Saving Jessica Winters

Smitty took a deep breath. "Firstly," Jessica started in, "is your name."

"My friends call me Smitty."

Jessica blinked. "And what does your mother call you?"

Smitty tilted her head. Her mother had been dead for over two hundred years. "Something much longer," she deflected.

"I see. Smitty it is, then." Jessica took a sip of coffee. "And what was so important that you would come to see me?"

Smitty had to think fast. She needed a cover now and she hadn't thought through everything to that point. "Well," she stalled, "you see..."

Jessica stared at her intently. "Yes?"

"I...uh...I represent a company," she started making up her cover on the spot, "a company that you have used rather frequently over the years and I was sent to...ummm....to make sure that our services have been to your liking." She ended with a smile of confidence, certain that her story was ironclad.

Jessica never blinked. "Never shit a shitter, honey."

"No, really. Listen. I represent a company, just not one that you know. And you have used us with some frequency over the years, just that you might not realize it. And I was sent here to make sure that," she paused a moment and looked at Jessica. Her voice softened, "to make sure that you're alright."

"Well, I have to say that you're the cutest customer service rep I've ever seen." Jessica stood and walked back around the bar to clean up. "In fact, one might even say you're elvish."

"Elven." Smitty corrected her, immediately regretting it.

"I thought it was elvish."

"W...they prefer elven." She blushed.

A brief moment of silence hushed the room before Jessica spoke again as she washed the plates and mugs in the sink. Her voice took a more serious tone. "Well, you can tell your supervisors that, despite a broken marriage," she slammed a plate into the drainer, "a lost job," she slammed a fork, "and a stack of unpaid bills, I'm great," she slammed a mug down, rattling the plates. "Just fucking great." She stood stock still over the sink. Her hands trembled as she held the butter knife. Seconds passed. "I can't go on. I can't do this anymore."

Smitty sprang from her seat and rushed to Jessica's side. "No. You see? That's just it. You can do it. You can move forward. I know you can."

Jessica turned to her. Her face contorted in anger and confusion. She spat the words out, "How...do...you...KNOW...ME."

Smitty stepped back fearfully, as far as the mantle. That was when Jessica dropped the knife. Smitty saw her eyes dart from herself to the mantle. Back and forth several times. Then they rolled back into her eyelids and Jessica fainted.

***

It was nearly noon before Jessica awoke, in her own bed, and saw Smitty sitting in a chair beside her. They smiled at each other but no words were exchanged. Jessica rolled onto her side, facing Smitty. "Who are you, really?"

Smitty sighed. "If I tell you the truth, you won't believe me."

Jessica looked down at Smitty's lap and saw the letter. "Is that my letter to Santa? I thought I mailed that."

"You did, well, you didn't. No, you were supposed to..."

"You're not making any sense." Jessica sat up.

"Jessica, would you like some hot chocolate?"

"Yes," she said with a weak smile, "but I haven't anything in the kitchen to make it..."

And just then, Smitty produced a steaming mug from behind her back, as if it had been made right there under the bedside table. "You should drink this."

Jessica took it with a trembling hand and sipped. "Wow, this is, like, wow."

Smitty smiled, "Old family recipe."

"Just how old?"

Smitty sighed, "742 years this Christmas."

Jessica blinked. "That is old."

"Jess, you have no idea." Smitty got up from the chair and climbed up on the bed next to her. "Do you know why you fainted?"

"I think I do. But it's crazy, right?"

Smitty faced her and stared into her eyes. She smiled, then pulled her hair away from her ears. As she did, Jessica's eyes widened.

"You're....you...it's....nooooooo..."

"Relax, Jess. It's true. You fainted because you saw the resemblance between myself and Lyraesel."

"Lyra....what? I saw what?"

"The Elf on the Ledge and me? We're related on my mother's side."

Jessica blinked. Then a light bulb came on in her mind. "The letter! Did you read that?"

Smitty smiled again and nodded. "Yes. And that is why I came. I can't let you hurt yourself, Jessica. You don't have to."

Jessica held her mug tightly and her face fell into a somber gloom. "That's sweet of you to say, but I have nothing and no one, now. The world would be better if I weren't around."

"That's not true, Jess. You're not alone."

"No, I guess I'm not," she scoffed. "I am talking to an elf in my bedroom. So, as long as I can maintain my break with reality, I might even be able to conjure up a dragon to go burn up Brian."

"You're not crazy, either." Smitty scooted her small body closer to Jessica's. "I was the elf that read every letter you ever wrote to Santa."

