Chapter 16: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
The best day of the entire year had finally arrived, and good feelings were spreading throughtout Petropolis.
In the Foxxy home, Maria and Mario woke up and rushed to the tree. Even at ages of 18 and 16, respectively, both were always excited when they went to see what Santa had left them, and to see what they got each other.
Mario was happier than a tornado in a trailer park when he saw his fedora, and swore he'd wear it every day. He also received some new computer games, an iPad 4, Edward Scissorhands, and more yarn.
Maria was thrilled to see the diary of Marilyn Mongoose, who she had admired for a long time. Some of her other presents included perfume from Lady Haha's personal fragrance Fame, more paper, an iPad 4 like her brother, and Stephen Kingfisher's newest work. She even received Mr. Fowl's hot chocolate recipe, which had been passed down for generations.
Their parents were very pleased with their gifts. Marge had a lot of things for the baby on the way. She and Malcolm had discussed names, and they had decided they would name it Madison Rochelle if it was a girl and Mason Joseph if it was a boy. She wore a glittery silver gown. Maria was in her Santa's little helper outfit: long sleeve, V-neck red dress to the knees with tall black boots and a Santa hat. Mario wore a thick green sweater from Grandma Sara. And Malcolm went all the way with his annual Santa Claus costume.
DING-DONG! Maria opened the door to see her beloved at the door. "Merry Christmas, Angel!" He pointed up. "Is that mistletoe?" It was. She pulled him close and followed the custom. "That's one of my favorite Christmas traditions."
"Wait right there! I have to get something!" she said as she went to get his present.
The Chameleon asked Marge if he could come in. She told him of course. Her husband wasn't pleased, but wouldn't start any trouble on Christmas. Mario was very glad he came, however, and invited him to sit next to him while he showed him his presents.
Maria returned with a medium-sized box wrapped in green paper with a big white bow on top. "You shouldn't have, you really-" he began, but he was cut off.
"Relax, I didn't spend a dime. I made it myself." She handed it to him. He ripped off the paper and gasped.
It was a statue of a fox with angel wings that bore a striking resemblance to its creator. The detail was amazing. The eyes were so lifelike. It took the Chameleon's breath away. "This is the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"There's more."
He looked closer and saw that there was a card with it. The front read: To The Chameleon, Love Maria. He opened it and there was a drawing of the two of them under the mistletoe. There was also a short message underneath. Dear Chameleon, you've made me very happy. I know you're a good person, even if other people don't. You are the best thing in my life, and I hope we're together forever.
"I will treasure this forever. Now it's time for your present." He handed her a long white box with a red bow. After some struggle, she opened it, and it was her turn to be surprised.
She looked at the contents of the box. Is this really what I think it is? She pulled it out. It was exactly what she thought it was. She felt the black fabric and green circuits. "You got me a Molecular Transformation Suit?!"
"Uh huh."
She hugged him tightly and started dancing around. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it! I love it!" She held him close and finally released him when he needed air. His face was bright red. "Thank you so much."
"Hey, I have a present for you too, Chameleon," said Mario. He handed him a scarf made with red, orange, and green yarn. "I made it myself. There's matching gloves too."
He put them on. "Thank you, Mario. You really made these?"
"Yeah. I, uh, usually don't tell people. Other guys make fun of me. I guess it isn't very manly."
"Oh, I bet they only wish they were as talented as you."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Oh, I almost forgot something." He gave him a postcard signed by Quacky the Duck. "I heard you were a fan."
"Oh, thank you, thank you so much! How'd you get this?"
"We shared a cell once. Mr. Foxxy, I wasn't sure what to get you at first. But Maria tells me you're a fan of the Insane Clown Possums."
"That's right." Malcolm was giving the Chameleon the cold stare he usually gave him as he sipped his egg nog. Yet he couldn't help but be surprised that the felonious lizard he despised with all his heart was giving him a present.
"Well, I know them. I held them hostage once. But they let it slide, and they did me a favor. Two tickets to their next concert."
Malcolm spit up his egg nog. "What?! You're insane! After all the crap I gave you?"
"Hey, it's Christmas!"
"Well, I didn't get you anything."
"Nonsense! I can think of plenty of things. For one thing, there are so many times you could have killed me but didn't. Mrs. Foxxy, I got you this rattle for the baby. I painted it myself." He handed it to her, giving it a small shake.
"Thank you."
"Chameleon, can you take us sledding at the park?" begged Mario. "It'll be really fun."
"Yeah, that sounds fun," said Maria. "Have you been sledding before?"
"Not really. I mean, sledding involves snow. And you know my feelings on that."
"You'll be fine," Maria assured him.
"Yeah, we won't let you drown, or anything," said Mario.
"Well, I can't believe I'm asking this, but what do your parents say?"
"It's fine with us," said Marge.
Malcolm considered it. At first he seemed not to like the idea, but then he said, "Oh, why not? Merry Christmas! Just don't do anything you'll regret." He now detested his daughter's boyfriend a little less.
They went to the slopes at the nearby park. They mounted the sled cautiously. "Are you sure this is safe?" said the Chameleon.
"Of course it is," said Mario. "We've done this hundreds of times."
"Just hold on to us tight, and we won't let anything happen to you, babe," said Maria.
And down the slope they went. They were faster than a cheetah with a sugar rush. So much adrenaline, thought the scared lizard. Hey, this isn't so bad. This is actually pretty good. No wonder they wanted to do this so badly.
Then they hit a snow bank, went flying, and crashed. "That was close," said Maria. "Wait a minute. Mario, where's the Chameleon?"
"I don't know. What if something happened to him?" The foxes became very worried about their friend. There was no sign of him anywhere. "Chameleon! Chameleon! Where are you?"
Then a twig snapped. Mario was hit in the face by a snowball. "Boo!" said the Chameleon as he jumped down from a tree branch.
"You jerk!" said Mario. The Chameleon laughed and tackled them.
"Very funny," said Maria. She was glad he was okay.
As Maria made snow angels, Mario asked the Chameleon, "So, was this the best Christmas you've ever had?"
"Definitely. I'll always love this time of year. This year I got what I wanted, and even more."
"I know I got what I wanted."
"What's that?"
"A big brother."
Later that night, the Chameleon thought about what had happened, and how he had been happier than he had ever been. That's when he saw a letter at the fireplace. A letter from Santa! He read it:
Dear Chameleon,
You're right. Maria has always been a good girl. Ever since she entered your life, you've been a better person. You're a different reptile than you were when you tried to prevent Christmas last year. I hope you keep up the good work. I was very pleased when I read your letter. When you make an unselfish wish, when you wish for someone else, it is sure to come true. Well, I'll be watching you. I see everything, remember? Anyway, you're doing a good job. Making people happy is better than any present under the tree.
Merry Christmas,
Santa Claus.
The Chameleon looked out the window. "Merry Christmas to all, and to all good life!"
Finally. I hope your Christmas was as good as mine. Well, now I'm going to take a break on this story, and work on some other things. Happy holidays! Kendramccormick out.
