You're the Star Atop My Christmas Tree, Charlie Boone! - 2. Part 2

Bob looked around Charlie's bedroom, and gave a little sigh. "So, this is where the magic happens?"

Kippy smiled at that, and gave Charlie's bedspread a fond pat. "I always thought so."

Bob's eyes widened, and his face turned a light shade of red. "Uh...I meant...you know, this is where you guys hatch your plans with the elves and all?"

Charlie smiled sideways at Kippy, and nodded to Uncle Bob. "Yeah. We do kind of think of my room as control central." He pointed at the laptop on his desk. "That was how we first contacted Max. And all because Kip couldn't type."

Kippy laughed at that. "I'm better now. But I was doing a Google search and wound up on Goggle, instead."

Bob frowned. "Never heard of it."

"We hadn't, either," Charlie admitted. "It's the elf search engine, I guess. We think Kip's skwish located it, somehow." He smiled at Ricky and Adrian. "All I know is that we sure needed it when it happened. Anyway, that's what started the whole thing."

"It's an amazing story. And now you four travel all about...um, everywhere, helping the elves and doing good things." Bob let his gaze wander slowly around the circle of faces. "I have to say I can't imagine a better group of boys for the task."

No one said anything about being called a boy, as they all knew what Uncle Bob meant. All of them were seniors in school now, and eighteen, and thought of themselves as adults, even if their parents still had a little trouble recognizing that fact.

But they'll grow up to it, Charlie thought, smiling.

Bob slowly clapped his hands together, and gave out a little puff of air. "So...we just wait?"

"Uh huh." Kippy nodded, and looked over at the clock on Charlie's nightstand. "Still five minutes until one."

Charlie heard a sound from the hallway, and then his mom called up the flight of steps. "Charlie? Would Mr. Travers like anything to drink? How about your friends?"

Charlie got up and went to the door and looked down the staircase. His mom smiled up at him, a glass of ice tea in her hand. She took a sip and then held up the glass to him. "Just made a whole pitcher. Not bad, if I do say so, myself."

Charlie smiled back at her. "Well...thanks, mom, but I don't think so. They just came by to visit for a minute, and then they have to run. They're having a big dinner at Rick's house, and they'll be eating shortly." He shrugged, letting his smile turn into a grin. "But Kip and I will be down for a glass when they go. Meet you in the kitchen?"

"Okay. I'm making a bread pudding for dessert tonight. Your dad should be home from the mall soon. Can you help him carry stuff in?"

Charlie laughed at that. "Last minute shopping again?"

"Well, you know your dad."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah. Kip and I will be down soon, when these guys leave. Just a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay, honey." His mom held up the glass again, took another sip, grinned, and headed back to the kitchen.

Charlie returned to sit by Kippy. "We'll go have our visit with Frit and Pip and Max, and come back in time to still have ice tea with my mom."

"And help your dad carry stuff in," Kippy added, smiling.

"Just one more minute," Adrian said then, pointing at the alarm clock on Charlie's nightstand.

Charlie felt an anticipatory tingle make its way up his spine, and turned with the rest to stare at the clock. It was a new one, with a digital display at the base, but with conventional analog hands set into a small dial above. The digital clock said 12:59:21, and no one said anything as it continued to count forward to one o'clock.

Kippy put a hand on Charlie's arm and squeezed it gently, and Charlie laid his hand atop his boyfriend's and squeezed back.

The last seconds ticked down, the numbers flowed into new patterns, and the clock hit one PM.

Nothing happened.

Charlie looked around the room, but there was no movement in the air, no feeling that an elf or two was about to pop into the room.

"What the hell?" Ricky asked, frowning.

Kippy suddenly took a startled breath, and a second later, so did Adrian. "You feel that?" Adrian asked.

"Wait --" Kippy began, but broke off as a strange sound suddenly filled the room. It made Charlie's skin crawl a little, sounding something like a squeaky wheel as it rolled across the floor. On the other side of the room, on a stretch of solid, white-painted wall, a luminous dot appeared at the floor and began to crawl upwards, forming a line, which gained speed as it climbed across the baseboard and soared ever higher. A little more than a foot from the ceiling it suddenly made a right turn, traveled another three feet or so, and then made another right turn and started back towards the floor.

All eyes were on the wall. Charlie just stared along with the rest of them, knowing magic when he saw it, but not yet knowing what kind of magic it was. But he felt he knew what was in the making here...knew how this particular magic would wind up.

The line reached the baseboard and went on to the floor, made another turn there, and suddenly zipped across to connect with its point of origin. There was a soft whoosh, and the inside of the rectangle filled with color, a dark and lustrous brown. More strange sounds accompanied a further definition of the rectangle, as the rails, mullions, stiles, and inset panels of an ornate door appeared, followed at the end by a cute little ping as a great brass door latch winked into existence on the left stile.

Charlie laughed, even as the sounds of the door's making whispered away. "That's gotta be them."

He was going to add to that pronouncement, but he never got the rest of the words out. The metallic rapping sounds of a doorknocker located on the other side of the door filled the room, echoing and a little eerie, as if the door was the entry to a great hall instead of just to Charlie's bedroom. Charlie laughed again as the others suddenly whooshed out their breaths.

Kippy bounded to his feet and literally danced himself over to the door, made a show of placing an ear to it, and grinned. "Who is it?"

A muffled voice came from the other side. "Aw, geez! Come on, fellas, open up!"

Kippy turned to the group, his eyes filled with a merry light, and grasped the door latch and pushed his thumb down on the lever, and stepped back, opening the door.

Max stood on the other side.

Charlie heard a chorus of gasps from the others, and a stifled laugh from Kippy. Charlie had to sit on an impulse of his own to laugh, and just stared, right along with everyone else. Max was dressed in a red and green jacket and green tights, with a tall, pointed green hat on his head, with a fluffy red ball of fur at the tip of it. His feet were encased in green boots with points at the end of them, that stuck up in the air and curled backwards a bit. A black belt circled his waist, bearing several dark leather pouches, and little bells dangled from the ends of his jacket cuffs.

He looked every bit the classic Christmas elf. But it was the expression on Max's face that was the most humorous. His cheeks were rosy with embarrassment, and it was obvious that he'd much rather be just about anywhere else at that moment. Or, at least, dressed any other way!

Charlie gaped for several more seconds, the urge to howl almost overwhelming. Ricky choked and pretended to have a coughing fit, while Adrian covered his mouth and looked away. Uncle Bob simply gaped, too astonished to even laugh. Kippy's eyes were huge, but he clamped his jaw tightly and turned to look at Charlie as if for help. But Charlie was unable to help anybody, doing everything he could already just to keep from falling to the floor and rolling about, laughing.

Max nodded, looking from one human face to another, but not believing any of it. A trace of humor crept into his eyes, and then he smiled. "Aw. That's sweet, guys. But you can laugh. I know I look ridiculous. It's just for fun, anyway."

Kippy let his smile run free then, and chuckled softly at Max. "You are soo cute!"

Max nodded again, visibly fortified himself, and returned the smile. "Yeah, yeah. Even the missus said so. But let's not go on too long with this staring stuff, huh?"

Charlie noticed motion beyond Max then, and realized that it was snowing behind the elf. Great, fat flakes, too, that took their time coming down, sashaying gently side to side on the journey. He heard a strange sound then, a sort of coughing grunt like the sound a horse might make, only somehow different, and opened his mouth to ask if anyone else had heard it.

But just then, Frit and Pip, who had been hiding to either side of the door, leaned in and grinned at everyone. "Surprise!" They were dressed like Max, and if possible, even more appealing to the eye. They stepped into the room on either side of the older elf, and waved at the humans.