Jessica thought through that, then blushed. "Even the one that..."

"Yes, Smitty chuckled, "even that one." She placed her small hand on top of Jessica's. "Here's the thing, I remember every last one."

"No way."

"Yes, way." Smitty cleared her throat dramatically. "December 4th, 2000. Dear Santa, Please can I have my own pony so that Luther won't be always riding Bonny when I wants to. And some candy. Love, Jessie."

Jessica stared. "Wow. I remember that. I was eight."

"December 8, 2004. Dear Santa, This is so stupid, but, could you send peace? I really hate Phoenix. Love, Jessie."

"Yeah. I was twelve. We'd just moved."

"You get the idea?"

"Yeah. But how can this help me?"

"One more. December 3rd, 2013. Dear Santa, Hey. So, I don't know if you remembered last year's letter or not, but I told you about Brian and how we fell in love..."

"Do you have to..."

"Shh." Smitty continued, "I really do love him, really. But, could you, maybe send me some wisdom? Can you do that? I don't know if you can, but if you can, could you? I mean, is it possible to be in love with two people at the same time? And so different. Brain is so, well, Brian. But Caroline is just..."

"Stop it." Jessica's eyes had welled in tears. "Stop it! This isn't helping. Hearing about a love I threw away because it was improper. What are you trying to do? PUSH me into suicide?" She flopped herself down on the bed and turned away from Smitty, sobbing.

Smitty placed a hand on her shoulder and held it lightly there. A few moments passed and then Jessica's hand covered hers. "I loved Caroline, too," she said, "maybe more. But I would have had to leave Brian, and back then, that just wasn't a choice I could make." Her sobs continued and Smitty remained silent.

Several minutes passed and Jessica finally turned over. Her tear stained face red from crying. "Why did you come here?"

"I came because I love you, Jessica Winters. I lived your life with you through those letters. Something about you captivated me. I couldn't stand the thought of you not being here. So, I came to stop you."

"You only delayed the inevitable. The landlord is kicking me out on Friday and I don't even have enough food in the kitchen to last 'til then. I'm tired. I'm lonely. I'm worthless."

Smitty smiled. "Do you remember that Christmas, the one in 2013?"

"Yeah, I think I remember most of them."

"What did you get?"

Jessica furrowed her brow and thought. "Mostly gift cards, clothes, cash from my Aunt for the plane fare to Florida."

"You're missing something," Smitty added with a glint in her eye.

"I don't think so...I...WAIT," Jessica's eyes widened, "the camera!"

Smitty nodded. "Yes, the camera. You know the old saying, 'hindsight is twenty-twenty'?"

"Yeah, but...."

"Where's that camera now?"

It took Jessica twenty minutes rooting through three boxes before she found it, scratched and at the bottom of a box from her college days. "I haven't been in this box since..." she let the thought fade.

"Let's see what's on it!"

Jessica plugged the charger into the wall and turned the camera on. She sat next to Smitty and began to page through the pictures. "This is the first one. I took a selfie of Mom and me in front of the tree."

"It's a pretty tree, Jess."

"Yeah, Mom always liked Christmas." She paused a moment before she paged to the next one and gasped, "Brian."

"When was this taken?"

That was a couple of days later. He showed-up and took me to dinner. The waitress took the picture."

"You look happy."

"Do I?" Jessica stared at it. "No, I don't think I was. He was." She paged to the next one and stared in silence, a tear welling in her eye.

"Who's that, Jess?" Smitty asked, already knowing the answer.

"Caroline."

Smitty gazed at a young Jessica and her beautiful friend. Caroline was taller than Jess. Her hair was auburn and flowing. Her olive complexion glowed as did both of their smiles. "You're happy here?"

"Very," was Jessica's one word reply. She ran her finger over Caroline's face and sniffed back the tear that threatened to run down her cheek. "How is this helping?"

Smitty blinked and the camera advanced to the next picture. They both said nothing as each picture displayed Jessica and the love of her life. The early ones were playful selfies, but as they progressed, they became more serious. Jessica had chronicled an evening with her lover.

Smitty had to admit, they were hot. She felt herself tingling as each girl appeared between the others' thighs. Human women were so intriguing to Smitty. The fullness of their bodies made her desire to see more of them. She sighed as the fingers of one hand kneaded at herself through her jeans.

Jessica's eyes shifted to Smitty. "This arouses you?" she asked.

Smitty only bit her lip and nodded.

"Have you ever been with a human before?" Jessica asked.

"No," replied Smitty, "it's forbidden."

