Ella's POV

I have a feeling that Carol might be Dad's Mrs. Claus despite what he and Charlie have told me about her from their conferences at his school. She may look like an ice queen on the outside, but deep inside her heart, Carol must believe in the Christmas spirit. I can even see how Daddy looked at her when we were cleaning up at the rec centre. I need to convince him to ask her out somehow.

Mom and Neil had gone out to pick up dinner and Charlie was in his room studying. I go downstairs and find Lucy and Dad sitting on the couch. They just finished watching Toy Story.

Lucy saw me come down and said, "Hi, Ellie. Do you want to watch a movie with us?"

"Actually, Luce," I began. "May I talk to my Dad for a moment? We can watch a movie after. You can pick one while we talk, okay?"

Lucy nodded and Dad and I walked into the kitchen.

"What's up, sweetheart?" Dad asked.

"You do realize that Christmas is about a week away, right?"

Dad nodded. "I know, Ella, but I still haven't..."

"To bring up the point, Daddy, I already found someone for you," I interrupted.

"You did? Who?"

"Carol."

"Charlie's principal?" Dad remarked. "Oh, Ella, I don't know..."

"Come on, Dad. She must be the one you're looking for. I saw how she smiled at you when you were talking to the little girl and you were looking right at Carol when we were finishing cleaning up at the rec."

I try to convince Dad once more, squeezing his hands, "Try to ask Carol out. Ask her if she would like to go grab a bite to eat, go to a movie with her, take a walk to look at Christmas lights. Use your magic. Charm her. I know you can do it, Daddy. Please?"

Dad sighed in agreement, but then he smiled a little. "Alright, Ella Bella. I'll do it, but when I get back, I expect you'll be the first one I'll tell."

I giggle. "You betcha." I hug him as he grabbed his coat and the keys to the minivan. "I'll let Mom and Neil know when they get back. Good luck."

Carol's POV

I was getting ready for the faculty Christmas party when I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door and it was Scott. He looked very nervous as he talked to me.

"Hi...Uh, gee it looks like you're going out somewhere. I'm sorry, I should have called."

"No," I insisted. "No, it's okay, come in."

"Are you sure?" He asked as he walked in.

"Is there a problem?" I asked him in concern after I closed the door.

"No, no. I just... well I...I wondered if..um...If you wanted to...Do you wanna get some noodles?" He managed to stammer out. "Or pie? But I don't want to keep you from your date so.."

"Oh, it's not a date!" I explain. "It's the faculty Christmas party. Is that your idea of a night on the town? Noodles and pie?" I ask with a laugh as I turn off the lights in my house.

"Well, yes it is. What would be your idea?"

"Pizza and a movie!" I call over my shoulder.

"Ooh, think or thin crust?"

"It's gotta be thin." I insisted with a smile.

"Good. Movie?"

"Two for the Road. Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney."

"Movie's okay," Scott shrugged. "But the car was the star. '53 MGTD, British racing dream. Wire wheels."

"I'm impressed. That is a great car. My favorite car."

"Didn't like driving them in the rain though." He pointed out.

"No," I agreed. "And you had to push it to start it, but other than that it's perfect."

We shared a smile for a moment and then Scott had an idea.

"You know, I could drive you to your party."

"That would be great. Except that eventually I'm going to have to come home."

"Well, I...I could pick you up," Scott offered.

"You're going to drive me to a party and then come back and pick me up?"

"Yeah?" He answered with uncertainty.

"Well, why don't you just stay?" I suggest.

"All right," He smiled. "I'll stay!"

"I'll get my coat," I said as I went to my coat closet. "So, Mr. Andretti, what are you driving?"

"You know...I think you're gonna like it."

We stepped out and I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a horse-drawn sleigh outside my house. I couldn't help but laugh in surprise as Scott closed the door. He helped me up and I sat down. It had only been five minutes when I said, "Do you mind if I ask you something personal?"

"Please."

"You look really different."

"The weight," Scott replied. "It's lndian teas and it's a lot of salves and stuff." He decided to change the subject. "Do you want some cocoa?"

"Uh, yes. Cocoa. You have thought of everything," I said as Scott poured a cup for me from a thermos.

"Well, this time of year, l...I really shine."

"Yeah, I can't wait till it's over, though. Streets are crowded, the malls are jammed, people max out their credit cards. It's noisy."

"When did you become such a cynic?" Scott asked.

"Oh. I don't know," I began. "I used to love Christmas, too. It was the only day that my parents didn't fight. They were at each other all the time. But on Christmas, they tried to make the holiday special. My dad went through this charade so I'd believe in Santa Claus. He put a cot by the fireplace so Santa could take a nap."

"Like he has time to take a nap!" Scott remarked. "Consider the amount of gifts he would have to...deliver. Why would he nap? He would probably need some coffee."

"Yeah. And there was cocoa and cookies. And carrots for the reindeer," I continued.

"That's a good gesture," Scott commented kindly. "The reindeer love carrots. And the thought is important to them, too."

"Yeah. And I'd wake up in the morning and the cocoa and cookies would be gone and the cot would be mussed and the carrots gnawed."

"Gnawed? They swallow them. If they're fresh, they'll eat 'em like that. They love red bell peppers, too."

