Chapter Eleven
Carol’s world swirled around her for a moment but any hope that this was all a bad joke vanished when Hillary tugged on her arm. She looked down. The children were really here, and in their pajamas no less.
“You woke them up?” she demanded of Rapz.
In answer, the elf stared intently at his upturned toes.
“No, he didn’t, Miss Kane,” Patrick said. “We couldn’t sleep. The sleigh ride was awesome.”
“You didn’t tell us you knew Santa Claus,” Hillary said, her gaze going back and forth between Carol and Santa as if she was trying to piece the whole picture together. “Do you know what the best part of this is? Daddy has to believe in Santa now.” Hillary and her brother exchanged high five’s.
“Ben is here?” Carol felt the world start to spin again. “He’s here at the North Pole?”
“Of course I brought him along,” Rapz snapped. “I might occasionally get my directions mixed up but I’m no kidnapper.”
Mixed up? This went far, far beyond a mix up.
“Where is he?” she asked the elf. “I need to see him, to explain.” Just how on earth she was going to do this she couldn’t begin to imagine, but she had to see him and try to help him make sense of…well…being at the North Pole.
When Rapz wasn’t forthcoming with an answer, Carol turned to Jolly. “Have you seen him? Do you know where he is?”
Jolly nodded. “He’s in the infirmary but I think you should wait to see him until he regains consciousness.”
Carol’s eyes widened. She turned to her father, but his look of bewilderment was less than comforting.
“Now, children,” Santa said to Hillary and Patrick, “I want you to go with these nice elves for a tour of my workshop.” He motioned for Tinsel and Jolly to lead the way. “I’m sure there will be a few toys for you to test along the way.”
They turned their bright, shining eyes to Carol for permission and she nodded. “Just stay close to Tinsel and Jolly. And don’t worry about your Daddy, he’ll be fine.”
As soon as the children were out of ear shot she turned to Rapz. “Take me to Ben.” Half way out the door she turned back to her father. “No, Daddy, you stay here. You have enough work to do. I need to take care of this myself.”
After Rapz assured her that Ben wasn’t seriously injured, she was able to calm down enough to listen to his version of events as they wound their way through the corridors to the infirmary. According to Rapz, he’d only meant to take the children for a quick ride but Ben had climbed up on the roof and freaked out when he saw his children in the sleigh.
“He reached for them but slipped, fell and hit his head.”
“So you stuffed him in the sleigh and brought him here?” Carol asked.
Rapz shrugged. “I panicked.”
Carol raised an eyebrow. “You understand that the unauthorized use of a sleigh is grounds for immediate demotion, don’t you?”
Rapz nodded. “I know, I know. But the kids were really digging Christmas so I thought, hey, what could be better than giving them a spin around a few rooftops?”
“Rapz, children dig a lot of things. But that doesn’t mean they get to try them all.” Carol resisted the urge to box his pointed little ears. “I thought they were sound asleep with the forget-me dust.”
“Well, that’s just the thing. I came to pick you up but Jolly got there first. I didn’t know that, see? So I went in the window to see what was taking you so long, I found the kids in the hallway.”
They passed by the Naughty and Nice Records Department and Carol felt a pang of guilt that she’d not been able to help her father. “What was the silver sparkle supposed to do?”
“That was a bit of an experiment gone awry,” Rapz conceded. “You see, I was thinking-”
But Carol had heard enough. “You weren’t thinking, Rapz, and look what you’ve done.” She stopped outside the infirmary door. “We can’t have people here.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” Rapz said. “Do you want me to go in there and explain everything to your boyfriend?”
Carol shook her head. “No, you’ve already done enough. I think you’d better get right back to my father’s office and do what you can to help him. We’ve only got a few hours before the countdown starts.”
Once he was out of sight, Carol took a deep breath. Her heart was racing and, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, there was a part of her that was thrilled that she was going to see Ben again. She held little hope, however, that the feeling was going to be mutual.
She gingerly opened the door and poked her head in the room. Her heart sank when she saw Ben’s form on the infirmary table. She slipped through the open door and pulled it quietly closed behind her.
Wanda, an elderly female elf motioned for her to come closer. “Your friend here will be just fine, honey,” she said as Carol approached.
Carol looked down at Ben, her heart swelling in her chest. Even though she knew she was in for it when he came to, she was happy to see him again. “Will he be okay?” she asked Wanda.
The nurse elf nodded. “He just bumped his head, he’ll be fine. But I’m glad you’re here because I had no idea what to say when he woke up and wanted to know where he was.”
Greatly relieved, Carol sank into a chair next to Ben. She smiled her gratitude to Wanda. “Thank you so much for everything. But if it’s just a matter of waiting for him to regain consciousness maybe it’s better if I wait alone. It might make it easier when he wakes up and only sees me.”
“Wise idea, dear,” Wanda agreed. “I’ll be in the business center typing up my incident report if you need me.”
After the door closed behind her, Carol took one of Ben’s hands and held it in hers. He looked like he was asleep. Knowing she shouldn’t let her mind go there, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to wake up next to him every day for the rest of her life. It could only ever be a fantasy, and more likely than not, Ben would never want to see her again after she managed to get them safely home again. Still, despite the futility of it, she indulged in thoughts of a lifetime spent with Ben, Hillary and Patrick.
