At Mars’s house, the call to Christmas Dinner means dropping whatever you’re doing and running to the table. Can’t stop, won’t stop, ‘til we pray and we eat! Daddy always makes it a point to bump into her on the way and Mama always has to scold them both for having too much fun and forgetting their home training. Mama is joking, of course, but it makes Mars giggle at the thought because she’d be real proud to see how these elves act when they’re called to the table. At the North Pole, the call to dinner means an orderly movement from the rows of theater seats to that big main aisle where all the chef elves wait.
There, the elves make two long lines facing toward the dining room. Jessica and the head chef elf go first. The other elves wait patiently as they exit their rows to join the procession. The chef elves hand the elves nearest them a frosty, frothy mug, leaving one for themselves. When the trays are empty and everyone has a mug, the chef elves fold their golden trays under their arms, and then join the center lines with a flash of gold and flare. The rest of the elves cheer once more and they all, chef and other elves alike, take up the groove that the chefs danced when they first walked in.
Being in the back of the line, Mars and Savvy are among the last to take mugs before the procession really gets hopping. Mars worries about spilling her frothy drink. Won’t all that dancing cause many, many spills? Among the elves who tower over them and sway to the beat they make with their feet, Mars and Savvy try their best. The groove is a stomp and a sway and a roll of the shoulders. Easier than they think. The best part, though? No spilling mugs! Has to be magic, Mars thinks.
Crossing the threshold to the Grand Dining Room of the North Pole, the girls’ eyes roll to the impossibly high ceiling. Carved wooden chandeliers with hundreds of flickering candles hang high above the tables. Streamers, bells and wreaths hang together in pretty arrangements on the walls. Handsomely framed paintings of elf families past and present spy on the entering guests.
The girls’ eyes are not prepared for the sight of the maze of long, long tables spanning the length of the room. Tables wide enough to hold the feast of all feasts. Mars can’t tell if they are many tables assembled into one fantastic formation or a single table crafted wildly but perfectly. Either way, everyone can sit together as one big family. This table fills the room and welcomes every elf and guest with a seat.
There is a seat for every elf at that long, long table. Mars, Savvy, and Jerome are among the last to take their places. Their seats are closest to the door. They and the other elves stand behind their chairs. No one sipping their pretty little mugs, no one attempting to dig in…
They are waiting. Two chairs remain empty at the far end of the room.
Jerome still has his shiny golden bell. While everyone is standing at attention by their chairs, a few elves around the room clear their throats loudly, which brings on laughter. Others whisper-chant “Ring the bell, ring the bell, ring the bell!” Everyone is light, happy, and ready. So, standing at the last chair of the table, Jerome raises the bell, holding it in front of him with the tips of his fingers over his empty plate. Mars covers her ears, ready for the deep, loud peal to rattle her.
But what rings out instead is a sweeter chime, pure and true. A bell appears in front of every elf. Each takes hold and rings his or her bell, producing not noise, but music. Bells appear in front of Savvy and Mars, too, which they grab and ring with joy. Savvy bounces on her feet with the rhythm of her ringing and Mars can’t help but do the same. They are having so much fun, they don’t realize new shadows have appeared in the doorway between the theater and the dining room. When the shadows emerge into light, Savvy gasps, putting a hand to her mouth.
At the mighty doors everyone had passed through only moments before, stand Papa and Mama Claus, hand-in-hand. The happy throng before them cheers and rings all the louder. The couple bows their heads in thanks and greeting, and soak it all in for a moment. Then they proceed toward the end of the table. Mars watches Jerome stiffen a bit, though he keeps ringing.
Papa and Mama greet Jerome with nods and big grins. Papa even pats him on the shoulder with a chuckle. They stop to greet the girls with warm smiles. Mama gives both girls a little curtsy and Papa winks at them and laughs. He laughs, and his laugh is really that laugh, which makes both of the girls laugh, too—even though Mars has butterflies in her stomach all over again. But the bells are ringing, and Papa and Mama Claus walk again, making their way up to the head of the feasting table. The girls get a good look at the pair, larger than life, more brilliant than any tv show or cartoon or festive card can ever make them look. Mars wonders in that moment if it is all real. Am I dreaming? Then her stomach rumbles again. Her hunger is too real for this to be a dream.
