Magical

Chapter 5

     A few months passed and everything seemed back to normal. However, Scott would soon find out that he wasn't lucky enough for that to be the case.
     Sometime later, he woke up one day to find that he had gained a good bit of weight. His first glance in the mirror had him convinced he was seeing things. "Something's wrong with the mirror." He headed over to the scale to weigh himself. "Something's wrong with the scale." He ran back to the mirror and screamed, waking up his daughter, scaring her.
     That wasn't where the weirdness ended, however.
     Throughout a meeting at work, his behavior became increasingly more worrying. As the days passed, it only got worse as he began finding himself acting more loony as well as getting fatter and growing a beard.
     It finally came to a head several weeks later when Charlie had a soccer match. Rose, Scott, and Charlie went to the match together. Charlie was playing while Rose was on the phone with a friend and Scott was sitting on the bench. A few minutes later, Rose walked back to the bench to find a bunch of kids lined up talking to her father.
     Rose knew it was only going to get worse if her mom saw this and, sure enough, mere seconds after she had come back, Laura and Neil showed up and saw the same thing Rose did. After a lot of bickering, Laura and Neil took Charlie away from the game. They tried to convince Rose to go too but, luckily for her, the sound of horn honking caught their attention.
     She immediately shouted out, "Oh! That's Talia! Gotta go! Bye!" Then she ran before her parents could say anything more.
     Rose knew running wasn't a good idea but she honestly didn't want to deal with everything that was going on. Her parents were fighting like cats and dogs, with her and Charlie caught in the middle, and something weird was going on with her dad. What was she supposed to do?
     Later that evening, Rose got home to a mess. The yard was covered in boxes. "Dad, what are all these packages for?"
     "I have no idea."
     Rose opened the top of one of them to see that they were full of papers with names written across them. "Is this a list of names?" She asked, confused. "Dad, what's going on? Because if you're trying to play Santa Claus for Charlie--"
      "I'm not doing anything but something weird is going on."
      Rose was starting to think that maybe her dad was having a mid-life crisis. He was gonna need her more than ever and, yet, she didn't know what to do.
                            * * * * *
      Meanwhile, Laura and Neil were coming to the same conclusion.
      "I don't know what to do, Neil." Laura said. "For him to do what he's doing, going behind our backs all this time and confusing Charlie again..."
     "Have you talked to Rose?" Neil asked.
      "She won't talk to me." Laura said sadly. "She's been spending more time with Talia which I don't mind but now it's like she is purposefully trying to avoid me. I don't know what's going on with my own children anymore!"
      "Well, there's one obvious alternative." Neil said quietly.
                            * * * * *
     "I don't know about this." Laura said as she paced around after talking to a counselor on the phone. "I mean to take away his visitation rights. And Rose won't want to come live with us!"
     "We don't have a choice, Laura! Scott is putting both our kids in danger! Regardless of what they want, we need to make sure that Charlie and Rose are looked after."
     Laura nodded. "I guess you're right."
                          * * * * *
     A few days later, Rose was getting dressed in a nice dress to visit the counselor. She rolled her eyes as she looked at herself in the mirror. This whole thing was just ridiculous!
     Just then, Scott knocked on her door. "Pumpkin, you ready?"
     She noticed that he was still sporting a beard. She nodded, forgoing the witty remarks she would've made about his appearance and followed him out to the car.
     They made it to the office as the counselor was finishing up with Charlie. He came out and hugged Rose then his father. "It's ok, dad. I told him everything."
     "Rose Marie Calvin?" The counselor called.
     "That's me." Rose said, smoothing out her dress. "I'd like to talk to you for a moment."
     "And I'd like for my mom to have not married a guy who tries to take me from my dad but here we are."     
     Rose was getting utterly sick of the drama by now and the only person she knew to blame was Neil. He was the one who had stuck his big fat nose in where it didn't belong in the first place.
     "It's important that I talk to you."
     Rose rolled her eyes in annoyance. She considered herself to be a nice person but when people tried to get between her and her family, she was more than happy to show that she had a bitch side as well. Reluctantly, she followed the counselor into the office. He sat down behind his desk and gestured for her to take a seat.
      "Well, Ms. Calvin, I just have a couple questions for you and then you're free to go." He cleared his throat loudly. "First off, you live with your father, is that correct?"
     "Yes."
