You're the Star Atop My Christmas Tree, Charlie Boone! - 7. Part 7

"Stay warm," Ronja said, giving each of them a hug. "It was so wonderful to meet all of you. Please come back and see us."

"You don't have to ask twice," Kippy said, beaming.

"We had a wonderful time," Charlie told her. He smiled. "Nicholaas has done well with you, I think."

The woman laughed, obviously pleased. "We are good for each other. I will take care of him, and he will take care of me."

"I have no doubt of that."

Ronja had a small gift for each of them, wrapped in red paper, which she pressed into their hands as they hugged. "For Christmas day," she told them.

Auggie also came to see them off, letting himself be hugged and petted, and actually looking sad that they were leaving. The big cat had formed a special bond with Kippy and Adrian, it seemed, and while he nuzzled each of the boys in passing, he stayed longest at those two.

"We'll be back," Adrian told him, patting his head.

Kippy nodded, adding a few soft pats of his own. "Sure. You'll see us again."

Uncle Bob was the last to say goodbye to the cat. He bent down in front of Auggie, opened his hand, and there was the card he had shown Auggie down in the basement. "This is yours, I think."

Auggie's face broke into an unmistakable smile, and he leaned forward, and gently took the card from Bob with his teeth. He gave a snap of his head, and the card sailed upward and froze in mid-air, there to spin in a circle, end over end.

Bob nodded approvingly. "Not bad. But can you make it disappear?"

They left the big cat sitting happily and watching the card spin, and Uncle Bob grinned all the way to the door. "Wish all my audiences were that easy."

Nicholaas strode into the room and paused, his arms outstretched. "How do I look?"

The man was dressed in red pants tucked into black boots, and wore a red parka with white furry trim, drawn against his body by a black belt about his middle. A red stocking cap was perched jauntily upon his head, with a little white furry ball at the tip laying upon his shoulder. Nicholaas grinned, obviously enjoying the looks of surprise and delight on the their faces.

"Good?"

"Just like Santa should!" Adrian called.

"You look great!" Kippy said, clapping his hands three times.

"Got more balls than I'll ever have," Charlie heard Ricky mumble, behind them. He turned, and his friend grinned at him, and then waved at Nicholaas. "Great, great! You look great!"

Charlie shook his head at Rick, and then turned to Nicholaas. "You do look wonderful!"

Nicholaas winked at them. "Don't get used to it, is all I can say!"

They retrieved their parkas and shrugged into them, and then headed for the exit behind Nicholaas. The big double doors opened, and there were Frit and Pip, just outside. "Surprise!" they yelled in unison. Then they parted and turned, and swept their hands out.

Before them was the sleigh - or, rather, one very much like the one that had brought them there. It was also red with white runners, but this one had a small section behind the two rows of seats, in which sat a large white bag cinched closed with a red tie. A team of reindeer stood in their harnesses before the sleigh, looking expectantly at the door.

Behind the sleigh stood several lines of elves, and behind them, more reindeer, looking about curiously at all that was gong on. One elf out front, facing the others, was watching over his shoulder. As they all emerged, he raised his hands and waved them. "And a one, and a two!"

The elves broke into song, their voices rising in a beautiful harmony, and Charlie blinked, sure he had heard this particular song before. The words were unintelligible, obviously sung in another language, but the sound of it was unmistakably familiar --

"Oh," Kippy breathed, and turned to smile at him. "That's the carol they sang for us in Twombly last year!"

Charlie immediately knew it to be true.

"Yes, it is!" Uncle Bob agreed, smiling. "Wow. How wonderful to hear it again!"

"You like?" Max said, suddenly at Charlie's side. He looked startled then, snapped his fingers, and then pointed his index finger straight up. It began to snow, the flakes slow and gentle in their descent, and Charlie just shook his head and laughed.

Max grinned. "Oops. Almost forgot!"

