Christmas With the Calvins Two: Charlie and the Toy Factory

Chapter Eleven

"Okay, can you explain to me why I can't tell Holly about you and me and You-Know-What?" Jack asked Charlie as they walked down the street together. They had just returned to Chicago from the North Pole and stepped out of an alleyway a few blocks from the bakery. "I mean your sisters knows, your brother knows, it seems like your whole family is in on the secret. You even told me and I'm not family at all."

"Well, Buddy is a special case he was born at the North Pole." Charlie clarified. "But the reason you can't tell anyone yet is because you're not Frost yet."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Does that mean that you could tell her?" Jack asked.

"We like to try and keep the list of people who are in on the secret as small as possible." Charlie explained. "But yes, assuming everything went according to plan today, I did have a plan on how we can tell Holly. I promise we will tell her but Christmas has a habit of not always going according to plan. So, I'd like to wait until it's a little closer before we bring it up. In the meantime, enjoy the season with your sister. You can never have enough time with your family. I'll be checking in periodically."

"Okay," Jack nodded. "Are you going to come in for some cookies and cocoa?" Jack asked as they reached the bakery.

"Can't have some official business to attend to." Charlie told him. He waved politely at Holly through the window. "Take care Jack, I'll be by to check in periodically." Charlie walked to the next corner and disappeared down a side street. Again, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that there was more Charlie wasn't telling him as he watched his new friend disappear.

"Jack? Hellooo? Earth to Jack?" Jack turned to see his sister watching him carefully. "You okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, just thinking." He smiled to assure her everything was fine.

"Okay. I wasn't expecting you back so soon." Holly confessed.

"Charlie's company has a very nice jet." Jack shrugged. "What are you working on?"

"I haven't been able to get much done." Holly frowned. "Now that Halloween is over, people keep calling in orders for Thanksgiving. Everyone wants their pies. I haven't been able to step away from the phone long enough to see if we'll even have enough supplies for everything."

"What about Katie?" Jack wondered.

"She's sick." Holly sighed. "I told her to stay home."

"Well, I'm here now!" Jack reassured her. "I'll take over phone duty for a bit so you can do some real work."

"How did your interview go?" Holly questioned. "Was it short because it went well or..."

"It went well." Jack assured her. "By this time next year I'll have a new career. Enough about me, let's get inside and get those orders squared away."

True to his word, Charlie would come to the bakery for unscheduled check ins with Jack. He'd ask Jack how he was feeling, and they'd talk about the weather. Charlie would provide status updates on how things were going at the North Pole and what areas were getting the best snow coverage. He dropped in one afternoon, just a few days before Christmas.

"Hey Charlie, good to see you again." Holly greeted him with a smile. She was shoveling snow off the sidewalk in front of the bakery. "Jack's at home resting. He's going to be working the night shift today starting on our final Christmas orders."

"That's okay, I'm actually here to see you." Charlie told her.

"Oh, me?" Holly stopped shoveling and leaned on her plastic shovel.

"Yeah, after Christmas I'm going to be officially taking over the toy factory so I won't be stopping by for visits as much. I was hoping maybe you and I could take a walk?" He offered.

"I'd love to Charlie, but we have all these Christmas orders and the normal shop front to keep up with. I need to focus right now." She explained regrettably.

"Of course, I understand." Charlie nodded. "Could you do dinner then? If Jack is coming in for the night shift, I'm sure he can manage things for an hour or so."

"I want to confirm with Jack that he's okay with that before I agree. Is that alright?" She asked.

"Sure." Charlie nodded. "You can just text me." Charlie began walking back down the street when he did something he normally tried to avoid.

Being Jack Frost gave him more than just the ability to create snow and ice. He could harness the power of the Northern Winds, something he'd already demonstrated multiple times to Jack. With that power Charlie could use the winds to levitate or glide from place to place. He could also hear the secrets that people whispered into the wind. The kind of things they were too afraid to admit out loud. The previous Jack Frost had used the winds as a way to gather secrets and blackmail people for years. Charlie was very cautious of ever turning to that point.

"Holly you idiot, you should have just said yes. It's obvious he likes you too." Charlie couldn't hold back his smile as Holly's whisper confirmed his suspicion. Holly had feelings for him too. There was a slight bounce in his step as he continued walking away from the bakery. Everything was going according to plan.