"But I see that it isn't repulsive." Jessica's hand reached over and gently covered Smitty's. "I must admit that I'm intrigued by the thought of an elf." She reached over with her other hand and took Smitty's, placing it between her thighs.

Smitty immediately felt the heat and sighed. "Will this....will this help?"

"It's been a long time since I've felt a woman's touch, Smitty. Yes, this will help."

They embraced and kissed, each feeling, for the first time, the touch of something otherworldly. Smitty melted into Jessica's soft, warm lips. Then she felt her tongue, licking, seeking permission. Smitty parted her lips and Jessica's tongue entered. Seeing as the elven tongue is different from the human one, she was apprehensive as they tangled in her mouth.

Jessica broke their kiss. "What the hell," she said in surprise. "Show me your tongue, honey."

Smitty extended her tongue, a good four inches from her mouth, then flicked the very tip of the thin muscle. Jessica's eyes widened and her lips smiled. "That's a tongue made for fucking."

Smitty only giggled and returned to their embrace. Jessica relaxed as Smitty's tongue not only tangled with hers, but hugged hers. For her part, Smitty was taken by the fullness of Jessica's human tongue. They both edged closer.

Smitty's free hand timidly reached for Jessica's breasts. She gently squeezed one through her top and bra. Even with all the clothing between, Smitty moaned into Jessica's mouth at feeling of the fullness of it.

Jessica broke their kiss again, staring into Smitty's gleaming eyes. "I want to see a naked elf."

Smitty smiled. "I want to see a naked human."

It took only a minute for them to discard their clothing to the floor. Each one, kneeling before the other on the bed, gazed upon a wonderful sight. Smitty's eye took in the fullness of Jessica's breasts. She was amazed by them, captivated.

Jessica's hands gently roamed over Smitty's skin. It shone with a subtle glow and tiny rainbows appeared around her fingertips as she pressed in. She circled Smitty's small nipples on the delicate mounds of her breasts. A small drop of golden liquid emerged from each nipple. "What..."

Smitty felt it and moaned. "Taste it, Jess."

Jessica leaned down and licked each nipple, extracting the golden droplets. "Honey? No, stronger. Oh," she paused a moment, "wow, that's..."

Smitty knew that her secretions were an aphrodisiac. She wasn't sure that they would work on humans, until she felt Jessica's fingers caressing her back and pulling her closer.

Their lips met again, soon followed by their tongues dancing. As they kissed, Jessica leaned back on the bed, pulling Smitty on top of her. Smitty floated on the pillows of Jessica's breasts.

She felt Jessica's hands on her small tight ass and willingly parted her legs to straddle Jess's belly. As she did, she sensed hesitation. "It's okay, Jess. All the parts are the same," she whispered between kisses.

And with that, Jessica began to finger Smitty's small slit. Her finger felt nearly as large as an elven cock to Smitty and she felt the strong desire to have it inside of her. But she realized that this wasn't about her, this was about Jess, and she began to kiss her way down Jessica's neck.

Jessica moaned as Smitty added her skilled tongue to every kiss. At her breasts, Smitty lingered, wetting each nipple before flicking it, then sucking it. Jessica wasn't secreting an aphrodisiac but Smitty didn't need one. The moans of her lover were enough.

The lower she kissed, the more Jessica parted her legs. The closer she came to Jessica's pussy, the stronger was the aroma. It was a scent the Smitty had never experienced. Elveens smell like a mixture of hot chocolate, mint, and cinnamon. This was wholly different, and Smitty could only imagine what Jessica might taste like.

She snaked her elven tongue over Jessica's mound and up to her clit, teasing it from her hood. She felt Jessica's hand in her hair as she guided her tongue down, between the folds of skin and to her opening. Jessica shuddered.

She threaded her tongue in and up, using her sensitive taste buds to feel for Jessica's spot. It's exact location Smitty found and then Jessica confirmed by uttering, "Ohhhhffuuuuckyessss..."

Smitty then began a relentless assault on Jessica's G-spot, causing her to writhe under her. Smitty was delightfully amazed at her reactions. Elveen will sometimes levitate when being aroused. Smitty loved Jessica's thrashing and moaning.

Her tiny thin fingers worked over Jessica's clit as her tongue lashed away at her spot. Jessica's orgasm began to rise and Smitty felt her hips pressing up to her face. But the reaction she wanted was the one she got when she heard Jessica say, "Oh my god...Caroline...YES... YESYESYESSSSS!"

Smitty felt Jessica's sex pulse and contract as her orgasm raced through her body. She felt the flow and eagerly lapped the tasty nectar up. All the while, Jessica moaned and twisted, eventually calming down to a weak pant.

