Happily Ever Christmas

~Twenty-Two~

Bright and early the next morning, my kids and I all got up and proceeded to have breakfast with Santa Claus.

I was still in a daze over the whole thing. I hadn't even really slept much and was feeling fuzzy and out of it.

I held back, both physically and emotionally, and just watched how my kids interacted with Steve.

They gobbled up their breakfast and chattered away to Steve all the while.

Steve was amazing with them the whole time. Of course, he was Santa Claus, so I supposed that was hardly any real surprise.

After breakfast, he took us on a much bigger tour of the castle where he lived and worked.

The elves all had their own dormitory, I soon learned.

Steve opened a door and suddenly the cold, howling wind was smacking our faces and we found ourselves peering out, down a long, hanging bridge that connected to a grove of absolutely massive pine trees. Squinting through the swirling snow, I could just make out the twinkle of cheerful little lights coming from inside the boughs of the giant fir trees. A closer look revealed that they had little wooden treehouses built right into the branches of the big tree.

"That's where the elves live!" Steve shouted over the din of the bad weather. "We can go visit them if you'd like."

"Yeah!" Bradley squealed, all ready to charge out over the precariously swinging bridge. I caught him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him back.

"No, thanks. Not right now, anyway." I chuckled nervously and felt Olivia sigh in relief.

Steve chuckled and shut the door, snow bursting in to scatter over the threshold and over the toes of our boots.

"Is there a warm season?" I asked next, with an anxious little laugh.

"Yes, there is. We have an outdoor garden where flowers bloom and everything. But for right now, how about we go visit the indoor sanctuary?"

"Yeah!" Olivia was considerably more taken with this idea.

                                                                              *~*~*~*

The place was vast. Intimidatingly vast. There was so much to see it would take well over a week to really take it all in; the grand splendor of every room.

There was an indoor swimming pool that was more like a lake, a giant theatre room where the elves would watch Christmas movies together on their days off. There was an indoor gym, which probably explained why Steve was still packed like a middleweight boxer despite all the cookies he ate. There was a massive library, just like the one from "Beauty and the Beast", with galleried levels and spiral staircases and over 300,000 books to choose from. This was undeniably my favorite room.

Then there was the aviary, which was the most magnificent bird sanctuary I had ever seen, and of course, the indoor gardens, which Olivia and I both adored.

Bradley was a little less impressed; he hadn't found his perfect room yet.

Steve picked Olivia a tiny little purple flower that looked like it could have been conjured with magic itself and I smiled to see how my daughter lit up.

"It's like a little fairy parasol!" She exclaimed, giggling. "Look Mommy, isn't it pretty?!"

"Sure is, sweetie. Now what do you say?" I prompted her gently, smoothing her silky hair down the back of her head.

"Thank you, Santa!"

He chuckled. "You're very welcome, Princess."

I smiled to watch my two children scamper away together to explore the jungle-like garden. Golden light streamed down through the big glass cupola above us, making me feel warm and safe and halfway normal again.