I just picked Lucy up when Mom called me on my cell phone after school. She told me that she, Charlie, and Neil are bringing McDonald's for dinner on their way home. They had finished their conference with Principal Newman at Sycamore. She asked me what I would like and I told her that I wanted a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal. Then, Mom asked me to put Lucy on so she will know what she would like from Mickey D's. Lucy told Mom that she would like a Cheeseburger Happy Meal. After Lucy gave me my phone back, Mom told me that they will be home in five minutes and the door will be unlocked.

"Thanks for letting us know," I said on the phone. "We'll see you soon. Love you! Bye!" I hung up the phone.

"Mom's not cooking dinner tonight!" Lucy said, jumping up and down in the snow.

"I think Mom is having one of those nights when she doesn't feel like cooking," I told my sister. "You know, with everything going on with Charlie."

Lucy nodded her head to show that she understood and then she said, "Maybe she has a surprise for us, too."

I nodded. Then, we started walking home.

"How was school, Luce?" I asked.

"Great!" Lucy answered. She told me that her teacher, Ms. Bailey, told the class that they are going to learn about all of the Winter Holidays and then have a holiday party on the last day of school for Christmas vacation. Her class was also assigned to bring one to three winter holiday books for the class on Monday. "We have a lot of Christmas books, don't we?" she asked.

"We sure do," I answered. "I'll tell you what. After dinner, we'll head upstairs and we'll go through the Christmas books in the book shelves in our room so we can find which three you can take to school." Lucy and I have shared a room at our house since she was two.

"Okay," replied Lucy. "We'll tell Mom and Dad what we are doing when we get home. "

"Sounds good! Anything else going on at school?"

"Just the usual math, reading, and writing. My class had health class and music class today. For health, we learned about germs and why it is important to wash our hands. Then in music, we started singing Christmas carols."

"Great! You got your homework done?"

"Got most of it done during class today. Just need help with math."

"Okay. And do you know what we are doing tomorrow?"

"NO SCHOOL!" we shouted and laughed. We approached our house and walked inside.

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" Lucy called to Mom and Neil.

"We're home!" I called after her.

"Lucy! Ella!" We gasped in surprise.

"Uncle Scott!"

"Dad!"

"How are my girls?" asked my Dad as he hugged us.

"We're great! I didn't know you were coming," I answered. "I missed you so much!" I backed up and looked at him from head to toe. "You look really different." I was right. He lost his white beard and a little bit of weight. His hair was back to grey, too. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard Lucy's voice.

"Uncle Scott, I learned how to swim underwater and I'm not afraid!"

"That's amazing!" Dad exclaimed. "Wait a minute, maybe we'll have to go to the mall and get some ice cream."

"Can Ellie come, too?" asked Lucy. Ellie has been my nickname since she started talking. I pleaded with her because I wanted to tell my Dad what has been going on at my school, too.

"Dad, plenty of women at the mall," remarked Charlie.

"Charlie, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Ella, I think you and your Dad have a lot of catching up to do," Neil said. "Why don't we have dinner and then your Dad can have a talk with you before you guys can get ice cream?"

"Okay," I shrugged my shoulders. I still had no idea what was going on until Dad took me upstairs right after dinner. We went into my bedroom and I closed the door and sat on my bed while Dad sat on my desk chair. He told me that he looked different because he was being de-Santified.

"What do you mean, de-Santified?" I asked.

"At the Pole, Curtis told me that there was another Clause involved and it was hidden in the card we read when I first became Santa eight years ago," Dad explained. "This is the Mrs. Clause and it says that I have to get married..."

"You're going to get married?" I jumped out of my bed. "Dad, that's incredible! To who? When is the big day?"

"Let me finish," Dad sighed. "I get married on Christmas Eve and I don't know who I'm marrying."

"That doesn't make sense, Dad. How can you not know who you are marrying?"

"Because I'm looking for a wife and I have 26 days left to do so. I need your help right now, sweetheart."

"Why, Daddy?"

"Because if I don't find a wife by Christmas Eve..." Dad hesitated, then he found the right words. "...then I won't be Santa anymore."

My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe what I heard. "What?!"

My Dad nodded. "It's true."

"Then what will happen to Bernard and Curtis, the North Pole, and to all the children who believe in you?" I felt tears forming in my eyes and one rolled down my cheek. Dad wiped it off with his thumb.

"If I don't get married, I won't deliver the gifts and all of the children will stop believing. The elves, even Bernard and Curtis, will lose their jobs, the North Pole will disappear and Christmas will be gone." Dad saw my face crumpling up with tears and he gave me a hug.

"I'll do my best to help you, Daddy," I sobbed. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my eyes. "I don't want you to stop being Santa Claus."

"Neither do I, Ella Bella and your mom said that she is also going to help out."

I nodded and sniffed. Then, I thought of something. "Wait, Dad. If you're here, then who is taking charge of the Pole?"

"You know Curtis and his big ideas? Well, he made a clone of me so the elves will know that he is me."

I shook my head. "Dad, of all the silliest things I've heard about what is going on at the Pole, that is one of the most silliest! I sure hope Curtis knows what he's doing."

"I hope so, too," Dad replied.

Then, we heard a knock at the door. It was Lucy. She wanted to see if we were ready to head over to the mall for ice cream. Dad told her that we were ready. We grabbed our coats and off we went. When we arrived at the mall, we walked over to Baskin Robbins. Lucy ordered a Chocolate Fudge cone, I ordered a bowl with one scoop of Pralines 'n Cream and one scoop of Chocolate Almond, and Dad ordered a Quarterback Crunch cone.

We sat at a booth and then Lucy and I talked to Dad about how school is going for us. I told Dad that Lucy and I have the day off from school tomorrow due to Staff Development Day, what Lucy is doing for her class, and I told him about how I'm doing with my classes and how Sarah is doing. That night after our ice cream treat, Lucy and I were in my room looking over the Christmas books we have in our rooms. Some of the Christmas books Lucy and I have in our room included Merry Christmas, Strega Nona; Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas; The Legend of the Poinsetta; A Charlie Brown Christmas; How the Grinch Stole Christmas; The Night Before Christmas; and the American Girl Christmas stories. Lucy decided that she will bring Kirsten's Surprise, The Legend of the Poinsetta, and One Minute Christmas Stories.

After looking for the books Lucy needed, we thought I could help her with her math homework the next morning. I tucked her in and read her one of the Christmas stories we found. After Lucy was born, Mom, Neil, Charlie, and I started a tradition to read Christmas stories and we would end with The Night Before Christmas. Tonight was my turn and I read Merry Christmas, Strega Nona.