Santa's Newest Reindeer (20 page)

line on the magical screen. The head elves, including the mayor,

powered up their electronic notebooks and readied themselves

for creative and innovative discussions.

“Mrs. Claus and I have some travel preparations to make,

so we are going to leave you in the good hands of the elves.

We will see you very soon,” chuckled Santa, leaving the room,

but not before he put his index finger on the side of his nose.

Ellie and Will recognized
that
sign from the storybook telling

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of Santa’s departure up the chimney. It was his way of telling

everybody good-bye, without saying good-bye. In a flash, Mrs.

Claus and Santa disappeared.

“Here’s the plan. We don’t have much time, especially this

time of the year with Christmas Eve rapidly approaching,”

instructed Art as he unveiled assignments and deadlines to

his fellow elves.

“Ellie and Will, you will be staying overnight at my cottage,”

offered Yule. “Your rooms are ready, and my family is awaiting

your arrival. Tomorrow morning will come quickly, and you’l

need all the rest you can get in preparation for your trip home.”

The head elves huddled with Art. They had a long night ahead

themselves, bringing the Holly Valley Christmas plans to reality.

Ellie and Will were escorted by Yule toward a small cottage.

Yule strolled along the path, whistling his favorite Christmas

song, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” He turned, walk-

ing backward, and directed El ie and Wil to join him. Neither

twin was very good at whistling, but they tried. Yule tripped

on an uneven cobblestone and fell flat on his back. The twins

helped him to his feet. His family waited for them on the family

porch, observing the entire calamity. Yule brushed himself off

and introduced them.

“This is my daughter, Nisi, and my son, Rolf. I am especially

pleased to have you meet my lovely wife, Inger. Welcome to our

house.” The three entered the front door under a coat of arms

that resembled a Viking ship. The twins craned their necks to

read the foreign writing at its base.

“Those words mean: ‘All who enter here are welcome,’” spoke

Rolf in a deep Norwegian accent.

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The front room was smal but warmly decorated in reds and

greens. The Christmas tree in the corner was decorated in all

red colors. Ropes of green boughs hung from the open balcony

and down the stairway. Family pictures adorned the rough wood

walls, highlighted by white mortar between each log. The sweet

smell of spicy hot apple cider wafted in from the kitchen. At

Inger’s invitation, Ellie and Will took their seats at the wooden table. A crocheted tablecloth covered the table with two large

lit candles on either side of a flowering poinsettia plant. Rolf

poured hot apple cider, and Nisi passed around a plate full of

meat and cheese sandwiches.

“After all the sweets you’ve eaten today, something not so

sweet might help you sleep tonight,” offered Inger, pushing the

plate toward Will, who didn’t resist.

The family and guests exchanged stories about each other’s

families and special interests. The doors to the cuckoo clock

opened abruptly, and the bird sounded twelve times before

returning to its internal nest. The host family laughed at the

twins, who were startled by the sounds.

“Let me show you to your rooms,” suggested Inger, noticing

the twins were fighting back yawns. “It has been a long day

for you, and it appears the sandman has cast his sleepy spell

upon each of you. Morning will come soon, and after breakfast

you can call your mom and dad. I’m sure they are very worried

about you.”

She pointed to the stairway and led them up to their rooms.

The individual bedrooms were small but cozy. The outside

bedrooms’ walls angled sharply on each side due to the roof ’s

sharp pitch. Each bed was fashioned out of ornately carved

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planks, depicting various wildlife scenes. Overly stuffed pil-

lows were tucked under thick, down-filled quilts. The festive

designs on each quilt had been hand stitched. In the open

closets hung four wooden hangers made from trimmed tree

branches. The small desks and chairs must have been made

for a child.

Ellie and Will had to duck their heads in order to enter

their own bedrooms. After they had thanked the family for

the hospitality, the twins retired to their bedrooms, climbed

into their beds, and pulled the covers up to their chins. While

their heads disappeared into the soft, fluffy pillows, their feet dropped over the end of the bed and nearly touched the floor.

The quilts reached only to their ankles, exposing their naked

toes. By stretching their arms at full length, they could touch

the inside and outside walls of their rooms while still lying in

bed. The walls didn’t reach the height of the ceiling, allowing

the twins to whisper to each other.

“Imagine Dad or Mom in these beds?” Ellie whispered to

Will.

“We don’t even fit in these beds,” Will whispered.

The twins yawned, drew their feet up to their chests, grabbed

their quilts, and curled into human cocoons. It was too danger-

ous to change positions for fear of rolling out of the narrow

beds. They tried to recall all the elves they had met and all

the places they visited. They could only guess what Christmas

spectacular the head elves and their helpers had up their short

sleeves. Ellie and Will stared at their bedroom’s ceilings for the longest time, rehearsing silently what each was going to tell

their parents. Could they tell them of the elves’ plan? Neither

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realized how long it had been since they last talked with Mom

and Dad. Would their parents be mad at them?

The twins heard the cuckoo two more times before they

closed their eyes, trusting that Santa and the head elves had a

solid plan to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in Holly Valley.

