Babes In WENNLand, Epilogue

“Lisa?” A hand shook her shoulder. “Lisa? Sis?”

“Alan, go away,” she muttered. She felt...oddly cold again. And really stiff. She felt like she'd been sleeping against something hard.

“Sis, Mom's here!” She opened her eyes. They were back in the storage room at WENN. Mr. Eldridge was on her other side, his chuckles sounding just as warm and bowl-full-of-jelly-ish as Santa's.

“You two must have been warn out after all the excitement earlier,” her grandfather said with a smile. “I found you both asleep in here. You've been out for at least 20 minutes. I've said your mother should get you to bed earlier. It's healthier.”

“Oh Grandpa!” Lisa hugged him. “I had the most wonderful dream. You were in it, and Mr. Sherwood, and Miss Roberts, and that mean old Mr. Pruitt. It was like The Wizard of Oz, but everyone was a Mother Goose character instead of lions and tin men. And I met Mother Goose herself, and real gypsies, and we helped defeat the wicked Barnaby!” She looked into his eyes under those round glasses of his. “But most of all, I learned that it's not really that bad to be a kid. After all, I only have a little time left to be a kid. I'll be a grown-up sooner or later.”

Mr. Eldridge smiled. “I'm glad to hear that, Lisa.”

“It's about time!” her brother added. “I know you're a kid. I've always known that.”

“Lisa, Alan, there you are!” Betty and Scott were at the door. They were arm in arm, both all smiles. “Your mother's here. You're going home.”

Mother hurried past them, her arms open and waiting. Lisa never saw anyone look so wonderful. She wore her same old purple coat and had the same flyaway dark-blond curls that Lisa and Alan had and the same big eyes and round face. Something was different, though. She almost seemed like a child again. “There you are! I'm so sorry I'm late. I was busy demonstrating new toys at the store, and I lost track of time...”

“It's all right, Mother.” Lisa just hugged her. “I understand.”

Mother turned to Scott and Betty. “Thank you all for taking care of them.” She hugged Mr. Eldridge. “Oh Dad, I owe you more than I can repay.”

“Just try to get off work earlier from now on,” Mr. Eldridge scolded his daughter lightly. “After all, they won't be children forever. You'll only have them like this once.”

Mother nodded. “I swear, I'm going to try to take more time off. I miss my kids. They're all I have.”

“Mother,” Lisa said, “can we read Babes In Toyland when we get home?”

“I thought you said fairy tales were for babies,” Alan teased.

Lisa grinned. “Maybe I changed my mind.”

Betty went into the Green Room and came back with the book Mr. Eldridge read the children earlier. “Here. Keep this. We won't be doing Babes In Toyland again for 'A Book at Bedtime' until next Christmas. I can get another copy.”

Mother took the book graciously. “Thank you, miss. The kids will love it.”

Scott took Betty's arm. “And now, Miss Roberts and I have a date to catch up on.”

Betty frowned. “But Scott...”

He gave her that big, plump-cheeked grin. “Oh come on, Betty! Call it a Christmas treat.”

“Well...” She sighed. “All right. But not for too long. I have to change those scripts.”

Scott nodded. “Fair enough. We'll talk about how to deal with Pruitt and Gloria Redmond on the way.”

Lisa tugged on Scott's sleeve. “Mr. Sherwood, Mr. Pruitt really has it in for you! He's the one who hired those two silly men. They were looking for information on you.”

Scott's big grin turned down. “That doesn't surprise me. I don't think he likes me very much.”

Betty took Scott's arm firmly. “We'll have to figure out something to do about that too.”

Mother put her arms around Lisa and Alan. “We need to get to dinner, too. It's been a busy day.”

Lisa leaned on her mother as they made their way to the exit, waving to Miss Reece at the reception desk on the way. “Mother, I had the strangest dream. I met Santa Claus! He told me I should try to be a kid, just for now.”

“And you should, Lisa.” She brushed her daughter's hair from her face as Mr. Eldridge opened the door for them. “You'll always be my little girl.”

“I love you, Mother,” Lisa said, following her out the door.

“So do I!” Alan added.

Mother smiled. “And I love you, my cherubs.”

Mr. Eldridge smiled as he watched the trio follow Betty and Scott out the door. “Understood completely.” He stuffed the Santa hat in his pocket, then went to see if he could attempt to wrestle with the vacuum cleaner again. That confounded contraption had a mind of its own sometimes...