"Hi!" Frit added then, sounding happy and excited. "Merry Christmas, everybody!"

"Merry Christmas!" Pip echoed, and waved. "And a happy new year, when it gets here!"

Kippy clasped a hand to his chest, looked back at Charlie, rolled his eyes, and mouthed the words, "Oh...my...god!

The two elf teens were beyond plain cuteness. Charlie grinned, and got to his feet. That was the signal for everyone to rise, and soon hugs were being exchanged all around. Uncle Bob looked surprised when Frit and Pip, whom he had never actually met, each hugged him mightily.

"We heard all about you!" Frit explained, laughing.

"You're a legend in Twombly!" Pip added. "My cousin, six times removed, Lera, lives there. She told me all about your magic act!"

Charlie took the opportunity to move next to Max, to whisper at him. "You had us worried for just a second. When one o'clock came and nothing happened, I mean."

Max laughed. "You should know that time is a little different from clock to clock, Charlie. You set your new alarm clock from your watch when you bought it, din'cha?"

"Well...yeah, I think I did."

"And you set your watch from your laptop time, right?"

"Yes. "Charlie smiled. "What's your point?"

Max sighed. "You set the minutes both times, but not the seconds. That left you about thirty-six seconds off true time."

Charlie stared a moment, then gently clapped his palm to the side of his head. "How could I be so stupid?"

The elf laughed. "It ain't stupid, but it is imprecise. You guys expected something to happen right when your clock changed to one, but it wasn't actually one yet. That's all." Max leaned forward, a smile in his eyes. "We elves run on true time, Charlie. You humans carry your own time around with you, and everybody's is a little different. That's why the heroes always synchronize their watches in the adventures movies."

Charlie smiled at that. "Since when have you been watching human movies?"

Max shrugged. "Oh, a long time. Ever since we got cable at the house."

Ricky turned at hearing that. "You have cable? At the North Pole?"

"Well...at an undisclosed location nearby. Sure, we got it."

Ricky grinned. "Betcha got the king of all flat screen TVs, too!"

Max winked quickly at Charlie, but frowned at Rick. "TV? Why would I need a TV?"

Ricky stared at the elf, then at Charlie, then back at Max. "Well...how else would you watch cable?"

Max grinned. "Easy. Just plug it in one ear, and off we go!"

Charlie and Max both started laughing. Ricky watched them a moment, and then rolled his eyes. "Funny."

Max stepped forward and clapped Ricky on the shoulder. "I really don't have a TV, Rick. Not even a cable coming into the house, like you're imagining. We can watch that stuff without all that tech gear you guys use. It's just electromagnetic waves, digitally encoded."

Ricky brightened. "Really? You watch it for...like, free?"

Max looked surprised. "You guys hafta pay?"

Charlie started laughing again, and Rick just sighed. Max smiled at them both, and then stepped into the center of the crowd and raised his hands."Listen up, folks!"

Frit and Pip immediately jumped to each side of Max, their faces wrapped in delighted grins. "Hear ye, hear ye!" Pip intoned.

"My grandpa is about to speak!" Frit finished.

The boys and Uncle Bob gathered around the elves, and Charlie felt the same sense of anticipation that he could see on the faces of the others. Christmas at the North Pole, with Santa and the elves! Or at an undisclosed location nearby, that is. Either way it was exciting, and Charlie's glee was only heightened when Kip came and nuzzled against him.

"This is going to be so fun!" his boyfriend whispered.

Charlie put an arm around him and pulled him close, and nodded.

Max gave out a big sigh. "Well, it's that time of year again, guys. The past two Christmases have been pretty wonderful, and some of that is because of you." He looked around at the humans watching him. "All of you. Two Christmases in a row now, you guys have helped to make the holiday bigger and brighter for someone. Or a lot of someones." He smiled. "Time to get a little of that back now."

"It'll be super merry!" Frit said.

"Extra super merry!" Pip added.

The two elves grinned at each other, and chorused, "Very merry, merry!" and broke into laughter.

Max rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smiling. "Uh, yeah."

Kippy waved a hand. "But we love being involved in all this stuff. You don't have to do anything special for us."

Pip hooted. "Too late!"

"Can't turn back now!" Frit followed up, laughing.

Max shook his head. "No, it's no big deal, guys. This Christmas looks like it's gonna be smooth sailing, and we just wanna share a little of that with you." He turned then, and waved at the door and the snowy world beyond it. "If you guys wanna come on out, we can get started."

Kippy moved towards the door, and Charlie followed. "Where is that, um, out there?" Kippy asked, pointing through the door.

Max laughed. "Oh, just someplace. Sorta between hither and yon, you might say."

Kippy laughed, and moved to stand in the doorway to look outside. He immediately gasped, and then waved a hand in Charlie's direction without turning. "Oh! Come see!"

Charlie stepped quickly to the door to stand beside his boyfriend.

Outside, a stone staircase descended a snowy hillside to a narrow plateau, also snow-covered, beyond which was a dramatic fall off into a vast valley cloaked in winter white. A stubble of evergreen trees, laden with fresh snow, crowded along the steep inclines to either side of the divide, probably much larger and farther away than at first appeared. At the other end of the valley, just above the distant mountains, a break in the cloud cover framed the waning crescent of the moon, just a tiny arc of light in the sky, yet somehow bright through the falling snow. It would have been almost eerie had it not been so beautiful.

It seemed to be late afternoon beyond the door, and most of the sky was heavy and gray with snow. Other than the small window through which the moon gazed at them, the only light was from what filtered through the dense clouds above. There were no habitations visible, anywhere, and the valley looked untouched by human - or even elf - hands. The impression of wilderness was strong, and Charlie realized then that stepping through the doorway would take them to a land somehow more distant than even he could imagine.

But it was what stood at the bottom of the stone staircase that now held Kippy's attention. A magnificent red sleigh was parked there, with ornate white runners, and two rows of plush, red seating within. At the fore of the sleigh, eight reindeer stood in their harnesses, several with their heads together almost as if conversing. One of the ones in the front looked up their way and spied them, and immediately let out a coughing grunt just like the one that Charlie had heard earlier. The other reindeer turned their heads, and gazed up at the elves and humans, and several more made the coughing sounds - except that they sounded very much like laughter!

"Freakin' awesome!" Ricky breathed, over Charlie's shoulder. "Is that Rudolph up front?"

Max laughed. "Naw, that's Pasquale. Rudolph - that's just for the kids, you know?"

Kippy looked astonished, and then disappointed. "There's no Rudolph?"

Frit shrugged. "One of your people came up with that."

"Sorry," Pip said. "No Rudolph."

Max looked sympathetic. "Everything can't be like you expect it, guys. That was a cute story, but Mr. May kinda made it all up."

Kippy sighed resignedly. "Oh, well."

Max smiled. "Pasquale's nose don't glow, but he's a heck of a flier."

Kippy immediately looked delighted again. "So the sled still flies?"

"Oh, sure. Wouldn't be any fun if it didn't, now would it?"

"I'll say," Adrian put in, the same delight that Kippy wore now written upon his features. "Is that our transportation?"

All three elves laughed. "We could walk, but it would take a while," Pip said.

Frit nodded. "A long while, even with the clocks stopped. You want to get there soon, don't you?"

Kippy propelled his head up and down. "Yes! Uh...where are we going?"

"I just told you," Frit said. "There."

Max sighed. "Just...let's get down to the sleigh and get goin', huh? I'll explain once we get airborne."