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Inger moved from Ellie’s bedroom to Will’s bedroom, awaken-

ing the children.

“It’s time for a quick breakfast, and then you can call your

mom and dad. Yule, Rolf, and Nisi are waiting for you down-

stairs. Be careful not to hit your head on the transom at the

top of the stairs.” As the twins dressed and washed their faces,

Inger made their beds and went downstairs.

Ellie and Will followed closely behind, barely touching the

steps. They exchanged greetings with Yule and the children.

After Yule recited the traditional table prayer, they all ate as if they had not eaten in a long time. The Christmas breads and

homemade jams were delicious, and the hot chocolate hit the

spot. The good food and family conversation reminded Ellie

and Will of their own family meals.

“I have dialed your dad’s cell number,” advised Yule as he

activated the speaker box on the table. The six of them huddled

over the little black box, awaiting a voice at the other end.

“Hello. Yes, this is Bill Taylor. Who is this?” Bill didn’t rec-

ognize the area code nor the telephone number. He wildly

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motioned the others toward him. “Ellie? Will? Is that you?” he

cried, trying to control his excitement.

“Dad, Mom, Gramps, Grams . . . this is Ellie and Will. We

are fine, but we can’t talk now. We are okay. Trust us. We are

with very good people. Don’t worry about us. You won’t believe

where we’ve been! We’ll tell you all about it later.” Ellie and

Will were so elated to hear their dad’s voice that they nearly

forgot to breathe. Their words gushed forth in excitement.

“Where are you?” demanded Peg as she grabbed the phone

from her husband.

“No time to talk. Please put Dad back on the phone,”

responded Will. “Dad, don’t ask any questions. Here is what

you have to do. Can you write this down?”

“Where are you, son? Is Ellie okay?” Bill wanted more assur-

ance that his kids were safe.

“We’re fine, Dad. Just listen . . .”

He grabbed a pen and paper while holding the phone

between his chin and shoulder, scribbling feverishly to capture

all the instructions. Gramps leaned toward the phone, trying to

confirm that the voice on the other end was Will’s. Peg stood

quietly, awaiting confirmation that her children were safe and

in good health. Her posture and facial expression showed signs

of relief that they had finally heard from Ellie and Will. Her

eyes moistened and her hands trembled. She reached for the

armchair, seeking support. Grams wrapped her arm around Peg

for more support. The strains of worry had worn heavily on the

two. They wept quietly but with tears of happiness this time.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Are you sure? How do we know

this is not a trick?” challenged Bill with a look of concern on

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his face. “Let me talk to your sister. I want to hear her voice.”

Will handed the phone to Ellie.

“Ellie! Is that you? Are you and Will okay? Where are you?

Do they want money?” Bill rattled off several questions, giving

Ellie little opportunity to respond.

“Yes. We are okay. No. Nobody is demanding money. We

are not hostages! You need to trust Will and me, and follow

the instructions Will gave you,” pleaded Ellie with a sense of

urgency in her voice.

“Let me talk to Will again,” demanded Bill. “Okay, give me

the instructions one more time . . . Got it.”

Before disconnecting the call, he looked at the caller ID

display. “It says ‘Santa’s Village.’”

“What did they say? What do we need to do?” Peg questioned.

“I hope this is not one of their pranks,” threatened Bill.

Bill extended his arms as far out as they would reach, try-

ing to focus on the scribbled words. He turned the paper at

an angle in order to shed the best light on it. Realizing he did

not have his glasses on, he reached into his shirt pocket and

then his pants pockets.

“There, on your forehead,” interjected Gramps, pointing to

Bill’s head.

“Ah. It says . . . community meeting at Citizen’s Square . . .

Christmas morning at 6:00 a.m. . . . children there also . . . all stay home Christmas Eve . . . city fathers tricked . . . HV in for biggest surprise.”

The four adults took turns reading the message. They shook

their heads and shrugged their shoulders while trying to figure

out what Will was not telling them.

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“We have to trust them. They’re our children. If we don’t

and they are in trouble, we’ll never forgive ourselves,” argued

Peg. Gramps and Grams supported Peg’s position.

“I agree, but why didn’t they tell us what they were going to

do?” Bill gestured upward with his hands.

“Kids will be kids,” offered Gramps. “Plus, they’re my

grandkids!”

“Kinda reminds me of someone here if my memory serves

me correctly,” added Grams. Neither parent dared to look at

Grams or Gramps. They would never win this argument.

The four busied themselves using the community’s emer-

gency calling tree to e-mail, text, tweet, and telephone the

short message they had received from the North Pole to al

Holly Valley residents except the city fathers. The four callers

requested volunteers to go door to door to personally share

the message with anyone who might be without electricity or

might not have access to modern technology. While Bill knew

this would anger some residents who wanted a confrontation

with the city fathers, he knew it was the best way to convey that something very special was going to happen in Holly Valley.

The city fathers had their say. Now it was the citizens’ turn to

respond. Bill, Peg, Gramps, and Grams could hardly control

their giddiness. Not only was Holly Valley going to enjoy cel-

ebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but more important,

Ellie and Will were coming home.