"Oh." She looked disappointed and turned her back on me. "Can you stay and talk for a while?"
I closed the distance, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Allison, if we kiss again-"
"I know," she said. "I felt the magic."
"It was pretty amazing magic," I said.
"Yeah," she agreed. She turned around but she held a hand out so I wouldn't get closer. "Will you call me this time?"
"You're a good cop, Allison," I said. "You understand who gives up her career for this relationship, don't you?"
She nodded. "I do a lot of good things as a cop," she replied. "But it's so ugly, too, the things I see." She looked away. "Is it selfish I want beauty in my life? Is the North Pole beautiful?"
"Oh, more than beautiful," I said.
"May I have another kiss before I sleep?" she asked, raising her eyes to look at me.
I opened my arms, and she stepped into them. There wasn't magic, not Santa magic, just the magic of two women, but I felt it, and I knew she did, too. Finally, breathlessly, she pulled away.
"Will this be like a dream?"
"Do you want it to be?" I asked her.
"I want you to call me. Tomorrow."
"I can't. I'm going to sleep for a month. Literally."
"Call me when you wake."
"No cell service at the North Pole." I paused. "Can you wait until I can get back? It won't be until February."
"You promise to call, as soon as you can."
"I promise," I said.
"Santa can't break her promises, can she?"
"Nope."
She began to grin. "If you wait down here, can I go up and say 'hi' to the reindeer?"
I shook my head. "Sorry. But I'll tell them you asked after them."
"Did Vixen have her baby?"
"Oh yes. She's a total handful."
Allison yawned, trying to cover it. She looked at me sadly. "I really can't go with?" But her body was already betraying her as she moved back to the easy chair in the corner. She yawned again, and I knew she'd be asleep in seconds.
I crouched down, emptying my sack of presents under the tree. I threw the now empty sack over my shoulder and turned to Allison. She was fighting to stay awake, but the Santa magic had a firm hold on her. She yawned again, and her eyes fluttered closed.
I crossed the room to her and kissed her on the forehead. She reached out a hand, grabbing my arm as she struggled to stay awake.
"Remember your promise!" she said.
I tapped the end of her nose. "I won't forget," I told her.
* * * *
I finished my route, arriving back at the North Pole with empty sacks, tired reindeer, and a dry thermos, having run out of hot cocoa somewhere over Alaska on my way home.
We set down, somewhat jarringly, and the reindeer all hung their heads, exhausted. I climbed slowly from the sleigh, working my way through the line of reindeer, thanking them for the gift of a ride. The each nudged me. Vixen lifted her head and set it on my shoulder, her whiskers tickling my ear in a reindeer kiss. I hugged her.
When I finished with Rudolph, Reginald was there. "I've got it from here, Santa," he said.
"They're tired," I said.
"I know. They'll be fine. Spirit and Scooter want to go next year."
"As a mated pair?" I asked.
"Yes. She's got Scooter wrapped around her antlers."
Spirit was Vitality's little sister. I was sure she'd keep Scooter in line.
I moved back through the line of reindeer once more, finally arriving between Donner and Blitzen. All of the reindeer were tired, but these two were flat out exhausted.
"Last year, you two?" I asked them, and they nodded, gratitude in their eyes. I kissed them both and asked what they would do with their free time. From the look Blitzen gave Donner, I had a pretty good idea there would be more baby reindeer around the place real soon.
I turned back to Reginald. "I'll be returning to Chicago."
"I'll have a team for you, Santa," he said. "Go on now. We've got this."
Exhausted, I stumbled towards my parents, patting the reindeer once more on my way. I folded into Dad's arms, then Mom's.
"Did everyone see me kiss her?" Mom asked.
"Oh yes," she said. "She looks lovely, Tabitha."
"A Santa trap?" Dad asked. "You got caught in a Santa trap on only your second run?" He shook his head. "I thought I trained you better."
"Oh, leave her alone, Tim," my mom said. "We both know the magic blurred the trap so she wouldn't see it. They needed a second chance."
I turned away from them, scanning the crowd of elves, wondering what to say to them. They all waited, smiling at me. "Thank you for your hard work this year," I told them. "You are all amazing."
"Some of us more amazing than others!" Buttercup yelled out.
I turned to her. "You. Will. Come. With. Me!"
"Oh, oh," Petunia said. "Someone's in trouble."
"You, too!" I told her. I stepped forward and grabbed each of them by a delicate, pointy, elf ear, then spun around, forcing them to run around me, and marched into the house, all the other elves laughing. I dragged them to the living room, my parents following behind.
