A New Beginning
by
R. Brian Campbell
Doug hung the final stocking over the fireplace, then stepped back and surveyed his work. Not a bad job at all. The tree, the decorations, the stockings, all the knickknacks, all in their proper place. Almost as if Emily were still here.
Emily! Doug put a hand to his eyes as the tears began to flow. He dropped into his easy chair and covered his face with both hands, sobs tearing through his body. It took a few minutes before the pain subsided. He reached for the Kleenex box and yanked several free, wiping angrily at his face. Pull yourself together, man, he admonished himself, she’s been gone six months. You need to face it. You had a wonderful life with her, but now it’s time to face the world alone. Alone! Rebellious tears started up again and he grabbed for more Kleenex.
Finally, he settled and looked again at his handiwork. He still wasn’t sure why he bothered, except that he knew that this was what Emily would have wanted. Maybe he should have accepted Jamie’s offer to change their plans and come over for Christmas. But, no. They had been planning that trip to Disneyworld for nearly two years. The Grandkids were looking forward to it. Besides, she needed this. She lost her mother, as well. And Roger had lost his father in February. They’d had a rough year too. No. They needed this.
Jamie even suggested that he come with them. It was a wonderful offer, but even if they could manage the Christmas miracle of getting another airline ticket and another room in at the fancy hotel where they were staying at this late date, what was he supposed to do in Florida while she and Roger were touring the Magic Kingdom with the kids? Check out Time Shares? He shook his head and chuckled. Thanks, but no thanks. He would just have to muddle through on his own.
Still, it wasn’t fair. It was just this spring that he had decided to close his business and retire. Not that he had been doing much business in the last few years. His line of work wasn’t exactly a booming business in this day and age. You could say that he was the last of a dying breed. But he had kind of hoped to transition into retired life with Emily by his side. It just wasn’t fair.
The kettle began whistling, so Doug ambled into the kitchen and poured boiling water onto the teabag in his cup and let it steep while he raided the fridge for some chocolate chip cookies. He set them on a saucer, spooned the teabag into the sink, then picked up cup and saucer and headed for his bedroom. His empty, lonely, solitary bedroom. Sigh…
“THUMP!” Something hit his roof. Hard. The initial impact was followed by a series of smaller impacts, like someone was walking around up there with hobnailed boots…or…hooves? Then noise began to emanate from the fireplace chimney, as if something was being forced down it. As Doug watched, a haze of dust and soot began to trickle from the fireplace as assorted sounds came from the chimney; crunching, crackling, thumping, bumping, some huffing and puffing, the occasional curse, then… Whoooosh, a black cloud poured into the small living room, flying up to cover furniture, tree, ornaments, stockings, everything.
As the dust and soot settled, on absolutely everything, a small, soot-covered figure stumbled out of the fireplace. “He-cough, cough…Hel-cough, cough…Hello, I’m Alfie. Are you Doug Thorsten?”
Doug looked down into large, bright blue eyes, staring out at him from what appeared to be a walking mound of soot, barely as high as his belt buckle. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “That’s me. Doug Thorsten.”
“Great. I was looking for you, Santa needs-” The cheery voice suddenly froze, as bright eyes came to rest on the cookies in Doug’s hand. “Oooo. Are those for me?” A hand reached for the cookies, then stopped. Blackened fingers spread, as the hand turned front and back under the inspection of the bright eyes. The gaze then travelled back down the arm, down the length of the body, then looked around the room. “Uh, oh. I think I goofed again. Uh, sorry about your room. This was my first chimney. Santa told, me it was tricky. I guess I didn’t pay enough attention. I’m going to be in big trouble.”
“Santa?” Doug repeated. “You work for Santa? The real Santa?”
The tiny figure had removed a soot-blacked cap, revealing a shock of unruly grass-coloured hair, and was slapping the hat against his body, raising another cloud of soot, while creating a jingling sound. The cap, and/or the clothing must contain tiny bells. When he finally stopped, Doug saw a childlike person, with green hair, large, pointed ears, a broad, grinning mouth, and wearing a heavily soot stained green outfit with bells on the point of his hat and on the curled toes of his shoes. “Yes, the real Santa. And he needs your help right away. Can I have that?” He grabbed the cookie off the saucer and popped it into his mouth. “Now hurry. We need to get going.”
