Chapter 3: The Question of Christmas
On the first of December, Marissa and Kitt were with Devon when Michael was finally released from the hospital. Originally it would have been only the Englishman and the AI, but Marissa had been there for a physical therapy appointment with Dr. Carlyle. In the time between Parkson's arrest and Thanksgiving, the girl had first been in a wheelchair, then on crutches while her right ankle and left leg healed.
It seemed that every sunrise, if Marissa was outside, she would dance to unheard music. Apparently, that time would have beneficial qualities, for whenever Dr. Alpert examined her, he noticed that some of her more recent injuries were healing a bit faster than normal, with no adverse effects. She was unable to dance as she always did at sunrise (a secret that Devon never told anyone about), but she made sure to be outside at that time anyway, even if all she could do was listen and tap fingers or a foot to the music. Regardless, it appeared to have some healing affect.
Now, Michael grinned when he saw them and squeezed Devon's shoulder, ruffled Marissa's hair and patted Kitt's hood.
"Great to see you three here."
"But of course," Devon replied.
"I just had to be here when you got out of there," the little girl added.
"And you know I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
"Yeah, I'll bet. Where's Bonnie?"
"She's…working on something."
"Uh-huh," Marissa agreed.
"I can just guess what, but I'm not saying."
"Well, shall we get going? Marissa had the feeling that you would want to, as she put it, eat out before heading for home."
"Right on target, Devon…although that was one Thanksgiving we're not gonna forget." He then saw some printout under the little girl's arm. "Hey…more stuff from Kitt, or is that still the stuff about Thanksgiving?"
"Michael, don't be silly."
"Naw, this is about Christmas…and as thorough as the reading on Thanksgiving. I'm gonna read it when we get home."
"Good idea. I wouldn't want any food to get on it," Devon agreed, "Now, let's get going."
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A couple of days later, Marissa was sitting in the driver's seat in the Foundation's garage.
"So the meaning of Christmas got really changed around, just like Thanksgiving did," she said, "Either of you know why people do that…? Warp and change the meaning of days…?"
Bonnie looked up from her small work area and replied, "If you ever figure that out, let me know, kiddo. It's something I think even the ancient scholars would have a field day with."
"Socrates and Zeno certainly would," Kitt replied, "And it's a good question. Humans are such conflicting creatures."
Marissa nodded, then frowned.
"What is it, Marissa?"
"Well, Bonnie…something else I read about this yesterday…having to do with a big fat guy in a red suit that goes down chimneys."
"Big fat guy…Oh, you mean Santa Claus."
"Yeah. Lots of kids think he's real, but the material shows that he's just make-believe."
"That's not quite accurate, Rissie. Several centuries ago, there was a man named Nicklaus that would give toys and things to poor families at Christmas. He did it every year. The tale of his deeds and existence, even his name, was changed through the years, from Nicklaus, to St. Nicholas and then finally to the Santa Claus of modern day, who works from the North Pole with reindeer."
"Yeah, but does that change that maybe he's not real…?"
The technician winced and walked over to Marissa and Kitt. "Listen to me, kiddo. I don't think any of us really know that answer. All I can say is that children believe he's real, while grownups don't. You've got to come up with the answer yourself, with your own eyes and ears."
The little girl nodded and turned to the car, asking, "Hm…hey Kitty, which one are you? A kid or a grownup?"
Bonnie's eyes widened a bit when she heard this.
Kitt was silent for a little bit before replying, "I don't think that would apply to me. I am merely the voice of the—"
"Nah. Maybe you were a long time ago, but you've done a lot of growing. You know, maybe you're just like me—not a kid but not a grownup, either."
"You may be right."
"Now now, don't say that. True, you didn't exactly have a decent childhood, maybe not one at all, but still…" She cleared her throat and said, "Hey Marissa, c'mon over here. I want to show you something."
The little girl nodded, got up, and followed Bonnie to her station.
"What do you think of this…?" the woman asked, showing her some sketches, as well as some hardware that she was working on.
"Wow…is it what I think it is?"
"It sure is. Don't say what it is, though." The older woman grinned and asked, "You think he'll like it?"
"Do I think he'll like it? I know he will!"
"Great." She added, "Oh, that reminds me. You need to get your picture taken in a little bit."
"My picture? How come?"
"Well, sometimes around this time of year, we go overseas to celebrate Christmas. And in order to do that, you need a photo of yourself and a passport."
"And Uncle Devon wants me to get a…passport?"
"That's right. I think he mentioned something about it at breakfast…or he said he was going to."
"Yeah, he did. He didn't say whether or not we're going though."
"I guess we'll find out, now won't we?" Bonnie looked up and grinned. "Your uncle and that big yo-yo's here."
Michael winced and said, "You sure know how to describe people to kids."
Devon shook his head in bemusement, then said, "I figured I would find all of you here."
"Another mission, Michael?"
"Yeah. With any luck, we should be back in a few days."
Bonnie nodded, "And I have a feeling you'll be needing us in the semi."
"Oh I dunno about that. If we do, I know someone will be wanting to come along with you two."
Devon looked directly at Marissa and replied, "So do I…and I don't know if I fancy the idea of her being in dangerous situations. Lord knows she's been through enough as it is."
"How about if I stay out of your way?" Marissa asked, "or help out around the semi?"
He peered at her, smiling a little, and answered, "We'll have to work that out, my dear. For now, Michael and Kitt need to get underway."
"I'll tell you all about it when we get back, Rissie, just in case."
"Okay, Kitty. Have fun!" she waved.
"See ya all in a few days," Michael added.