When they reach the head of the table, Papa and Mama Claus raise their mugs. The elves and two girls do the same. Then, for the first time, the girls hear the real and wonderful voice of Papa Claus. It is deep as a Christmas stocking, calm as the first snowfall, smooth as the surface of a sweet potato pie, and spicy as Grandpa’s Sunday church cologne.
“The year is done, the toys delivered. The sack is empty, and our hearts are full. We meet as family, co-workers, and friends. The love we share, right here, will have no end. Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas!”
The entire room takes a sip of the frosty beverage that tastes of pineapple and orange with a touch of vanilla. It is dreamy and bright. Mars could finish it right there and then, but everyone else is sitting as food appears on their plates. She pulls out her heavy solid wood chair and sits on its cushion, luxuriously thick and take-a-nap comfy. What she sees in front of her is a plate packed to the rim with stuffing, turkey, a rib, yams with melted marshmallows, collard greens, string beans, and a dollop of potato salad. Next to all that? A roll, golden and flakey, still steaming as if straight out of the oven, and with a little river of melting butter dripping off of the side.
“Ain’t you gonna eat, Little Sister?” The elf across the dazzling table asks her with a proud smile, drumstick in his hand.
She doesn’t need to be asked twice.
Savvy, sitting right next to her, doesn’t need to be asked at all.
* * *
There is no food in the whole wide world that can compare to that served on Christmas Day at the North Pole. It’s like all the mamas and the big mamas, the granddaddies and the papas, the nanas and the pop-pops, the grandies and the poppies, the great uncles and the exalted aunties, and the cousin's cousins with the best recipes got together to create the best food on Earth.
The plate in front of Mars never empties because new and fun things appear for her to try and enjoy. Enjoy she does, looking up from time to time to point out something delicious to Savvy. As her stomach stretches in fullness, Mars can’t decide which food is her favorite. She eats that roast beef pretty quickly, but the mac and cheese is divine, and the rolls... wow.
Jerome, though eating, more than once casts his eyes toward the head of the table to watch Papa enjoying his meal. Mars catches this a couple of times—Jerome eating, nodding and smiling at something someone says, then turning his head in Papa’s direction. Then worry reclaims Jerome’s face. Mars’s stomach should be too full for butterflies, but they are still there at the top, making her feel cold where she should feel warm.
Savvy also caught Jerome in the act and, after swallowing turkey, asked, “So are we going to meet Papa Claus after this?”
It was the first time Savvy has asked, and she doesn’t sound very excited about it. Mars bites her lip and feels the same way Savvy feels. This is going to end soon. They are going to meet Papa Claus and he is going to send them home.
Jerome looks down at his plate. “Yes, I think that’s how this is going to go.”
Savvy shakes and wiggles in her seat and starts looking in Papa Claus’ direction with the same urgency as Jerome’s. Mars knows exactly what Savvy is thinking, and she doesn’t think it is going to work. Just as Savvy pushes out her chair, a little bowl of shrimp gumbo appears on Mars’s plate and a little crab cake appears on Savvy’s. Mars is so full, but the smell of spicy sausage and seafood and broth reaches her nostrils and there is no way she can walk away. Savvy looks down at the crab cake, up at Jerome, over to Papa Claus, and back at the crab cake. She picks up her fork and starts eating before Jerome can answer.
Jerome sighs. “Welp…”
“Jerome! My man! Merry Christmas! Congratulations!” An elf not much taller than Jerome, but certainly more muscular, envelopes Jerome in a massive hug. Mars can hear him huff and wheeze from the squeeze.
“Saw you get that award, Brother! I knew it was gonna be you! How you feelin’?”
Jerome smacks at his greeter’s arms to make him release, then makes a show of recovering when he does. “Got an elf near to fainting up in here!”
The happy elf laughs, turning to the girls and making a face. “He been dramatic like this all day?”
