Stubborn Love

Charlie's What?

~ALLIE POV~

"That's weird," I heard Dad say. "This fit yesterday, didn't it?"

"Good morning, Santa," Abby walked in, bringing in Dad's cocoa.

"This isn't a good time, Abby," Bernard said from behind me.

She brought the cocoa to Dad's desk and set it down. "I sent Dasher out for some Brazilian cocoa beans."

"What's the bad news?" I asked.

She turned towards me with a forced smile. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever you play the designer bean card, that usually means you have bad news." Dad said.

The smile disappeared from her face as she handed Dad the scroll.

"What are you doing with the Naughty-and-Nice list?" Dad asked.

"Just don't shoot the messenger," she said. "It's Charlie."

"Sheen? I thought he was doing better?" Dad asked.

She just shook her head. "Not that Charlie."

Dad glanced at the list, and looked at it shocked. "My Charlie."

"What?"

I peeked over Dad's shoulder and saw that my little brother Charlie, was in fact, on the Naughty list. "This has to be a mistake."

"We don't make mistakes," Bernard hissed.

"I'm sorry, Santa. Please excuse me." Abby said, and she left the room.

"Is this what you and Curtis were trying to tell me?" Dad questioned.

"Oh great, you told him!" Curtis said, walking back in with a large magnifying glass. "Let's get you ready for that meeting."

Dad shook his head. "No, I have to see Charlie."
"Curtis, tell him now." Bernard demanded.

"Santa, there's a clause." Curtis said.

"That would be me." Dad said, chuckling at his own joke.

"No," Curtis said. "There's another Santa clause."

"Stores all over the world are filled with other Santa Clause's."

Curtis looked at us exasperatedly. "Yes, but there's another Santa clause. There was the first clause, and now there's a second."

"Get on with it," Bernard hissed.

"Alright, when the last Santa fell off the roof, you put on the coat and found the card," Curtis explained.

Dad nodded, "Yeah, something about accepting all the duties of being Santa Clause," he said. "And the rest is history, right?"

Bernard avoided looking at Dad and I, but focused on glaring at Curtis. "Well it seems that our number two elf, the keeper of the handbook, overlooked the single most important detail in the HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS."

I flinched as Bernard screeched the last bit.

"Wow," Curtis said flatly. "One mistake in nine hundred years."

Bernard looked about ready to explode again.

"The card holder acknowledges the woman of his choosing, yada yada, Something about true love...words, words, words...in holy...matrimony!?" Dad asked. "I've gotta get married!?"

I looked at Dad with wide eyes. Why couldn't we just have a smooth Christmas?