They stood together and listened to the carol, remembering Twombly and their new friends there, and Charlie didn't think he could be much happier than this. He turned, saw the wonder and happiness in Kip's face, and the very same things in Rick's face, and Adrian's, and Uncle Bob's. Whatever the song was, it inspired, and touched all the right places inside to generate joy for the season.

Too soon, it was done. The elves completed, and all smiled and waved as they began to move off. Charlie softly applauded them; and then they were all clapping. The elves grinned and waved some more, and Charlie and the other didn't let up until the elves had vanished among the trees.

"I won't forget that in a hurry," Ricky said, looking supremely satisfied.

"I won't let you!" Adrian kidded, snuggling against him.

Nicholaas held out a hand, indicating the sleigh. "Shall we?"

They turned a last time and waved to Ronja at the door, and then made their way to the sleigh. The reindeer watched them come, and the last one on their side gave a coughing snort, and bobbed its head up and down.

"Is that Norville?" Kippy asked delightedly, running forward to pet the animal. Adrian grinned at Ricky, and then was off, too.

"Figured we'd use the same team we had coming in," Max said, smiling, as Kippy and Adrian patted Norville and spoke to the other animals.

"I think you know us all too well," Charlie returned, laughing.

They climbed into the sleigh, this time Nicholaas taking the reins. Max sat to one side of him, and cast an impatient look back towards the workshop. "Where's my bag boys?"

"We're coming!" Frit called, as he and Pip came running up.

"Sorry!" Pip said, as they climbed into the sleigh on the other side of Nicholaas.

"We're ready!" They said in unison, and turned to grin at Charlie and the others.

Nicholaas looked over his shoulder at them and nodded. "Here we go!"

He turned forward and gave the reins a gentle flip, and clicked softly in his cheek. "Ho, Pasquale, and Solly, and Nestor, and Orville! Aloft Wally, and Jolly, and Jester, and Norville!"

Max just shook his head. "It always sounds so much better when you do it, boss!"

The sleigh started moving, and soon was flying across the snow. Nicholaas pulled back on the reins, and they left the ground in a leap, the reindeer rising slightly in front of them as they scrambled for the sky. Charlie turned to look back, and watched the workshop diminish in size, and then become a bright spot on the horizon.

"I almost don't believe it all happened," Kip whispered, rubbing his head against Charlie's. "I don't want it to be over."

"I know," Charlie said softly. "It's been so much fun to be with all our friends again."

Kippy sighed. "It feels like Christmas, Charlie. It really does."

"Yeah. And we're not even actually there yet. We still get to go back and spend the day with our families."

"I'm looking forward to that." Kippy poked him. "And I'm looking forward to coming over to your house later on Christmas day so that we can exchange presents, too."

Charlie laughed. "Always something to look forward to!"

Adrian leaned over and patted Kippy. "Did you notice we're going a different way?"

Charlie sat up a little straighter, and looked over the side of the sleigh. Far below them, the illuminated grids of streets and homes stood out in the darkness, looking nothing like the frozen lands they had just left. That was fast!

"Well, I guess we have to go a different way if we're delivering stuff," he decided. He looked over his shoulder at the sack behind them, and frowned. "It's not a very big bag, is it?'

"Probably just a few things," Kip said. "I mean, they already delivered three billion presents. How much can be left?"

Charlie grinned at that. "Man! What an operation! And the world's best kept secret, too."

"We know. That's all that matters to me."

"Yeah."

They continued to sail through the night. The lights of cities dotted the horizon, but they seemed to be traveling above the far suburbs, even rural areas, well away from the huge concentrations of light. The streets far below were drawn mostly in yellow dots of light, but Charlie fancied the idea that he could see some colored lights, too, suggesting Christmas lights here and there. The air was clear, and the night still.

They dropped lower, and Charlie, looking over the side of the sleigh, felt an eerie sense of warm intimacy come over him. "Hey --"

The sleigh turned, and sailed down the length of a dark block, one filled with comfortable homes, some lit with colorful lights. There were no street lights, yet even so, the darkness itself seemed familiar. Kippy, craning his neck, shook his head. "Isn't this--?"

