Special Holiday Romance (Part VII)

The time passes by quickly for them. He spends Thanksgiving with her and her brother. He knew his time was getting short and he also knew that he was going to ask her to marry him. He just didn't know how he was going to tell her the truth about himself. It would be a daunting task to get her to believe who he really was.
At the same time, Noel knew that she wanted to be with him forever and hardly knew anything about him. She decided that it was time to get to know everything about him.
He could tell she was serious when she came into his condo. He could see that she was a little nervous about something. She takes his hand as they sit on a couch. She turns to him and gives him a serious look. I need to tell you something."
He holds her hand and looks into her eyes," You can tell me anything, Noel."
" You already know that I am in love with you, Lucas."
He bends toward her and kisses her lightly on the lips." I love you, too, sweetheart." He looks into her eyes and takes her into his arms. He could feel her love as they kissed. It was a feeling that made him the happiest that he had ever been.
After their embrace she turns to him and says," I didn't finish what I was trying to say. What I was trying to say is that I love you but I don't know anything about you. If you love me, you can answer a few questions about yourself to me."
He knew this moment would come; he wanted it to. He loved her and had to tell her the truth. He takes her hand and gives her a serious look.
" I'll answer any question you want to ask but I need you to promise not to tell anyone else what I tell you."
" Are you in some type of trouble, Lucas?"
He laughed and replied," No! I have never gotten into trouble in my entire life. It's just what I tell you has been a family secret forever. I have never told a sole about my family before."
She was completely confused, "Whatever you tell me will never be repeated, Lucas. I love you! I would never betray your trust."
" Okay, ask away."
She put her hand to her chin, deep in thought," What are your parent's names? I don't even know their names."
" My mother's name is Martha and my father's name is Chris; next question."
" Where are you from? Where do you live?"
" This is when my answers are going to make you think that I am crazy."
" I'll never think that of you, Lucas!"
" Okay then, here goes. I live with my family at the North Pole."
" You couldn't live there! No one lives there! It's too cold for anyone to live there!"
" I told you that you wouldn't believe me. I promise you that everything I tell you is true. I would never lie to you!"
" How can you live at the North Pole?"
" This is where I know you will not believe me but I guess I may as well tell you. First I need to ask you a question."
" What is it, Lucas?"
He takes her hands and stares into her eyes intently," Do you believe in Santa Claus?"
She was totally confused," Why would you ask me a question like that?"
" Because, before you will ever believe a thing I say, I need to know the answer to that question."
She was totally confused with his question. How could believing in Santa Claus have anything to do with his answers?
" When I was young, I believed in him.
Like everyone else, as I got older I realized that he couldn't possibly exist. Why do you need to know that?"
He gave her a serious look and hoped for the best," Because he does exist. He's my father."
She was completely shocked," You've got to be kidding me!" She settled down and looked into his eyes and asked in a calm voice," You are kidding me; aren't you?"
He knew it would be hard to convince her." I know it sounds crazy and hard to believe but I am telling you the truth! You've got to believe me!"
She decided to play along with him to see how far he would go with his story.
" Okay then, convince me you are telling me the truth."
" Ask me anything, Noel. I'll answer anything you ask."
She tried to think of questions that he wouldn't have thought of for his story.
" You say Santa Claus is your father, right?"
" Yes, but Santa Claus is just a title that people call him. His real name is Chris Kringle."
" You never answered my first question. How can you exist in such a cold place like the North Pole?"
" You may as well sit back and relax. It's going to take a while to explain it to you."
" I'm all ears."
" I guess I better start at the beginning. It all started when my dad was around thirty-five years old. He was just a mortal then. He got caught in a blizzard and almost died. A couple of elves found him and took him to their home at the North Pole."
" Now I've got to believe in elves to?"
" Yes, you do. They had lived at the North Pole for thousands of years. They are originally from a planet in another galaxy called " Elfenia". Their planet existed long before God put man on Earth."
" So you do believe in God?"
" Of course I do. So do the elves. They believe that there is only one creator and it is God. He put them on their planet." He hesitated to let her take it all in and continued," As I was saying, they came from a planet that was magical. They each possess powers that mortals don't have."
" Such as what?"
" They can tell who you are without asking. They know what type of person you are inside. They can transport themselves short distances. I can't explain everything about them. A few of them decided to leave the constraints of the North Pole and go elsewhere. Some of them settled in Ireland and started their own group. They call themselves," Leprechauns". It is elfin for "Little People". The rest stayed at the North Pole."
She could tell he had spent a long time to get his story straight.
" Why did they choose the North Pole and how can they take the weather?"
" They picked the North Pole because of its isolation. Along with the magic that they brought with them, they also brought their technology. They created a force field around their community. It still has snow inside it but it is no worse than somewhere here in the states. Their climate was cold on their home planet so it is easy for them to handle."
" You said that your father was once mortal. What is he now?"
" They knew that my father was a good man. They didn't want him to die so they made him an honorary elf. They gave him all the powers that they have. Like them, he only gets a year older for every fifty years of earth time."
" How about you? Are you a thousand years old?"
" No, I'm as old as you are. Your age doesn't slow down until you are twenty-one. When I go back, my age will slow down just like my parents. I am beginning to inherit all of my father's powers."
