17. Cole

Chapter seventeen

Cole

It’s been a long time since I’ve visited Puutyot and it’s even more gorgeous than I remember with its wooden houses, and numerous golden lights adorning the trees.

As evening draws closer and the chill starts to creep in despite all our layers, the reindeer take us through the village toward the guest cottage that Nick usually stays at when he comes here.

Next to me, Jasper and Natalie are stunned silent as they gape at the charming houses. Thick layers of snow cover the wooden A-frames lining the streets. The intricate trim designs along the roofs and the beautifully carved front doors show off the superb craftsmanship of the village carpenters as light spills from windows, casting a golden glow across the pink snowy streets.

The sleigh whooshes to a stop in front of the charming guest cottage, and we sit still for a moment to take in the view. Twinkling lights are strung along the eaves of the sharply sloped roof, and in the glistening pine trees dwarfing the property are ribbons of red and clusters of ornaments scattered between more golden lights. It looks like something from a Christmas greeting card humans send to each other.

Opening the front door is a portly elf waiting for us with palms gently resting on his protruding belly. His affable charm, visible even from here, puts me at ease and I get out to greet him while Natalie and Jasper stay put, eyes still aglow with wonder even if a bit of wariness licks at the corners of their mouths.

I walk up the three front steps and remove my glove to shake the elf’s hand. “Good evening. I’m Cole. Thank you for allowing us to stay here.” At a little more than a foot shorter than me, the elf is taller than most Christmas elves who rarely reach more than four feet in height. He has tufts of gray hair peeking out from under a red hat with a fluffy trim, dark eyes, a button nose, and quite an impressive long gray beard.

He smiles up at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he places a warm calloused hand in my larger one. “Of course, Cole. You’re always welcome here. You can call me Tinker, all the elves do.” His instant kindness takes me aback, because I’ve never exactly felt welcome here, or in most places.

I have to take time at some point to reflect if that’s because they don’t want me around, or have I seen everything through a lens of rejection due to my personal baggage?

“Thank you.” The surprise must be evident in my voice because Tinker’s smile fills with even more warmth like he understands more than what I’m saying.

He places his other hand on top of mine he’s still holding. “This might not be my place to say, but you are also one of us. I know we might not share all physical similarities because you have inherited a bit of your father’s height,” he says with a soft smile, “but you are still a Christmas elf. Now, before your friends freeze their butts to that sleigh, come inside and get warmed up by the fire.”

I motion for Jasper and Natalie to join us and a grin splits my face as I take in Jasper’s new look. I chance a glance at Tinker to see his reaction to Jasper, but he holds the same friendly expression, with perhaps a bit of amusement dancing in his eyes as they walk up to us, hand in hand.

Jasper ducks his head in an effort to make himself smaller, making the jingle bells attached to his horns shake with the movement.

On the way here, Natalie had the brilliant idea of taking some of the bells from Merry and Jolly’s harnesses and attaching them to Jasper’s horns. She reckoned that if the elves can hear him coming, they won’t be as surprised to see him. And if someone truly had some ill intent toward others, surely they wouldn’t wear something as happy as bells. A side effect is that Jasper looks so cute I want to take a bite out of him.

I can’t help but think of ways I’m going to move his body to get maximum sound effects from him tonight.

“Well now, that’s creative,” Tinker says, gesturing to Jasper’s bells. “I’m Tinker.” The fact that he introduced himself in the same jovial manner, despite them not being elves, has gratitude blooming in my chest.

“Hi, Tinker. I’m Jasper and this is Natalie.” Natalie holds her shoulders stiff, still defensive of Jasper. I try to reassure her by taking her other hand and rubbing my thumb across her knuckles. The way her shoulders visibly relax with this small sign of affection from me solidifies how hard I’m going to continue to work to make her mine, ours .

Tinker glances at the three of us holding hands but his smile never falters. “Let’s get you settled. I can smell fresh snow coming and I can imagine you’d want to be warm and dry after your journey. My grandsons will take care of Merry and Jolly.”

At that statement, two young boys in bright green jackets peer around the corner of the house and give us a hesitant wave before approaching the reindeer with treats.

“Are those the reindeer-friendly candy canes?” Natalie asks, rising onto her toes to watch the boys.

“Of course. Now don’t you worry, Miss Natalie, we only give them the best of everything. Their stables might even be better than my grandsons’ bedrooms. Perhaps if they cleaned their own rooms as well as they prepared the stables, it would be easier to make the comparison. Alas, one cannot have all the luck. Now let’s get you warmed up. The boys will bring your bags in shortly after they’ve finished fawning over the reindeer.”

Tinker shuffles into the cottage and we follow close, kicking off our shoes at the door and hanging our coats on the hooks. The living room is clearly designed with a Santa’s size in mind, the cream-colored couches made to accommodate frames much larger than elves’.

At the center of the room a fire crackles in the hearth, little hand-carved wooden nutcrackers lining the stone mantel. A plush white rug covers the timber floors in front of it, and images of lying down right there with Natalie and Jasper take center stage in my mind.

Tinker shows us to the snug bedroom. Taking up most of the room is a red-and-white double bed, decorated with heaps of throw pillows and numerous plush blankets. Golden Christmas lights are draped across the carved headboard that, if it was in my house, I’d totally tie Jasper or Natalie to.

Looking slightly embarrassed, Tinker scratches at a spot under his hat. “I apologize for the size of the bed. It has been many years since we’ve had more than a single guest staying here. Nick usually visits alone, and your father… Well, it might be a bit cramped for the three of you.”

Jasper, now clearly comfortable with Tinker, places a hand on the elf’s shoulder and I can’t help but marvel at how large he looks next to him. “Thanks, Tinker. Cramped is just what we like.”

“Or ‘ krampus ,’” Natalie mumbles. I fold my lips between my teeth to stop my laugh from escaping, not wanting to make this more awkward than it already is.

“That’s great, Mister Jasper,” Tinker says, obviously catching the meaning but remaining poised. “The fridge and pantry are full, and the missus sent over a cooked meal that’s currently warming in the oven. She thought you might be hungry and tired, and didn’t want you worrying about anything else.” My heart is going to burst out of my chest if this male keeps talking. Never in my life have I experienced anything like this and I’m almost nervous to get used to it.

Seemingly unaware of my current mental crisis as I make sense of this new reality I find myself in, Tinker continues, “The workshop we’d love for you to visit is just down the road and to your right. Can’t miss it. We look forward to seeing the three of you in the morning.” Looking to Jasper, Tinker adds, “Bells or no bells, you’re all welcome.” He winks and then he’s waving at us over his shoulder as he closes the door.

“Good night,” the three of us call after him.

Natalie walks into the kitchen, mumbling either to herself or to us, “And you two said the elves don’t like you. If this is what we can expect on this trip then I think it’s fair to say you two should reassess what you thought you knew about them. He was maybe one of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.” She peers into the oven and takes a deep breath. “It’s basically Christmas dinner,” she sighs happily. “Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. I must be living in a fairy tale. Someone pinch me. Or don’t. If this isn’t real then I don’t want to wake up.”

Jasper sweeps her into his arms and leans his forehead against hers. “This is real. So real.” And I know he means that in more ways than one. I do too.

I have no idea how my life has changed so quickly in the span of a few days. Maybe Nick called the elves and had a chat with them about me. Maybe Natalie was the catalyst who set it all off. I’m not sure what or how it happened, and I don’t particularly want to examine it too closely either. I just want to be happy. And this right here, with them, is happiness.

Jasper holds out a hand and I step into their embrace just as the first pink snowflakes make their leisurely descent out the window.