Chapter 5: A Short Interlude with Charlie, Curtis and Others
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Neil and Laura's house was not more than a few houses away from where their son and daughter-in-law lived, Noel and Bernard took this into account and landed the two reindeer in the fenced in backyard of the Miller household.
Lucy appeared at the back window, "Hey guys!"
Both elves had to stop and stare at how old she was. Over the years she had grown taller and statelier. Her red hair hung to her waist, often done up in a braid or hanging loose in waves. She resembled some sort of Irish princess.
"Are your parent's home?"
"Yeah," Lucy could practically drink in the tension in the atmosphere, "What's wrong?"
"The twins tried to come here; we think they might be lost."
"You haven't seen any other reindeer have you?"
"No. I think I'd notice a flying animal." She stepped aside, allowing the two elves access to the house.
Neil and Laura got up from their places on the couch, "Hey Bernard, Noel. Is everything okay?"
"We need your help. The twins are lost."
"They're lost here?"
"Yeah, we think they took Lucky and ran off."
Neil immediately walked over to the phone. Laura looked at him with some confusion, "What are you doing?"
"I'm calling 911."
"They can't help us." Noel shook her head.
"Why not?"
"The children could be exposed as elves." Remarked Lucy, already having a more mature grasp on the situation than her own father.
"Let's go to Charlie and Jennifer's and we'll start looking for them." Laura recommended. Noel and Bernard waited while the mortal family prepared.
Lucy was kind enough to toss a few coats to Bernard and Noel. Not for the cold, Christmas elves were incapable of freezing to death or even getting a case of chills, but to shield their outfits from the outside world.
They walked briskly down the sidewalk, Bernard and Noel a bit ahead of the others. The head elf knocked on the front door nearly the second he stepped up to it.
A rather sad looking Jennifer answered, "What are you all doing here?"
"Christopher and Melody are lost in your neighborhood; we need you and Charlie's help."
Jenn looked behind her and then back at the group on her doorstep, "Charlie's not here."
"Where is he?"
"We had a fight and he went back to the North Pole."
Noel looked on her friend sympathetically while the others were in shock, "Over what?"
"Just some random stuff. Shouldn't we go look for the twins?"
"Yeah."
"Alright," Neil was thinking clearly now, "We have to find Lucky and the twins. Lucy, Laura, Jennifer, you guys go the surrounding houses and ask if anyone has seen anything. Bernard and I will go and check the edges of the woods, and Noel, you should go behind the houses and look into the backyards."
Everyone nodded and took off to their respective tasks.
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
"So, you yelled at the twins?"
"Yeah."
"Why would you do that?"
"I don't know, I was just so angry with them."
"What'd they do?"
"They tied me up again, and I'm pretty sure they broke one of the workshop machines."
"So?"
"What do you mean so?"
"Do you have to fix the machine?"
"No, usually Noel or Quinton does that."
Charlie nodded and looked hard at Curtis, "So why do you care so much?"
"I don't like getting tied up."
"They're kids, Curtis. They don't know any better."
"Yes they do! They know the rules."
"You're telling me that "Don't tie up Curtis" is listed in that book you carry around."
"Well it should be."
"Are you always telling those kids what the rules are?"
"Someone has to remind them."
"That's why they don't like you. Think about it Curtis. You're telling the head elves' children what they can and can't do. You're trying to control them at seven years old. You can't do that."
"I know that now."
"You know that's why they don't like you. Maybe if you tried to be their friend, not their boss. They already have a mom and dad."
Curtis sighed and got up from his chair, pacing around the room, "I'm starving."
"Let's go get something to eat then."
"C'mon, we'll take the back way to the kitchens, that way, no one will see us."
They left the guest hall through side doors and walked around the back of the buildings. Curtis knew that he would be on the bad side of all the elves that were aware of his mistake and Charlie didn't want the attention. Especially those who would be smart enough to realize that he was there without Jennifer.
Curtis ducked into the back door to the kitchen, grabbed two cups of hot chocolate and returned outside without incident. He handed over one of the cups and the two men leaned back against the building.
A few doors down, Judy left the workshop through a back door as well. She breathed the cool fresh air and held her face in her hands. The stress of her new job hadn't been on her for more than a few hours and already she was feeling the pain. How did Bernard and Noel do this job everyday without screaming?
Some voices distracted her. She walked towards them, staying hidden so as to not disturb the conversation. What she was doing may not have been the most appropriate thing to do, but there was a rather sneaky side to Judy that didn't get to come out often.
