South Pole Santa by Dennis Canfield

Author:Dennis Canfield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Well-spoken Books
Published: 2020-10-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Do You Remember?

Amanda came back into the cabin and hung up her coat. At the same time, Patrick returned to his Xbox. “You just missed Marmel,” Amanda said. “I saw him when I went outside!”

“Your elf who only shows up when I’m not around?”

“Yes, and I was right. I mean, about Mom and Dad, and what happens to them if we don’t prove Marmel wrong.”

Patrick sat on the floor by his Xbox and picked up where he left off. “There is no elf.”

“No, listen. This is really important. We’ve got to do two nice things together. All of us.”

“That’s supposed to make our stuff work again?” Patrick asked.

“It’s way more important than that. It’s about helping our family. So just go along, okay?”

Their parents came into the living room. Mr. Krumwerth picked up the remote and pointed it at the TV.

“Any luck?” Mrs. Krumwerth asked.

He threw the remote onto the sofa. “No, it’s still out.”

“What are we going to do if none of our stuff’s working?” Patrick asked.

“Probably have the worst Christmas Eve ever,” Mr. Krumwerth answered, flopping onto the sofa.

“Maybe we could figure out something to do together,” Amanda said. She tried not to sound desperate, but she had to get her family—all four of them—to do something nice together, soon.

Mrs. Krumwerth went to the computer and started pressing buttons. “Like what?”

Amanda thought for a moment. “What about charades? You love charades, right Mom?”

“You know what, that’s a good idea. We haven’t played charades in forever. Patrick, will you play?”

He thought it over for a moment, then answered, “Yeah, sure.”

“David?” Mrs. Krumwerth asked.

“Pretend I’m not here.”

“We can’t play unless we all play,” Amanda pointed out.

Her dad continued flipping through his magazine. “I don't like charades.”

“C’mon,” Mrs. Krumwerth said. “You and Patrick against Amanda and me. You can go first.”

“Oh, all right. We can try it. But you’re really making me wish the TV would come on.”

Amanda and Mrs. Krumwerth sat on the floor in front of the fireplace. Patrick and Mr. Krumwerth sat on the sofa. After a few moments, Amanda and her mom came up with a word. “The category is well-known places,” Mrs. Krumwerth announced. “Patrick, come here and I’ll give you the word.”

She whispered in Patrick’s ear. He nodded. “Okay, give me a sec… Okay, I’m ready. Dad, are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Krumwerth said, looking at her watch. “Two minutes—go!”

Patrick held up one finger, then two fingers.

“One word, two syllables,” Mr. Krumwerth said.

Patrick nodded, then looked up at the ceiling, put his hands above his head, and wiggled his fingers.

“Horns? Antlers? Head lice?”

Patrick shook his head. Then he started pumping his hands toward the ceiling, making bursts with his fingers, over and over.

“Fives? Tens? Dancing?”

Amanda knew what Patrick was trying to communicate. She couldn’t help laughing at her father’s guesses.

Patrick kept shaking his head. Then he reached for the ceiling, still making bursts with his fingers. He brought his arms down, reaching as far out to his sides as he could.

“Double dream hands!” Mr.

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