Christmas with Nick Klaas

Part 10: An Icy Reception

"Wow, your dad is really set on selling himself as some modern version of Santa Claus. I mean, it's a great marketing gimmick and everything, but is it really worth sounding a bit kooky for it?" Noelle asked as they headed up the elevator toward their final stop on the tour after leaving the basement control center.

After their awkward introduction, Sinter had tried to convince her that he was the head of a global operation responsible for making sure that every child in the world received a present on Christmas Eve, but that unlike in the past, now his job was to coordinate deliveries from other shops and warehouses across the world rather than also overseeing local production and making the drop-offs himself. The animals that used to pull his sleigh—she'd snickered at the image, recalling childhood cartoons with flying contraptions—were now retired, but they were still cherished members of the Klaas family.

Anxious to end the increasingly weird conversation, Noelle asked that a visit to the stables be next on the agenda. It would at least her get back on the ground floor. Nick, however, had a surprising reaction to her skepticism.

"You don't believe him?" he asked, leading the way through the atrium and off into a side hallway.

Noelle laughed uncomfortably at the fact that he was encouraging the delusion. "Oh come on. Why should I? Father Christmas and all of his various incarnations are myths," she said, not even getting into the details of the myriad of cultural peculiarities depending on religions and geographic location involving the Pagan legacy of winter solstice mixed with the Christian lore surrounding Saint Nicholas.

"Many myths are based in reality," he countered. "Plus I would have expected more from a woman whose name literally means Christmas."

Noelle sighed. As if she'd had any choice in what her parents had put on her birth certificate. Nick had also obviously been living with this fantasy for a while, and it was no use to argue. "Fair enough. Let's say your father is Père Noël. Would that make you the heir to this holiday?"

"Not if I can help it," said another man. Turning around, Noelle saw Piet and Avery walking toward them. She was carrying multiple overstuffed paper shopping bags, while he was wearing a mischievous grin.

Noelle was suddenly delighted to see a familiar face. "Where have you been?" she asked, running to Avery and giving her a hug. The women were mutually shocked at the unexpected move, and they quickly let each other go.

Avery held up the bags. "Christmas market. I didn't know I needed a hand-carved, bird shaped whistle until I saw it," she said with a shrug, although it was obvious that she'd either bought two hundred whistles, or there was many more trinkets she definitely needed.

"And what are you doing here, cousin?" Nick asked pointedly in a sudden change of tone, revealing a type of disdain Noelle didn't think was even possible from the (so far) always-cheerful guy.

"I am keeping this lovely lady company while you entertain her friend," Piet said, emphasizing the first word.

"We're not friends," Noelle objected before realizing it was to her advantage that Avery had been kept busy, although her choice of companions was increasingly questionable. While Nick exuded kindness and sincerity, there was an underlying threatening vibe emanating from his cousin. Not in how he looked or what he said, but . . . in his being. Noelle felt ashamed for even thinking it, yet she still couldn't dismiss it. "But thanks. So anyway, you were about to show me the reindeer?"

She grabbed Nick by the arm and pulled him toward the door marked with the silhouette of a pair of antlers. Getting both of them away Piet seemed like a good idea. It worked for about three seconds until the others joined them in the barn.