     "I've read up on your family's files. Apparently, a few years ago when your parents got divorced, they had a custody battle of some sort?"
     "Yes. Over my brother and I."
     "But you chose your father?"
     "Is that a question?"
     "The question is why?"
     Rose took a deep breath. "I love my parents both but mom had Charlie. I chose dad because I knew he needed me. And after mom started dating Dr. Nosey out there, I knew I made the right choice."
      "Why such disdain for your stepfather?"
      "He's not my family. He's just the guy that got with my mom. And he's more concerned with what he thinks is right than actually helping others."
      The counselor thought a moment. "And have you ever thought about talking to him? Perhaps he's trying to care for you in the only way he knows how?"
      Rose scoffed. "Sorry to disappoint but he's never taken an interest in me until all this got started a few months ago. He cares more about Charlie than me."
      "Is that a problem?"
      "Of course not. I love my little brother. He's very important to me. But, at the end of the day, we both know that I'm not someone Neil cares for. I'm a teenage girl trying to graduate and decide what she wants to do with her life. I'm not some cute little kid like Charlie who can be won over with a lollipop."
      The counselor looked troubled. "You said your father needs you. Why do you believe that is?"
      "As my as I love my dad, let's face it. He couldn't make it on his own. I'm not going to leave him."
      "You care for your father do you?"
      "Yes. Even though he can be childish and helpless without me or a bit of a jerk to people he doesn't like, he's still my dad and he's still a good person. He cares for Charlie and me. But I know what I say won't matter. You've already made up your mind."
      "One last question Ms. Calvin. Do you believe that Santa Claus is real and that you, your father, and your brother went to the North Pole?"
      Rose thought for a moment. "Honestly, no. But if Charlie wants to believe that it happened, I don't see the harm. Besides, even if it did happen and I believed that it did, stranger things have happened."
                              * * * * *
      A few minutes later, Scott was lead into the counselor's office. "I'm so sorry to do this, especially in light of the holidays coming up but in the best interests of the children, I am granting the petition of Dr. and Mrs. Miller. Mr. Calvin, as of today, your visitation rights are suspended. In a few weeks, the Millers are filing a case to gain custody of your 16 year old daughter and they will most likely win. A hearing will follow after the first of the year."
     Scott took Rose home, trying not to cry.
      Once at home, Rose said, "Dad, we'll figure something out. I'm not living with those two."
     "Just get some sleep." Scott pointed out before heading to his room.
     Rose went outside to take a walk, letting the cold air fill her lungs as she finally let the sobs out. "I can't leave! I'm not gonna..." She trailed off as the tears overtook her.
     Rose stood out on the front porch, her shoulders shaking from sobs, until her gaze dropped down to the necklace she was wearing. It was the same necklace that she had gotten for Christmas.
      Rose thought about what the note had said. "If you ever want to see me again, spin the vial and say my name."
      Rose wracked her brain as she tried to think of the name. Her dream car back to her and what Charlie had said. Figuring it was worth a shot, Rose spun the vial and shouted, "Bernard!"
      She waited a few minutes. Nothing. Of course not.
      Scoffing, she turned to head back into the house when she heard a voice behind her. "Hey, Snowflake."
      She quickly turned back around to see the guy from her dream standing there, from the hat covering his pointy ears to his pointed shoes. Cautiously, she took a step forward.
      "Am I dreaming?"
      Bernard smiled. "No. You asked me to come and I did. Although, I'll admit I wish you would've called me sooner."
      "You're real?" Rose questioned, reaching a hand out to touch him. He certainly felt real. "Bernard..." She trailed off as she looked into his chocolate eyes.
      "What's wrong, Snowflake?" He asked, noticing the look of distress on her face as well as the partially dried tears. Another tear escaped her eyes and he brushed it away gently.
      "My mom I trying to take me and Charlie away from my dad." She whispered.
      "Why would she do that?" Bernard asked, confused. So Rose explained the whole horrible story. When she finished, Bernard let out a sigh. "Some people are just so blinded by what they believe or don't believe in that they can't see the truth that's right in front of them."
      "I know you can't stop this but..." She trailed off. "Could you do something else for me?"
      "Anything, Snowflake. I'm here for you." He whispered.
      "Take me with you. To the North Pole."
      Bernard looked at her for a second then said, "Ok. Take my hand."
      She did so and a second later, they both disappeared.