"Now honey," Mom said. "Calm down."
I pinched each ear for emphasis before letting go. "Who is going to tell me how Allison learned about Santa traps?"
I received four poor imitations of innocent looks.
"Not me," said Buttercup.
"We just have to stall a few minutes and you're going to fall asleep," Petunia replied.
"She did seem to have an amazingly thorough understanding," Mom suggested.
"Almost as if she had information direct from the source," Dad said.
"You were all in on it!" I screeched.
"I had almost nothing to do with it," Petunia said firmly.
"Almost nothing?" I asked.
"Well..." she said. "Um."
"Yes?"
"I may have given Lachlan her address."
"Lachlan?" I asked. "Lachlan is responsible for this." I raised my voice, and when Santa raises her voice at the North Pole, everyone hears. "Lachlan!"
He appeared a minute later.
"You bellowed, your Santaness?"
"Don't Santaness me. What was your role in all this?"
"All this what?" he asked. "Aren't you getting sleepy, Santa?"
"Don't sleepy me, either! Did you tell Allison about Santa traps?"
"Me? Of course not! How could you suggest such a thing?"
I turned to Petunia. "I didn't tell her, either," she said.
Buttercup held her hands in front of her. "I haven't talked to her."
Mom was smiling but only said, "Don't look at me like that, young lady."
Dad was grinning, so I settled my gaze on him. "What did you tell her?"
"Me? I haven't left the North Pole in two years, except for fishing trips."
I could tell they were stalling, waiting for me to fall asleep. They were each offering a variety of declarations of innocence, but they were each guilty of something. I wasn't asking the right questions.
"Lachlan, did you visit Madison in the past twelve months."
"I might have," he replied. "I go so many places in the off-season."
"Yes or no!"
"All right," he said. "Yes."
"And did you talk with Allison Carpenter?"
"I meet so many people-"
"Lachlan!"
"I may have shared a word or three with her, but I didn't tell her a single word about Santa traps."
"Did you give her anything?"
He tried not to answer. "Maybe."
"What?"
"Um. Maybe a note."
"What did the note say?"
"How should I know? I didn't write it."
"Who did?"
"I couldn't say."
"Oh you're going to say all right!"
"I didn't read it. So honestly, all I can do is guess."
"All ri
ght. Who handed you the note to deliver?"
"Um." He glanced at my mom. I immediately turned to her. "Did you write her a note?"
"Of course not, Dear," mom said. "I was simply the middleman, if you will. Now, how about a nice cup of cocoa and a little soup before you go to sleep?"
"Who wrote the note, Mom?"
"I couldn't say for certain," she said. "I didn't see it being written."
"Who do you think wrote the note?"
"Perhaps your father wrote it."
I glared at Dad. "So you lied to me?"
"Of course not. I didn't tell her about Santa traps. I may have directed her to a little literature to read though. You know, the odd story or three I found particularly fascinating. The things people write."
"What literature?" I asked.
"Well, I think I mentioned the Marks book."
I sighed. As a little boy, Marks had caught Dad's predecessor. He'd written a fictional story about it, but he had offered great details on his Santa trap. However, he didn't have some of the specifics Allison had known.
"What else?"
"That's it."
I growled.
"Tabitha," mom said. "I may have included one of my favorite recipes in the note."
"Which one?"
"It may have been the Eight and Three-Fifths cookies."
They were called that because if you cooked them for anything other than eight and three-fifths minutes, they were either overcooked or undercooked, inedible either way.
"I see," I said. I sighed. "Anyone who wants to take a trip is free to use the reindeer as long as Ebenezer is one of them." I was feeling petulant. Ebenezer was flatulent. Very, very flatulent.
Dad laughed. "Of course, Santa," he said with a grin.
Valentine's Day
I slept. I woke, eventually. I recovered.
Tonight was Valentine's Day. I was due at Allison's in an hour.
I stepped into the back yard. Petunia and Buttercup were waiting for me along with the small sleigh and four reindeer. Petunia pointed to the picnic basket. "Everything is in there," she said.
"Spare blankets here," Buttercup said. "Don't dress her. Instead, let her get cold then you can cuddle under the blankets together."
"Thank you for the dating advice," I told her.
They both grinned at me, and I stepped into the sleigh. I smiled at them then turned to the reindeer. "Now Splash, now Vitality. On Spirit and Scooter. To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall! Now fly away, fly away, fly away all!" I swished the reins, and we were away.
I loved being Santa. I only hoped Allison enjoyed becoming Ms. Claus.
The Emergency Claus Page 8