I wrote this story several years ago for three young friends, Martina, Natalia, and Liset. Then this week, I got an email from someone named Eli (no relation to the Fletchers), who told me how much these books mean to him and his friend Freddie. Eli asked for a Fletcher Christmas story, to surprise Freddie, and it just so happened that I had one already written. This story has never been shared before, and this seems like as good a time as any to do it.

So this story is still for Martina, Natalia, and Liset, but it’s also for Eli and Freddie. (Freddie,  I hope you’re surprised!)

And it’s for you, if you’re someone who wanted, once again, to spend a little time with the Fletchers.

Happy holidays my friends, however you celebrate.

xoxox Dana

(The Lost Chapter): In Which The López Family Arrives for Christmas

“Why are they even coming?” Jax grumbled, as he half-heartedly shoved a stack of comics under his bed. “This is so stupid. We never need to clean our rooms when it’s just Lucy and Grandma and Grandpa.”

Dad was walking by carrying a pile of clean laundry. Unfortunately, he had heard.

“Hey. No more attitude about our guests. We told you. They’re giving Lucy a ride up, because she can’t take the train with her broken leg. And since they are dear friends of Lucy’s, and Papa and I have met them several times and really like them, we invited them to join us for Christmas.” He paused and gave Jax the stink-eye.

“And I truly hope you get all this complaining and rudeness out of your system before they arrive. It is not attractive.”

Jax scowled, pushing his lower lip out as far as it would go.

Dad scowled back, making a face so weird that Jax couldn’t help laughing.

“Fine. I’ll be polite. But three girls! It’s going to be the weakest Christmas ever.” He went back in his room and continued to shove everything under the bed. “I’ll be polite,” he repeated, calling out to Dad’s retreating back. “But I’m not going to have any fun! Do you hear me? NONE!”

#

The rest of the Fletcher boys were equally dismayed that a family of strangers was crashing their Christmas. They all piled onto the couch on Christmas Eve— even Sam, who had put his phone away on pain of losing access to all Christmas baking — ready for the annual reading of The Night Before Christmas. But as they jostled and shoved to get room, squeezing poor Sir Puggleton until he barked in protest and jumped down, Eli started up.

“Do we have to dress up tomorrow? Because ‘the guests’ are coming? Normally we can just wear jeans.” He shoved his glasses up his nose and looked worried. “I really don’t want it to be all formal and different. Are they the type of people who say how’s school? every minute? Because I really hate that.” His face darkened and he curled his arms around his skinny chest. “I don’t want to talk to a bunch of strangers on Christmas. Especially about school!”

The other boys nodded. Jax was relieved to know they didn’t want a bunch of weirdos coming over on Christmas any more than he did. It made him feel better that at least his brothers were on his —

“I’m glad they’re coming!” Frog yelled. He bounced and wriggled on the couch, making the rest of them jostle together. “I like girls! Ladybug’s a girl, and she’s my best friend. And Katie’s a girl and she’s my friend. And Isabel —”

“I thought she bites,” Jax said, his voice bitter. Typical of a girl to bite.

“Sometimes,” said Frog, just as cheerfully. “But not very much. And never me.”

“Are we even going to have enough food?” Sam asked. “I mean, that’s a lot more people coming. I don’t want it to be one of those meals where you whisper Sam, go easy on the potatoes so there are enough for our guests. I hate that!”

“Boys,” Papa said. “Enough.”

Everyone fell quiet. Jax thought he should feel bad for starting it, but he didn’t. A hot angry knot inside him was glad everyone else was complaining.

“They are friends of ours. They are bringing our beloved Lucy here. And I guarantee a few things, just to ease your minds. First, Sam, we have plenty of food. You can feed at those potatoes like a hog at a trough and we will not run out.”

“Perhaps we can change the analogy slightly,” Dad murmured. “How about you can enjoy a large healthy serving?”