Kippy stepped out the door, and immediately clapped his arms together across his chest. "It's cold!"

"It's winter!" Frit said, laughing.

But there was a popping sound, and a handsome brown parka with white fur trim appeared at Kippy's feet. He immediately picked it up, shook off the snow, and shrugged into it. Then he turned, grinned back at Charlie, and pulled up the hood. "That's better!"

As each of the humans stepped out through the doorway, a similar parka appeared at his feet. Presently, they were all so clad. Max stepped back as they buttoned up, and looked them up and down, and then frowned and shook his head. "No, that won't do." He smiled. "Mind the tickle, fellas."

He waved his fingers at the group, and Charlie felt a tickling sensation in his legs and feet. He looked down, and his jeans were now tucked into brown-furred leather boots, the uppers of which were cinched snugly against his lower legs by two leather straps. He grinned, and looked over at Ricky, who was gazing down at his own boots in astonishment.

"Admiral Byrd, I presume?" Charlie said, laughing.

Ricky also laughed, his eyes bright. "Whoever that is, Britannica Brain."

Charlie sighed, and shook his head. "You really should look at your history book once in a while."

Adrian made an exasperated sound, and bumped against his boyfriend. "He's kidding, Charlie." But then he frowned. "I think."

Ricky laughed, but didn't clarify his understanding of the topic, instead turning and waving his hand at the snowy mountain vista before them. "Who cares what we're called, standing here in front of all this...this...coolness?" He shook his head, but his enchantment was plain to see. "It looks like the top of the world to me. And I'll bet it's really far away from your bedroom, Charlie!"

"A little bit!" Frit exclaimed, smiling.

"More than a little bit!" Pip elaborated.

"I'll bet." Ricky pointed at Frit. "Have any other humans been here before us?"

The elf scratched his ear, and threw a questioning look at his grandpa.

"Not in a very long time," Max decided, after some thought. "We kinda keep the doors to this place locked these days. No offense."

Charlie laughed at that. "None taken. In case you never noticed, we all have locks on our doors, too."

Max nodded, and indicated the staircase. "After you, guys."

Kippy emitted a delighted hoot, and started down the steps at a run. Charlie sighed and plunged after him, hearing the others following on his heels. They descended the stairs with much less caution than their snowy condition deserved, and all of them scrambled at one point or another to keep from falling. But they all wound up laughing at the challenge, even Uncle Bob, who was grinning just like the rest of them when they finally arrived at the base of the staircase.

"That was thrilling!" The older man said, his eyes bright. "Didn't know I still had it in me!"

Ricky laughed. "I'd have been surprised if you didn't. I mean, you're a Travers, right? Even if you're not a kid anymore."

Uncle Bob seemed to take some delight in the remark, and patted his nephew's shoulder fondly. "I'll take that in the spirit you meant it, Rick."

Max and the younger elves arrived beside them. They appeared not to have had any problem with the slippery stairs, and Charlie was not surprised when they seemed amused at the human's efforts. But it was a good-natured and fond amusement, the type to be expected between friends, and Charlie found no reason to do anything but smile back at them.

"Ooh!" Kippy breathed, gazing at the harnessed reindeer. "They're beautiful!"

He again took the lead, walking along the length of the sleigh towards the animals in their harnesses. One of the rear reindeer looked over its shoulder at Kip's approach, then turned and leaned over towards its neighbor. There was a faint buzz almost like whispering, and then the other reindeer emitted a coughing grunt that again struck Charlie as laughter. The first reindeer looked back at Kippy again, and then Charlie was amazed to see it crouch a little, and muscles flow along the beast's flanks...

And then the stubby tail lifted.

Kippy had just reached the front of the sleigh when a tremendous fart issued forth from beneath the tail of the reindeer, and then all eight of the animals broke into the coughing sounds of laughter.

"Hey, hey!" Max said, coming forward then, and trying not to laugh. "Knock it off, you guys! These are our guests, you get me? Behave!"

Kippy gasped, and immediately held his nose. He turned to look at Charlie, and then started back towards him. "Okay, maybe they're better viewed from a distance."

"They're just foolin' around," Frit said, hiding a smile with his hand.

"Playing games!" Pip agreed, shaking his head. But the elf couldn't quite hide the laughter he was feeling inside.

"They don't mean no harm, fellas," Max said, waving a hand in the air. The stench, just reaching Charlie's nostrils at that moment, instantly dissipated. Charlie was grateful for that, as the one whiff he did get was enough to make him want to be elsewhere.

"What the heck do those guys eat?" Ricky said, blinking his eyes. He also had gotten a whiff of the fart.

Max laughed. "Oh, birch bark, moss, sedge. Grass and mushrooms. The usual vegan stuff."

Adrian smiled. "I've smelled horse farts before, and they're about the same. It's the sheer quantity that gets to you."

Max passed Kippy and paused at the offending reindeer. "Okay, Norville, you've had your fun. Now be nice to our guests."

The reindeer looked at Max, then hung its head a moment. The elf turned and waved to Kippy, who took a hesitant step back in that direction.

"Come on," Max prompted, when the boy paused. "He was just having a little fun. He'll be polite now."

Kippy smiled over his shoulder at Charlie, and then stepped forward to stand alongside the reindeer. Norville turned his head and gazed at Kippy, and offered up a gentle sound that seemed a welcome. Kippy reached out and laid his hand in the animal's fur, and Charlie smiled at the delight that returned to his boyfriend's eyes. "Oh, Charlie, you need to feel this!"

Charlie nodded, steeled himself against a possible second assault on his nose, and moved up to stand beside his boyfriend. Kippy was actively petting the reindeer now, and the animal looked quite happy with the effort. Charlie reached out and patted Norville's flank, and marveled at the pleasing downy quality that the apparently coarse fur seemed to possess.
In a moment all the humans had found a reindeer to pet, while the animals stood patiently and enjoyed it.

Max sighed, and patted Norville's back. "They're young. Kids. You know how kids are, right?"

Charlie smiled. "Haven't got a clue."

Max grinned at him. "They're good sorts, all of them. They just get bored easily." He turned and gazed briefly at Frit and Pip, who were petting another of the reindeer, and laughing happily together. "Just kids."

Kippy was enjoying himself, and Charlie smiled as his boyfriend gave Norville a little hug around the neck. "You are so cute!" Kippy whispered. Norville responded by gently prodding Kippy with the tip of his nose, as if returning the compliment in the only way that he could. Kippy looked pleased at that, and grinned happily at Charlie.

"There." Max also looked pleased. "Now we're all friends." He pointed back at the sleigh. "Ready to go?"

Kippy bent close to Norville's ear a last time, and whispered, "Thanks for being nice!", and then turned to join the group as they proceeded to board the sleigh. Norville turned to gaze back at Kippy, seeming much happier than he had been only moments before.

The sleigh was longer and wider than Charlie had ever imagined Santa's sleigh would be, and he decided then that this was not a toy delivery sleigh, but a people transport. Not Santa's main sleigh at all. The two rows of seats took up the entire interior, with no platform to the rear for a loaded toy bag. He smiled at his own summation, as he really had no idea how Nicholaas delivered his goodies on Christmas Eve, and he was just basing his thoughts on assumptions from Santa Claus lore. And he was starting to see that much of what he'd learned about Santa and elves growing up just wasn't the real deal. That they might get more insight into the whole Santa experience was really kind of exciting!