“All day,” Savvy replies without missing a beat between forkfuls of crab cake. Mars nods and laughs before taking another spoonful of gumbo.
“Anyway,” Jerome says. “I’ve got tingles. I’ve got joy. Big Sister is going to reassign me for next year, though.”
Mars notices that Savvy’s little crab cake isn’t completely gone. Her friend’s hands are in her lap and her face is hanging down.
“Hey, but... I got gifts, right? One year of my dream. And I got to meet these girls this year, so I can’t feel bad at all. I got many gifts this Christmas,” Jerome says cheerfully.
Savvy breathes in. Is that a sniffle? Mars can’t tell. Other elves are out of their seats now, moving around the room to mingle. Some wander their way toward Jerome, putting hands on his shoulders and congratulating him. Mars takes the moment to pat Savvy’s hand. She thinks of what’s best to say.
“I feel bad,” Savvy says after a moment.
Mars quickly shakes her head. “Don’t feel bad. Jerome made a choice. He seems good with it.” That last part might be a lie. She glances over at Jerome and watches as the other elves speak encouraging words, trying to get him to sit up straighter and smile and stop looking in Santa’s direction.
“I made the wish. I made the magic,” Savvy says. “Nobody is listening to me. Nobody ever listens to me.”
Mars frowns. “Now I feel bad.”
At home, at school, out with everyone else, hanging out at Mars’ place… Savvy doesn’t always get listened to. Mars knows that. Sometimes, though, it is hard to listen to Savvy. She loves Savvy, but Savvy is a big vibe.
Now, even at the North Pole, nobody is listening to Savvy. Jerome didn’t, Jessica didn’t, Tiffany didn’t…. And she isn’t.
Until this moment.
“I’m sorry, Savvy. I’m listening.”
“I feel bad about Jerome. It was my magic and his magic, but he shouldn’t get fired because I used magic and it got us here. And then, there is more.”
Mars waits for her to continue. She keeps her eyes steady on Savvy’s hand and tries to block out all the joyful conversation around them.
“Some other girl got my doll. Some other girl who the elves said really needed it more than me. They had meetings and they thought about it and they made a big choice about me without me and I’m mad about that.”
Mars nods. She understands being angry about that. Sometimes it feels like every decision about a kid’s life is made without them. When she herself was little, she had to go with the flow because she didn’t know any better. But now that she is getting older, she feels annoyed about that too. Mama and Daddy do their best to include her when they make family decisions, but sometimes, Mama just says, “This is an adult decision that we need to make. I’m sorry.” Mars wonders if that’s how it has to be here: adults making decisions because that’s just how it goes.
“You know what else, Mars? I think it’s not ok that I’m angry about it. I think it’s not ok that I really want my doll. But I do feel angry, Mars. And I do want my doll. I thought I was good enough. Was that other girl that much better than I was?”
Mars almost replies with her first thoughts. She almost says, “Oh, no, you shouldn’t be angry. You got something else instead.” But she doesn’t say that, because that isn’t quite right. Savvy has said something big and true about herself. Mars accepts that with her nod, and her silence, and a squeeze of her friend’s hands. She thinks about Mama and what she would say to Ms. Hen.
She tries on Mama’s voice for a moment. “Your feelings are true and you have a right to them. I don’t think that you should feel bad for feeling how you feel.”
Savvy nods. “Thank you.”
Mars’s butterflies calm down again. She feels warm and full, which is true because she ate way too much, but it isn’t just her stomach that is satisfied. She knows in her heart and bones that she said the right thing. She thinks about Mama and smiles, then feels sad. Both of their mamas must be so worried.
“The good news is, we’re going to meet Papa Claus no matter what. The second good news is that we both get a wish! I’ll wish for a different Sojourner doll. That way, that other girl can keep the doll she got and I can have my own and we can both be happy.” Savvy nods to herself. “Yeah, I think that’s the right wish to wish.”
In front of them, Jerome continues to receive well-wishes from his elf family. He looks like he is starting to relax. Folk laugh with him, give him hugs, shake him out of his funk. Mars loves to watch it. In fact, the entire room is up and moving. No one is seated except Savvy and Mars.
