Santa's Newest Reindeer (19 page)

Ellie, Will, and Mayor Noel stood at the front gate of the

Clauses’ home that resembled a gingerbread house. The twins

were overwhelmed by its monstrous size and unique design.

“It looks just like the gingerbread house we saw in Mrs.

Claus’s Candy Store,” gushed Ellie.

“Yeah, and it is similar to the one Mom sets out each year

at Christmas time,” added Will.

They nearly tumbled backward looking upward at its authen-

tic construction. It looked like a grown-up gingerbread house

with a dark chocolaty exterior and an overlapping vanilla cookie

texture for its roof. Gray smoke curled from two licorice-colored chimneys on the ends of the chalet. The second-floor windows

appeared to be made from honey graham cracker squares and

trimmed in light chocolate–covered pretzels. All the windows

were accented with shutter boards that looked like sticks of

spearmint gum. White vanilla icing seemed to drip from the

rain troughs. The front porch was supported by peppermint

candy pillars, and multicolored gumdrops framed the expanse.

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Two oblong brownies served as the front doors with walnut

halves embossing each. The cobblestone walkway was embedded

with thousands of M&M’s leading up to the brownie doors.

Gingerbread men and toy soldiers, separated by star brite mints,

surrounded the entire gingerbread house. They opened the gate

that was made of striped ribbon candy. The inner yard was white,

as marshmallow crème with tufts of white powdered sugar was

piled here and there. A sugar cube igloo and two matching

marshmallow snowmen stood to the left of the path. On the

right was a small blue mint pond encircled with mini candy

bars as benches. A round mint patty held crisscrossed Tootsie

Roll logs ready to be ignited. Large sugar cookies shaped like

Christmas trees dotted the landscape. Each tree was decorated

with mint green leaves, Necco-like colored wafers, mini cookies,

gummy bears, chocolate kisses, Cheerios strings, and strands

of taffy cascading from the trees’ tops. The sights and smells

had overloaded their senses. The trio climbed the four peanut-

brittle-colored steps that led to the porch.

They were joined by Jeepers, Merry, Art, Yule, Carol, Orion,

Clarion, and Candy, whom they had met at each of their stops.

Noel yanked sharply on the wide, flowing ribbon hanging next

to the door. It rang repeatedly with the sound of jingle bells. He pulled it again, and all the elves laughed and applauded. Again

it rang. The elves and the twins laughed louder. As Noel was

about to tug on the ribbon again, the double doors flung open

wide and there he stood, dressed in crimson from his head to

his stocking feet. It was none other than Santa Claus!

“Ho! Ho! Ho! Welcome to Santa’s Village. Mrs. Claus and

I have been looking forward to meeting with you. Come in!

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Come in,” thundered those words from somewhere between

his pure-white mustache and flowing white beard.

Ellie and Will’s eyes grew as big as Frisbees, and they gulped.

They reeled backward, but the elves caught them and pushed

them forward. The twins fumbled for each other’s hands but

could not find them.

“I trust Mayor Noel and my elves treated you to a memorable

tour of our village?” questioned the jolly man, looking toward

a beaming Mayor Noel and the head elves. He moved aside so

his rotund figure wouldn’t block the doorway as he motioned

them to enter.

“Come in and find a comfortable chair,” offered the jovial,

portly gentleman.

Santa was bigger than life. Everything they had read and

heard about him was true. He was dressed in a large, crimson

two-piece suit. His coat was trimmed in pure white fur around

the neck, down the lapels, along the front, and around the waist.

He wore black boots just like in the story they had heard many

times. His wide belt and massive buckle were black. His baggy

crimson pants matched his jacket, and white fur trim encircled

his pant cuffs.

He clearly had more hair on the sides of his head than he

had on top, and it was difficult to distinguish where the white

fur on his suit ended and his white beard began. His blue eyes

twinkled like heaven’s diamonds. He squinted, peering through

his tiny, wire-framed glasses. The tip of his nose and his cheeks had a rosy glow. Ellie and Will were not disappointed, for Santa’s appearance was as they expected him to look.

If Santa had a favorite color, it would be crimson! Every-

thing, except his broad black belt and sooty black boots, was

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crimson. His baggy pants, suspenders, his undershirt, and his

stockings were of the same color—crimson. Even his large coat

and stocking cap hanging on the coat tree in the hallway were

crimson. White outlined the edges of his suit and cap—furry

white.

“Pinch me,” begged Ellie, as she felt her knees knocking

against each other.

“You’re on your own,” whispered Will, positioning himself in

front of his sister and the head elves in order to get a closer look.

“Oh yes! Yes,” responded the twins, recovering from the

overpowering figure standing in the doorway.

“Santa, don’t just stand there. Invite the children, Mayor

Noel, and your head elves in for hot chocolate and cookies,”

ordered a soft, gentle voice, floating from somewhere behind

the crimson-clothed man.

“Ho! Ho! Ho! Yes, do come in and take a load off your feet.

I bet you are tired and hungry after all the walking you have

done these past few hours.”

The twins finally saw the small mouth pursing from between

the snow-white facial hairs. They entered the living quarters

and removed their snow boots, aligning them next to a pair

of soot-covered black boots, and piled their coats and caps on

top of the elves’ jackets.

The twins were surprised by the simplicity of the large front

room. The modest furnishings suggested that the Clauses lived

a simple life rooted in others rather than in themselves. The

wooden floor was covered with worn throw rugs, and the wall

furnishings depicted winter scenes from around the world. The

earth-tone colors cast a warm hue throughout the room.