Max climbed into the front seat and took the reins, and Frit and Pip seated themselves to either side of the older elf. The back seat was more than wide enough for all five humans to sit abreast comfortably, and Charlie and Kip paired off, and Ricky and Adrian, while Uncle Bob sat outboard of his nephew. There were little half-moon doors in the side of the sleigh by each seat, which allowed them easy access to the interior, and which closed firmly behind them, giving at least a small sense of enclosure.

Max looked over his shoulder to make sure all the humans were seated, then gently flipped the reins in his hands and made a soft sound inside his cheek. "Ho, Pasquale, and Solly, and Nestor, and Orville! Aloft, Wally, and Jolly, and Jester, and Norville!"

Kippy and Adrian giggled, and Charlie grinned. Max turned and smiled at them, looking a little embarrassed. "Union rules, you know."

Charlie was surprised. "You guys are in a union?"

Max laughed. "Not us." He pointed at the team ahead of the sleigh. "Them!"

The reindeer started forward, and the sleigh moved easily in their wake. They gathered speed startlingly quickly, and soon were flying across the snows of the narrow plateau. Charlie craned his neck to see past the elves, and was shocked to see them barreling towards the sharp edge of a sheer drop off!

"Um!" was all he got out, though, before the fast moving sleigh reached the cliff. He had just a part of a second to tighten his arm around Kippy before the sleigh rocketed past the end of the plateau and soared into the air, the reindeer rising slightly ahead of them as they hauled the sleigh high into the snow-filled sky. Charlie had tensed at the take-off, but as the sleigh gained altitude he felt himself relaxing. There were no seat belts for restraint like in his Mom's car, and probably no air bags, either. But there also seemed to be some gentle force holding them in place, negating any tendency to slide about - or fall out - as the sled moved. Of course elf magic would have thought of that!

"Whoa!" Ricky yelled, but he was grinning. He had his arm around Adrian, who was snuggled up against his boyfriend and looking happy as could be. "Is this cool, or what?" Ricky added, laughing and waving his free arm.

The elves laughed, too, and Frit turned to smile at them. "Did it scare ya?"

"Even a little?" Pip added.

"Scared me, the first time I did it!" Frit continued, as if to answer his own question.

"Made me wonder, just a little," Uncle Bob admitted, following it up with an obvious sigh of relief. He patted the top edge of the half-moon door next to him, and then smiled. "But I trust the magic, so I wasn't too worried!"

Charlie also trusted Max and his magic, but was also feeling a sense of relief at being aloft now. The matter-of-fact take off had definitely been a surprise!

"I wasn't worried," Kip said. "My skwish would have warned me if we were gonna be in trouble, I think."

Adrian nodded. "I didn't feel scared, either. I felt like we'd be fine."

Ricky leaned over and kissed his boyfriend. "That's okay. I was nervous enough for both of us!"

"You guys warm enough back there?" Max called.

Only then did Charlie realize that there was no wind in their faces, even though they were crossing the sky at a considerable pace. They were quite comfortable as a result, and Charlie said so.

"I can adjust the airflow, if you want a little more action," Max informed. "Some of the guys at the shop like the wind in their face when they drive these things." He laughed. "Most guys with beards, that is. Me, I prefer not to feel like an icicle, myself."

"We're good," Kippy called, the idea of being buffeted about by frigid air not even remotely appealing.

Uncle Bob was seated on the right side of the sleigh, just as Charlie was on the left, with Kip, Adrian and Ricky between them. The older man leaned his head over the door and looked down, and immediately let loose a sharp whistle of appreciation. "Hell of a view!"

Charlie looked over his own door, and marveled at the rugged, snow-covered forest that was passing beneath them as they flew down the length of the valley. He'd been right that the trees were far larger than they had seemed from the little plateau outside the door from his bedroom. Giant spruce trees towered among only slightly shorter stands of poplars and cedars, with hemlock, alder, and pine liberally sprinkled between. All of them were hung with snow and glistened with ice. It was a Christmas scene like no other he had ever experienced before!

He knew that they couldn't really be near the pole, because trees just didn't grow that far north. The terrain below looked like videos he had seen of Alaska, or Canada, or other northern lands. The one trip they had made to Max's house before, several Christmases ago, they had seen snow and distant mountains through the large window in Max's den, but no trees at all. The aurora had played in green and rose above their heads, and there had been every evidence of being close to the pole...or at an undisclosed location nearby.

From somewhere in his memory, Charlie pulled up the fact that the nearest true land to the north pole was some four hundred miles away from the actual ninety-degree mark. The true pole was in the Arctic Ocean, covered in ice, and not really a spot someone would choose to live. The fact that mountains could be seen in the distance from Max's home indicated to Charlie that the 'undisclosed location nearby' the pole was actually not as close to the pole as he had originally imagined. But what was a few hundred miles to an elf, who could 'be there' in an instant if he wanted to do so?

Like size to these magical folk, distance was also relative. That Santa's workshop might not actually be situated at the true north pole did not bother Charlie in the least. The original legend had likely chosen that particular spot for Santa's origin because at that time it was an inaccessible place, a no man's land beyond the reach of mortal men, and so a perfect place for a myth to resist being tampered with by curious explorers. That humans had since been to that area of the world had miraculously done little to tarnish the image of Santa and his elves as denizens of the far north. Charlie had to smile at that. People love a good story, even if it has holes in it!

The landscape directly beneath them was almost blurring now as the reindeer got up to speed. They had to be doing several hundred miles per hour, and Charlie lifted his gaze and settled back in his seat, quite content to view the vista ahead of them, which was much easier on the eyes.

"This thing really moves!" Ricky said appreciatively, leaning forward and patting Max on the shoulder. "How fast are we going?"

Max smiled over his shoulder. "Fast enough. You don't really want to know."

Uncle Bob laughed at that, and nodded. "Yeah, I don't think I'd like to know that we were moving at jet airliner speeds in an open sleigh."

"It's supposed to be fun," Frit said, turning around to smile at them. "We could've just zipped straight to the shop from your room, but this seemed like it would be better."

"It is," Uncle Bob reassured. "I'm having a great time!"

That seemed to make Frit happy, and he reached across his granddad's shoulders and patted Pip, who grinned at him.

Charlie smiled at that, and leaned a little more closely against Kippy, who immediately noticed and snuggled even closer.

They crossed the mountains they had seen from the doorway, and seemed headed straight into the crescent moon. The snow parted around them and vanished from view at the sides of the sleigh, leaving them a clear look at the terrain below. After crossing the mountains, the forests thinned and soon disappeared, replaced with tundra under a cover of trackless snow. Even as they watched, the snow in the skies ahead of them diminished, and soon disappeared altogether, leaving the way ahead of them sparklingly clear. The cloud cover above lessened, and a few stray rays of late afternoon sun peeked through.

It was an amazing view, not to be missed, and Charlie absorbed every stray photon of light, determined to fix a permanent record of the wondrous vista in his memory. Kippy sighed, took Charlie's hand and squeezed it. "It's so amazing."

Charlie nodded, turned his head, pushed their hoods back a bit, and kissed his boyfriend's cheek. "Sharing it with you makes it even more special," he whispered.

Kippy sighed again, turned his head, and found Charlie's lips. There was something special about the kiss that followed, too, and Charlie also fixed this moment in his memory for all time to come.

Then they relaxed, and let the experience soak in as it willed. Kippy squeezed Charlie's hand, and Charlie squeezed back, and the two of them scanned the sky around them and the lands below, fully caught up now in the trip they were taking. Rick and Adrian seemed similarly enthralled, and Uncle Bob also was quiet as his eyes tried to look everywhere at once. The older man wore a small smile, and Charlie knew it was born of the same delight he was feeling himself. Some people would view the world around them and simply see a harsh and unforgiving land; but from the magic perch of the sleigh, it was an amazing and most wonderful place.

