The crowd that had gathered near Central Park watched in awe as Santa's sleigh flew over their heads. But Jovie only had eyes for Buddy. He was watching her too, waving at Michael, who waved back. And then with a swoosh, he was gone.

Jovie swallowed hard, feeling as though her happy, Christmas spirit had vanished along with the man she loved. She blinked, hoping that no one had seen the tears in her eyes and made sure to keep the smile on her face.

"Well, we should probably get home." Emily said. "It may be Christmas Eve, but we still have a lot to do."

"Yeah, I should…" Jovie's voice trailed away. She wasn't looking foreword to spending yet another Christmas Eve alone.

"Thank you… Um…"

"Jovie." Jovie said, extending her hand. "I'm Buddy's…"

"Girlfriend." Michael finished.

Jovie blushed. "Well, I-."

Emily shook her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Jovie. I'm Emily Hobbs and this is my husband, Walter." She gently elbowed Walter in the side and he smiled.

"Yeah, Hi. I'm…"

"Walter. I know. It's nice to meet you."

"Jovie and Buddy went out on a date!" Michael said.

"Yes, I gathered that." Emily laughed. "But that's none of our business, Michael. Jovie, I guess you already know my son, Michael."

"So did you have fun?" Michael asked, ignoring his mother. "He didn't take you to eat candy, did he? You ate real food, right?"

Jovie smiled, thinking of that wonderful Thursday that she spent with Buddy, doing things that she never imagined doing with anyone. Who knew that skipping down the streets of New York City in search of Christmas trees could be so utterly wonderful? And the kisses on the ice rink at Rockefeller Center warmed her heart more than any cup of hot cocoa ever could.

"Jovie? Jovie, are you okay?"

She looked up as the memory of that wonderful Thursday vanished. "What? Oh…"

"I was asking if you had plans for tonight." Emily repeated.

"No, I'm just going to go home and get ready for bed. And I never finished my dinner, so-."

"Are you celebrating with family?"

"No, they're…" Her voice trailed away and it wasn't hard to see the sympathy on the faces of Walter, Emily and Michael.

"Come stay with us!" Michael encouraged.

"No… I couldn't do that. It's not right."

"What would be right? Spending Christmas alone?" Walter asked. "I know we just met but to be honest the place has been pretty lonely without Buddy, so…"

"Yeah, please, Jovie? Say you'll stay?" Michael pleaded.

"Are you sure?"

"I think it's unanimous." Emily said. "We'd love to have you."

Jovie looked up in the sky, where the only sight was a trail of faint stars left by Santa's sleigh. Somehow without Buddy, the city seemed to have lost some of its' Christmas cheer.

"Well, if it's no trouble."

"Trouble? Of course not! Walter can go with you to get some things from your place and Michael and I will be waiting at home.

"Can I go with Dad?" Michael asked.

"Oh… Well, I think that might be all right." Emily said. "But you'll have to ask your father."

"Can I?"

"Sure, if Jovie doesn't mind."

Jovie smiled. "I don't mind at all."

"So I'll see you all later."

Watching Walter kiss Emily goodbye, Jovie felt a strange tinge of jealousy in the pit of her stomach.

"Wow, your place is neat, Jovie!" Michael exclaimed as they walked into the living room.

"I'm sorry it's such a mess. When I got off work, I made something to eat and sat down to watch television but when I saw Buddy on the news, I-." She sighed deeply and quickly began cleaning up the living room. "Have a seat, please. Feel free to watch whatever's on TV. I won't be too long."

"Take your time." Walter said.

Heart racing, Jovie hurried into her bedroom, began gathering some clothes, and put them into an overnight bag. She had no idea how long she was going to stay with the Hobbs' but she hoped that it would be long enough to take her mind off Buddy. She had no idea she would miss him this much.

When they reached the Hobbs' apartment, Jovie looked at the building in awe. It was a thousand times nicer than her small, run down home and probably a lot more comfortable. Just the fact that it had an elevator and a door attendant and a lobby that was nicer than Gimbel's department store said a lot.

Once inside, she wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted her. Every square inch of the apartment was decorated in paper, silver and gold and a huge Christmas tree filled the corner. At once, her eyes filled with tears, for there was only one person who could have decorated the place.

"Hi Jovie. Did you get everything you need?" Emily asked as she emerged from the kitchen.

Jovie looked around the apartment, amazed at all of the cookies, cakes, candy and food that filled almost every space. "Yes, thank you. Wow. You didn't have to go to so much trouble for me."

"Buddy did that." Michael said. "Candy is his favorite!"

"Yes, I know." Jovie laughed.

"Are you hungry?" Emily asked. "You must be if you haven't had dinner. I'd be happy to make you something."

"Please don't go to a lot of trouble for me."

"It's no trouble, really. We're happy to have you. Aren't we, Walter?"

"What? Oh yeah. We really are. Please, make yourself at home. I have some work I need to do."

"Oh Christmas Eve? Oh Walter, really! I was hoping we could enjoy tonight as a family. You know, singing Christmas carols, eating popcorn and all of that."

"You know what?" Walter started. "You're right. It's Christmas Eve. Work can wait. What do you say we watch some movies?"

"Sounds wonderful." Jovie said.

They settled themselves in the living room, eating popcorn and watching Christmas movies like It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story and A Christmas Carol until late in the evening. When she felt someone shaking her gently, she opened her eyes.

"You fell asleep." Emily whispered. I have the guest room all made up for you."

Jovie looked around and smiled at the sight of Michael and Walter, sleeping side by side. "I guess I wasn't the only one."

