Farewell Mr. Kringle Page #3

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Weird? It was Santa claus.

Ho ho ho! Ha!

You know,

when I was a little girl,

December 1st

was the biggest day of the year.

Even bigger than my birthday.

Because that was the day

kris kringle

came out of his house.

You like some popcorn,

Anna?

- No, thanks.

- Yeah, by the late '50s,

our little town

had pretty near dried up.

You know, people

were starting to lose hope.

Then one December,

kris put that suit on...

And before you know it,

we had families

coming from Miles around,

just so the kids

could sit on Santa's lap.

Kris had become like

our very own

- economic stimulus package.

- Mm.

Yeah, our little town

had become synonymous

with all things Christmas.

My dad, Phil senior,

he started the name change

petition.

He said it just

didn't seem right,

kris kringle

living in summerville.

Our local radio station

started a name-picking

contest.

Mistletoe won by two votes.

Noel came in second.

- Noel!

- Noel.

Ah, the kids used to

line up around the block.

Not so many anymore.

I mean, some days,

we hardly have any at all.

Ah, the young families,

they've moved to the cities.

Lots of malls and game stores

and food courts.

Well, why do you think

kris still does it?

Let me tell you something

about kris.

He's the most

unselfish man I've ever met.

And the little ones,

they take to him

because he's got this essence.

- What essence?

- Yeah... goodness.

And they can feel it.

He's... he's genuine.

Genuine?

Little kids can spot

a phony Miles away.

But with kris, they know.

He's the real deal.

Here he comes!

Oh! Ha ha ha!

I've gotta get

a shot of this.

- Here he is, kids!

- Ha ha, boy!

Merry Christmas, kris.

- They all been waitin' for ya!

- I know.

There we go, there we go.

Hello!

Ah... excuse me.

All right, kids, come on.

Let's go.

Come on.

There ya go.

Hey.

I'm sorry I'm a bit late,

but there ya go.

Come on.

Don't be tardy.

Ha ha.

- Merry Christmas.

- Yes.

Hi! Hi, excuse...

Hey, no cutting.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

- Sorry.

Hello, Joshua!

I hear you scored a goal

the other day.

- My first.

- Oh, well.

As long as

you're enjoying yourself,

that's all that counts.

Now, Josh, you promised

your mother

that you would keep your room

spick and span this year.

So how's that going?

Oh, well, I suppose

nobody's perfect.

Now, what would you like

for Christmas?

A pair of new cleats,

please.

- Right!

- A pair of new cleats.

I'll see what I can do.

If you remember

to be nice to your sister,

you might just get them.

I'll try.

Oh? Good.

Excuse me, Mr. Wilson,

I'd love to do...

You misunderstand, miss.

There's no Mr. Wilson here.

- Is there, kids?

- No!

- No.

- We have a doubter here.

No. No. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Mr. kringle.

- Mm-hmm.

- As I was saying, um,

- I'm Anna wahl from...

- Oh, Anna wahl

from family now magazine.

I saw your picture

in the paper.

- Oh.

- I love your magazine.

I make my elves read it

all the time.

That... that's great.

Um... I was wondering

if I could interview you

- for a story?

- Hey, kris, how you doing?

- Ho ho ho!

- Merry Christmas.

Uh, story.

What... what is the subject

of this story?

Well, you, actually.

- Me?

- Yes!

About how this is

your 50th year playing Santa.

Playing... Santa.

Oh, children, it seems

we have a doubter.

Oh, no, no, I-I...

Didn't mean playing...

Santa.

What I meant to say

was that...

That the story, um...

You know what, can I just

buy you a cup of coffee

and we can talk,

I can ask you a few questions?

- All right.

- That should be all right.

Uh, give me a few minutes,

and we'll go to

St. Nick cafe.

- Great. Perfect.

- Thank you. Thanks.

Oh, one more thing, uh...

I prefer eggnog.

Hmm?

So are you enjoying...

Our little town, Annabelle?

Do you mind if I call you

Annabelle?

- Hi, kris!

- I guess not.

Nobody's really called me

that in a long time.

- So are you?

- Am I...

- Enjoying our town?

- Oh, right.

Uh... I guess.

I'm... I'm definitely

more of a city girl.

I try to avoid

the city, myself,

except for Christmas Eve,

of course.

Of course.

I detect a hint of skepticism.

Oh... you don't believe

in Santa claus.

I've always had more trouble

with the whole time/space thing.

Mistletoe's a long way

from the north pole,

so... if you're here

Christmas Eve,

how could you possibly

make it back for your rounds?

You must remember

that the ordinary rules

of time and space

don't apply to Santa claus.

Silly me.

- Here's your usual, kris.

- Thank you.

- Do you mind if I...

- No, no, not at all.

Okay. So you've been

playing Santa...

Mm?

Let me rephrase that.

You've been the local

Santa claus here

for 50 years.

- Is that right?

- Mm-hmm.

- Sounds about right.

- And how does it feel

now that there aren't

so many children anymore?

You used to believe,

didn't you, Annabelle?

- A long time ago.

- What about the beard?

Is that real?

Ah, yes, all there.

What's left of it.

Feel for yourself.

Come on.

No. I'll take

your word on it.

- Come on, I won't break.

- Come on, I dare you.

Oh. Well...

Yeah.

That's real, all right.

Good for you.

So... would you like to see

where I live?

- Really?

- Mm-hmm.

I thought you'd never ask.

Wow. This is really

somethin'.

Yeah?

My home away from home.

Oh, right, right.

'Cause you live

at the north pole.

Now you're catching on.

Well, uh...

Good day, Annabelle.

What... aren't you

gonna invite me in?

Oh, perhaps, when I get

to know you a little better.

Well, can you at least

give me a quote for my blog?

"If there's any kindness

I can show

"or any good thing I can do

to any fellow being,

"then let me do it now,

"not deter nor neglect it,

as I shall not pass this way

again."

Or you can just write

ho ho ho, merry Christmas!

Oh, he's a fruitcake,

all right,

with extra nuts.

Better not blog about that.

He wouldn't let me

in his house.

Who knows what

he's hiding in there.

Focus on the charming,

not the crazy.

By the way,

your first blog got more hits

than all of our other stories

combined.

Oh, right, yes,

"coming this spring

to family now...

The story of the plumber who

thinks he's the easter bunny."

Check in later.

Ohh...

So enough about the world's

noisiest b&b.

Back to the reason you're here...

Mr. John Wilson.

Alias, kris kringle.

First a little background

on mistletoe

beginning with

a trivia question.

What was mistletoe's

original name?

A... whoville,

b... bedford falls,

or c... summerville?

If you chose "c",

congratulations.

You've just won

a free trip to the north pole.

Oh! I am... not looking.

Ha ha. Very funny.

- It's, uh...

- It's all finished.

Ah. It's about time.

- Mark Stafford.

- Anna wahl.

- Oh, right.

- The Christmas parade crasher.

Yes! The world-famous

parade crasher.

I also hear you're a writer.

You're, uh, working

on an assignment?

You have good sources.

Mark Stafford... where...

You know,

you know, there's a divorce

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