They traveled onward for a period of time, one that Charlie could only guess at. It was an unimportant measurement, for they were in no hurry for the experience to end. The reindeer ahead of them flexed their legs in a powerful run, yet they grabbed at empty air, and the speedy pace of the sleigh seemed almost unreal.

It began to darken, the cloud-hidden sun obviously finding its way to the horizon. The crescent of the moon had traveled some distance across the sky, but had risen a bit higher, and still cast an unnaturally bright light upon the land. Charlie wasn't sure, but it seemed to him that that moon should not be there. He had a small interest in the phases of the moon, its rising and setting, and he was pretty sure that it should not still be visible at this time of the day. But it was so enchanting that he didn't question it further, deciding that it was all part of the magic, and accepting it for what it was. Beautiful.

The sky darkened further, until only the sliver of moon lit the land. The sleigh made a slow turn towards that satellite then, and the antlers of the reindeer seemed to play tag with the distant, glowing crescent. They charged onward across the sky, the white tundra beneath them so uniform now that it seemed the sleigh scarcely moved at all.

Charlie soon noticed a glow on the horizon ahead of them, and watched it slowly brighten, until he saw an actual light there, which only grew brighter as they traveled onward. The boys and Uncle Bob all sat up tall in their seats now, trying to see what lay ahead,and Charlie's mouth dropped open as a structure began to emerge from the light.

A pile of snowballs...

That was his first impression. Just as Max's house had seemed to have been made from one giant snowball, the structure ahead of them was similarly constructed. Only on a gargantuan scale, it seemed.

The base seemed made up of a circle of immense snowballs, and by the windows that glowed from the curved sides, each snowball was six stories tall. Charlie could see three of the huge snowballs from where he sat, so he guessed that there were six in all in the circle of the base. Atop that circle, another circle of slightly smaller snowballs sat, this with four tiers of glowing windows. Atop that, a slightly smaller circle, each with three floors of windows, and then a smaller circle, each with two windows. At the very top of the structure sat one great snowball, this one with tall, narrow windows that suggested there was but one floor inside, but one with a very high ceiling, perhaps. And, finally, atop this uppermost snowball, a slender white pylon arose, one that glowed at its uppermost end with a single blue-white light so bright it could have been one of the stars in the night sky.

All about the building, the forms of tall spruce trees jutted up from the land, seeming quite happy there, even in the extreme climate. Each tree was laced with lights of all colors, some that twinkled, some that didn't. Each tree bore a radiant star at the top, each one a slightly different color than the next one, with no two exactly alike. Small forms moved about among the trees, some looking up at them now, and Charlie realized he was seeing more reindeer - hundreds, perhaps - all contentedly grazing upon the low brush and grasses that seemed to sprout everywhere from a ground magically free of snow. Charlie laughed at that idea, sure that magic was really involved, after all.

The building - for Charlie was certain now that it was a building - was easily several hundred feet tall, and the immense base certainly covered many acres of land. And for all that, the place looked as if it belonged right where it was, in the middle of a vast and otherwise frozen land, one dotted with small mounds and hillocks of wind-blown snow, the occasional outcropping of frost-covered rock, and not much else to recommend it.

An oasis, there among the cold snows.

"It's incredible," Adrian breathed, his eyes filled with the light from below.

"Awesome," Ricky agreed, in a voice barely above a whisper.

Uncle Bob sniffed, and wiped at his eyes a moment, and smiled. "Wow."

The sleigh circled the structure a few times, settling lower on each pass, until they slowed enough to touch down upon the ground. The grazing reindeer parted with just enough speed to let them through, and a chorus of coughing calls reached their ears, to which their own reindeer immediately responded.

Ricky laughed at that. "Honey! We're home!"

They drew up before a large set of double doors in the side of one of the huge snowballs, and Max gently pulled back on the reins, and the sleigh came to a stop. The reindeer continued to chatter a moment longer, and some of their fellows came over to tap antlers with them, and even nuzzle them with their noses.

They heard footsteps on the hard ground, and two young elves came out from between the lit trees and approached the harnessed reindeer.

"Hi!" said the first one, waving a hand. "Nice to see you!"

The second also waved, and the two stopped at the lead pair of the sleigh's reindeer team and gently rubbed the animal's noses. "We'll take the sleigh, if you're done with it," the second elf added then. "These guys need something to eat and drink." He grinned at the lead reindeer before him, and gave its nose a fond rub. "Hi, Pasquale!"

The reindeer made a friendly sound and bobbed its head up and down in response.

Frit opened the door at his side and slid out, and Max and Pip followed. Charlie took that as a cue, and opened his own door and slid out. Kippy and the others followed, and soon the eight of them had formed a group.

The two young elves each took hold of the nose straps of the two leads, and turned as if to lead them off. Norville looked back then, sought out Kippy, and threw what was plainly a farewell grunt his way. Kippy grinned and waved, and the two parted as friends.

"What a sweetie," Kippy said, as the team and sleigh were lead away. "Well, as long as you don't get behind him!"

That brought a few laughs, but they faded quickly as Max turned them towards the great double doors. "Here we are!"

"Am I right in assuming that this is Santa's...well, Nicholaas, I mean...that this is his workshop?" Uncle Bob asked.

"Yep." Max gazed up at the incredible structure with unmistakable fondness. "This is where it all happens."

"You're the supervisor here, right?" Charlie asked.

He smiled as Max's chest expanded just a bit, and a grin covered his face. "Well, if I don't mind sayin', I do have a little to do with the way things get done here, yes."

"He's a big cheese!" Pip said, laughing and patting the older elf on the back.

"The Big Guy's right hand!" Frit put in, looking at Max with pride.

"Aw, now...let's just go on in." Max looked slightly annoyed at the attention, but the smile he wore said he wasn't taking it to heart.

There were three steps up to a stone platform before the double doors, and Max led the way. A sound came from behind the doors then, as if a latch or lock of considerable size had been thrown, and the two doors opened inward, revealing a surprisingly large room tastefully decked out in red, green, and gold Christmas colors. Charlie gawked about with all the others, taking in the total absence of straight lines and corners, and remembering from their visit to Max's house that rooms were generally round in shape and that the walls curved into the floors and ceilings.

A large Christmas tree, easily twice their own height, stood before them, lit with what looked like a hundred candles, and hung just right with ornaments that were pleasing to the eye. Behind the tree and to one side, a great hearth threw dancing fingers of light about the room as several huge logs burned on the grate. To one side of the hearth, and facing the Christmas tree, two long sofas upholstered in green and red and gold provided a restful place for visitors to admire the tree, and perhaps to wait to be received.

But it was the window behind the sofas that really captured everyone's attention. It was wide and tall, with a single vast stretch of glass in the center, and a vertical column to either side of the central pane that was segmented into smaller panes of glass by grill work. Beyond the window a wide, tree-covered valley was laid out, stretching away from them, dotted here and there with the cheerful lights of individual homes and small collections of homes, over which hung a wonderfully illuminated gray sky, an incredible mix of daylight and night, from which snowflakes ambled slowly and peacefully towards the ground. It was captivating and breathtaking all at once, and all conversation among the humans momentarily ceased as the five of them turned to gape at it.

"Ooh!" Kippy finally breathed, clasping his hands together before his chin. "Is that awesome, or what?"

"I'll say!" Adrian whispered, with similar feeling in his voice.

Ricky nodded. "Man! That is really something!"