“Second,” Papa went on. “You can wear jeans. In fact, I told them to bring skates and sneakers, because the girls play soccer and I think one of them plays hockey, or at least skates. So you guys — and the girls — can go outside and run around. And third, E-man, no, they are not the boring type who will ask about school. Though, buddy, talking about school —”

“Let’s read the story already!” Frog shouted. “Twas the night before Christmas! know the beginning!”

Papa put an arm around Frog and squeezed, and Frog gave a squeak of excitement. “Okay, buddy. Let’s do it.” And he began to read.

#

The next afternoon, after presents were opened, stockings attacked, food devoured (mostly by Sam), and the first game of street hockey played, the boys lay splayed out by the fire. Sam was reading the newest book in the fifteen book series about a teenage spy, Eli was pouring over a massive pop-up book about the formation of the galaxy, and Jax and Frog were playing pick-up sticks. Their game would have been better if Zeus hadn’t wanted to bat at the sticks with his massive paw, knocking the pile over before they could take a turn. Jax finally gave up and just lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

“I think I maybe had too much fudge,” he moaned.

“No such thing,” Sam said, without looking up from his book. “You’ll be fine. Maybe have some of those cheese thingies to kind of tamp down all the sugar.”

Jax moaned a little more. Moaning felt good.

Just then the doorbell rang.

“Boys! They’re here. Come say hello and Merry Christmas to Lucy and her friends!”

The boys slowly got up and trailed towards the door. Papa ran towards to open it, his gravy-spattered white cook’s apron trailing behind him as he tried to pull it off over his head. He ran into Dad, who was bringing another load of wood in from the side door. After a brief hallway scuffle where Frog got knocked on the head by a piece of wood and Papa’s apron ended up on the floor being attacked by Zeus, they opened the door.

“Hello!” Lucy howled, shoving her crutches aside and grabbing as many of them as she could into a hug. I’m so glad to see you all! Meet the López family!”

#

It took a while for them all to get inside, with Lucy’s suitcase, bags and bags of baked goods, which Sam hovered over like the Secret Service, and packages and presents. Once everyone was inside and Papa and Dad and Lucy and the parents wandered off to do whatever it is grownups do, the kids stood uneasily in the living room.

“I like your tree!” The youngest girl said. She was around Frog’s age, though at least a head taller. “It’s got interesting ornaments.”

Frog took her arm and pulled her towards the tree. “I’ll show you my favorite, then my brothers’ favorites. Then the ones I made. What’s your favorite? And tell me your name again? I can’t remember.”

“It’s Liset,” said the oldest girl. “Her name is Liset.”

“That’s a weird name,” Jax muttered.

“Hello? Your brother’s name is Frog! He’s named for a reptile!” the oldest girl said.

“Actually, it’s an amphibian,” Eli and the middle girl said at the same time. They looked at each other.

“Eli,” said Eli, giving a kind of half wave.

“Natalia,” the girl said.

She was tall too, with long hair in a braid all the way down her back. Jax noticed she was wearing sports pants, the kind he wasn’t allowed to wear on special occasions. And she had a Barcelona soccer shirt on.

“Do you play soccer?” he asked.

“Yeah. But I’m not as good as my sister. She’s on our state champion’s team.”

Jax and Sam both looked at the tallest girl again. She was scowling, and her scowl reminded Jax of his own face earlier. Suddenly he wondered if it stunk as much for these girls, having to come here, as it did for him to host them.

“I’m Jax, and that’s Sam,” he said to the oldest girl.

“I know,” she said. “I listened when your dad introduced you.”

Jax tried not to get annoyed. “Well, I didn’t. Listen, I mean. So what’s your name?”

The girl sighed. “Martina.”

There was a moment of silence. Frog and Liset were wedged behind the tree so Frog could show her all the weird ugly ornaments that they hid in the back. Eli was showing Natalia something in his new pop-up book. Sam and Jax and Martina stood in excruciating silence.

“Well,” said Jax, finally. “Want to play soccer?”