The reindeer slowed, and the sleigh settled to the roof without so much as a jar.

Nicholaas turned and smiled at Charlie. "Welcome home." He handed the reins to Max, who was all smiles.

"My house?" Charlie asked, disbelievingly. "We're at my house?"

Frit laughed, and hopped out of the sleigh. Charlie could tell right away that the elf was not actually walking on the peaked roof, but above it, at the same level as the sleigh. He went around back to the bag of presents, looked inside, and pulled one forth.

He came back around the sleigh, and handed the wrapped present to Nicholaas, who extended a hand to Charlie. "Take hold."

Kippy squeezed Charlie's arm, and nodded. "Hurry back."

Charlie reached out, and grasped the proffered hand. He immediately felt the odd, dark shift that signaled a transport, and then he and Nicholaas were standing in Charlie's family room, just before the tree. Somehow, Charlie could tell the room was dark, yet the tree itself stood in a small pool of light. The lights that adorned it were also off, but Nicholaas extended his fingers, and they glowed into life.

"Your house, Charlie. Your tree." Nicholaas held up the colorful box. "And your gift, from Santa."

He bent down, and sat the box on the floor among the other gifts, waved a finger, and the box slid under the tree, out of sight. Nicholaas smiled. "It wouldn't do to have it found too soon. Remember to look well under that tree tomorrow, Charlie."

Charlie swallowed hard, and nodded. "I...I didn't get you anything. I'm sorry."

Nicholaas smiled, and shook his head. "That's not true at all. You've given me more than you can imagine, Charlie. You, and Kip, and Rick, and Adrian. And Bob. All of you.The gifts of friendship, which has come to mean so much to me. And even more than that."

Charlie nodded, words failing to come. He cleared his throat, and forced himself to speak. "Thank you."

Nicholaas nodded. "I had a horse once. You remember Kirka?"

"Of course."

"Charlie, there was a time in my life where I thought that Kirka would be my only friend. That I would never have another. And yet, now I find myself with many."

Charlie nodded.

"And there was a time in my life where I thought I would never have companionship again. The sort of intimate companionship that only a mate can provide. Again, I was wrong. Now I have Ronja."

"Yes."

"A great many people love and appreciate you, Charlie. You and Kip and Rick and Adrian. And Bob. People whose lives you have touched. People whose lives you have enriched. People here in your world, and people over in mine." The man laughed, and pointed towards the ceiling. "Even people...out there."

Nicholaas canted his head to one side. "Thank you, Charlie."

"I didn't..."

But Nicholaas held up a hand, smiling. "Ready to go?"

Charlie could only nod.

Nicholaas waved a hand, and the lights on the tree faded, and the tree itself returned to the darkness.

And then they were in the sleigh again. Kippy immediately threw an arm around Charlie, and hugged him. "Oh, Charlie, we saw everything!"

Charlie shook his head. "Huh? How?"

Max took a forefinger and held it up, and blew across the end of it, like blowing smoke from the barrel of a revolver. "That would be me that did that."

"It was like a movie screen in front of us," Ricky said. "We saw everything."

Adrian nodded, quickly wiping at his eyes. "Everything."

Nicholaas turned and smiled. "That message I gave Charlie is for all of you. So you will know how much you are loved and appreciated. How many friends you have, in more than one world."

And then Nicholaas turned and called to the reindeer, and once again they were aloft. It was a quick jump to Kip's house, and this time Charlie sat and watched the movie of what happened below, as Kippy and Nicholaas disappeared, and Kip's present was place beneath the tree. Adrian's house followed, and then Ricky's. There, both Ricky and Bob were transported below, and two gifts placed beneath the tree.

And that was all. The bag at the back of the sleigh was now empty, and their mission complete.

The sleigh took to the sky again, and they traveled in silence as everyone sat and thought about a few things. Kippy had kept his arm around Charlie, and Charlie smiled now, finding that reversal of roles strangely pleasant. He turned his head and kissed Kippy, who smiled at him, and returned the kiss. Rick and Adrian seemed to be doing much the same, while Uncle Bob sat beyond them, his eyes closed and a smile on his face. Charlie felt a brief flash of sympathy, as if Uncle Bob was odd man out; but then he remembered that he also had someone special waiting at Rick's house for him to return.