Smitty kissed her way up Jessica's sweaty body until their lips met and exchanged soft, delicate kisses. Jessica embraced her, pulling her close. Smitty wrapped her small body around Jessica. "That was amazing, Smitty."

Smitty smiled, "You need rest. And I'll stay for as long as you need, so you won't be lonely. And, I think you're pretty valuable."

Jessica offered a weak smile. "I am tired. I think I'll nap for a bit."

Smitty ran her delicate fingers through Jessica's hair and kissed her forehead. "Yes, do that and things will look better later. I know it."

***

The hot chocolate, the warm bed, and the orgasm put Jessica to sleep for eighteen hours. Smitty was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, constantly checking her watch, and ever listening with her elven ears when Jessica arose, showered and shuffled her robed self into the sitting area to the aroma of bacon and eggs. "Wow, that smells scrumptious," she said.

"Have a seat," Smitty replied with her elven grin. "And, before you ask, this is my treat."

Jessica sat at the bar as Smitty served her. She finally tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "Smitty, did you grow last night?"

Smitty blushed and smiled. "No, but thank you for noticing. I'm sort of, how can I put this, walking on air."

"I see," Jessica said and took a bite of the eggs. Her eyes lit up. "Wow again! These are fantastic!" She then commenced to devour the plate.

Smitty watched and sipped coffee. It's obvious that Jessica had been on hard times for a while. She checked her watch for the 234th time.

"You waiting for something?" Jessica asked between bites.

"Oh," replied Smitty, "Ummm, not someTHING so much as someONE."

"My Fairy Godmother?" Jessica quipped before taking a long draught of Smitty's elven coffee.

"Not exactly." Smitty's spine tingled and her ears twitched. "Jessica, you should get dressed now."

"But why? No one ever visits me and I have nowhere to go. What's the point?"

Smitty was getting anxious. "You took a shower, though? So, you should get dressed. Maybe something, you know, holidayish."

"That's not even a word."

"A girl gets a journalism degree and she thinks she knows everything."

Jessica giggled and smiled. "Alright, alright, I'll get dressed, if only to say thank you for that fab breakfast." She got up and walked back to her bedroom. Just as her door shut, a knock came on the front door and Smitty jumped.

Not a jump from fright, she'd fully expected the knock. In fact, the visitor had been pacing in front of the door for ten minutes and it was only Smitty's mental attention to her that kept her there. The jump was more like a leap that covered the entire space between the kitchen and the front door.

Smitty opened the door and looked up. "May I help you?"

"Oh," the visitor said, looking down on her short respondent, "I'm sorry, I guess I have the wrong address."

Jessica's voice rang out from down the hall. "Who's at the door, Smitty? Be careful, this neighborhood is a bit dicey."

There was a brief silence as the visitor registered the voice. Smitty stepped aside and the visitor stopped in. "Jessica? Jessica Winters? Is that you?"

Jessica was just walking down the hall slipping a Christmas sweatshirt over her head. She stopped in mid-motion, one arm up, the other down, her midriff bare. "Caroline?" She yanked the sweater down to reveal a smile that lit the entire apartment. "Oh my God! It's you!"

Smitty slipped around the walls back to the kitchen to quickly clean things up. As she did, she watched them. The visitor, Caroline Osborne, was just as beautiful as her picture. The two of them embraced. Smitty smiled as they held each other at arms distance and gushed compliments on one another.

Jessica led Caroline to the sofa and they sat and started talking. Smitty prepared two mugs of hot chocolate and delivered them quickly and silently, so much so that neither woman noticed.

"Caroline, why...how did you come here?"

"Funny story. I got my mail the other day and leafed through it, you know, tossing the spam. So this one letter had no return address and looked like spam, so I tossed it in the trash. About an hour later, it was on my dining room table. I thought that I'd forgotten to trash it, so I trashed it then. Then, after lunch, as I was cleaning the kitchen, I found it on the counter. I finally decided that, if a letter was going to be that persistent, I should at least read it."

Jessica's eyes darted to Smitty who was sitting quietly on the kitchen bar, looking every bit like an Elf on the Ledge. She smiled back as if to say 'I don't know what you're talking about'.

"So," Jessica said, "what did it say?"

Caroline sniffed as a tear welled in her eye. "It said: 'To receive your Christmas gift from Santa, be at this address at ten a.m. tomorrow morning."

Jessica's head tilted as she put the pieces together. "Your Christmas gift? Here? But...."