"Take care of Kitt…and yourself, too," Bonnie said.
"Be careful," the Englishman put in, "and godspeed."
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As it turned out, there had been no need for the semi, and the case had been taken care of without any need to head for the hospital, something that truly relieved Devon and the others. When the two of them arrived, Kitt and Marissa talked in the garage about what the two of them did on it, as well as a few embarrassing incidents (one involving a supposedly innocent woman that turned out to be the criminal) that the AI and the child had a few good laughs over, at Michael's expense.
In between cases, Michael and Marissa were chatting together, as well as trying to figure out presents for Bonnie, Kitt and her uncle, while Bonnie did something similar for the males…and then she and Devon planned out things for Bonnie, Kitt and Michael. As she said to the AI with a snicker and a grin, "I'm probably the only one in the family that knows what everyone else's going to get for Christmas!"
"I don't doubt it…and you're not going to tell me what everyone has planned for me, do you…?"
"Nope! You're gonna have to wait, just like everyone else!"
Time seemed to pass almost as quickly as it did for Kitt and Marissa in Montana. In the meantime, the little girl had been asking numerous people of different ages about the mystery of Santa Claus. At one time, Devon had found an old article about a letter that a little girl named Virginia had sent an editor and showed it to her. Although it gave her some new information, it still didn't answer the question as to why grownups thought Santa didn't exist while children believed that he did.
A few days before Christmas, Michael had talked Devon into letting him take Marissa and Kitt to a few cities for Christmas shopping…as well as to help her figure out the answer. The next morning, the Englishman and Bonnie were seeing the operative, child and AI off.
"All of you, be careful," Devon had cautioned, "The weather in a couple of cities you'll be going to will be rather nasty. Rissie, do you have your hat, coat and gloves, just in case?"
"And scarf. We'll be fine."
"We'll all be fine. If something comes up, we'll call you," Michael put in, "We'll be back in a few days."
"Take care, Kitt and Marissa," Bonnie said, waving.
"Hey, what about me?"
"Oh, you too Michael."
"Some things never change," he muttered and started the turbines, "Ho, ho ho to you too!"
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The first part of the trip went rather well, relatively. The first city was Los Angeles itself, which the three of them were very familiar with. While they went shopping, Marissa would go over to the store Santas talk to them. A couple of them were not too nice, while the third one misunderstood, thinking she was trying to be a wise guy.
"Some people just don't understand," Michael said when he heard this, "A lot of the kids they come across are wise guys, so it spoils their frame of mind when a little girl genuinely wants to figure out the truth."
She nodded.
During the travel to another city on the road trip, Chicago, Marissa asked, "Is it true…that grownups don't believe in things that kids do…?"
"You're asking if I ever believed in Santa…?"
"Uh-huh."
"Yeah, I did, once. That changed when I was a year older than you are, though."
"How?"
"When I snuck to the bathroom and happened to see my mom and dad putting presents under the tree and eating the cookies that I had set out. The next morning, they didn't realize that I had seen and said that Santa had come."
"That had to hurt."
"Yeah, it did…but you know, Marissa…part of growing up means going through hard times and changing how you see things as a kid."
"No child should have to go through what she did, though."
"Way too true. Who knows…maybe you really will find out the answer, once and for all. I hope you do."
"Thanks," she murmured.
"Michael…"
"I see it," he replied, frowning, "Some of that nasty weather Devon mentioned…a snowstorm."
"Snowstorm…? I remember this stuff, in Montana. This doesn't look like just that, though."
"Oh? And how would you know?"
"Because I taught her how to tell the difference between different shifts in weather."
"Figures…so what do you think this is gonna be…?"
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Devon looked up from an article he was reading when he blinked.
All of a sudden, he had a strange sense…something close to the whispers in the soul that he would get…although this time, it was strong and rather negative.
He took a step back and tripped on his own chair. As he managed to catch himself on the nearby sofa, Bonnie came in from the main part of the semi.
Devon had planned on meeting up with Marissa, Michael and Kitt near Chicago and, as such, were on their way. They had just crossed the Illinois state line.
"Whoa! You okay?"
"I-I'm fine, Bonnie," he managed to say as he sat down.
"I'll believe that when you turn into a Russian cowboy."
He shook his head and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Inside, the negative feeling was growing.
"Okay, what's going on? The look on your face says that something's bothering you. One of your whispers?"
"Not quite like that," he replied, "Just…a very bad feeling."
"Uh-oh. Last time you had a very bad feeling was when Durant shot Michael…and we all know what happened then."
He nodded, sat down and sighed then pinched the bridge of his nose.
The moment he did, he saw something come up on the screen…and paled.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's an SOS transmission," Devon replied, voice faint, "From Kitt."
"An SOS?" she asked as he opened the communications link.
"Kitt…? What's going on?"
"Devon…was worried if the emergency line was functioning…"
He frowned, then asked, "Functioning? What happened?"
"Caught…out in a storm. Unusually cold blizzard hit in Chicago…were on our way home when it struck. Gas lines…frozen. Systems also…freezing."
"Oh my God," he whispered, then asked in a louder tone, "Are Michael and Rissie all right?"
"…for now. Protecting…as best I can. Need help—"
There was a sudden silence.
"Kitt? Kitt, you okay?" Bonnie asked.
"…don't know how long before I completely freeze. Once I do, Marissa and Michael…"
Devon's voice trembled a bit as he asked, "Quickly, where exactly are you?"
"…outside…limits. Sending…coordinates. Hurry. Devon…ssie says…careful."
There was nothing more than silence.
"Kitt…? Kitt!"