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Santa plopped into his big, overstuffed chair in front of the

fireplace and beckoned the group to do so as well. The wooden

furniture, crafted by elves in the carpentry chalet, had been

cut from timber grown in their own forest. Ornate carvings

of village scenes had been etched into the wooden side panels

and back rests.

Mrs. Claus, who entered the room carrying a large platter of

Christmas cookies, was followed by three elves carrying trays

of mugs filled with steaming hot cocoa. She and her assistants

set them on the coffee table amid the guests and then joined

the group by sitting next to her husband.

Ellie and Will stared at Mrs. Claus. Her white hair matched

her husband’s. She wore a full-length dress with white lace

borders. A red-and-white apron rode across her protruding

tummy. Atop her round head was a matching ruffled bonnet

with holly accents. Her small nose supported wire-rim glasses

that rested halfway down. Her small hands were covered by

short, white gloves, and black, chunky shoes supported her

girth. Her dimples accentuated her welcoming smile.

“Help yourself. You must be hungry and thirsty,” suggested

Mrs. Claus, pointing to the thickly frosted sugar cookies. El ie, Will, Noel, and Santa didn’t hesitate to sample more than one

Christmas cookie, nor did any of the others.

The room fell silent except for the munching, sipping, and

complimentary groans and burps.

“Ho! Ho! Ho! Never had a bad cookie or bad hot choco-

late,” cracked Santa, twisting his moustache that jutted down

from each side of his droll, little mouth. His eyes sparkled

like glistening pools when he winked at Mrs. Claus, and yes,

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his round belly shook like a bowl full of jelly as he slapped

her left knee.

“Well, tell me about the issue in Holly Valley that has brought

you all this way,” quizzed Santa, leaning forward in his chair.

Ellie and Will looked at each other, waiting to see who was

going to speak first.

“Santa, it is going to be a very sad day in Holly Valley if our

town cannot celebrate Christmas and New Year’s,” shared Ellie

in a low but clear voice.

“Slow down and start from the beginning so Santa can

know the full story,” begged Will, floating his hands forward

in a calming manner.

She proceeded to explain what the city fathers had declared

and paraphrased the contents of the proclamation. She detailed

the attempt of many citizens to meet with them, but not one

city representative had shown up. Will interjected that their

dad was organizing a meeting with the state’s attorney, but that

would not happen until after the holidays, and that was too

late. By then the Christmas season, New Year’s, and its entire

holiday splendor would be history. The twins started speaking

rapidly at the same time, and Santa threw his hands in the air

in frustration because he couldn’t follow their conversations.

As a result of his gyrations, his whole body was shaking like

bowls brimming with jelly!

“Can you help us find a way to celebrate this year’s Christmas

and New Year’s? It is unfair for the city fathers to cancel traditions. We will have time next year to challenge the proclamation, but that does not help us for this year,” begged Ellie, wringing

her hands together in her lap. Her toes were drawn tightly in

her socks, trying to control her nervousness.

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Art, the head elf in charge of Santa’s Workshop, stood up

and began talking. He acknowledged Santa and Mrs. Claus,

Ellie and Will, Mayor Noel, and the other head elves. The head

elves carried an old-fashioned chalkboard into the room and

placed it so all could see. He looked directly at Ellie and Will, then bowed whimsically to the other elves. They were giggling

and punching each other, for they knew what was coming next.

Jeepers, with Santa’s prior approval, had met with the head elves and informed them of the issue confronting Holly Valley. The

head elves, led by Jeepers, had mapped out a plan to help the

community find a way to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s

before it was too late.

“We have been following the efforts of the Holly Valley city

fathers to prohibit celebrating Christmas and New Year’s, as

well as the efforts of the citizens to overturn the proclamation.

Jeepers is your elf-in-residence and is the one who has kept

me informed. He is the eyes and ears for me in your town,

and he is also the keeper of the Naughty and Nice List, from

which I determine on whose rooftop Rudolph and the eight

tiny reindeer will stop, or not stop, on Christmas Eve. Only I,

Mrs. Claus, and a few select elves know who will find lumps of

coal under their Christmas trees. Every community, regardless

of its size or location, has an elf-in-residence—a guardian elf,

you might say,” related Santa, stroking his white beard.

“Since your arrival, all the head elves have been texting,

e-mailing, or talking to one other. We have come up with a

plan to ensure that all men, women, boys, and girls celebrate

Christmas and New Year’s in Holly Valley this year,” shared

Jeepers, nodding at the head elves who were carrying on a

conversation among themselves.

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Ellie and Will could not contain their excitement and appre-

ciation. They leaped to their feet and began hugging anyone

and everyone. Even Mrs. Claus could not escape their hugs and

kisses. A platter of cookies crashed onto the hardwood floor,

sending the three helper elves scurrying to find a broom and

dustpan. Soon they were all dancing in a circle and cheering.

“Ho! Ho! Ho!” cheered Santa as he embraced Mrs. Claus

and pulled her into the middle of the dancing circle. They

spun around and around until Santa became dizzy from all

the twirling. Noel escorted him back to his chair. Will jumped

into the inner circle, replacing Santa. They exchanged dancing

partners until sweat poured off their faces. Their fun and frolic made them overly heated. Jeepers thrust open the double doors,

welcoming a blast of cold air.

“You people have way too much fun. How do you ever get

your work done in time for Christmas Eve?” questioned Ellie,

wiping sweat beads from her forehead.

The excitement abated as Art motioned them to their seats

while the helper elves set up a magical screen. Art drew a large

figure, then pointed and dragged his index finger across it. The

twins were awestruck. They watched him twist and bend the