Mars’s mind wanders back to her wish. She doesn’t need anything more for Christmas. Savvy is going to get her doll when they reach Papa. What then could she want?
“Yo, I’m so grateful for all the love, y’all. Can y’all excuse me right quick? I’m going to have to get these girls over to Papa before Big Sister gets on me…” Jerome says to his group, sliding sideways, trying to get away.
“Peace, Jerome. It’s Christmas Day. See your family?” Another elf, one of the chef elves, waves his hand across the room as if in grand revelation. “There are no troubles and no worries today, you feel me? Peace. Eat. Want me to get you some red velvet cake?”
Mars perks up, eyes wide.
Savvy sits at attention too. “Is it only red velvet cake or… do they have sweet potato pie with ice cream on top, too?”
The elf laughs a delightful sort of thunder that rolls and tumbles. “Let me get that for you, Little Sis! You’ve never tasted anything like it!”
He raises his eyebrows, wiggles his fingers at his sides and makes a funny face. Mars is ready for the “hocus pocus,” but she sees bubbles instead.
When she looks down, her dinner plate is gone, poofed away behind a veil of rainbow bubbles that float to the ceiling. In its place sits a perfect square of four-layer red velvet cake, with glossy white frosting and swirling decorations on a dainty glass dessert plate. In front of Savvy, who is popping the bubbles with laughter, is a triangle of sweet potato pie, the crust flakey and golden, the filling deep orange. A sumptuous sphere of ice cream on top melts into a little pool.
Mars turns her attention to her cake, taking three wonderful bites before allowing her eyes to wander in other directions. All the elves are up and visiting, some standing in groups, others leaning against columns around the room. Many have pulled out chairs to make little circles. They hold pineapple drinks or warmed apple cider with cinnamon sticks in their laps. Plates of dessert are but an arms-length away. Bubbles float up from where empty plates used to be. Nobody has to do the dishes on Christmas Day.
After her big slice of cake, Mars finally sits back, full and happy. She puts her hands on her belly, hiccups, and scans the room to watch it all. Jerome has wandered away with a bowl of pistachio ice cream and a slice of carrot cake, laughing with his fellow elves. One of his friends turns to the girls and winks conspiratorially. Mars waves at him, feeling happy for Jerome.
Savvy, after two slices of pie and ice cream, sits back in her comfy chair and strikes the same pose as Mars: hands resting comfortably on her stomach, a satisfied smile over her face. Mars scoots her chair over to touch Savvy’s. She leans in until they are shoulder to shoulder. “Can you even believe this, Savvy?”
Savvy places her head on Mars’s shoulder, saying, “Nope, and nobody will ever believe us, Mars!”
Mars sighs, looking around and shaking her head. “But it’s real, right? We’re here? This is happening?”
Savvy snickers. “All I know is that this pie was for real. Doesn’t get any realer than that!”
They both laugh and lean on each other. Mars thinks about something her Mama says: Listen as your day unfolds, Mars. Try to stay in touch with how you’re feeling in the moment.
At this moment, Mars feels full and happy. She can’t believe that she gets to share this unreal, very real experience with someone she loves. Mars thinks about how much scarier and stranger this would be if she didn’t have Savvy with her. She wonders if Savvy is thinking the same.
Then she wonders if that is her right wish to wish: to be friends with Savvy forever and ever.
“It is going to be sad to go home and know Jerome won’t be back next year,” Savvy says just above a whisper.
Mars frowns. Home. Mama. Brunch. Friends. Dinner time now. Is Mama looking for her instead of making a Christmas roast? Are their neighbors outside in the cold, calling their names and looking for them? When they get back, will Daddy take all the gifts Papa had brought her and put them up high in the “put away” closet? If no one is going to believe them, how are they ever going to explain? Mars can hear Mama now... “Do you know how much you scared me?”
“How are we going to explain this to our mamas, Savvy?” Mars asks.
That makes Savvy whisper again. “Maybe Santa can fix that, too?”