“Now enjoy your party,” Santa said, taking his wife’s hand.
The crowd cheered, drinks flowed and toasts were plentiful. A little while later Merry managed to corner Mrs. Clause for a quiet conversation.
“It’s so nice to see you,” Merry said smiling.
“And you, dear Merry. Tell me, do you hear from your folks often? Are they adjusting to life away from the North Pole?”
“Yes, I hear from them at least once a week. Mother is thinking about starting a bakery, but daddy wants to take life easy, and you know how my mother is,” Merry pointed out with a laugh. “She’ll put him to work faster than he can say ‘deck the halls’.”
“Yes, I know how determined she can be when she wants something,” Mrs. Clause agreed with a chuckle. “If I had to guess, I’ll bet she gets her way,” she continued, smiling, her blue eyes crinkling as her cheeks turned rosy. “Ah, elves, and I guess all women are more forceful these days. As a result the male species seem weaker and more easily bossed. I was sorry to hear about your marriage, dear. Are you doing well?” she asked with genuine concern.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Merry admitted. “The papers granting me a divorce from Bernard have been sitting on Santa’s desk for months and he still hasn’t signed them. I know he’s extremely busy with letters pouring in, but do you think you could speak with him about it. I’d love to move on with my life and if you’ve heard the rumors, Ginger is pregnant with Bernard’s child. I imagine she’s anxious to provide a name for the baby.”
“I have heard the gossip,” Mrs. Claus admitted sadly, “but I hesitated to bring it to Santa’s attention. He’s quite old-fashioned about some things and is a firm believer that marriage is forever. He gets a little testy when divorce papers come across his desk,” she sighed.
“I understand,” Merry sadly replied. Oh lord, it could be months, maybe years before she was finally rid of Bernard. Then Mrs. Clause surprised her.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she stated firmly. “Clearly, you should not be bound to a man who cannot manage to remain faithful! Trust me, dear. I’ll see that he signs them. I just need to wait for the proper time to bring them to his attention.”
“Oh thank you,” Merry sighed, gripping the older woman’s hand in gratitude. “I truly appreciate your help.”
“Think nothing of it. I’ve been playing the mediator for hundreds of years. Now go and enjoy the party. Oh, and a word of warning. Watch your step around Mr. Bright. He’s quite old-school when it comes to females. Once he decides what he wants he goes after it, no holds barred. And he won’t be so easy to get rid of,” she continued with a chuckle.
“Mercy, do you hear of everything that happens?” Merry gasped.
“Just about, although now and then something slips by me. Still, nothing much surprises me,” Mrs. Clause responded with a wink. “Now that waxing business,” she tisked shaking her head. “That one caught me off guard, and he lost time at work, which is completely against his ethics. Why in the world would a man like Bartlett Bright do something like that, unless of course, he was trying to impress a female? I don’t suppose you know anything about that?”
Merry gulped, her face growing warm, but kept quiet.
“I see, well as I said I would tread carefully around that man. Have fun and enjoy your evening, Merry, and give your parents my best wishes. Of course, I’ll send a card as well.”
Merry nodded and walked slowly away, convinced nothing was secret for long at the North Pole. She watched the fireworks, drank too much wine, and ate so many nachos her stomach hurt before staggering home.
She wokewith a pounding headache and dragged herself to the kitchen for aspirin and coffee. It was all she could do to get her sorry butt to work, but she didn’t dare screw up. Not now, not with her divorce papers on the line. If Santa thought she was irresponsible he might hold them up, worried that she would jump into another ill-advised marriage. Staring into the mirror she flinched, then shrugged.
Who cared what she looked like as long as she showed up on time? Loosely braiding her hair she threw on black leggings and an oversized light blue sweater. She did not fuss with her make-up. There was no way in hell it would help conceal last night’s over-indulgence. Pulling on her boots she then walked into the kitchen and filled a travel cup with coffee.
Deciding she had enough time to walk to work, which might clear her head and give her pasty white complexion some color, she set out. Twenty minutes later she arrived and entered the workshop. Unfortunately, the first thing she saw was Bernard leaning over to kiss Ginger while resting a gentle hand on her belly. Instantly, she felt ill and slipped off her coat. She passed another huge mirror and noted the walk had not done a thing to help so she stomped to Patty’s station.
“Great party, huh?” Patty asked cheerfully.
“Yeah, great,” Merry agreed, holding one hand to her head.
“You don’t look so good,” Patty noted worriedly. “Not feeling the Christmas spirit?”
“Not today,” Merry admitted, sticking her hand into a tub of silver glitter that rested on Patty’s desk. “Do you have a fan?”
“Sure, are you warm?” Patty asked, flipping the switch to low.
Immediately Merry tossed the glitter into the air and then walked through the cloud as the air from the fan carried it away.
“There, is that better?” Merry asked. “Do I look a little more like myself?”
Patty stared at her, clearly shocked and then replied.
“Well you do,” she answered slowly, “but…”
“But what?” Merry demanded, planting a hand on her hip.