Charlie looked over at Uncle Bob, who was smiling and slowly shaking his head at the same time. The man felt his eyes, and turned the smile on Charlie. "That's gorgeous," he said softly. "Like a Christmas card come to life!"

Charlie smiled and nodded. The view was simply stunning, but not unexpected at all, given where they were. He looked over at Max and the two younger elves, who were watching the humans with pleased expressions.

"You like it?" Frit asked.

"We made it up special, just for you!" Pip added.

"Is it a real place?" Charlie wondered. "I didn't see anything like that around before we came inside."

Max nodded. "It's real, more or less." He laughed. "Put together from a few places we know, and maybe jazzed up a bit to make it just so. But you're right, it's not just outside. That window can look at a lot of different places. "

"Nice," Charlie returned. "I wouldn't mind having something like that in my room."

"It can be arranged!" Frit called, smiling.

Charlie laughed at that. "Yeah, I can see my mom and dad getting a look at that, and pulling me up to demand an answer. Thanks, but maybe not right now."

Frit turned and whispered into Pip's ear, and both elves erupted into laughter. Charlie blinked at that, hoping he had not just given them an idea that might come back on him somewhere down the road.

"Why don't you guys sit a minute?" Max said, flinging out a hand at the sofas. "Enjoy the tree. I'll let The Big Guy know you're here."

Kippy laughed. "You mean he doesn't already know?"

Max smiled. "Probably. But it's just polite to tell him. And I'm sure he'll want you to meet Ronja, who I'm sure doesn't know you guys are here."

Kippy looked pleased. "I can't wait to meet her!"

"She knows about you guys," Max said. "She knows that the Boss is fond of you. I think she wants to meet all of you, too." He turned to Frit and Pip, and motioned them to go with him, and then the three of them left the room through another doorway.

The five humans arranged themselves on one of the long sofas and sat back. The upholstery was enormously comfortable, but Charlie would have been surprised if it had been any other way. He inspected the tree, his eyes moving among the candles and the ornaments. It was really well done, and he had to salute whoever had done the decorating. Everything seemed perfectly positioned, and the gentle flickering of the candles made the entire tree twinkle as the light bounded here and there among the ornaments.

"It's so nice here," Kippy said, grasping Charlie's hand and interlacing their fingers together. He squeezed gently, causing Charlie to smile. They leaned their heads together, and Charlie closed his eyes, just savoring the moment.

Kippy suddenly gasped, and leaned forward, and Charlie jacked his eyes open in amazement. "What? What happened?"

Kippy was staring at the tree. He looked at Charlie then, and rose to his feet, pulling Charlie up and along with him.

"What are we doing?" Charlie asked.

"Look," Kippy said.

They were before the tree now, and Kippy reached out and put his hand behind a large golden ball hanging from a branch, and turned it slightly towards Charlie. An image leaped out at him then, and he gasped himself and leaned forward to look more closely. The golden ball had a picture on it...a picture of them!

It was an image of Charlie's bedroom - near his desk, to be exact. Kippy was sitting in the chair before Charlie's laptop, and Charlie was bent over his shoulder, staring at the screen. On the screen was Max, staring back at them. But...Charlie and Kippy were much younger in the picture, which looked so real he expected them to move at any instant.

"That's us!" Kippy declared.

"I remember that," Charlie said, shaking his head. "It's when we first met Max."

"What's going on?" Ricky said, coming to stand beside them. He peered closer, and then grunted. "What the hell?"

Adrian and Uncle Bob appeared, and also inspected the ornament.

"Hey!" Adrian said, frowning. "I remember that, too!"

"Here's another one," Uncle Bob said suddenly, turning a large red ball to face them. On this one, Charlie, Kip, Rick, and Adrian were sitting on a log before a campfire, each with a small steaming bowl in hand. Across from them sat Nicholaas, smiling and looking interested, while Kirka looked over his shoulder curiously.

"Here's one more," Adrian said. This ball was green, and the picture it held was one of Charlie and Kippy sailing through the air together, holding hands, with Ricky and Adrian visible just behind them, also flying.

"That was at Frit's and Pip's school dance!" Rick said. He smiled then, and patted his boyfriend's arm. "What a great night that was!"

They started walking about the tree, examining the ornaments, and found many more that each held a scene from the past three years. The boys at the old house in the woods where they had met Will and Billy, the ghostly lovers; a picture of them all aboard Lollipop, with their faces dyed green and deer antlers projecting from their temples; a scene of them and Uncle Bob onstage in Twombly, performing their magic act before the entire town; another of them in the caves of the forza, with Will and Billy in the person of the robot Gort, the robot's arms upraised, the new light that filled the cavern stunning the little gargoyle people into immobility.

Each was a scene from one of their adventures, and the more they looked, the more they discovered. Charlie noted that not all the scenes were from times where Max had been present, nor even any of the elves at all. Yet here they were, each bauble a memory of some past moment that had occurred since that magic day, three Christmases past now, when they had first become aware of the elf world next to their own.

Kippy smiled, and rubbed up against Charlie, who instinctively put an arm around him. "These are for us," Kippy said. "We were meant to see them."

Charlie nodded. "I think so, too." He grinned and looked around the room. "Max, you old schemer! I see your hand in this!"

At that moment the door through which the elves had left opened again, and Max came out, accompanied by a lady - a human one - in a red dress and red shoes. Her hair was a golden blonde, with hints of red in it, and the smile she wore was one of delight. Her green eyes fastened on the five guests, and she immediately came forward, her arms open in welcome.

"Hello! I have waited so long to meet you! I am Ronja Von Gunten, a friend of Nicholaas." She arrived beside them, looked from face to face, her pleasure obvious and sincere. "This is a wonderful event! I know you don't know me, but I hope to soon remedy that." She gave a sigh. "It is nice to see people from the world again!" She leaned forward, just a bit conspiratorially. "How is it doing? I lose track, when I am here."

The boys and Uncle Bob all laughed, and Charlie extended his hand. "Hi. I'm Charlie Boone. This is my boyfriend, Kip Lawson, and our best friends, Rick Travers, and Adrian Whitaker." Charlie grinned. "And this gentleman with the big smile is Bob Travers, Rick's uncle." Charlie also leaned forward, making an attempt of his own at a conspiratorial flavor. "Watch out for him. He knows magic!"

Uncle Bob squeezed his eyes shut a moment, but his smile didn't falter one bit. "Oh, Charlie."

Ronja took Charlie's hand and shook it warmly, and then gazed at him questioningly. "And the world?"

"It's doing fine," Charlie said. "At least, it was when we left it."

Ronja proceeded around the circle, shaking hands, while Max stood back and smiled, obviously enjoying the whole show. When Ronja got to Uncle Bob, she grasped his hand and stepped back a bit, and eyed him up and down. "Magic, you say?" She turned and winked at Charlie. "Is there such a thing?"

Uncle Bob laughed, and shook Ronja's hand. "Hey, I'm a believer, although I don't really know any of that stuff myself. Charlie's kidding you. I'm an illusionist, really."

"Ah." Ronja nodded. "I thought that magic and illusion were much the same. Please pardon my English. It is a second language to me, and while I have used it for years, I do not know all it's secrets." She smiled again. "You're the one from Twombly. I have heard that story. It was wonderful, what you all did there."

They released hands, and Uncle Bob stepped back. "I was almost a bystander in all that. It was the boys that did all the work."

"Sometimes it is a group effort that takes the day. I have been learning much about that, myself."

"Maybe." Uncle Bob nodded. "We sure had fun with the show there. And I'm really happy that it worked out for the people of the town."