Four days ago she would have assured anyone who asked that she loved her life at the North Pole. And it would have been true then. But now she couldn’t convince herself that she’d ever be happy again. Not without Ben, or his children.
Impulsively, knowing this would be the only chance she’d ever have, she leaned over and brushed a kiss across Ben’s lips.
***
Ben’s eyelids fluttered open. So it hadn’t been a dream. Carol had kissed him. He smiled up at her, enjoying the surprised look on her face. Ah, so she’d thought she’d sneak in a quick kiss before leaving but he wouldn’t let her go, not after last night. What had happened last night? He frowned trying to remember the details but his memory was foggy, almost as if he’d had too much to drink. No, that wasn’t it. He’d fallen and hit his head. But where? How?
“Ben,” Carol’s voice cut through his reverie. “Can you hear me?”
He nodded and tried to sit up but he felt a restraining hand on his shoulder. Ah, so she wanted more. He reached for her and pulled her into a kiss, savoring the taste of her lips equally as much as her willingness to be kissed. When he released her, he could see her by her expression that she was worried.
“Are you okay, Ben?”
“I could use another kiss,” he teased her.
“Be serious, we were worried about you.”
Reluctantly he dragged his attention from Carol and looked around. He wasn’t at home. “Where am I?”
“There was a little accident,” Carol said.
Panic coursed through him and he struggled to a sitting position. “The kids, where are Patrick and Hillary? Are they hurt?”
“They’re fine. They weren’t hurt, only you were,” Carol assured him, but by the way she was biting her lip he could tell there was much she was leaving unsaid.
He looked around, trying to
get a sense of where he was. One glance told him he wasn’t in the local hospital. This looked more like a school nurse’s office. He frowned again and tried to read Carol’s face. “Where am I?”
She shifted away from him, clearly uncomfortable. “This is going to take some explaining.” She wrung her hands and watched him warily. “Can we just get you home first? If you’ll just wait here I’ll get us a…um…some transportation.”
Transportation? Despite the dull ache in his head, he struggled to remember how he’d fallen. At home? No. Whatever had happened to him was just out of reach but at any minute it would come back. He just had to think backwards to the last thing he remembered. The party? No. Wait, he’d seen the kids climb into a sleigh, but where had they been that there was a sleigh?
“I can explain,” Carol said. But she didn’t. She just stared at him.
“Explain what?” he asked. Perhaps the kids had climbed up on a holiday display that they weren’t supposed to and when he’d tried to get them out, he’d fallen. Yes, that must be it. He’d been upset with the kids because they’d climbed into a sleigh, and he’d seen Carol’s friend from the mall just before he’d slipped.
He looked at Carol for confirmation, but before he could speak, the door opened and Patrick and Hillary ran in, a concerned looking Santa Claus close on their heels. Ben turned to Carol. “Are we at the mall?”
She groaned. “I wish.”
Chapter Twelve
Carol watched as Ben embraced his children as best he could with one arm. The children were talking well over a mile a minute, and one glance at Ben told her that he was having trouble making sense of what they were saying. But she knew it was only a temporary reprieve.
“Okay, okay,” Ben interrupted them, “let’s go home and then you can tell me everything.”
“Go home?” Patrick stepped back, alarm registering on his little features. “Why would we want to do that?”
“So that you can sleep,” Ben answered his son’s question. “I don’t know what time the mall closes but it’s getting late.”
Hillary giggled. “The mall? Daddy, we’re not at the mall!”
“We’re not?” Ben glanced at Santa and then at her. “Okay, someone tell me what is going on here.” When they didn’t answer he pushed himself off the examining table and turned to her. “Carol? Where are we?”
She swallowed hard. There was nothing for it but to tell him the truth. “The North Pole.”
“Oh, for the love of God, Carol, cut it out. This isn’t funny anymore.”
“It’s true, Daddy. We’re at the North Pole,” Hillary said. She turned to point at Carol’s father. “Just ask Santa. He’ll tell you.”
“Welcome to our home, Mr. Hanson,” Santa said.
Carol cringed at Ben’s incredulous expression. It was even worse to watch him gently guide the children toward the door as if he was escaping a lunatic asylum.
“Ben, wait, I can explain.” Except, of course, that she couldn’t.
“So you keep saying,” he replied. He shot her a concerned glance. “I’m worried about you, Carol. I want you to come home with us. We can see someone about this Christmas obsession you have. I’ll get you the help you need.”
“Daddy, don’t talk to Miss Kane like that,” Hillary interjected. “She’s not crazy.”
Hillary’s swift and heartfelt defense brought tears to Carol’s eyes but she willed them away. If Ben saw her cry he’d be forever convinced she’d lost her mind.
“Well, I’m not going anywhere without my new puppy.” Patrick pulled his hand free of his father’s hold and ran to hug Carol.
“And I’m not leaving without Patrick.” Hillary ran over and embraced Carol.
