Mistletoe and Roses: A "The Santa Clause" Story (Bernard x Female OC Book 2)

A School Parent Meeting, a Babysitting, and A McDonald's Dinner for Four

"Alright Angie, that's their house down there," Dad pointed to the Miller's house down below us as Comet and Vixen grew closer to the ground.

"Dad, I've done the Christmas Eve route with you eight times," I laughed as Vixen's hooves hit the ground. "I know where their house is."

"Okay, okay." He shook his head. "Hey, we'll just drop our stuff off, I need to go meet Laura and Neal at the high school... Apparently Charlie got himself in a bit of trouble, so plans changed."

"That just surprises me," I tied Vixen to the back fence post and searched for the key that was almost always hidden under the left corner of the doormat. "Charlie was always such a good kid. What happened?"

Dad sighed, tying Comet next to Vixen and feeding both a carrot from his bag. "Beats me, kiddo." He sighed once again, only louder.

"Well, can I come with you? You and I both know how Newman can be,"

"Not this time, Lucy will be getting home from school soon, and she can't be here by herself." He shook his head, "You'll have to give him a talking to when we get back later this evening."

I nodded, "Well, you should probably get changed. You'll stand out like a sore thumb dressed like Santa at a school like Sycamore."

"Oh, I think Principal Newman would love it if I came to a parent meeting dressed like this," Dad motioned down to his red and white coated attire.

I made my way up the stairs of their house and turned into Charlie's old playroom, where they told me I could stay on the couch and dug through my bag. I grabbed my old navy blue snowflake sweater Bernard bought me years ago, as well as a pair of jeans I had pushed back to the far corner of my dresser. I didn't necessarily look like a human my own age, but I could pass as Charlie's younger sister perhaps.

It was odd, Charlie always looked younger than me. I mean, he was younger than me... But looking at the family pictures on the wall, watching him age over the years, he was now sixteen years old. Most humans thought I was around thirteen if not younger.

In the Miller household, for a while, I didn't have to think about keeping up a human disguise, but Lucy came around six years ago, and they decided that they wanted to wait to tell her the complete truth about everything. She hadn't seemed to catch on that I've never grown or aged her whole life.

To her, I was "Auntie Angie," or just Angie, despite being a sort of step-sibling. She knows I'm Charlie's older sister, and "Uncle Scott's" daughter, but since I was almost twenty-three when she was born, it felt odd for me to be a sister with me being gone so often. She thought I was simply a very short person who looked young for my age. I suppose that's what Neal and Laura told her too.

Dad and I met in the hallway, looking eachother up and down.

"Wow Angie, you look-"

"Like a child?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Sort of like you used to, I guess," He smiled. "How do I look?"

"We sort of match, actually," Both of us were wearing dark blue knit Christmas sweaters and jeans.

"Oh, I can go change," Dad went to reach for another sweater but I stopped him.

"No, no. It's alright. You'll only run more late, and you know Neal and Laura won't think it's much weirder than anything else about us." I dug in my purse for the bus pass Bernard had given me. "Here, so you're going to take-"

"I know how to get around on a bus, Angie," He interrupted me. "Alright Kiddo, I'll see you later on." He quickly kissed my forehead before heading downstairs.