Charlie watched Ronja, marveling at how well she fit in here. She was not really what he had expected, having imagined an older woman, maybe even going to gray. But Nicholaas, despite his many years, looked only to be in his early thirties himself, and it stood to reason that he would attract someone from the same age group. Or at least, someone from the same apparent age group.

But it wasn't just that. Ronja was intelligent, had a sense of humor, and obviously loved her new role among the elves. That Max so obviously liked her was an important factor in all this - not that Max was hard to please, but he was intense when it came to the welfare of his boss, and if he liked Ronja it was a good sign that she was good for Nicholaas. That made Charlie happy, too. Nicholaas was important to all of them.

"But you wish to see what goes on here, certainly," Ronja told them, indicating the door through which they had entered. "As long as I have been here now, I still have not gotten used to these doorways. Sometimes, I think I am going one place, yet wind up in another! So perhaps Max should lead the way."

The elf smiled. "You'll get it eventually. It's just about keeping clear in your mind where you're going."

"Then I need to stop my thoughts from wandering so," Ronja said, laughing. "There is so much to see here, so much to do, I am always thinking of several places I need to go, each time I step through a doorway."

Max lead them back to the doorway and opened the door, and stood and held it while they all passed through. Kippy grabbed Charlie's hand and pulled him along, his excitement spilling out all over in a big grin that had Charlie laughing and smiling himself. Kippy would always see the world a certain way, and it was that special view of life that was one of the things Charlie most loved about his boyfriend. There would never be a dull moment, if Kippy had his way!

They entered a long hallway, at the end of which was a large arch, and through which came the muffled sounds of machinery of some sort - though Charlie was certain he had never heard anything quite like it. There were pops and groans and bubbly sounds, and hums that hummed a certain way, and squeaks that squeaked just so, that left no doubt in Charlie's mind that whatever was going on there would be totally new to their experience.

"We're gonna look at the distribution hall," Max said, smiling. "Well, one of 'em, anyway. It's where a lot of stuff gets moved around to the right place for delivery. We put stuff together in regions, so that it makes it easier to disperse. A lot of the space inside the shop is just there to hold stuff, and believe me, there's a lot of it, too."

"Have you ever run out of space?" Rick asked. "I mean, there are more people in the world every year."

"Nah. If we need more space, we just add it on. That's easy." Max shook his head. "But you know, everyone in the world doesn't believe in the Big guy, or even Christmas. So it's not like we have to deliver stuff to seven billion people."

Kippy frowned. "You mean not everyone gets presents?"

The elf laughed. "No, Kip. some people don't want them, and some people never even think of asking. A lot of folks in your world don't need presents, even." He winked then. "But some people get them anyway, whether they asked for them or not, or wanted them or not. It's kind of a complex process."

"It is that," Ronja agreed, smiling. "But Nicholaas handles it so well, he makes it seem easy."

"It's not...well, at least it wouldn't be for you or me." Max shrugged. "As long as I've worked for the boss, I still don't know how he does it."

Charlie licked his lips and nodded. "We've been wondering. I take it that Nicholaas doesn't just hop on a sleigh with a huge bag of presents and a couple of elves, and fly around dropping them down chimneys?"

A brief expression of horror at the idea crossed Max's face, and then he laughed. "Oh, no way! You know how long it would take to deliver stuff that way? And most chimneys these days are too small to get stuff down, and they're so dirty and stuff...no." Max breathed a sigh of relief. "If we had to do it like you guys say it's done in your stories, it would take all year to deliver stuff!"

"I wouldn't mind it being Christmas all year!" Adrian said, leaning up against Ricky. "It's such a sweet and romantic time...what's not to like?"

Ricky grinned. "I gotta agree with that."

Ronja sighed, and looked like she was considering the idea. "I don't think it would be quite as special if every day was like Christmas. I think I like it the way it is now."

"Here, here," Uncle Bob agreed. He smiled. "Besides, it doesn't need to be Christmas every day to be romantic." He looked pointedly at his nephew, who gently reddened, as if just remembering that his uncle was even with them.

But Adrian just laughed and tightened his arm around Ricky's waist, and snuggled up against him. "Listen to your uncle, Rick. He's a smart man!"

Ricky sighed, and the rose tint began to fade from his cheeks. "Yeah. He is that." He winked at his uncle, and then kissed his boyfriend's cheek. "He's a Travers, after all."

Adrian laughed, but didn't argue the point, and the group reached the archway without more conversation on the matter.

Charlie could see things moving even before they paused at the arch, both across his field of view in both directions, as well as up and down. He was reminded of the first time they had seen Max on the screen of Charlie's laptop, and all the movement behind the elf at that time, as all sorts of objects had whizzed past behind him towards every direction of the compass. This had to be the same place, or one similar to, where Max had first met Charlie and his friends. He turned to the elf and asked him, and Max grinned and nodded.

"Oh, yeah, I remember that. I don't think it was this hall I was in, but I was in distribution when your computer got hold of me." His smile widened into a grin, and he leaned forward and lowered his voice. "That was back when I had PEE going full swing, and still thought the Big Guy didn't know about it." He shook his head. "I just do stuff out in the open these days, now that I know he don't have a problem with me helping folks."

Charlie laughed. "Oh, yeah. Planet Earth Enterprises. I remember that."

"We sure were happy you were doing that," Adrian said. "You helped keep me and Rick together, and showed me a thing or two about what was important in life. Thanks again for all that."

Max looked pleased. "Guys, it was meant to happen. It's a pretty amazing universe we live in, and some things happen because they just can't NOT happen and keep things running smoothly. I think you fellas have earned your keep. It's always my pleasure to do anything with you guys."

Kippy grinned at Charlie, then turned with a slightly evil twinkle in his eye back to Max. "Anything?"

Max looked startled, but grinned good-naturedly. "Almost anything. I'm six-hundred and fifteen years old, after all."

"You don't look a day over two-fifty, though," Ricky said, straight-faced. "You sure wear it well, Max."

Max's eyes flicked to Ronja, who seemed to be enjoying the back and forth. "Uh...yeah. Why don't we go ahead in and look the place over?"

Charlie let his gaze go back through the arch way. The motion beyond was accomplished with conveyor belts, rolling along, as if in a factory - but one designed by Dr. Seuss. The belts went up, they went down, they went back and forth; they curled in circles, they doubled back, and many exited the room for destinations unknown. All manner of things went by on the belts, from teddy bears and coloring books to drones and PlayStations. Other elves moved about between the belts, grabbing items off the line, looking them over, and then writing things on clipboards. They would then place the item back on the belt, where it stuck fast and was whisked away with its counterparts, without so much as a nod at inertia.

That there was magic here was plain to see. The objects on the belts seemed to adhere to them no matter what angle the belts took, even straight up through the high ceiling of the room. Nothing tumbled, or shifted, or fell off a single belt, anywhere. There was no waste, no accidents - nothing but order in the chaos that the belts presented to the eye, difficult to comprehend as that order seemed to be. It was industrial without any of the feel of it, charming in the way that every one of the inanimate objects whizzing past seemed happy to be doing just that.

The odd sounds they were hearing accompanied the movements of the belts, sounding like anything from cheese being grated on a grater to bubbles slowly expiring in a bathtub dense with suds. There were cheerful knocks and playful taps, hums that seemed happy, and whir-whirs that came and went like bees laughing in their hive. The scale of what was happening here was huge, and yet Charlie was certain that this was just one of many rooms where such actions were taking place.

"I see you guys are, um, busy," was all he could think to say, though that term seemed far too tame to describe what was happening here.