“Oh, now enough of that,” Carol told them as sternly as she could manage. “We don’t demand anything from Santa.” Carol hugged them both to her, savoring the feel of their arms around her waist. Thinking of how much she was going to miss them made it hard to breathe. But she needed to get control of this situation. “Dad, it’s getting late. I can handle this. You need to get down to command central.”
“Dad?” Ben sounded incredulous. And, just as Carol expected, more than a bit freaked out.
Santa pulled out an old fashioned watch and checked the time before slipping it back in his pocket. He sighed. “I don’t like leaving you.”
“You don’t have a choice, do you?” she gently reminded him. Time wasn’t on his side and they both knew it. “Go, I can do this.”
She waited while Santa bid farewell to the children and left before she spoke to them. Ben was way past believing her, but she could enlist his children’s help. “Let’s give your father a tour. I wonder if he’s ever seen a reindeer before?”
“Carol, you’re scaring me.” Ben reached out and held her hand in his. “I can help you.”
“Okay, you win,” she said, changing tactics. “I’m ready to go home.”
Ben’s relieved smile made her feel guilty for setting him up. But she couldn’t think of any other way to maneuver him into a sleigh other than pretending to leave with them.
“You know how to get to the parking lot?” he asked.
She nodded. “Just follow me, and umm, you’re bound to see some holiday craziness on the way out.”
“I can handle last minute shoppers,” he assured her, his relief patently obvious. “Let’s go, kids.”
A perplexed looking Hillary and Patrick allowed themselves to be led from the room. Carol felt guilty for confusing them, but once she could get them sprinkled with green forget-me dust it wouldn’t matter. The last twenty four hours would feel like a dream to them. This time she wouldn’t trust Rapz though, she’d snag some of the good stuff on the way down to the departure area.
***
Ben followed Carol and the children through the door and out into a corridor. She turned right and strode down the hall. His head throbbed and his shoulder smarted but it was nothing compared to the ache in his heart. He loved Carol. The moment she’d kissed him, he’d known that he would love her forever. But what could be wrong with her? Had a childhood trauma during the holidays scarred her for life?
Whatever it was, they’d get to the bottom of it. Together.
“Look out,” Hillary called out. “A pile of presents is coming through.”
Duly warned, Ben joined the others as they flattened themselves against the wall. An old-fashioned push cart piled seven feet high with brightly wrapped gift boxes sailed past them. The three elves pushing it all called out cheery greetings to Carol. How did they know her name?
The further along the apparently endless corridor that they went, the more bizarre the situation became. How many little people could possibly work in the same place? Ben knew he hadn’t ever spent much time at the mall but it couldn’t be this large. The hallway widened with each step they took until it became downright cavernous.
“Hey, Carol,” a man with dark hair, about Ben’s own age, approached them, a huge smile on his face. “Oh, have I missed you. I knew you’d make it back in time.”
The stranger threw his arms around Carol and, to Ben’s annoyance, she willingly accepted his embrace. Who the heck was this?
Carol pulled back, rather reluctantly Ben thought, and linked her arm through the man’s. “Nick, I’d like you to meet my friends. This is Hillary Hanson and her brother Patrick. And this is…this is Ben.”
“Ah, Ben, nice to finally meet you,” Nick said. He reached out shake Ben’s hand and then the children’s. “I’ve heard a great deal about you three.”
“Funny, Carol never mentioned you once,” Ben replied.
“Never mentioned her charming, intelligent brother?” Nick shook his head in mock bewilderment, which caused the children to laugh.
“Is your last name Kane too?” Patrick asked.
It wasn’t lost on Ben that Nick and Carol exchanged a quick conspiratorial glance.
“You can call me St. Nick,” Nick said, earning grins from the children.
Like a light bulb switching on in a dark broom closet, Ben’s mind suddenly flooded with understanding. He got it. He knew what was going on, he knew where they were. And he knew what Carol was involved in. This whole set up reminded him of a backstage tour of an ice capades show he’d been on when he was around eight years old. The flurry of activity, the costumes, the props, and Santa and the elves staying in character, it was all a part of some traveling Christmas show.
But why hadn’t Carol just said so? There was no shame in theater. Sure it was a little odd but weren’t most creative types at least a tiny bit eccentric? His heart warmed knowing that the woman he loved wasn’t crazy.
“So, when’s show time?” he interrupted Carol and Nick’s conversation.
They both turned to stare at him.
“I get it, I know where we are.” He smiled just a bit triumphantly. “Live theater, and done on an impressive scale I have to say. I’d love to know what the budget for something like this runs.”
“The holidays are priceless,” Nick said. “None of this is about money.”
“Yeah, right, Christmas isn’t about money,” Ben scoffed.
“Not now, Daddy,” Hillary said.
He glanced down, feeling suddenly guilty. He knew he should let the children have their fun. “Sorry,” he managed to say. “Carol, why don’t you help us find our seats? That way you can get in costume and we’ll all go home together after the performance.”
Carol stood looking at him without saying a word. Until Nick nudged her.
“That’s right, Carol, help them find their seats. Unless you’d like me to take them for you? I’d be happy to if it’s easier for you.”
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