Mrs.

Claus

A Christmas Novella

Written by Erica Jackson

This book is dedicated to my Mimi would have loved seeing me

become and author. It’s also dedicated to my Mom and Dad

 for always believing in me, through all the twists and turns of

my life.

Chapter 1

Grae Reed arrived home after a long day of event planning, the temperatures in Bridgeport, CT

making her job that much harder. This was the coldest November Grae could remember, but

this was the best city to pursue her career. She’d spent the entire afternoon creating menus for

different fundraisers her client’s were throwing yet her own refrigerator was nearly empty

because she was rarely home.

Grae sighed, gathering her giant stack of mail to sift through, while browsing the different take

out menus she’d collected. She decided on China Sky at the same moment she reached a large

envelope, oozing Christmas spirit, addressed to her. It was from the North Pole which caused

her to laugh loudly, sobering while she dialed the restaurant.

“Hey,” she replied to the girl on the phone, “Yes, this is Grae Reed. I’ll have my usual order.”

She listened to the girl before she said ‘thank you’ and hung up to open the mystery letter.

The writing was in a large, cursive, font only adding to the obnoxious level of Christmas cheer

she’d gotten from it. It read:

Dearest Ms. Reed,

Though you may only have known me as a child, possibly someone who isn’t even real

in your eyes, I am writing to you now on a slightly urgent matter. I have recently taken on this

role, and I didn’t have time to properly prepare. I find myself without a Mrs. Claus, and after an

extensive search in our North Pole files, you have been chosen as one of the best candidates.

Please consider accepting this challenge to become my wife, the first lady of Christmas. I would

be lying if I told you this task will be easy, but I believe in you as you used to believe in me.
 If you choose to participate, please be at the Fayerweather Island Light on the 29th of

November at 11:00 p.m. I am hoping to see you then.

Yours,

Santa Claus

Grae read the letter over twice more, holding back her bursting laughter each time before she

tossed it in the trash and resumed going through her mail. Nothing in the pile came close to her

letter from ‘Santa Claus’.

Once she finished, Grae pulled out her laptop while she waited on her food to check on the

schedule for the next day, vowing to dress more appropriately for the weather. She refused to

freeze again.

The following morning, Grae got ready for work deciding on a pair of skinny, black, slacks paired

with a blouse underneath a large, coral, sweater. She finished her look with a pair of knee-high,

leather boots, leaving her hair down in waves. Grae grabbed her coffee and raced out to her

first appointment for the day.

She arrived at Fortuna’s Catering to specify the final details for her first upcoming event. Grae

had made her first new friend in the owner, Emma.

“Alright Em, tell me you have nothing but good news to share,” Grae began, taking a seat at the

counter.

Emma smiled, “Yep, everything is scheduled and ready. You have nothing to worry about,” she

changed the subject, “How was your night? I wanted to grab drinks, but we got slammed at the

end of the day,” she added with a sigh.

Grae waved off her excuse, “I was way too tired anyway. Don’t worry about it. I went home, ate

Chinese, and checked my mail. Oh gosh, I had the craziest letter,” she began, her speech

speeding up. “Apparently ‘Santa Claus’ wants me to be one of the choices to be the next ‘Mrs.

Claus’,” she revealed, laughter erupting all over again.

Emma couldn’t help but laugh along from Grae’s contagious laugh. Finally, Emma caught her

breath and was able to speak, “So, are you gonna do it?” she asked, managing to keep her

expression serious.

Grae shook her head, “Seriously? You know that was some kind of scam. They found out I’m a

single woman and targeted me. I’m not an idiot,” she sobered before breaking into a fit of

laughter once more.

“Smart choice,” Emma agreed, “Who knows who you’d find at the ‘meeting place’ waiting for

you. I get the creeps just thinking about it. Do you wanna try for drinks again tomorrow night?”

she, once again, changed the subject.

Grae nodded, “I’d love that. The take-out people are starting to know me way too well. You

know, we should really be roommates, then you could keep me fed,” she suggested, hopping

down from her seat.

“I would if you weren’t going to be living at the North Pole soon,” Emma quipped causing Grae

to slap the air as she walked out of Fortuna’s to continue her day.

Grae’s day consisted of, more than a few, other catering locations until she was finally able to

go home. She grabbed a pizza on the way to her loft. Once she reached the loft, she put her

pizza on the coffee table and sunk into the couch to devour, at least, half.

As she sat, enjoying her pie and catching up her shows (which she was always behind on),

another letter appeared underneath her door. Had it not been so gaudily designed, she may not

have noticed it at all.

Grae rolled her eyes as she put down her slice and stood to retrieve the crazy letter, or at least

what she suspected was another ‘North Pole’ piece of mail. She reached down, picking it up,

her suspicions correct. Grae opened it:

Dearest Grae,
 I was disappointed in your reaction to the proposal in my previous letter, as this is very

serious. You are too special for me to allow you to sit this out, so I’ve decided you may need a

bit more proof than I’d originally calculated.

I will visit you, once, before the date you must decide by. My hope is that seeing me, in

person, will allow you to see past the veil of ridiculousness, you seem to be trapped in. This is

not something I will be doing for the others in the running, consider yourself very special. Until I

see you.

Yours,

Saint Nick

Grae wasn’t sure what to make of the follow up letter. It seemed to be a pretty extensive prank,

at this point. She shook her head and put it down, next to the pizza box, before she sat back to

continue watching TV, her mind still thinking over the strange letters.