"Aw, yeah." Max waved a hand at the huge room. "We're well ahead of schedule, so the guys are taking it a little easy. Come on in and have a look."

They entered the immense room, and Max led them along the pathways between conveyor belts, which sometimes had abrupt loops upward in them to allow enough space to pass beneath them. The motion was incessant, and a little wearying, drawing at the eye constantly; yet nothing could quell the fascination they all felt at what they saw.

"I still cannot comprehend all of this," Ronja admitted, as they walked along. "It simply overwhelms."

Charlie smiled at that, and nodded. "It does do that."

They entered a new area, and no longer were toys passing them on the belts. These were household items and appliances. Further on they saw clothing and linens moving along, and then power tools, TVs, and stereo equipment. The farther they walked, the more was revealed, until Charlie began to wonder if there was not anything that Nicholaas could not provide.

"Oh, sure, we make everything," Max told him, when Charlie voiced his wonder. "And a whole lot of what we do here gets delivered by your own people. Amazon, UPS, FedEx, the good old mail service, and every delivery company on the face of the planet. We just send the stuff to their warehouses, add them to their tracking systems, and put a little moola in their accounts. These big delivery companies, they don't know where each dollar comes from, so long as the books balance at the end of the year and the tracking shows the stuff delivered."

Adrian and Kippy stared at each other. "That's kind of...well, un-Christmassy," Kippy decided.

Max grinned. "Nah. A package arrives with a gift inside that says, 'From Santa', most people just smile and think that Aunt Gerta and Uncle Freidrich have struck again. You'd be surprised how many people get gifts from the Big Guy each year and think some relative or friend sent it."

Kippy looked amazed. "So you guys don't put everything under people's trees?"

"Naw, that would be impossible. It's so much easier to let a lot of people do that themselves." Max grinned. "Hey, it's the thought that counts."

Charlie shook his head. "So people don't even realize they're getting stuff from...from Nicholaas?"

"Nope. Everyone finds a present or two under the tree each year that says it's from 'Santa', and no one can remember buying it, but everyone just assumes that they forgot about it in the hustle." Max smiled. "It's the getting of the gift that is important to the boss, not that the receiver knows who sent it. The world ain't like it once was, where there were more people that had nothing than had something. There are still parts of the world where people have little, but those places are mostly in areas now where people don't do Christmas. The boss will give to anyone in need, or who asks for something reasonable, but a lot of you humans simply don't make the effort, because they don't know about, or even care about, Christmas."

Kippy frowned. "Well, that's kind of sad."

"It's evolution," Max returned. "It can be a little sad, but it's the way the world works."

"There are other gifts than material things," Ronja said then, prodding Max. "Tell them."

Max nodded. "That's true. Some of the things the boss gifts to people can't be put under a tree, anyway. Some of it is just a nudge to chance, to help things go well for someone. An assist to make sure that just the right surgeon for the job takes on a delicate operation for a child. The boss can't assure that any medical stuff goes a certain way, but he can increase the odds that it will. Or, say a person needs a job." Max smiled at Adrian. "The boss has a lot of business interests all over the world - your world, that is. It doesn't take much for all that activity to be extended to include someone who needs a hand. But he just doesn't provide jobs on demand. There has to be something the person can do that is needed. Every year the boss does stuff to help people help themselves, and it's a gift they never even know they've received. Most just feel they got lucky."

"How does Nicholaas know that people need things?" Kippy asked. "Or that they want something particular?"

"He listens," Max said, shrugging. "It's not a magic I can do, so I don't really know. But he listens all year long, to everyone on the Earth, and he keeps track of it all, somehow. And come Christmas, he gives what he can, to who he can."

"He gives a lot of things," Adrian pointed out.

"Yes, he does. He does a lot of listening, too."

Charlie looked around the big room again, and smiled. "What I see is that a lot of people are still getting gifts, even if they don't know where they came from."

"There you go," Max agreed, looking pleased. "Giving makes the boss happy. Getting gifts makes people happy. That's all that matter's to all of us here."

"Seems pretty one-sided to me," Ricky decided. "Nicholaas and the elves give, and people get."

Max shook his head. "We like what we do. That's our gift. And the boss...well, he's happy, too, believe me. It's not all about what people want. For the boss, it's about what some people need."

"Kind of like doing a magic act for a roomful of people," Uncle Bob said, nodding. "The payoff is in making the people happy."

Max smiled at that. "Exactly."

Kippy finally smiled, too. "I see. It's still Christmas, any way you look at it."

"Right." Max pointed to another path between belts. "Let's go this way."

"I'm still amazed at the volume of stuff here," Uncle Bob said, as they walked along. "Is it all going to the post office, or wherever?"

"Nah, not now," Max told him. "All that stuff went out last week, pretty much. This late, everything you see is gonna wind up under a tree somewhere. Or someplace similar. There are a lot of customs around the world."

They passed under a few more amazingly convoluted belts, and arrived at another archway.

"Anyone hungry or need a drink?" Max asked. He ushered them through the arch, and they emerged into what looked like a large cafeteria. The tables were draped in Christmas colors, and a faint hint of cheerful music filled the air, though Charlie couldn't put a name to anything he was hearing. It sounded like Christmas, and that was what mattered.

There were elves seated at a lot of the tables, talking and laughing as they ate. Many looked up and smiled at Max and Ronja, and waved in a way that included the entire group.

Uncle Bob sighed. "Friendliest people I ever met. Wouldn't it be great to export some of that into the world?"

"Can't have everything," Ricky said. He looked about the room, spied a handwritten menu of the day, and inspected it closely. "Hey...what the heck is Kjötsupa?"

Max grinned. "It's stew. Really good."

Kippy stared at the elf. "What's that language?"

Max strove to look innocent. "I believe it's Icelandic. What difference does it make? The stew's just as good."

Kippy laughed. "You use Icelandic here?"

Max nodded. "Well, today, anyway. See, the menu changes every day, to offer everyone food from all around the human world. The languages of the signs change appropriately, so that everyone gets a chance to use them. We're supposed to keep up with all languages, but it just happens that with some we don't use much, we get a little rusty. So this helps keeps all the guys on their toes, you know?"

They found a large table and sat. "Just say what you want out loud," Max said, smiling around at them. "And that's what you'll get."

They examined the large menu from where they sat, and found they had to ask Max to translate each entry.

"It looks complicated," Adrian said, sighing.

"Uh huh," Ricky agreed, looking at Max. "What's...uh, Hrútspungar?"

Max looked over at Ronja, who laughed. "I don't think you want that, even though it's very good. Being Americans, I mean."

Ricky looked stoic. "I'm brave. I'll try anything, once."

Ronja leaned over and whispered something into Ricky's ear, and the boy's eyes widened alarmingly. "Except that!"

Charlie looked at Max, who was seated next to him, and bent closer to whisper. "What is it? Something awful?"

Max grinned. "It's not bad. Just not the kind of food you guys are used to."

Charlie grinned. "Tell me. I want to know what I'm missing."

Max nodded, and leaned close enough to whisper: "Hrútspungar is sour ram's testicles."

Charlie sat back quickly and stared at the elf. "Seriously?"

"Yup."

Kippy patted Charlie's arm. "What did he say it was?"

Charlie leaned closer, and whispered into his boyfriend's ear.

Kippy's jaw dropped, and he sat back from Charlie, stunned. Then he thought about it, and gave a little smile. "Oh, no. No, no, no. Not for me." He leaned closer again and patted Charlie underneath the table, out of sight. The touch was alarmingly close to Charlie's crotch.

"Not for that sort of eating, anyway," Kippy finished, his eyes bright.