When she settled herself into the guest room, she climbed into bed. But as tired as she was, she couldn't sleep. She missed Buddy so much that it hurt. How was it possible to miss someone so much? Someone she loved, but barely knew? She laid her head on the pillow and looked out the window at the moon and stars. Buddy was out there, somewhere, maybe helping Santa deliver gifts. But oh, how she missed him. Tears splashed onto the pillow and she cried herself to sleep.

Christmas morning she awakened to a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs and orange juice. She watched the Hobbs' family open gifts with a smile on her face, wishing that she had a family to share the holidays with. If only….

"You miss him, don't you?"

Startled by the voice beside her she turned to see Michael watching her. "Who?"

"You know who. Buddy. You miss him a lot. I can tell. I miss him too. Don't worry. Christmas will be over soon and he'll be back."

Jovie smiled and blinked back tears as she hugged Buddy's brother tightly. "Thanks, Michael."

Jovie did her best to remain cheerful in the days following Christmas. She was grateful to be away from her apartment and with people who cared. She went to work as usual, but the "North Pole" just wasn't the same without Buddy there. There was no Santa (real or impostor), and customers were more interested in buying stuff for themselves than for others. The management (or whomever was in charge of the decorations) had taken down most of Buddy's decorations. So much for Christmas spirit.

Every day when she came back to the Hobbs' apartment, Emily enthusiastically asked her how her day at work had been. It was so easy to tell her that it had been fine, even though it had been anything but. Nothing was fun without Buddy. Nothing at all.
The closer it came to New Year's Eve, the lonelier she felt. Without Buddy around the holidays just didn't seem like the holidays.

Michael, Emily and Walter took notice and did everything they could to cheer her up. Jovie was grateful but inside she felt like crying.

Suddenly it was New Year's Eve; a day of celebration. Soon the year would be over and a new one would begin. So why didn't she feel happy?

Gimbel's closed early and for that, she was grateful. She was tired of pretending to be happy. Thankfully the Hobbs' apartment had become her home away from home. She was extremely grateful for all that they had done for her and wished there was something she could do to repay them.

"Hi Jovie. You're home early." Emily said when Jovie walked through the door.
That word… Home… she could certainly get used to it.

"They closed the store early. New Year's Eve and all." She explained.

"Well, you just relax and I'll have dinner ready soon."

"Isn't there anything I can do to help you, Emily? You've done so much for me." Jovie pleaded.

"You're our guest, so please, just relax."

They were just sitting down to dinner when the doorbell rang. Walter wore a look of annoyance and tossed his napkin onto the table. "Now who could that be? It's New Year's Eve!"

Jovie watched as Walter stood and walked out of the dining room to answer the door.

"Dad!"

Her heart pounded in her chest. The muffled voice could belong to one person…. She rose from her chair and took a deep breath. Followed by Michael and Emily, they walked into the living room.
There he was, hugging Walter so tightly that the man could hardly breathe.

"Buddy… Um… Buddy, there's someone who's been waiting for you."

"Buddy let go and Jovie stepped foreword. They locked eyes and before he could say a word, she stepped into his arms and kissed him repeatedly. She could hear Walter talking to Emily and Emily's sigh as she said something to Michael but Jovie wasn't really listening. At that moment, she only cared about Buddy.

"Wow…" Buddy said when she finally drew back.

"Hi Buddy." Emily said engulfing him into a hug. Michael followed and they ushered Buddy into the living room.
Jovie looked him up and down. He was so handsome, in his suit and tie. She wondered if he'd put those on just for her and then wished she'd worn something different. Her green sweater and dark pants suddenly seemed pale in comparison.

"I-I should change." She said.

"Why? I like you just the way you are." Buddy replied.

"I meant my clothes."

"But I like your clothes. They're beautiful. You're beautiful."

"Buddy…"

"Listen, I know you want to catch up so we'll go and eat dinner. I'll keep it warm for you." Emily said.
Jovie nodded absently. "O…Okay..."

When they were alone, Jovie hugged Buddy as hard as she could, and rested her face against his chest. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too. And I brought you something. Well, a few things. One's from Santa and the other is from me."

"Can I open them now?"

"Of course."

They sat down on the sofa and she opened the gift from Santa. It was a book of her favorite songs because somehow he knew how much she loved to sing. She looked up at Buddy. "H-how did he know?"

Buddy simply smiled. "Open mine…"

He handed her the small box and she untied the ribbon. Inside was the most beautiful gold locket she'd ever seen. And when she opened the locket, there was a picture of them at the Rockefeller Center, kissing.

"H-how did you do this? We were the only ones there. And no one…"

"I wanted to remember that kiss forever."

She framed his face in her hands and kissed him. "I'll never forget it. Or this… thank you, Buddy."

They returned to the dining room and ate dinner with Michael, Emily and Walter and Buddy opened his gifts from Emily and Michael (bottles of syrup-his second favorite thing besides smiling). Meanwhile, she sang Auld Lang Syne while Walter played the piano.

It was the best holiday season ever.

Buddy invited her to visit the North Pole with him, where she was happy to meet Santa, Papa Elf and the other elves, especially Ming Ming and Foom Foom. They told Mr. Narwhal all about how Buddy had found his dad and about how he'd met Jovie at Gimbel's. She loved Papa Elf instantly and hoped that he lived her too. They promised to come back to visit as often as they could.

A year later, after a wonderful winter wedding, Jovie accompanied Buddy to the North Pole to introduce everyone to their daughter Susie. Jovie no longer had to work at Gimbal's and had a wonderful job working for Walter at his new company.

Life was absolutely perfect. And all because of an elf named Buddy.

`Fin`