At this all three girls looked up.

“Okay.”

“Sure!”

“I’m goalie!”

Jax smiled a little, though he tried not to let it show. Maybe they weren’t totally pathetic.

They went outside and set up the nets.

“Girls against boys,” Martina said, bouncing the ball against her foot. “Okay with you? We’ll put the youngest in the goals.” She grinned at her littlest sister, and Liset smiled back.

“But we have more players than you,” Jax protested.

“Yeah, that’s not fair. Why doesn’t Jax play on your team?” Sam suggested.

“What?!” Jax was horrified.

“That’s okay,” Martina said. “We’ll be fine. After all, it’s just for fun, right?”

The game started, and within seconds it was easy to see that Martina was on the champions team. She sprinted up the yard, passed right onto her sister Natalia’s foot, and got back for defense like she was strolling around. But Natalia was just as good, or at least it seemed that way to Jax, who tried desperately to guard her. He used every move he had, including some dirty ones, where his elbow jutted out or his boney butt kind of shoved her out of the way. But she just danced around him and got to goal, again and again.

Of course he, Sam, and Eli weren’t exactly useless. Sam, who was usually in nets, had a wicked shot and great speed, so he and Jax ran it up the field. The problem? Tiny Liset. She was actually a real goalie! As in, she flew up in the air, catching some of Jax’s toughest shots, or dove into the corners to stop a rebound. Jax glared back at their net, where Frog was happily braiding a few pieces of loose string that dangled from the end of the goal.

“Hey Froggie! Try to actually stop the ball, remember!” he called.

Frog shrugged. “I don’t like to get hurt. And Martina kicks the ball really hard.” He rubbed his shin.

“And I’m getting tired,” Liset added from her net. “Can we go in and get something to eat?”

Jax glared in exasperation at both little kids. Typical.

“Typical,” Martina said. “Just when it gets fun Liset wants to quit.”

Jax looked up. “Well…how are you on hockey skates?”

Martina smiled. She had a nice, smile, Jax had to admit. When she smiled she didn’t look nearly so intimidating. “I’m not bad at skating, but I don’t really know hockey. I’ll give it a try though.”

Frog and Liset went in to find snacks, and Eli and Natalia followed, promising to come out to the rink after Eli showed Natalia some random fossil he found in Maine last summer. Even Sam said he was starving and would need more food before he could play again.

So Jax and Martina went out to the rink. She was a pretty fast skater, but Jax was relieved to see that she really meant it about hockey. At least here he could show her some stuff.

“Hold your stick like this. No, move your top hand up, to the very top of the stick. Now try,” he coached.

Soon the two of them were passing the puck back and forth, skating the length of the ice and taking shots. The loud, solid ‘thwack’ of the puck hitting the side, again and again, echoed in the darkening air.

Jax didn’t even notice how dark it was getting until the lights flashed on, illuminating the dark rink and making the evening dimness all around them seem even deeper.

“Having fun?” Papa asked, standing by the back door. Martina’s parents were standing there too, smiling out at them.

“Can I join a hockey team, Mami? Please??” Martina called. “Watch this!” She pulled her arm back and whacked the puck with a wicked slapshot. It reverberated against the far boards.

“Wow!” her mom said. “That’s pretty impressive.”

“She actually really good,” Jax said. “There are lots of good coed teams, around here at least. And some summer camps! You could come up and do a hockey camp this summer!”

Sam, Eli, Natalia, Frog and Liset pushed out the side door from behind their parents.

“We want to play!” Frog called, waddling out to the rink in his skate guards.

“Get ready to be annihilated, J-man,” Sam said. “I had eight molasses cookies, and I’m feeling strong.”

“Bring it!” Jax said. “Me and Martina against you and Eli. Bring. It. On!”

The moon rose cold and pale over the rink.From the open door Jax could smell the delicious turkey smell wafting out towards them. He smiled.

“Ready?” he asked. “Let’s play.”