To help us remember the first night we’d been together in the blanket fort nest, I decided to reconstruct my king-size bed frame into a giant nest. It wasn’t round, but it was built up on the sides with upholstered pillows from top to bottom. Over the top, I’d constructed a canopy of gauzy fabrics, and the pillow-top mattress was covered with pillows and blankets of every kind. When he got here, I’d let Alden pick the ones he liked the best because I wanted him to think of this as much as his home as it was mine. By the time I was finished obsessing over the placement of every pillow, Santa was back and ready to go.
“So, how do we do this? Do we fly or what?”
Santa’s crimson plaid wool jacket made his cheeks seem rosier than usual as he smiled at me. “No, son, we don’t fly, exactly, but you’ll want to close your eyes until we get there. Might be easier since it’s your first time.”
I was in the process of askingfirst time doing what,when he touched his finger to the side of his nose, winked at me, and nodded. Then the ground underneath our feet literally disappeared and we were falling. I clamped my eyes shut, but the sound of my screams was still there. As soon as it had disappeared, the ground was beneath our feet again, and we were standing in front of the cabin.
“Oh, my God. That was scary as hell!”
“Well, I did tell you to close your eyes first.”
“Yeah, but that wouldn’t have stopped the ground from disappearing!”
“Calm down, son. It’s just magic. You use it every time you fly.”
“I get it, but whew, that was crazy.”
I heard the porch door open, then turned in time to see Alden running across the clearing and launching himself at me. “You’re here!”
I caught him in the air and swung him around a few times before kissing him, but that was cut short as he pulled away, looking green, and slapped my arms to let him down before he heaved into the brown grass and what was left of the snow from last week. After he was done, he straightened up and noticed we weren’t alone.
“My Lord, tell me I didn’t just throw up on Santa’s boots.” Looking down, he noticed that Santa 3 was actually wearing his forest green Doc Martins today. “Oh, nice Docs, Santa. I have some like that in purple somewhere.”
His happy laughter filled the front yard, and Alden and I joined in, causing the awkwardness of the situation to disappear just as quickly as it had begun. Lois the squirrel peeped out from behind a tree trunk and then skipped across the yard, heading straight to Santa. He reached down and extended his hand, then picked her up gently and stroked her fur while he stood, continuing to chuckle under his breath.
“Do you know Lois, or are you like a Disney Princess, and all the animals come to you?” Yet again, Santa got a chuckle out of Alden, but this time he answered.
“Lois and I are friends, yes. She’s been letting me know how you’re doing out here while Hale was back at the village. She’s very attached to you and hopes you won’t forget her when you leave.”
Alden’s face fell, and he reached out tentatively to stroke Lois’s head and tail. “I didn’t think about that. Mother and Dad said they bought the cabin for me for Christmas so I can have a place to write, but it’s so far away from where we’ll be. I don’t want to just leave it abandoned.”
Santa winked at him and then pointed his finger to a small woodshed at the corner of the cabin. Sparkles shimmered in the air and then disappeared. “Now you can come and go as you please. The door to the small woodshed at your house and the door to this one are now linked for you. Whenever you want to travel from one to the other, just think of your destination, open the door, and step through. That’s my gift to you two for your wonderful news.”
Touched beyond words, I was about to hug Santa for the second time today when two more people came out of the cabin and approached us.
“Alden, what are you doing out here with these people? Get back in the house, and we’ll take care of this.”
“Mother, this is the man I was telling you about. Hale, this is my mother and dad. Mother, Dad, this is my mate, Hale.”
“Yes, well, hello there. It’s good of you to return, at least, but who is taking care of your UPS route? You didn’t lose your job, did you? You have a family to pay for now, mister. This is no time to be irresponsible.”
“Mother, I’ve told you, he’s not a UPS driver.” He rolled his eyes at me, and neither one of us could help laughing along with Santa.
“Alden, your mom thought Hale was a UPS driver?” Santa’s whole face turned as red as his coat, and he bent over, wheezing with every belly laugh. “That’s one I haven’t heard before!”
“Sir, I’ll have you know that UPS is a great place to work, or so I’ve heard. They have good benefits. Isn’t that right, dear?”
We all turned as one to see Alden’s dad looking perplexed and not quite sure if he was supposed to answer the question or not. I felt like I needed to step in before things got any more confusing.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kirk, let me introduce myself. I’m Hale Comet. And this jolly gentleman here is Santa Clause. I’m one of Santa’s reindeer shifters, and I’m also your son’s mate.”
I smiled what I thought was a winning grin, thinking I had cleared everything up, but I was sorely mistaken.
“Alden, this man is insane. How in the world did you get involved with someone who still believes in Santa, for God’s sake.”
“Mother, he’s not crazy. He really is a reindeer shifter. Hale, show her.”
I let go of his shoulders, then moved back to shift. All the while, his mother was going on about crazy people and the mountains. As soon as I shifted and moved back to rest my head against Alden’s shoulder, she stopped and couldn’t seem to find words for the first time since I’d met her.