She saw Charlie first, being that he stood the tallest. At his side was Curtis, his head bowed and despondent. Something in her couldn't be too mad with him. She knew the children tormented him relentlessly, and perhaps his outburst could have been handled better, but she just couldn't be mad at him. From now on, she wanted no more of being the boss of the workshop, perhaps she could be the full time babysitter for the children.
The conversation caught her ear, "So, what's going on between you and Jennifer? Why are you here alone?"
"We had a fight," He took a drink; "I needed a few days to cool off."
"So you came here, during the busiest time of the year, to get away from it all?"
"It doesn't make much sense, does it?"
"And you left Jenn alone over Christmas. No one should be alone on Christmas."
Charlie contemplated the answer, "You're wrong, I'm wrong, cheers." He clinked his mug against the elf's. Curtis rolled his eyes; Charlie was beyond just acting strange. He was uncharacteristic of his old self.
"What was the fight about?"
"I don't know really. Kids, money, Jenn not knowing if she really wants to keep being married to me."
"You're lucky; at least you have someone to fight with."
"Lucky?"
"Yeah, you have someone. I don't have anyone at all. I'm the third oldest elf here at the North Pole, and I have to see Bernard and Noel all day long, and it just…" He trailed off.
"I'm sorry."
"That's why my mistake was so big. Judy just loves those twins and I went and yelled at them."
"Wait, Judy?" Charlie looked down at him, "You like Judy?"
From her hiding spot, Judy raised her head as Curtis ducked his, "Yeah, I just can't bring myself to talk to her."
"Why not?"
"I'm scared. If she turns me down, think of all those years of awkwardness working side by side."
Charlie nodded, "Inter-office romances."
Both of them sighed and took drinks again.
"About Jennifer – "
Charlie set his hot chocolate down on a nearby wooden crate. Looking around, seeing the crates and boxes, the sort of alleyish feeling to this area, the mortal felt a little more like a sleazy movie character than he wanted to, "No."
"I just don't see you two breaking up. You love each other too much."
Charlie groaned and stared down at the ground.
"You do love her, right?"
"Of course I do."
"Then isn't it worth your time to make this work?"
"Yeah."
"Why don't you try to show her why she fell in love with you in the first place?
There was an affirmative nod, "Yeah, I'm gonna go talk to my dad about this. See if he has any ideas. Thanks Curtis."
Judy dove behind some spare crates as Charlie walked past her, careful to keep herself concealed. Curtis left in the other direction and she stared after him when the coast was clear. She sighed in frustration. There weren't enough problems with the workshop and her new duties, now she had to avoid Curtis all day long.
It would however, give her enough time to really consider what she felt for him, if her heart left her with any doubt at all.
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Night fell back in the mortal world. The sound of a door shutting at the very end of the street signaled the last house that Jennifer had questioned as to the whereabouts of the twins.
She sprinted down the concrete pavement, praying to God that she would find no ice to slip upon, "Laura!" He voice echoed down the street.
The older woman ran down from a doorstep and met her daughter-in-law in the street.
"The guy down at the end of the street, he says he's seen them. He said they got scared and ran into the woods."
"We've got to find the others." Together, they ran behind the rows of houses and began to call out for their friends.
Noel was the first to come running up. Her face was a mask of distress and pain, even her usually pristine hair was mussed and wild.
Bernard and Neil came up second, running from the woods.
Jennifer took control of the conversation, "Okay, this guy at the end here, he said that they ran straight back from his property into the woods. He watched for them to come back out, but they didn't."
"Why didn't he go after them?"
"I asked him that, he said he thought they were the neighbor's kids playing a game."
"They must be pretty far then." Stated Bernard, "Neil and I were yelling for them and they didn't respond."
"My babies." Moaned Noel, rubbing her cheeks and temples. Her husband walked up to her and they held each other for a minute.
"What are we gonna do?"
"We have to search the woods."
"How?" Neil drew everyone's attention to the fact that night had now finally fallen.
"Let's go back to the house and figure this out." Suggested Laura.
They plodded back to the house, walking slowly, each one in their own thoughts. Once the group was seated in the kitchen, discussions began.
"Someone has to stay back here, just in case they come back."
"Alright, but we should get some sleep, we're gonna be useless tomorrow if we're not rested."
"We have to get back out there."
"Alright, let's have two people go out and search for a couple of hours at a time, then, they'll come back and two more will go out."
This suggestion seemed to get the approval of everyone involved. Lucy, Neil, Laura, and Jennifer went to bed first.
Bernard and Noel grabbed a couple of flashlights and walked out the door. They gave each other a kiss before splitting up to cover the first shift of the evening.
