Miscommunication

Cruel and inhuman, her mother picked up the broken box Carrie had made and handed it to her. “Keep it. I don’t want any gifts. You hear that, Phillip!” Her mother screamed up the staircase towards her father. “I was fine without you! You turned me into the stupid mother of a preppy and I’d rather be back home again!”

Carrie heard the front door slam from behind her. A few minutes later, her father came down the stairs, his jacket and suitcase packed.

“How did I ever fall in love with such a heartless creature?” he muttered before he headed out the door.

Carrie was alone. Moving toward her bedroom, she felt the world weigh heavier on her shoulders. What would she do if they broke up? She was old enough to take care of herself, but just herself. The loan papers for college, it would be a new life, but Carrie couldn’t help anything else. She couldn't help the world. Eventually, it would sink lower and lower. She lay on the bed, a broken rag doll. One more blanket didn’t matter. One more can of food donated didn’t matter. One additional quarter in the donation box of a ringing Santa never mattered.

Before she could think much further, her eye caught the rose on her nightstand. How could she think that? Worldwide, it didn’t make a difference, but it did to that one person she helped. Carrie reached over and held the rose, trying to find comfort within it. Sighing, she felt herself want to sleep and forget the world. That was when she heard a noise outside the door. Had her mother or father come home? As she peered out, she saw Kris. What was he doing back?

As he came closer, he held his arms out to her. “What did I say about hiding your feelings?”

After that phrase, she couldn’t help herself. She launched into his arms. “My parents hardly used to fight, and now they do nonstop. My best friend left me. Kris, what’s going on?”

“It’s mass paranoia,” he said. “Everyone is losing their positivity and faith that life will be okay. Santa being right next to your dimension, it was enough to conquer this. He's gone now, so it's tough. Your parents still love each other, but their belief that they do is disappearing. Magic is faith. Faith is magic.” He cleared his throat. “When Mr. and Mrs. Claus left, magic and faith died. The power transfer isn't instant.” He held her more tightly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have left for a whole week.”

“Is it…” Carrie shuddered, dreading the response. “Fixable?”

“Yes. Yes it is, and it starts with us.” He pulled her out of the embrace and grabbed her hand. Laying his finger to the side of his nose, he whirled them up to the roof. His reindeer Dougie was pawing on the roof. He helped Carrie into the sleigh. He got on the right side and looked at her straight on. “Are you ready now?”

“It’s not a marriage. It’s a position.” Carrie closed her eyes. There wasn’t much choice. She needed to help the world come back to normal. “For my world. Okay.”

“Okay?” Kris’ eyebrows wiggled in surprise. “I thought it would take a few more trips to get a yes. Are you sure?”

“I can’t go on like this. The world doesn’t feel the same way.” She held her coat tighter.

Kris gently took the rose and held it in his hand. “Place your right hand around it.”

Insane, it was insane. Carrie was giving up her future for one she knew nothing about. Visions of her parents swam in her head again. She placed her hand around the rose.

“Now.” Kris' bravado seemed to fade. “After this last part you will no longer need bells or Christmas roses. Everything you have ever experienced that was magical will come rushing back to you. Once this part is over, we’ll go to my home to finish it. I can get you just about anything you need there, but if there is something personal inside here that you want, then you should get it now.”

Carrie nodded. Kris waited a few minutes while she grabbed the one thing she knew she would want: her photo album. After she returned, he placed it gently in the back of the sleigh.

“Close your eyes, Carrie.”

Carrie closed her eyes and felt his hands meet her left hand. She jumped for a second, feeling static electricity shock her. For a moment, she wanted to release her fingers, but it faded almost as quickly as it came. As his hands left hers, she opened her eyes. His nose was as red as a cherry, and his cheeks were almost as rosy as hers. He didn’t say anything as he jiggled the reins and they took off. “You won’t regret this, Carrie. There is no place as wonderful as my world.”

“I suppose.” Carrie sniffled, dealing with her decision. “I will have to get used to not having others around except you when I'm there, I guess. I suppose living here on Earth is out of the question.”

“What do you mean?” Kris looked over toward her. “Usually Mrs. Claus' don't live on Earth, but you could take a little while. It's not lonely either, the elves are there, and so are my parents, for now.”

Carrie felt her body go numb for several seconds. “Could you repeat that?”

“My parents?” Kris asked. “That part?”

