The Santa Society (30 page)

Underneath, a twenty-foot Christmas tree sits centered on the back of a large platform that’s covered with lilies, garlands, and wreaths. Crowds of people mill around it. If Reason is waiting there, I can’t see him.

Just as I press the crosswalk button, someone yells, “There she is!”

A wave of murmurs moves through the crowd as people turn to stare.

The crosswalk signals me to walk, and my heart pounds harder in my chest. I still can’t see who’s standing on the platform. I pull my eyes away as I near the sidewalk.

The Mayor runs to greet me. “We’re making history here today. This is splendid, just splendid. Exactly what the city needs to set us apart from the rest. We are ‘
Christmasville
.’ Who needs the North Pole?” He splays his hand out in front of him as though he shows me the name in imaginary lights.

I smile. He thinks it’s all a publicity stunt.

“You look lovely, Ms. Sinclair.”

“Thank you, Mayor.”

He doesn’t mention Reason at all. He only smiles and motions to a parting in the crowd. Through it I see a large white tent at the opposite end of the square. “The march begins over there.”

I thank him and continue down the sidewalk, forcing myself to keep my eyes away from the altar. As I pass by, cameras flash and people point.

“It’s that lady from the parade.”

“You think they’re married in real life?”

“They have to be. They can't say vows if they aren’t—then they’d be married for real.”

“He’s got a point.” Someone agrees.

“Hi, Mrs. Claus!” A young boy snickers and tries to elbow his friend, but his friend has stepped a few feet away, pretending he’s not part of the dare. His elbow strikes only empty air, and then, as if he can play this off, he says, “Cool dog!”

“Hi!” I wave back before I slip into a cluster of elderly women on the sidewalk. For a moment, I’m lost in a confusion of Aqua Net hair-spray and mentholated cough drops. When I emerge on the other side, Hannah stands near the tent’s entrance searching the crowd like a scout.

She spots me and motions with a hurried hand. I make my way over to her, stepping over power strips and cords. She reaches in the tent and pulls out a bridal bouquet made of orchids, lilies, and tiny white roses. The stems have been bound in white velvet-trimmed satin with pearl studded pins. She plucks the plastic candy cane from my hand like its offensive and inserts the bouquet. I clutch it in my fist, hoping she can’t tell I’ve starting trembling.

“Is he—”

            Hannah shushes me with quickly. “No asking. I’m a third party.” She grins up at me, and her eyes shrivel like raisins behind the lens of her glasses. Over her shoulder, I notice a temporary wall a few feet away. A large white archway divides it in the middle. I surmise I’ll pass through it later, but for now it remains covered with a white curtain so I can’t see a thing. To the left, a woman sits at a baby grand piano rubbing her hands together to keep them warm.

Hannah turns me around like I’m a confused patient and guides me into the tent where I’m met with an explosion of flowers. In the center of them all, a huge dressing mirror sits between two Romanesque pedestals. Lush green garlands with red velvet ribbons cascade from them like waterfalls spilling onto the floor. For a moment everything is lost in a teary blur. This is for me—Erin, the ghost-girl who’s been drifting about town like a wisp of clinical depression all year.

The pianist begins to play “Silent Night.” I’m reminded of the first evening I spent with Reason at the Ceremony of Lights. The way the lights shone on his face. It seems like so long ago. I study my and Hannah’s reflections in the mirror. She stands behind me smoothing my dress. When she’s finished she pulls the sides of my cloak back so that the fabric falls behind my shoulders like a bridal train. Clever. I can’t help but wonder if she thought of this the day I first met her, when I first tried it on. She’d been so excited like she’d met the Pope, or at least someone more important than an actress for the parade. Like maybe she knew before I did that I was Reason’s future bride.

I pull the hood over my head. Reason was right. I do look a bit like Little Red Riding Hood. My cheeks glow pink from the cold. And the rich red of my clothing contrasts so sharply with the white that surrounds me. The effect thrills me and the electric flutter of butterfly wings intensifies in my stomach.

Hannah appraises me and gives a nod of approval. Then she offers me a sweet smile and disappears from the tent.

