The Christmas Elf, A Secret-Santa Story

Chapter 34 - Christmas morning

Sunday 25 December

Mr. Jensen was on the phone from the time he woke up early that morning, executing the plan that had been hatched late last night. Up and down the street, phones rang, dislodging occupants from their warm beds. Some woke alertly, others were groggy. Most were grumpy at being woken up that early. Until they heard the plan.

The universal response was elated surprise and an agreement to do whatever was required to make it happen. Every house received a call except one.

~ o ~

Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor, Eileen and Claudia were all seated in the living room with their second cups of coffee. Eileen was curled into a corner of it, enjoying the softness while her muscles protested all the physical activity of the day before. Even emotional turmoil could not compete with the day she had spent and she had slept well and deeply.

"What do you think we should do about lunch?" she asked. "Go all out or keep it simple? If we keep it simple we could do the full traditional thing for dinner?"

They'd been circling around this topic since they woke up this morning, with no real answer. There was a level of ambivalence that came from being tired and the nagging weight of being sure everyone else was disappointed about the night before.

Any response was delayed as Ella's feet pattered down the steps and headed straight for the Christmas tree. "Oh wow!" Ella exclaimed, "Santa got through all that snow?"

Although every little girl and boy wanted to be the first to wake on Christmas day, Ella had overslept. They crowded around the tree and opened Christmas presents, the little girl's delight bringing life to the morning. It was clear which presents had been from the toy stores on their day of shopping. Her parents had claimed Ella as their own and the presents showed it.

Claudia kept protesting that they hadn't had to get her anything. "You guys have been so amazing to me – to us. I never would have expected to be part of a family sitting around a Christmas tree on Christmas morning this year. After the year I had - "

She stopped with tears in her eyes, unable to continue. Eileen got up and hugged her. "We're glad to have you as part of the family. Ella has made this a Christmas to remember."

~ o ~

At the Jensen's, the opening of presents had ended and Mr. Jensen was with Madeleine in the kitchen. He listened to the noisy sounds of his grandkids in the next room and reflected on how much difference twelve days could make.

Twelve days ago, he had been a lonely old man in a house that was too big for him and now he was surrounded by family. Twelve days from now -

"Maddy," he said to her as she buttered toast, "I think it's time I sold this house and moved into a retirement home." She looked up in shock. "You can't do that!"

He was taken aback, "Why not?"

"Well, first of all, even though I know your friend is happy there I don't think you would be," she said. "What brought this on, dad?"

He shrugged, "This house is too big for one old man alone. I hear the emptiness around me and think of the way things were."

She put down the knife, giving him her undivided attention, "There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. I wasn't sure it would be a good idea. Not for you. It would be a good idea for us because the kids love you and Dean thinks highly of you. But I don't know if it's something that you would be happy with at this stage of your life. You deserve a little peace and quiet in your old age."

"Ah, my little Maddy," he chuckled, "still unable to get straight to the point sometimes, huh?"

She blushed. "Dad, Dean and I both got new positions with our companies that require us to move. Dean was asked to move first and then I had to negotiate with my bosses, telling them I had to move for family reasons. The point is, we're both going to be closer by and we've started looking at properties."

Mr. Jensen's eyes widened. "That's great Maddy, I'm happy for both of you."

"The thing is," she said, "we haven't seen anything we like and part of it is because I've always had this house at the back of my mind. So then I thought we could ask you to move in and we could rent from you?"

"Absolutely not!" he said, "I couldn't have my daughter paying me rent. You're welcome to stay here, no conditions attached."

"But dad, that would be unfair to you," she squared off in protest and he recognized the stubborn glint in her eyes. In the end, they agreed on terms which allowed her to 'buy' his house without going to a bank. They would have a lawyer draw up the contract, of course, but at the end of it Mr. Jensen was now back to being surrounded by family.

He revised his earlier thoughts about twelve days. Sometimes it took one. 

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Author's note: It's still early days - but maybe we can get into the mood together!