“But, wait, but―“ she stammered. “Hold on, you said Santa Claus was dead. You said that Mrs. Claus passed away.”

“They did,” Kris said, “but not my parents. They could have, but they made it through. At least for now.” He looked at her, starting to realize his own twisted lie. “Oh, I didn’t explain the Claus magic connection?”

“What Claus magic connection? There is a huge difference between dead and alive!” Carrie was beyond furious. She didn’t often get angry, but he was asking for a big favor while he hid some important details. What else was he hiding? What else was he lying about? “Take me back.”

“Take you back?” he asked. “You consented to being―“

“I thought you lost your parents. You said they were dead.” She crossed her arms in a mighty huff. “On my roof, that night, you said they were dead. If you lied about that, I can’t believe that my world is sinking into utter darkness if I don’t take the position. Are you sure everything is doomed if I don’t become Mrs. Claus? Please, tell me the truth.”

“Well, it won’t. I didn’t s-say it would. I would just be Mr. Claus without a Mrs. But, I would be the last one,” he tried to explain. “After me, there would be no more.”

“You can stop the darkness? And your parents are alive?” Fool, such a fool. “How could you do this? I thought you were different.” Even the Son of Saint Nick couldn’t be trusted.

“Well, um. That night with the…I didn’t know if they'd…I still won't get very long. . .”

There was no way she’d even pay attention to the mumbling. “I’ve met my share of conniving low lives, but this takes the cake. This is…this is…so wrong! I am always a bad judge of character. Jenny’s right: I should never trust my instincts.”

Oh, oh no. He never meant to trick her. That night, he’d been worried his parents could die, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus were dead. They had lost their magic. Mr. and Mrs. Kringle remained though, and he was afraid he’d lose them. His dad lost his father upon the exchange, and now he looked so weak on the bed. It was an emotional time, but he should have explained it better. Even now, they were extremely weak. He would be lucky if they lasted until next Christmas.

Backfire. She didn’t understand. He’d just brought Carrie into the position without her proper consent. Taking her back to his home was out of the question now. Oh, his father was going to poop a Christmas stocking when he found out. He’d given someone the power of Mrs. Claus when they didn’t want to be her yet. “I’m sorry that you were confused. Sometimes I forget the rules between my dimension and here.” He didn’t think that worked.

She still didn’t look him in the eye. In fact, she was getting watery eyed. He'd hurt her so deeply without meaning to. On purpose or not though, his Mrs. Claus was crying because of him. He wasn't used to actually hurting people's feelings, or seeing others feeling hurt. Sometimes, but not this much. Not on the point of crying, not in his world. It would always be an accident, or his father, and his mother was quite forgiving.

“I never meant to deceive you. I swear it upon every elf! Why would I do that, and then take you directly to them? That would be an obvious lie.” He was trying to find proof of his mistake to her.

“Take me home,” she said softly again. He could hear the whimper in her voice. She was so disappointed in him.

Kris couldn’t take her being mad at him. “You don’t have to do it. I, well, there is a way to back out. I’ll take you home, but on Christmas you must deliver gifts with me. After one Christmas, if you don’t think you want to be Mrs. Claus . . .then I will leave you there. I will never bother you again, and you’ll never remember me again. No bells or roses or anything. It will be like we never even met.” To her. He would have to live with the memories between them and the endless regrets. “One Christmas.”

She clung closer to her coat. “One. No commitment?”

“Just one, no commitment. Just help me deliver gifts for one Christmas.” Kris couldn’t even look her in the eye after that mistake, but he glanced back and watched her nod. His mission to make her his partner just turned almost impossible.

As soon as they landed, he offered to come back as much as possible for her, and he said they could do anything she wanted to at any time.

She couldn’t look him in the eye. “I’ll see you on Christmas,” she said.

“But, your merriness? I didn’t lie. The world is becoming darker. I don’t want you to―”

“Don’t. Just, don’t.” If she were any normal person that belonged in that dimension, he would be getting an earful. Instead, he watched her wipe away a tear. Oh, he wished she would have yelled at him instead of him having to witness that.

He’d lost his Mrs. Claus, and he knew it. Kris whisked her back down into her house and took off with Dougie.

One Christmas. He would have one simple Christmas to make her see reason. Or, he would never see her again.

(The next chapters are paywalled, but do not fret. You can unlock them, or you can visit my site serena-walken.com for ways to read these last few chapters.)