Now that I’m alone, I notice I’m missing Klaus. I find him waiting just outside the tent. He looks regal with his eyes closed and head tilted up, surrounded by the mentholated elderly ladies. They stroke his fur, exclaiming over his cinnamon color and impressive size.

I roll my eyes and step back inside.

Callie stands in front of the dressing mirror, grinning at me in all her gummy cuteness. She wears a red velvet t-length dress, with a cloak similar to mine. Her hood is down, and she holds a basket full of white down feathers. She twirls in front of me and curtsies.

“Callie, look at you!” I gush.

She points to her hair. “Mama said I had to pull my braids up.” Indeed, her braids have been pinned to her head. She reminds me of a red headed Princess Lea.

And to think how, in my desperation, I had hoped for a sage one-liner from my witty six year old friend and got nada. I cross my arms. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this yesterday. Did you know?”

She bites her lip and nods. “Mr. Cash said it’s a surprise wedding, so I promised not to tell. I keep good secrets.”

I grin at her. “Yes, Ma’am. You sure do.”
Mr. Cash?

I don’t have time to ask because Cassius appears in the entrance just as I hear the first chords of the “Wedding March.” He wears a white tuxedo and carries a matching white cane.

He blinks at me, and I would swear the blood drains from his face. Finally, he swallows. “You look like your grandmother. So very much like her.” He bows towards me with the elegance of an aristocrat. “I hope you will allow me the honor of walking you down the aisle.”

I regard him for a moment, realizing I don’t have any other options except for maybe Klaus. “Yes, thank you.” He’s my grandfather, after all. And for some strange reason, I have a hunch this day is his gift to me.

He offers me his arm, and I accept. Slowly, we make our way to the archway. Callie follows behind us with her basket of fluff, and Klaus intuitively falls in behind her. Someone has placed that big plastic candy cane in his mouth. He carries it like a rawhide bone.

I stare into the fabric of the drawn curtain, trying to steady my breath. I’m here on faith—only faith.

A young boy pulls back the curtain and the “Wedding March” grows louder. I gaze down the aisle, past the hundreds of faces I don't know. The white carpet stretches out before me, and I know it leads straight to that stage where Reason either waits for me or he doesn’t. I suck in my breath, and let my eyes follow the carpet to the end.

I lift my gaze...just as Reason turns around to face me. As long as I live, I will never forget the way he looks. It’s as though he is bathed in light. My heart swells so full it threatens to seize inside me. Faith. Hope. Love. I have to remind myself to keep walking and breathing. Suddenly, my eyes are burning with tears.

Step and pause.
Breathe
. Step and pause.
Breathe
.

I gaze at Reason with wonder—my groom, my love, my greatest friend. Ironic that he was also my first broken heart. That’s right. I was devastated when the kids at school told me Santa wasn’t real. Yet, here he is.

I haven’t realized until the past twenty-four hours how incredibly incomplete it would feel to be separated from him. Did Cassius want me to know this—sort of like an innovative pre-marriage counseling session? I’ll always wonder, but I doubt I’ll ever ask. Something about the mystery adds to the awesomeness of it.

When we ascend the steps to where Reason waits, Cassius gives him a formal handshake and takes a step back from me. I move to Reason’s side, and now that I am so close, I can see droplets of moisture in Reason’s eyelashes.

As the song fades, the minister begins to speak. I turn toward his voice and see Ives smiling back at me. At full height, he stands only to Reason’s waist. “Who gives this woman to be wed to this man?”

Cassius doesn’t hesitate. “I do.”

A tear slides down Reason’s cheek.

Someone in the audience says, “Wow. It’s so real.”

We gaze into each other’s eyes.
It is, isn’t it?

Reason slides his thumb over the spot on my finger where the ring should be. I glance down at my bare finger and a momentary surge of panic rushes through me. But when I look up he’s biting his lip and there’s a smile in his eyes. Okay, he’s got it covered.

 “There is no greater joy than the blessing of marriage, when two hearts converge as one. It is an honor to officiate in the marriage of Father Christmas to his bride, Erin. May we have the rings?”

I hold my breath.