Frit and Pip turned and smiled at them now and then, and even Max. They all seemed to know that the silence was a good thing, and that it would soon wear off.

It did.

"Where are we going now?" Charlie finally asked.

Max pointed over the side. "Look below."

Charlie did that, and saw that they were sailing over dense forest hung with snow. Even as he watched, the plateau with the stone steps came into view, and the sleigh came in for a landing, and stopped at the base of the stairs.

Charlie sighed. Their visit was over.

Max laughed at the expression on his face. "It's okay, Charlie. We want all of you to come more often, okay? Auggie is going to miss you if you don't."

Nicholaas held up a hand. "And me."

Frit and Pip both laughed. "And us!"

"And me," Max said quietly. "We're friends, all of us. And friends share. Remember that, all of you."

"Well," Charlie said, smiling, "now that you mention that, we were thinking that, after the holiday, we'd call Murcha one weekend to pick us up, so that we could go to Engris to check to see how Ragal and Casper are doing."

"And Mike and Bobby," Kippy added.

Ricky nodded. "And Kontus."

"Don't forget Pacha'ka," Adrian added.

"And Billy and Will," Kippy blurted.

Charlie held up a hand. "No one will be forgotten." He let his gaze go back to Max. "We could always use the company of an elf friend." He smiled as Frit's and Pip's eyes widened." Or three," he finished.

"Maybe Nicholaas would like to go," Kippy suggested hopefully.

The man nodded. "Maybe. As many places as I have been, I have not been to many out there. Just remember that I am not alone anymore, and have someone else to consider."

"Ronja would love Engris!" Kippy said, smiling "There's shops galore!"

Nicholaas laughed. "That's for the future, then." He sighed, his eyes moving among them. "Merry Christmas, my friends."

"Merry Christmas!" All five in the back seat seemed to say it at the same time, and everyone laughed.

"I'll say my farewells here," Nicholaas said. "Come see us soon." He smiled at Uncle Bob. "I very much enjoyed the card tricks!"

Bob laughed. "It was one of my better showings."

Max hopped out of the sleigh on one side, and Frit and Pip on the other, and walked them up the steps to the door. It opened at a touch, and there was Charlie's bedroom, just beyond.

"Once you close the door, it will vanish," Max warned. "And once the door is gone, the clocks will start running."

"We want to see you off," Kippy said, adamantly. "Don't we, Charlie?"

"Yeah. But we'll be sure to close the door once you guys are gone."

Max looked at them sternly. "Just be on the other side of that door when it closes!"

Hugs were exchanged, and Charlie felt himself choking up. Kippy had tears on his face and was not worried in the least about them, so that gave Charlie the will to smile.

"Thanks for the look at the back side of magic," Uncle Bob said. "I'll never forget it."

Max nodded. "You're welcome to visit us anytime. Make the boys bring you!"

The two men exchanged handshakes, and then Max turned to go. "Come on, young'uns." And then, at a seeming afterthought, Max turned back to them and smiled. "You can keep the parkas and the boots. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" they all returned together.

Frit and Pip both waved, on the edge of looking tearful themselves. And then the three elves descended the steps and climbed aboard the sleigh. All four occupants waved a last time, and then Nicholaas flipped the reins, and they heard his deep voice calling in the night: "Ho, Pasquale, and Solly, and Nestor, and Orville! Aloft Wally, and Jolly, and Jester, and Norville!"

Ricky laughed, and shook his head. "Must be a hell of a union those reindeer have!"

The sleigh started forward and quickly accelerated, and took to the sky. It circled, and turned toward the distant crescent of the moon, and slowly vanished into the night.

Kippy let out a sigh, and turned into Charlie's arms. Charlie held him a long moment, and then turned him towards the bedroom. "We'll see them again soon."

