–
At the North Pole in November, a new postal carrier put eight large sacks of letters in Santa’s mailbox. She had no idea how they all fit, or how they were easy for her to lift. Magical things just seemed to happen in early winter near Santa’s Workshop. She bumped the top of the mailbox with the last bag. The impact dislodged an old letter that had been stuck a long, long time.
–
At 78-year-old Chester’s house on Christmas Eve, everything was quiet. That was good, because Chester was irritable and cranky, and liked it quiet. He lived alone and had no family. He had gotten himself a puppy when he retired, but his dog Buddy had passed away from old age the previous month. Before bed, Chester had a few shots of schnapps remembering his furry companion. He dearly missed the lazy, but devoted old mutt. Chester was cranky and irritable because he had no one.
When he walked to the bathroom on Christmas morning, he nearly tripped over the large red and green gift on the floor. He saw a nicely decorated Christmas tree to his right, with tinsel, blinking lights, and dozens of colorful ornaments on it. He hadn’t had a Christmas tree since the one he helped his father cut when he was in high school. On the coffee table to his left, in front of his favorite chair, he saw a candy cane on top of a handwritten note. After finishing up in the bathroom, he had a seat and read it.
“Dear Chester, I’m glad you believed enough to write, even at the age of 18. I’m sorry that it took your letter 60 years to reach me. You’ve been a good boy, and very patient, so you get a gift that will make you very happy.
Merry Christmas!
Santa Claus”
Chester wondered who cared enough to break into his house, to play this prank on him. He wondered where the TV cameras were. He looked around but discovered no cameras. The doors were shut and locked. The snow and ice on the windowsills showed nobody had used them as entry points.
He touched the large, nearly cube-shaped gift and could feel it was a cardboard box wrapped in colored paper. A thin silver ribbon was wrapped around it, and there was an ornate bow on top. He pushed a corner a little, and could tell its weight was substantial. He didn’t want to risk lifting it with his bad back. He got a pair of scissors and cut the ribbon, then removed the lid slowly.
Inside the box a young lady snored quietly, as she slept curled nearly in a ball. He’d never had any children and didn’t like them. Kids were loud, stinky, and broke things. He wondered why she wore all-green clothing, including her pointed hat.
He looked again and saw the tops of her ears came to points, like a cat’s. She wasn’t a TEENAGER, she was an ELF!
She moved a bit and looked up at him with her eyes less than half open. She yawned and mumbled, “Coffee, we need … some coffee.” She jingled the bell atop her hat with a finger, and two steaming cups of coffee appeared on the table! She sipped hers and said, “Go ahead. You look like you need some too.”
He was stunned a moment, then took a sip. He wondered how she knew he liked his very strong, with lots of sugar. He thought the added bit of peppermint flavor was nice.
She took the candy cane from the table and unwrapped it. “I’ve been trying to quit, but it’s really hard.” She held the candy cane to her lips, puffed deeply, then exhaled a cloud of snowflakes. They fell slowly and melted when they touched the floor. Chester smiled and chuckled as he smelled more peppermint.
He finally asked the obvious question, “Who are you?”
“I’m Delphine, Delphine Greene. There’s a serious lack of names containing “Elf”, so there’s also a Delphine Red, a Delphine Silver, a Delphine Gold … but you’re Chester Davidson, because your father was a fan of President Chester Arthur. I’m you’re gift, Chester.”
“And, um … How old are you?”
She giggled, “It’s not polite to ask a lady her age, but older than you think, much older than you. I’ve looked like this since Santa hired me fresh out of high school. If you don’t believe me, here’s a picture of my first day as one of his helpers.”
In the black and white photo, she handed a paper-wrapped package to a little boy. Most of the people in the photo wore formal and very old-fashioned clothing.
The strong coffee started to kick in, and Chester asked a series of questions rapidly. “So, what did the little boy get for Christmas? And the picture looks really old, when was that? And who’s the guy with the funny hat in back? He looks kind of familiar.”
Delphine surprised him greatly with her answers. “The gentleman was Hannibal Hamlin, Abraham Lincoln’s vice-president. It was Christmas, 1862. People didn’t expect overnight delivery then, so we handed out most of the gifts during the day. The little boy’s father made some big campaign contributions, and the family got invited for Christmas dinner at the White House. The boy was Theodore Roosevelt. He got some tin soldiers and a toy cannon. Those might have been poor choices, considering…”
Chester’s rational mind objected. “But … but this can’t be real! I must be dreaming. Magic isn’t real?”
“It’s real enough for me to know you’re hungry and craving waffles right now.” She jingled her hat bell again, and a plate of waffles, strawberries, and bacon appeared on the table.
“Wow! But …”
“And I know what you asked Santa for, back when you were an 18-year-old boy. A lonely, excited, 18-year-old boy. You wanted a hug from Dolly Parton.”
Her form slowly changed to a very shapely, voluptuous woman. “I can’t do Dolly’s face, but the rest will feel like she did back then. Give me a hug.”
Incredulous, Chester stood up and had the most arousing hug of his life. He felt the large, soft bosoms on his chest and stared at the almost cavernous cleavage quite a while.
Delphine returned to her earlier size and shape, and said, “I know the other thing you asked Santa for was a night with Marilyn Monroe.” She kicked her shoes off and slid a stocking down, as she changed to Marylin’s shape. “I can’t make my face look like her either, but the rest will feel the same.”
“But … I … I can’t!”
“It’s okay. I’m not a girl, I’m an elf. A nearly 200-year-old elf. Can you have some bedtime fun with a cute but very old lady?”
“No! I just … no!”
She started to shrink again. “I’m a naughty elf, but you’re a good man Chester.” She put her stockings back on, then her pointed shoes. The bells on the ends of them jingled a bit. She patted his arm. “Truly, a good man.”
She took another puff from the candy cane and exhaled a cloud of snowflakes again.
She reassured him, “You’ve had so much sadness in your life, but Christmas is about joy. I’ll give you something to make up for your letter being so late.” She spun in a circle as the bells on her shoes and hat rang crazily. To Chester, they sounded as loud as church bells, hurting his ears.
–
He was standing on the sidewalk holding a wood and wire fruit box full of clothes and wearing a backpack full of books. His back and his knees didn’t hurt! His hands and arms looked like they did when he was a young man! He felt his face and there were no wrinkles!
He remembered the location well. His girlfriend had broken up with him at the beginning of their second year of college. This was where he had stood and cried, just outside their apartment building.
Annie, or Amy, or whoever, wasn’t good looking; but she had loved him, at least for a little while. He was so upset she rejected his marriage proposal that he would never date again.
Chester didn’t think it was a gift! It was the worst day of his life!
A beagle puppy walked up to him and whimpered. He remembered that in his grief he had ignored the puppy and just carried the clothes to his car. This time he set the box down and petted the little dog, scratching behind its ears.
A beautiful redheaded woman 19 years old, Chester’s age at the time, ran over and happily said, “There he is! Thank you! I was so worried!”
“I’m glad you found him, he’s a cute little one. I’m Chester.”
She picked up the puppy and held it with one arm, then shook Chester’s hand. “I’m Julie. Are you moving? My old boyfriend moved out yesterday. I think nobody rented his apartment yet, if you need a place?”
Chester happily nodded. “Yeah, that would be great.”
She smiled and said, “Follow me, it’s only two blocks.”
It was the end of August, but Chester saw a single snowflake falling. It melted as it touched his lower lip, and tasted like peppermint.
Julie would kiss Chester under the mistletoe that Christmas, and Delphine would start delivering gifts to their children in three years.
–