A small boy presents a satin pillow with two rings. Reason selects my ring first, the same one the Gift gave us, but now it’s been conjoined with a matching wedding band. He slips it on my finger.

Ives continues, “Reason, repeat after me:”

Someone nearby whispers, “Did he just call him
Reason
?”

I watch Reason’s mouth as he speaks the words, and I listen closely to each one.

“I, Reason, take you, Erin, to be my lawfully wedded wife—to honor and to cherish in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer until I take my last breath. I promise these things in the spirit of the Gift and in honor of the Miracle of Christmas.”

I remove his ring from the pillow and slip it on his finger.

“Erin, repeat after me.” Ives begins again, and I repeat the words.

“I, Erin, take you, Reason, to be my lawfully wedded husband—to honor and to cherish in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer until I take my last breath. I promise these things in the spirit of the Gift and in honor of the Miracle of Christmas.”

It’s like we’re standing weightless above the world, and it’s only the two of us until Ives’ voice returns with gusto.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Reason, you may kiss your bride.” Ives holds a golden shepherd’s hook above our heads, and a sprig of mistletoe dangles from the end.

Reason grins. He’s apparently been waiting for these words because, before I know what’s happened, he’s lifting me in his arms and pressing his lips to mine.

The crowd begins to cheer and a thunderous applause fills the square.

Reason spins me around and lowers me to my feet. He gushes, “The waiting was pure torture. I could hardly sleep. Dex had to sing me lullabies and give me chamomile tea.” He gazes at me with such seriousness I almost believe he means it literally.

“At least you had Dex. Klaus was no help to me at all.”

From out of nowhere, a quartet begins to sing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

Reason’s arms slip from my waist, and together we turn around to face the crowd. Their cheers crest again as we make our way down the aisle together. Callie walks ahead of us with Klaus by her side. She tosses the white down feathers in the air and they drift more like fluffs of cottonwood seeds in spring, than snowflakes in December.

Just before we step through the archway, something makes me look up.

Real snow has begun to fall.

Reason glances at me with a mischievous look in his eye. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

“You really just said that.” I raise my eyebrow at him in mock seriousness, but it’s hard not to laugh.

A crowd of women and girls have gathered behind us hoping to catch the bouquet. I throw it over my shoulder, and hundreds of competing screams fill the air.

Reason bellows, “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Ho, Ho, Ho!” He grabs my hand, and together we run to the limousine that waits by the curb.

He opens the door for me, and I see Klaus is already sitting on the backseat, waiting. “How did he—” But I don’t finish the question because there’s an envelope on the seat beside him, and I recognize the wax seal on the back.

Reason settles in beside me. I pluck the letter from the seat and hand it to him. It feels like an eternity passes as he works it open with his finger. Finally, he unfolds the cream colored stationary and reads:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. MacCloud,

The Society will convene after the first of the year to outline our new covenants. Please

advise on what you wish them to be.

Blessings in your new life together,

Cassius

Reason refolds the letter and stuffs it in his coat pocket.

“What do you think changed him?” I ask.

“He must’ve made peace with the past.” He doesn’t think on it, though. Instead, he leans forward and raps his knuckles on the privacy window.

The tinted window lowers, and there’s Dex in profile wearing a chauffeur’s hat perched on his head. “Where do you want to go, Boss? I hear there’s a reception at the mall.”

Reason glances at me and raises an eyebrow in question.

”No, I think I’d rather just go home.” I lock eyes with Reason and he grins.

“Yes, ma’am, Boss.” The window closes.

I lean back and rest my head on Reason’s shoulder. This has been the best day of my life, and I have a feeling it’s about to get even better.

Chapter 33

NIGHT HAS FALLEN and I stand beside my husband, gazing out over the valley of the Wildlands. It’s blanketed in a flesh layer of newly fallen snow.

“Tomorrow we’ll sleep in. I promise.” His voice is a bass melody. “And then, we’ll leave for Florida.”

“Will you be very late?” I’ve never asked how long it takes to deliver Christmas before.

“If all goes as planned, I’ll be home before sunrise.”

“Will you bring me a souvenir?”

“Ah, is this my first list?”