The five of them moved back, and Charlie took hold of the door. "Ready?"

The others nodded. Charlie looked outside a last time at a land somewhere far away, yet one full of people and ideas that he loved. There were, indeed, more things in heaven and earth than could be dreamt of, as the bard had once said. To be a part of that was stirring.

And then he closed the door, knowing they would soon return.

* * * * * * *

"Hi, mom," Charlie said, as he and Kippy entered the kitchen. "Ready for that iced tea."

His mom, working at the counter by the stove, pointed at the refrigerator. "In there. Did Mr. Travers and the boys leave?"

"Yeah. They had an early dinner. They said thanks for the offer of the drinks, though."

Mrs. Boone turned and smiled at them. "How'd you get such a nice bunch of friends, Charlie?"

He laughed. "Oh, Kip seems to attract them, I think."

His boyfriend tsked. "Oh, Charlie."

Charlie laughed, and put his arm around him. His mom smiled at them, and Charlie could see in her eyes that she was happy for them. Just one more gift, he thought.

They got glasses and filled them, and were just sitting down at the kitchen table when they heard a thunk, and the side door opened. Mr. Boone stuck his head in and waved. "A little help?"

The boys laughed, and got up and went out to the car to help carry things in. "Don't look in the bags unless you want your Christmas spoiled," Mr. Boone admonished them.

Charlie smiled, already knowing the drill. They made two trips and carried in the bags, and sat them in the den. "So much for the Christmas bonus, huh, dad?" Charlie said, grinning.

His dad made a face. "What, are you kidding? I stole all this stuff!!"

Charlie nodded. "Uh huh. And they happily gave you store bags to put it all in?"

"I said I would have a tantrum if they didn't."

Kippy laughed, and gave Charlie a nudge. "Now I see where you get your odd sense of humor."

Charlie made a face, and looked at his father. "Did you hear that? He said we were odd."

His dad laughed. "No, he said you were odd."

They finished up, and took their glasses of iced tea back up to Charlie's room. Kippy sat on the edge of the bed and frowned.

Charlie sat beside him, and put his arm around Kip's shoulders. "Now what?"

"I miss everybody. And Auggie. We were just getting to know him."

Charlie sighed. "There's all the time in the world, Kip. We'll see everyone soon enough."

"I guess." Kippy leaned against him. "Can I get a kiss?"

"Yes."

Kippy turned his head, and they pressed their lips together.

"I had a great time, Charlie," Kippy said, when they again parted. "I have so much fun with you."

"Well, it's because I love sharing everything with you, Kip."

Kippy sighed. "I'll have to be going soon. It's Christmas Eve, and my Dad's family is coming by. I need to be there."

"I know. You told me. There's tomorrow. And we can talk later. Call me when you're free this evening."

"I will."

Charlie sighed, and leaned their foreheads together. "I love you, Kip. Never forget that."

"I could never do that, Charlie. I love you too much for that to ever happen."

They leaned together and rocked back and forth slowly, and then Kip looked up, and laughed. "Oh! Look it's snowing!"

Charlie looked up at the bedroom window. "Really? It wasn't supposed to."

He stood up, and Kippy rose with him. They went to the window and looked out.

A small town street was just beyond, overhung with strings of colored lights, where people walked together, smiling. Snow drifted down around them, to add to the covering already on the ground. It was a street in a town that Charlie had just seen, and which he knew very well.

Twombly.

"Oh, man!" Charlie said. "I see Frit and Pip in this! I have to keep my folks out of here!" He turned, and was starting for the desk, when Kippy hauled him back.

"And where do you think you're going, Charlie Boone?"

Charlie looked frantically at the bedroom door. "I was getting my little statues of Nicholaas and Kirka off the desk. I have to call Nicholaas. I have to get rid of this!"

Kippy sighed, and held onto him tightly. "Charlie, you aren't thinking clearly. You don't really think Frit and Pip would do this without some kind of safeguard built in, do you?"

Charlie paused. "Safeguard? What do you mean?"

