CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: A TRUE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
We were suddenly standing in a familiar-looking living room. My dad and my aunt Sarah were on the floor, in the midst of wrapping paper and various Christmas presents. I realized I was standing in my grandparents' living room, and it was the next day. Christmas Day.
"Aw," I said the conductor. "They look so happy." A thought hit me. "They can't see or hear us, can they?"
"Nope," he said.
"Hmmm…" I kicked the nearby couch. Instead of my foot going through it, it bashed into it. I think I left a dent in that couch, because my foot hit it pretty hard. "Ow!" I said, hopping on one foot.
"I said they couldn't see or hear us. I didn't say we were able to pass through things."
I sighed. Then something caught my eye. I dove under the tree, and there, under a piece of wrapping paper, was a small box. It looked just like the one Billy had. Only smaller.
I picked it up and shook it. I faintly heard a bell inside. I smiled. "So this is how he got it back," I said. I put it next to Dad, hoping he'd notice. He didn't.
But, luckily, Aunt Sarah did.
"Hey, look, Chris! Here's another present!" she said, handing it to him. "It has your name on it!"
He looked at it, confused, and then opened it. I will, honestly, never forget his face when he pulled out the bell and shook it. He let Aunt Sarah shake it, and I could tell that she, too, heard the bell.
There was a note on the bottom of the package. From where I stood, I read what it said:
Found this on the seat of my sleigh. Better fix that hole in your pocket. - Mr. C.
My grandmother-my dad's mother-came into the room. I could see that she was still pregnant with my Aunt Cindy.
"Oh, what a beautiful bell," she said. "Who's it from?"
"Santa," Dad told her, letting her see it.
"Santa? Really?" she asked skeptically, shaking it. "Oh, that's too bad."
I looked at the conductor. "Wait. What's too bad?"
He nodded back to what was happening. "Be patient."
"What's this?" Grandpa asked, coming into the room. He shook the bell. "It's broken. Sorry about that, Sport."
"They can't hear it, can they?"
The conductor shook his head.
"Because…they don't believe."
The conductor nodded again.
Grandma and Grandpa left, and Aunt Sarah followed them. My dad sat a moment longer, looking at the bell. Then he looked around the room, stood up, and shook the bell. "Merry Christmas, Lucy," he said, putting the bell down and walking out.
...
By the time we were back outside my house, I was already crying. It hadn't stopped snowing, and it was still midnight, but I didn't really notice.
"He is so GOOD!" I said between sobs. "He's the best dad anyone ever had!"
"You'd better run along back inside," the conductor told me. "You wouldn't want Santa passing your house, now, would you?"
I wiped my face with my sleeve and headed in.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" the conductor shouted.
"YOU, TOO! THANKS AGAIN!" I called back.
The hobo appeared on the roof and waved at me. I waved back, and watched him dissolve in the snowflakes.
I got to my bed and fell asleep immediately.
...
"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" Susan shrieked, running through the house. "WAKE UP, LUCY! IT'S CHRISTMAS! MOMMY AND DADDY SAID THAT YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME IF I WANNA OPEN MY PRESENTS!"
I woke up and looked out the window. Train tracks on the snow. Interesting…
I got out of bed and went downstairs to open my presents. Susan opened all of hers with one swipe, but I took longer (because I'm not skilled in the art of opening presents as she is).
"Hey! Look! Here's another one!" she said, and I had a sudden case of deja-vu.
"I think it's for you!" she said, handing it to me.
I took it. It was the exact same box I saw my dad with. I shook the box.
He didn't.
I opened the box.
Oh, yeah.
He did.
Inside was a silver bell, just like Dad's. There was a note on the bottom of the box:
Dear Lucy, like I've told your father, this bell is an excellent symbol of the Christmas Spirit. I figured, because you now believe, you needed one, too. Just remember: the true Spirit of Christmas lies in your heart. - Mr. C.
P.S. I do hope your father fixed that hole in his pocket.
I laughed and rang the bell.
My dad came in at that moment. "I had the most bizarre dream," he said. "I was back on the Polar Express with you, Lucy, and-"
He looked at the bell, and then at me. "You weren't-"
"Oh, yeah," I said. "I was."
He looked confused. "But how-"
"Let's just say that conductor isn't blind when he knows a certain gene's being passed down in the family."
My dad smiled. "I knew it was only a matter of time."
Then my mom came in. "Oh, Chris," she said. "Don't tell me you got another bell…"
"Santa gave it to her!" Susan said, handing Mom the bell. "And Lucy rode the Polar Express!"
My mom shook the bell. "Sweetie…it's broken," she said, giving it back to me. "I keep telling him not to buy cheap junk at the hardware store."
"It's not cheap junk," I said, hugging her. "It's real Christmas magic."
She looked at me, and then at my dad. "Who are you and what have you done with Lucy?"
"She's changed," Dad said simply.
"Well…whatever you did, Christopher…it worked." She hugged my dad. "And I'm proud of you."
I realized that maybe they wouldn't get a divorce after all.
And that was the best Christmas present I got that day.