in four years. "This is very important. You have to go back to the workshop and go directly to Quintin, make sure you're not overheard. Tell him I told you it's time for Operation Secret Santa. He'll know what it means. Tell him to modify it for Jack Frost, but you can't talk to anyone else. Especially not Curtis. Trust me, please."

Jess didn't know what to think. Whatever "Operation Secret Santa" was, it was obviously something Bernard and Quintin had crafted long before he'd met her. There was no way of knowing if it was a program that was even still active. Who knew, Bernard or Quintin may have decided it was unnecessary or outdated. Quintin might not even know what Bernard was talking about. Why was it so secretive anyway? Why couldn't she tell anyone?

But this was Bernard. He had been her best friend long before he had been her husband. No matter whatever else had happened between them, he had never led her astray before. This wasn't really about Jack Frost, Quintin, her father or anyone else. What this really came down to was, did she still trust Bernard? Sure, four years ago, she wouldn't have had a second thought about it. If she really wanted to move forward with her life, she had to do this.

She had to go see Quintin to honor the lost Bernard who had been her best friend. The lost Bernard who she had fallen in love with. She had to do it out of respect for the new man standing before her. The man who still had all the knowledge and talent she'd loved about him in the first place. She had to start putting her own family back together. So, with a small nod and a kiss on the cheek, Jess picked her scarf up off the floor and marched her way back through town towards Quintin's office.