Christmas with the Calvins

Chapter Thirty-Four

While things at the pole were going south fast, things between Scott Calvin and the icy Principle Newman were starting to warm up. He and Charlie had arrived early, with coffee, for their community service. Being the only two adults, Scott and Carol found they worked well together as they led the misguided youth who'd been forced into painting over the graffiti. For some reason, he couldn't exactly explain, Scott found himself driving to Carol's house later that night. Mustering the best of his courage; he parked Laura's minivan and bravely trudged up to the front door.

Carol heard a knock at her front door and answered it with a confused expression. Scott couldn't believe his eyes. Gone was the cold hearted principal attire and the tightly pulled back bun of hair. In their place Principal Newman wore a tight fitting black dress and her hair was styled half-down. She almost look approachable.

"Hi...Uh, gee it looks like you're going out somewhere." He managed to get out as she started back at him in confusion. "I'm sorry, I should have called."

"No." Carol insisted. "No it's okay, come in."

"Are sure?" He stepped in to the house cautiously. He wondered where she was getting ready to go. Probably a date. He should probably just leave now while he was ahead but still his heart was saying stay.

"Is there a problem?" She asked him with concern once the front door was fastened shut.

"No, no. I just... well I...I wondered if..um...If you wanted to...Do you wanna get some noodles?" He finally managed to stammer out. God he didn't understand why he was so nervous. "Or Pie." He tacked on as an afterthought. "But I don't want to keep you from your date so.."

"Oh it's not a date!" She rushed to explain. "It's the faculty Christmas party. Is that your idea of a night on the town? Noodles and pie?" she giggled, walking away from his so that she could turn off the lights around the house. Scott followed her into the next room.

"Well, yes it is. What would be your idea?"

"Pizza and a movie!" Carol called over her shoulder.

"Ooh think or thin crust?"

"It's gotta be thin." She insisted with a smile.

"Good. Movie?"

"Ah Two for the Road. Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney."

"Movie's Ok." Scott shrugged. "But the car was the star. '53 MGTD, British racing dream. Wire wheels."

"I'm impressed. That is a great car. My favorite car."

"Didn't like driving them in the rain though." He pointed out.

"No." She agreed with him. "And you had to push it to start it, but other than that it's perfect." The two shared a smile and then Scott had an idea.

"You know, I could drive you to your party."

"That would be great. Except that eventually I'm going to have to come home."

"Well, ah, I could pick you up." He offered.

"You're going to drive me to a party and then come back and pick me up?" And just like that the ice queen was back. Principal Newman looked at him with those intense piercing eyes. She was glaring at him like he was the stupidest man on the planet.

"Yeah?" He answered uncertainly. Her face soften once more.

"Well why don't you just stay?" She questioned like he should have already suggested that.

"All right." He smiled. "I'll stay!"

"I'll get my coat!"

The High School's faculty party had turned out to be the least festive celebration Scott had ever been to. Sure there were decorations, and punch and music. But the place lacked the holiday cheer that he was used to seeing. Barely any of the staff were smiling some of them had even fallen asleep. Well Santa couldn't very well leave the party like that, even if it meant using the very last of his limited magic. He did use a very large reserve of it summon up nostalgic gifts for all the faculty and staff in attendance. He'd even managed to get a baby doll for Carol. Specifically the baby doll she had wanted as a child.

"I don't know how you did it. I only told you about Baby Doll an hour ago." Carol marveled as she clung to her baby doll; still in its box. She and Scott were out in the hallway. The rest of the faculty were in a nearby classroom playing with their toys. "It's like some kind of magic."

"Yeah, sort of like some kind of magic." He looked out the window trying to avoid eye contact with her. There was no way she was going to believe him and yet Scott couldn't shake the feeling that it was Carol. She had to be his Mrs. Claus. "And pretty much the last that I have." He sighed.

"What?" Carol didn't understand what he was saying. Then again what normal person would? "What? What about...you know what, I don't want to know. What you did in there..." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "was wonderful. Thank you." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." Scott smiled. Maybe he didn't have to tell her about all the Santa stuff right away. "I've got this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'm not real good at this..." As they leaned in for a kiss, Mistletoe sprouted from a crossbeam in the ceiling.

"Where did that come from?"

"I don't know." And with that, they leaned in to share their first proper kiss.

Scott mulled it over the whole ride home and decided that since he really did like Carol, he needed to tell her the truth. When he thought back to the first Christmas when he put on the Santa suit and Bernard had told him he was Santa, he almost ran straight back to Laura and Neil's. It was crazy and he was crazy for thinking he could get some woman to believe that he was Santa Claus. Even if he really wasSanta.

"Carol," he sighed as the pair of them lounged in her living room after the Faculty Christmas Party. "He got to his feet and he became very serious. "There's some things about me you should know. Some..personal things."

"We don't need to rush things, Scott." She told him with a dreamy smile.

"I think you need to know these things." Now Carol was concerned. She righted herself so that she was sitting up straight on the couch.

"Okay?"

"Um...Do you...remember the mistletoe? How it just showed up?"

"Yes." Carol nodded.

"And the sleigh how magical that was?" She nodded again. "Secret Santa Claus? That was me." Carol nodded a third time, waiting for whatever big reveal he was about to lay on her. "I'm not this size much, I'm usually much bigger than this." He confessed

"So am I sometimes." She joked.

"I have a very big white beard. It's beautiful." He continued, trying to ignore her quip. "I work a long way from my home. And when I get back to my home I sleep for long periods of time."

"See, okay, it's not so bad so far." She was still smiling. That was a good sign, right? "You work far away from home and you sleep a lot. Hey, you've never been to prison and you don't wear socks with sandals..." She laughed.

"Well...I'm Santa Claus." He finally announced. "The suit, the red suit's real. The North Pole is a place. There are elves, elves make the toys. My daughter married one of them. And it's all real. It exists. I exist." Carol started shaking her head.

"That's not funny, Scott." She wasn't smiling anymore.

"It's magical." He insisted.

"Okay, cut it out."

"I'm telling you the truth, Carol."

"I told you something very personal from my childhood and now you're making a joke out of it and that's not funny. It hurts."

"I know how hard this is to believe." Scott tried to explain. "But you've got to connect the dots. Think about all of the things that have happened with me..."

"I know what's going on." Carol got to her feet. "You felt something for me and now you're acting like a mental patient because you're scared."

"I'm not scared. I deliver gifts all over the world in a sleigh pulled by reindeer."

"Oh come on!" She started marching towards the door.

"I go down chimneys with burning logs and I still deliver the gifts!" He called after her. "I'm not scared, that's not what this is, Carol."

"You're trying to push me away and it's working." She said as she handed him his coat.

"Carol, Carol don't make me leave, please." In response she opened the door. She wouldn't say a word, she just waited for him to leave.