" What all can you do?"
" My powers are just beginning. The only thing I can do now is to know who a person is before they tell me. I can also tell what type of person they are."
" I'll except that answer for now. Let's move on to the next question. It has been well documented that male reindeer lose their antlers during Christmas time. How come all of Santa's reindeer have antlers? Are they all female?"
" No, only two of the reindeer are female; Dancer and Vixen. The rest are male. They don't lose their antlers because they never get old. They don't go through seasons like a regular reindeer does. Their age stays the same and so does their antlers."
" How can the reindeer fly?"
" As I said before. The elves brought their magic with them to earth. They gave them the power to fly."
" Next question; how can your father deliver presents to all of the children of the world? He wouldn't have enough time or have the room on his sleigh to carry so many toys."
" That was actually a multiple question. I will have to break it down and answer them one at a time. First off, he doesn't deliver to all the children of the world. He doesn't deliver to children who don't believe in him or whose religion prevents it. He also doesn't go to children's homes if their parents are capable of getting their gifts.
He only goes to the homes of children who believe in him and their parents cannot afford to get them a present."
" That would still take him more than one night and he would still have a tremendous amount of toys to deliver."
" Once again, my dad relies on the elves technology. They have created a devise that lets my father step back in time. When it starts getting late, he just steps back in time a few hours. He keeps doing it until he is through delivering all the toys."
" Okay, how does he carry all the toys?"
" When the elves left their planet, they brought all their belongings in special bags.
These bags are a part of their magic. They can hold tremendous amounts of anything, including toys."
" This is a question that I always wanted an answer to. How does your father get into the houses that don't have chimneys?"
" When dad first started delivering toys, people wondered how he got into their secured houses. They decided that their chimneys were the only possible way so it became a popular belief that he came down chimneys. In truth, he never did. As I told you before, the elves can transport themselves for short distances. My father has this power too. All he has to do is to touch the side of his nose and he transports himself to the side of the Christmas tree. When he is through, he touches his nose and ends up in the sleigh."
" What would happen to me if I went with you to the North Pole? Would you stay young while I grow old?"
" If you married me, you will gain the same powers that I have. You would age just like me."
" Did you say marry you?"
He became upset, " I didn't want to ask you this way! I wanted it to be in a romantic setting. I guess now is as good a time as any." He gets on his knees and takes her hand. He looks up at her with love and asks," Noel, I know that you are finding all of this hard to believe or accept. What I want you to believe in the most is that I love you with all my heart. What I want you to accept is my hand in marriage." He stopped and stared into her eyes," Will you marry me?"
She started crying and pulled her hand away. She stood up. He could see that she was upset. " What's wrong, sweetheart?
I know you probably don't believe me but I swear, I'm telling you the truth!"
She looked at him with tear soaked eyes.
She thought that somewhere in his story, he would laugh and tell her he was pulling her leg. There was no way that she could ever believe that he was the son of Santa Claus.
" I thought that if you loved me, you would tell me the truth about yourself! Instead you fill me with bullcrap about being Santa's son! I don't know what you are hiding from me, Lucas! I would have stuck by you no matter what! We can't go on with you living a lie with me. I need to know the truth about you! You didn't love me enough to tell me! I'm leaving and I don't want to see you again until you can tell me the truth!"
He was devastated. She didn't believe him. " Noel! I promise you that I am telling you the truth. I would never lie to you!"
She turned with a broken heart," Good- bye, Lucas. Don't call me unless you are ready to tell me the truth!" She turned and ran out the door. He ran to the door, yelling for her to come back but she didn't answer his calls to stop. She ran to her car and drove away.
He tried to call her but when she asked him to tell the truth and he held to his story, she hung the phone up. This continued for a couple of weeks. Both of them were miserable.
Noel's brother, Jason, could see her heartache. He decided to pay Lucas a visit.
He and a friend were getting ready to double date. He decided to pay Lucas a visit first. He pulls up and knocks on his door. Lucas runs to it and opens, hoping it was Noel. He sees Jason and feels disappointed. Before he asks Jason in, he sees his friend sitting in the car." Aren't you going to let your friend, Conner, come in. He might get a little cold out there?" Jason gives him a curious look." How did you know who he was, Lucas? I never introduced him to you before." Lucas shrugs his shoulder, " I know everyone. Forget about it! You wouldn't believe me if I told you; just like your sister!"
" That's what I am here for. She's all upset and sad and I wondered what was going on. I thought you two loved each other."
" I do love her and I know she loves me! It's just that she thinks I'm lying to her about my family but I am telling her the truth. She said that she wouldn't talk to me again until I did. I told her the truth! There is nothing else that I can tell her!"
" I don't know what you told her and frankly it is none of my business. I can see that whatever it was, it was the truth. You did tell her the truth didn't you?"
" Yes! I told her the truth! She doesn't realize it but I have to leave tomorrow! Could you please tell her that I love her and that I am leaving? Tell her that if she loves me, she can come with me to meet my parents. I've got to leave at ten-tomorrow morning. Could you please tell her that for me?"
" Yea, man. I'll tell her. Good luck."
He shakes hands and starts to walk out. He turns and waves," Merry Christmas!" Lucas half smiles and waves back," Merry Christmas