"And there would be incredible presents under the tree all from Santa. One year was a rocking horse, and I named it Harvey," I continued. "And the next year was a little red wagon, which I made a lemonade stand, which was great. And the last year was it was just...a Baby Doll. She was pink and soft and beautiful."

"Beautiful?" Scott asked.

"Yes. I believed in Santa so much, I'd get in fights at school with kids who tried to tell me that he didn't exist. And one day, I came home with a bloody nose. That's when my parents decided to tell me to...grow up. I was devastated. Good, Carol! This is great sleigh-riding conversation! I'm a terrible sleigh conversationalist."

"It's fine conversation," Scott reassured me.

"A person just wants something to believe in, you know?"

"Yes, I know. Yes, I know."

"Okay, we have cocoa. We have a blanket. We have a horse-drawn sleigh. The only thing that's…" I stopped as snow began to fall.

"What?"

I began to laugh. "It's snowing."

"Oh. As if by magic?"

"That's what I was gonna say, that it should be snowing!"

The Christmas party seemed to feel like a drag once Scott and I arrived. As the Shirelles song Blue Holiday played over the loudspeaker, none of my colleagues talked or moved. They all just sat there and one looked like he was ready to fall asleep. I hear Scott excusing himself and then a moment later, the music stopped and the curtains rolled. I see Scott on the stage gathering everyone's attention. I wonder what he's doing.

"Hi. I'm Scott Calvin," he introduced. "I just thought I'd step up here and...and say the word that we've all been longing to hear."

"FIRE!" Scott shouted, but then he said, "Okay. What I think, folks, is that a lot of you have forgotten what the true spirit of Christmas is all about. If you're not willing to dance or laugh or flirt or risk the buffet, I don't think we have much choice. So before the choir gets out here I say we rock this house with a Secret Santa! Huh?"

I walk up to the stage.

"Carol! Happy, happy Christmas!"

"I think they're just decorations for the carollers," I tell him.

"She's afraid these are decorations for the carolling," Scott repeated to everyone. "I think Carol is right about the carolling! I'm also talking about the packages that are backstage."

I was really confused. "There aren't any packages backstage, Scott."

"Ohh! There's none back there. So I was mistaken when I saw this bag of gifts. Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure looks like a bag of gifts. Ohh! It's heavy like a bag of gifts. Look at this! What's in here? It's very heavy, very heavy."

Scott took out a wrapped Christmas present from the bag and read a name on the tag, "John Pierce."

John is one of our English teachers and he looked a little surprised to hear his name being called.

"Doesn't your mom call you JJ?" Scott asked as he gave him the gift, "Merry Christmas, JJ."

John accepted it and started to open it. "No way," he said as a smile formed on his face. "This is Toss Across! I used to love this when I was a kid! But I never told anybody. Where did...? Who did this?

Scott called out a few more names: Grace Kim, Tom Astle, and Lizzy Garcia, who also received toys from when they were young. Grace received a Holly Hobbie Oven and Tom got Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots. I didn't see what Lizzy's gift was when Scott called everyone else up to receive their presents.

Once all of my colleagues received their presents, the fun really got started when Chuck Berry's Run, Rudolph, Run began to play on the loudspeaker and everyone started to play. I just stand and watch thinking about what happened. Scott walked up to me with another present.

"Hey, party animal," Scott greeted me. "You want to play?"

"I just can't figure it out," I responded.

"It's bean bag tic-tac-toe."

"No, I mean the secret Santa thing," I corrected Scott, who thought I was talking about John's game. "Someone tracked down all those wonderful antique toys."

"Probably someone who knows his way around eBay."

"It was you," I responded. "I know it was you. I just can't figure it out. How did you do it?"

"Sometimes you don't need to know all the answers. Speaking of which, even the principal needs a Christmas gift," he said as he hands me the gift. "Merry Christmas. Come on, open it. Rip it open. Come on. We're not gonna save the paper."

I rip open the gift and I'm in complete shock and surprise to see...Baby Doll! I told him about Baby Doll in the sleigh on the way to the party. How did Scott do all this? I see him smiling as tears form in my eyes and I almost start crying.

"Come here," I manage to choke out as I lead Scott into the hallway. Once we were out of earshot, I had so many questions for Scott.

"Did you call the office?" I asked first.

"No," he answered.

"Did they call you?"

"It's not like that."

"Did you investigate us?" I ask with a laugh.

"No, I wouldn't do that."

"I told you about Baby Doll an hour ago, and...Did you send someone to...?"

"No," Scott chuckled.

"Well...I don't know how you did it," I marvel. "It's like some kind of magic."

"Yeah, sort of like some kind of magic. And...and pretty much the last that I have."

What did he mean by that? I ask myself, but I shake it off and I start to cry tears of happiness saying, "Well, you know what? I don't want to know. What you did in there tonight for everyone was wonderful. Thank you."

Then without thinking, I kissed Scott on his cheek. I started blushing as I saw the surprised look on his face.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Scott smiled. "I've got this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'm...um...I'm not real good at this," he said as he touched the spot where I kissed him.

And then, mistletoe sprouted from under the entryway to one of the classroom doors.

"Where did that come from?" I ask.

"I don't know," Scott answered, but we leaned closer and shared our first kiss.