“Are you sure Santa needs me? I’m just a-”
Alfie grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the fireplace. “I’m very sure. Santa was very clear that it was you he wanted. Please. I’m already in enough trouble. I can’t fail at this. I have to take you to Santa. Please come with me, Doug. Please.”
“Okay, Okay,” Doug relented. “I don’t want you to get in trouble. But how are we both supposed to go up that chimney? It looked like you had a pretty tough time coming down by yourself.”
“No problem. Up is supposed to be easier,” Alfie insisted. “All you have to do is get in front of the fireplace, like this, and say, Up, up and awaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy…”
A hurricane-like wind blew out of the fireplace, encircled them and drew them right up the chimney… and right out the top, tossing them into the air more than twenty feet above the rooftop.
“Oops.”
“What do you mean, oops?” Doug screamed, as he felt their upward momentum decrease and gravity begin to take over.
“Don’t panic, pal,” a deep, gravelly voice called from somewhere below him. “I’ve got you. Whatever you do, don’t dive. Keep your toes pointed towards the ground. Spread your legs a bit. Yes. Just like that. Here I come.”
Suddenly, a large, furry body was beneath him as he gently settled into horseback riding position. Alfie landed in front of him and he instinctively wrapped his arms around the tiny elf.
An antlered head turned its profile towards him, looking at him with one eye. “Are you alright? Any vertigo? Any aches or pains?”
While Doug stared, openmouthed, at the reindeer he was now mounted on, Alfie made introductions. “Doug, meet Donner. Don, this is Doug.”
“Nice to meet you, Doug,” Donner said, then glared at Alfie. “So what was the meaning of launching yourselves out of the chimney like human cannonballs? And why is my coat getting covered in soot? Didn’t you listen when Santa gave you instructions about going up and down chimneys?”
“Yeah…well…uh…Shouldn’t we be going? Santa will be waiting.”
Donner snorted, then faced forward. “Hmph! Elves! Hold on, Doug. I’ll keep the ride as smooth as possible, but this silly elf is right about one thing. We are on the clock. Here we go.”
The next thing Doug knew, they were flying through the air so fast that the ground below was a blur. In moments they were outside the city and slowing down over a clearing in what appeared to be a huge forest. There were no forests this size close to his home. How far had they flown? They were descending and Doug could see a small herd of reindeer grazing in the field below, a rotund man, in what would probably be a red suit in better lighting, and a large sleigh. As they settled to the ground, he gave the sleigh a professional inspection. Something wasn’t right. It was sitting funny. Then it came to him. He knew why he was here. But would he be able to help?
Santa came over to meet them, reaching out to help Doug dismount from Donner. “Ho, ho, welcome Doug. Thank you for coming to my aid. I appreciate it, greatly.” He looked Alfie up and down. “Alfie!” The elf leapt to attention. “Why are you covered in soot? Please tell me that you didn’t get soot spread all over Doug’s beautiful home.”
Alfie stared at the snow, crumpling his hat in his hands. “Well…Uh…”
Santa waved his hand. “Never mind. I’ll just have to fix that later.” He looked back to Doug. “Doug. I have a serious problem that I’d like you to fix for me. As you know, it’s Christmas Eve and-”
“And your sleigh has a broken runner,” Doug completed.
Santa clapped his gloved hands together. “Exactly. I knew I’d sent for the right person. The number one sleigh, sled and toboggan builder and repairman in Canada.”
“The number one and only,” Doug qualified. “Retired. Not much call for wooden sleighs, sleds and toboggans anymore. Sleigh rides have become a rarity and if someone wants to going sledding these days, they want a plastic or fiberglass one. Mostly, they want skis or snowboards, also made from fiberglass. No call for my type of work anymore.”
“Well I need your help,” Santa assured him. “Come over and see what you can do.”
As they approached the sleigh, Doug began to realize that it was much bigger than he originally thought. Then he got a look inside the front of the sleigh and panicked. The front of the sleigh looked like the cockpit of an airliner, filled with lights, dials, switches, a huge digital map and several computer monitors. He stopped and turned to Santa. “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t work on this. I’m a simple sleigh maker. This machine is far too high-tech for my abilities.”
Santa began laughing. “Ho, Ho, Ho. Don’t let the cockpit worry you, Doug. I have elves that take care of that. What I need you for is exactly what you are trained to do. Just take a look and see for yourself.”
Doug willed his heart rate down to a normal level and walked to where he had seen the broken runner. He crouched down and looked at it. “I need this lifted up. And I’ll need some light.”
“Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, “Santa called. “Come over here. Bring your harnesses. Rudolph. Give Doug some light.” With Alfie’s help, the harnesses were attached to the side of the sleigh. A strong pull from the three reindeer and the sleigh was hoisted up onto its one good runner. Rudolph circled around behind Doug, his nose brightening the area. Yep. As he had guessed, Santa’s suit was, indeed, red. And now he could clearly see the damaged runner.
“I’ll need my tools,” Doug said.
Santa reached into a large sack in the back of the sleigh and produced a pair of large toolboxes. “You mean these?”
Doug’s eyebrows rose. “I don’t suppose you’d have my sawhorses in there too?”
Santa reached back in and produced a worn pair of sawhorses.”
“Is there anything you don’t have in there?”
“Alas, no spare sleigh runners,” Santa replied, with a sigh and a shrug.
With some help from Santa and Alfie, Doug removed the broken runner and began repairing it. Rudolph continued providing all the light he needed. As he worked, he told Santa, “This is only a temporary repair, just to get you through his important night. When you get back to the North Pole, I recommend having a replacement made.”
“Ah, yes, that was the other thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Santa told him. “My sleigh maker has gotten too old to do the job anymore. A few centuries will do that. I’m looking for a replacement.”
Doug looked up. “And you want me?”
“I do. Do you have anything more important to do? First, let me explain the whole job. In spite of my reputation, this isn’t just a one night a year thing. This is just the sleigh that I use for the big night. I have others that are used throughout the year, picking up supplies and materials, collecting mail, doing research, training new reindeer. I need a good, reliable sleigh man to keep my fleet in order. I need you.”
Doug thought about it for a moment. “If I went with you, I wouldn’t see my daughter or grandkids anymore. I couldn’t accept that.”
“How often would you want to see them? I’m sure we could come to an agreeable holiday arrangement for birthdays, graduations, special holidays. Not Christmas, though. You’d lose that one, of course. But no problem with the rest, and I do have an extremely efficient, high-speed transportation system, available on demand.” He waved a hand towards the reindeer.
“Can I think about it a bit?”
“Of course. Take your time.”
“Okay, runner’s ready. Let’s get it back on the sleigh.” Doug, Santa and Alfie reinstalled the repaired runner and the reindeer lowered the sleigh.
Soon they were in the air and shortly after that, landing gently on Doug’s roof. Santa brought Doug smoothly down the chimney into his living room. Santa looked around the room and sighed. He waved his hand in a circular motion and a wind whipped through the house and up the chimney, taking all the dust and soot with it. The house was as clean as it was before Alfie’s entrance. Then he turned to Doug. “Thank you for your help, Doug. And please take my offer seriously.”
Doug shook his hand. “I will, Santa. I really will.”
Santa handed Doug what looked like a postcard, with a picture of Santa on the front and the words, Special Delivery, written on it. “Doug, if you decide to accept my offer, simply throw this in the fireplace. I’ll get it and know your answer. Now take care and Merry Christmas.” With that, a wind came up encircled Santa, and drew him up the chimney.
Doug stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the card. Then he walked over to his chair and sat down. He picked up the phone and hit speed dial. He counted the rings. Finally, he heard a familiar voice. “Hi honey. I hope I didn’t wake you. Good. No, there’s no problem. I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. How are the kids? Enjoying Mickey Mouse? Good. Ah, Jamie, I need to tell you something. No. Nothing bad. In fact, quite the opposite. I’ve been offered a job. Yeah. Doing sleigh work, my specialty. I can’t tell you much, except that I would be working with a single client who has a fleet of sleighs. Yeah, you could say that he’s a bit eccentric. It would involve moving to his estate. No, you, Roger and the kids couldn’t visit me there, but I would be able to come visit you regularly. Maybe even more than I do now. Yeah. I’m still thinking about it, but, yeah. Oh, okay. I understand. Long day tomorrow. Good night. Merry Christmas. Love you too.”
Doug set the phone down and sat back in his chair. Something made him look towards Emily’s chair. For a moment, it looked like she was sitting there, smiling at him. She nodded her head and mouthed “Yes”. Tears were forming in his eyes, so he grabbed a Kleenex and wiped them. He looked again, but the chair was empty. Must have been his imagination. Yeah. That had to be it. He picked up the card and looked at it again, his brow creased with concentration. He reached a decision and, with a wistful smile tossed it in the direction of the fireplace. A sudden wind grabbed it and pulled it up the chimney.