Kippy shrugged. "Well, maybe your mom and dad won't be able to see it.Or maybe they won't come in far enough to look out the window. Or something. But I don't think Frit and Pip would have put this here without providing some way to keep your mom and dad from seeing it."

Charlie looked back out at the street scene. "You think?"

"Yes. I think."

Charlie stared at Kippy searchingly, and then slowly relaxed. "Oh. You think. Like skwish think?"

"Yes. Now come here."

Kippy pulled him closer, and back before the window. He sighed. "I love Christmas."

Charlie smiled. "You love every holiday."

"Yes, I do. Because I get to spend them with you. Now shut up and let's enjoy the view."

Charlie laughed, put his arm back around Kippy, and happily shut up.

* * * * * * *

Bob Travers came down the steps slowly, so as not to make them creak. His stocking feet felt out each step slowly, and he put his weight down carefully. In this fashion he made it all the way down to the living room without any serious noise. The whole house was asleep, and he wanted it to stay that way.

The clock on the wall there said two-fifteen in the morning. He had been asleep, but had awakened from a dream, and somehow that dream had cast an uncertain light on the day's experiences, and made him doubt that they had been real. And so he had come down to check, in the only way he knew how.

Someone had left the lights on the tree in the living room turned on. Once that would have been a no-no, back in the days of regular light bulbs at one-hundred-twenty volts, which made them very hot. But these were LEDs that ran on nothing, and produced no heat to speak of. The only way to set a tree on fire wearing LED lighting was to strike a match and ignite the thing yourself.

He crept into the living room and stood before the tree. If someone discovered him here, he would just say that he was hungry, or thirsty. No one would ever suspect that someone his age would sneak down to peek at presents - no one except for maybe Ricky. He smiled at that, realizing that all he really needed to do was remember the last Christmas in Twombly to know that the recent events were real, too. He'd come out of a deep sleep confused, and hadn't stopped to think. All he could think to do was to come downstairs and look under the tree, to see if it was really there.

He got down on his hands and knees now, and circled around to where he remembered placing the box on the floor. Then he lowered himself, and peered under the tree. It was darker there, but enough light filtered down from above that he could see.

It was there. A small box, cheerfully wrapped, with a red ribbon around it tied into a bow. He inched forward under the tree, and peered at the label atop the box: To Bob, from Santa.

Once, as a boy, he had found a last box under the Christmas tree, after all the others had been opened, addressed to him in just this way. He had opened it to find the small pocket knife he had wished so hard for, but which he was certain his mom would not allow him to have. At that time he had thought that his dad had sneaked the box under the tree for him, but now he had to wonder. Back then, at the cynical age of twelve, he had been sure that Santa was just a story that adults used to keep kids in line. Now he knew better, and so had to wonder. Was this new gift the first he had received from Santa, or the second? He had to smile at the very idea.

He sighed, and inched backwards, and got to his feet. He had more patience now than he'd had as a boy, and more trust. And certainly more wonder, now that he had looked behind the curtain of the world and seen the magic that lay beyond.

He managed to get back to the guest room without making too much noise, and to crawl into bed next to Susan. She made a sound and turned over, but did not awaken. Bob turned onto his back, and stared up at the ceiling. He considered the day spent with Nicholaas, and Ronja, and Max, and the others. Certainly if Christmas was like this for real, then so could every day of the year be just as special. It was all in how you kept it.

Magic really was everywhere, if you just looked for it. And if you couldn't see it, there was always illusion, a good stand-in until the real thing showed itself. He knew the difference between the two now, and knew that he had been lucky enough to find both. And there would be more to come, surely.

His eyes grew heavy, and he started to fade away. The last thing he thought of before sleep came was the small box under the tree, addressed to him, from a man who knew real magic, and also how to share it with the entire world. Bob couldn't wait to open it, couldn't wait to see what it held. Something special, he suspected. Something perhaps magical, he could only hope for.

But that it would be something that held the true spirit of Christmas, of that he was certain.