Love At The North Pole

Chapter Six: It Was All A Dream

I got up and made my way towards the stairs to go upstairs and grab my duffel bag. Charlie ran after me and waved at Mom through the window before opening the front door.

"Oh, Charlie!" She shouted as she came in the door.

I took this as my opportunity to hide the sweater from Bernard and ran up the stairs to my room. I walked into my bedroom and grabbed my duffel bag, tossing it onto my bed before taking the sweater off.

I grabbed my change of clothes from the bag and tossed in my pajamas, making sure to neatly fold the sweater before wrapping it around the snow globe and putting the item into my bag. I put my clothes on and placed my headphones around my neck while attaching my walkman to my hip.

"Merry Christmas, baby," Mom said as I made my way down the stairs carrying my duffel bag.

"Hi, Mom. Merry Christmas," I smiled slightly before walking towards the front door.

"Did you kids have a good time?" Mom asks as Charlie bolts back into the living room to grab his presents.

"Great time! The best!" Charlie yells from the other room.

"Great. Scott, nice P.J.s. Very festive," Mom chuckles as Dad rolls in on Charlie's new scooter. "Where'd you get them?"

"I don't know," Dad answered sorta truthfully.

"Judy gave them to you," Charlie said while grabbing a present from the living room floor.

"Judy. Really," Mom nods with an irritated look.

"Who?" Dad asks Charlie.

"Up at the North Pole," Charlie says while walking around the living room to grab all of his presents.

"Ah. One of Santa's little helpers," Mom says while placing an arm around my shoulders.

I lean my head onto her shoulder and listen to the whole situation play out.

"Last night, Dad, Clara, and I went with the flying reindeer. It was really neat, Mom. Dad was Santa, Clara was flirting with the head elf Bernard, and Larry showed me the workshop. You know, where they make all the toys?"

"Gee, thanks for helping me keep their feet on the ground," Mom nodded while looking over at Dad.

"You bet," Dad smiled.

Charlie finally finished getting all of his presents and walked towards the three of us.

"Honey, you and your sister go wait in the car for a minute. I'll be right there," Mom says before placing a kiss on the top of my head and lightly pushing me towards the door.

"Bye, Dad. Thanks for a great night at the North Pole," Charlie says while following beside me.

"Come on, Charlie. Hey, Mom. Is Neil in the car? I want to drive home," I ask, looking at her with a pleading look.

"Yeah, but tell Neil I said you can drive home with his supervision in the passenger seat," she says with a stern look.

"Merry Christmas to me! Bye, Dad," I cheer before skipping out to the car with Charlie following behind me.

"Hey, kids," Neil smiled as he stood outside with the trunk open waiting for me and Charlie to bring out our bags and presents.

"Hey, Neil. Mom says I can drive home with your supervision in the passenger seat. Is that okay?" I ask while handing him my bag carefully.

"Of course, honey," he smiles causing me to pump my fist excitedly.

"Kids!" Dad says while jogging down the stairs with Charlie's scooter.