The next day was Monday, the first day of Christmas vacation.
Jeffrey and his mother spent the morning dusting and vacuuming the living room while Jonathan lay on the couch, watching cartoons. Wendy read a book.
Then the doorbell rang.
“Would you answer the door, Jonathan?” Mrs. Becker shouted over the vacuum cleaner.
“Ooooowww, my wrist,” Jonathan moaned.
Jeffrey glared at his cousin. “I’ll get it,” he grumbled.
Jeffrey opened the front door and stared at the woman on the porch. It was Mrs. Merrin. But for a minute, Jeffrey didn’t recognize her. She was wrapped in scarves and wore big, furry earmuffs.
“Hi, Jeffrey,” she said, smiling.
“Hi,” Jeffrey said cautiously. “Isn’t it considered a hit-and-run violation to give a kid homework over Christmas vacation?”
“Very funny,” said Mrs. Merrin. “Come on out. I want to show you something.”
Jeffrey grabbed his parka and put on his boots. Then Mrs. Merrin led Jeffrey to a section of the Beckers’ front yard where the snow was fresh and white and without a single footprint. Written in the snow, right in front of the snowman Jeffrey had built, were the words:
Thanks, Jeffrey. Love, Mrs. M.
Jeffrey looked at the writing in the snow. Then he looked at his teacher.
“For what?” Jeffrey asked.
“For playing Santa Claus again. My husband told me you dropped by my house in your Santa Claus suit. He said you told him how ‘coolsville’ it would be for him to buy a mixer for me.”
“But, Mrs. Merrin…” Jeffrey didn’t know what to say. His teacher looked so happy. How could he tell her that it wasn’t him? It was Max.
“You don’t have to make up any stories,” Mrs. Merrin said. “And you don’t have to admit that it was you. But it was a very sweet thing to do. And I hope you have a great Christmas, too.”
She waved good-bye, then walked toward her little red car. It was parked in front of Jeffrey’s house. Jeffrey waved back.
He was happy for Mrs. Merrin. But he felt bad about getting the credit for something Max had done. Santa Max had given Jeffrey’s car to Arvin Pubbler. And now Santa Max had made sure that Mrs. Merrin got her mixer. It was Max, the third-grade ghost, who was keeping the Christmas spirit alive. Jeffrey wanted to see his friend again. Life wasn’t the same without him.
Jeffrey wrote a message in the snow right next to Mrs. Merrin’s.
Max. I’m sorry. Your friend, Jeffrey.
No sooner had Jeffrey finished the message than something invisible suddenly made a snow angel in the snow. It brushed up the loose snow and erased Jeffrey’s words. Then Max appeared in the snow angel, lying on his back, moving his arms and legs.
“Max!” Jeffrey shouted happily. “You’re back!”
“Hey, hey, hey, and a one-horse open sleigh, Daddy-o,” Max said. “I dig your letter. Heartsville.”
“I really missed you,” Jeffrey said.
“Like, I know, Daddy-o. Who wouldn’t miss cool, little old me?” Max said. “Jeffrey, I really blew it with your racing car, too. Like, something weirdsville happened when I put on the Jingle Bell man’s costume. Sorry, cat.”
“That’s okay, Max,” Jeffrey said. “I know you were just trying to make sure Arvin had a happy Christmas—and Mrs. Merrin, too. But I’ve been having a terrible Christmas without you.”
“Like, owww,” Max said. “My wrist is hurtsville from making that snow angel. We’d better make the emergency-room scene.”
“Max!” Jeffrey grinned. “You know about Jonathan? Don’t tell me you were there at the Monster Smash!”
“Hey, Daddy-o, just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not eyeballing you,” Max said with a laugh. “Besides, I do the Monster Smash all the time. Since I’m already in ghosts ville, what do I have to worry about?”
“Did you see me? I made it down the hill! I was going to plow right into a tree, but I didn’t,” Jeffrey said proudly.
“I’m hip, Daddy-o,” Max said. “That’s because I pushed you out of the way.”
Jeffrey couldn’t believe what Max was saying. “You pushed the toboggan away from the tree?”
“It was easier than pushing the tree out of the way.”
“You saved my life, Max,” Jeffrey said, smiling at his friend.
“No sweat. Like, I don’t know what to lay on you for a Christmas present, anyway,” Max said.
The two friends went inside and then straight to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate.
“Jeffrey,” his mother said. “You forgot to take your boots off.”
“Sorry, Mom,” Jeffrey said.
His mother was looking at the kitchen floor with a puzzled look. “Jeffrey, why are there two different boot tracks on the floor?”
“Uh, I was in such a hurry to get some hot chocolate, I was marching double time, Mom,” Jeffrey said.
Mrs. Becker laughed and tears formed in her eyes.
“It wasn’t that funny, Mom,” Jeffrey said.
“Like, you can say that a few more times,” whispered the invisible Max.
“I know, Jeffrey,” said his mother. “But I haven’t seen you look so happy in days. It just made me a little teary.” She sniffled a couple of times.
“Mom, don’t sniff up. Blow your nose,” Jeffrey said, imitating his cousin, Wendy. Then he and Max left with their hot chocolate.
For the rest of the day, Jeffrey and Max played tricks on Jeffrey’s cousins.
When Jonathan wanted to get off the couch—which wasn’t very often—he couldn’t.
“It feels like someone’s sitting on my chest,” Jonathan explained. “Honest, Aunt Betsy.”
“Hmm,” Mrs. Becker said, sounding less than convinced. “Maybe you’re a couch potato who has taken root.”
Of course she couldn’t see what Jeffrey could see—that Max was sitting on Jonathan’s chest and keeping him pinned to the couch.
At lunchtime, Max stood behind Wendy and made fun of her Miss Perfect Manners act. Jeffrey couldn’t help laughing.
“Don’t laugh with your mouth full,” Wendy said to Jeffrey.
Then she took a bite of her grilled cheese sandwich.
Suddenly, Miss Perfect Manners spit out the bite of sandwich. It went flying across the table and landed right in Jonathan’s soup.
“Great shot, Wendy,” Jeffrey said, laughing. “But wouldn’t it be more polite to play this game after lunch?”
Wendy turned red with embarrassment. “It felt like someone slapped me on the back and made me spit,” she said.
“Oh, sure,” Jeffrey said, winking in Max’s direction. “Probably the same person who was sitting on Jonathan’s chest.”
Late that night, Jeffrey was splashing around in the bathtub. Max was squirting mounds of white shaving cream from a can into his hand. He spread it on his face. Then, using a comb, he pretended to shave.
“I’ve got a totally dynamite plan,” Jeffrey said to Max. “Don’t you want to hear it?”
“Like the corn plant said to the crow, I’m all ears, Daddy-o,” Max said.
“Christmas morning, real early, we sneak downstairs,” Jeffrey began. “Then we steal all the presents that are for Wendy and Jonathan. And then we wrap up our presents for them and put them under the tree instead. You know, things like old rotten food—”
“Boxes of dirt,” said Max.
“A slimy plastic snake in doll clothes,” said Jeffrey.
“A rubber hula hoop,” Max said.
“What’s a hula hoop?” asked Jeffrey.
“Like, forget it,” Max said. He shook his head and flipped shaving cream at Jeffrey. “This trick is strictly from meansville.”
Jeffrey’s face grew serious. And he listened while his conscience talked to him. “You’re right, Max,” he said quietly. “It’s a mean and cruel and rotten thing to do, especially on Christmas.” Jeffrey dived under water again and then came up. “In other words, it’s just what Wendy and Jonathan deserve!”