It looks like it did last year, Jack remarked, laying his head down on his paws. He and Schrodinger were lying on Schrodinger’s bed, watching the snow fall outside of the big windows at the front of CrossWinds Books. When Old Man Winter came around.

 

It snows every winter, Schrodinger replied sleepily. It was one of those afternoons that he loved – he was warm, and the smells coming from Molly’s kitchen were wonderful. The snow shushed quietly against the windows – Aunt Margie had decided not to have music on for the moment, so the only sounds were the people shopping upstairs, the click-click of the keyboard as DC rang customers out, and the snow.

 

Not as much as it did last year, Jack said.

 

Well, no, but that was last year. It’s going to snow, whether or not Old Man Winter shows up. Schrodinger snuggled a little deeper into the soft bed. We should just enjoy it.

 

The bookstore’s phone rang then, and DC picked it up with a cheerful “CrossWinds Books, DC speaking. How can I help you?” She listened for a moment, and then said, “I’ll have to go find her, Corinne, do you mind holding for me for a few minutes?”

 

Both Schrodinger and Jack looked up as she went up the stairs, and then Schrodinger looked at the clock. It’s only one o’clock, he said. Why is Corinne calling now?

 

Maybe Lily’s sick. Jack started to get up. Maybe I should go.

 

Schrodinger put a paw on his friend’s back. Wait. Let’s see what Aunt Margie says. DC didn’t sound worried.

 

True. Jack settled back in next the CrossCat, but neither animal went to sleep.

 

Aunt Margie followed DC back down the stairs and picked up the phone. “Hi Corinne, what can I do for you?” Her pleasant face was calm and composed as she glanced out the front windows. “Oh, definitely! That won’t be a problem at all!” She listened a bit longer, and laughed. “I can imagine. Nathan probably won’t be able to get away for hours. Don’t worry, I’ll head right over there. Yes, you be careful too!” She hung up the phone and looked over at DC. “I’m heading over to the school to get Lily and Zoey,” she said. “The school’s been let out early, and Corinne’s stuck in Portland. Nathan’s still at the Gate Station, so we get them.”

 

See, I told you, Schrodinger said, giving Jack’s ear a companionable lick. It’s just the school getting out early.

 

Hmm, if that’s the case, I wonder where we’re sleeping tonight, Jack said.

 

Maybe you can stay with us! Schrodinger’s eyes lit up. That would be awesome!

 

They watched Aunt Margie go into the kitchen to tell Molly they were being invaded early, and then she wrapped herself up in her car coat, her scarf, her hat and her mittens before heading out into the snow.

 

Knowing it would take her a while to get to the school in the weather, Schrodinger and Jack decided naps were the better way to pass the time. It was a good call; when the door opening again woke them, Schrodinger saw it was nearly an hour later.

 

“We’re not staying open,” Aunt Margie announced to DC as she hustled Lily and Zoey through the front door. “It’s a mess out there.” She squinted at the clerk. “Go now. And call my cell when you get home, please. I want to make sure you make it.”

 

DC’s eyes widened. “Is it that bad?”

 

Aunt Margie nodded, unwinding her scarf. “Worse, I’m afraid. How many folks do we still have here?”

 

Molly had come out into the tea room as she’d heard the voices. “Just us,” she said. “The last customers left a little while ago.”

 

“Then close it up,” Aunt Margie said decisively. “And get your stuff, Molly. I’ll drop you guys off at the apartment – you don’t mind taking the girls for the night, do you?”

 

“Of course not,” Molly said. “It’s the safest place for them.”

 

“Good.” Aunt Margie nodded. “Then get packed up. I have a few things I need to grab from the office.”

 

“We need to do the calendar,” Lily said. “Do we have time?”

 

“If you hurry,” Aunt Margie told her.

 

“Come on!” Lily grabbed Zoey’s hand and pulled her into the kitchen. Jack and Schrodinger followed behind them, ducking out of Molly’s way as she shut things down and got her own coat.

 

Zoey found the number 11 hiding in the snow, and Jack pressed his nose to it. The snowflake floated out, and then spun, splitting into two snowflakes that drifted down into Zoey and Lily’s outstretched hands. As they hit their mittens, they turned into a cranberry in Lily’s hand, and a popcorn kernel in Zoey’s.

 

“What does that mean?” Zoey asked, puzzled. “What are we supposed to do with this?”

 

Molly looked at what they were holding. “Hmm, I think I know what we can do,” she said mysteriously. “But not here.” She hustled them back out into the tea room. “Come on, Aunt Margie will want to go.”

 

“Now,” Aunt Margie said, coming back down the stairs, a large briefcase in her hand. She paused at the computer terminal that DC used to check out customers, tapping a few keys to open the cash drawer, and put the entire cash tray, coins and all, in the briefcase. Then she looked at them. “Ready?”

 

“Ready,” Molly said, flipping off the lights in the tea room. They all trooped outside, waited while Aunt Margie set the alarm and locked the front door, and then they made their careful way to her car.

 

It was only about two o’clock in the afternoon, but between the driving snow and the clouds, it was darker than they’d expected outside. Schrodinger understood why it had taken Aunt Margie nearly an hour to get to and from the school. It was horrible out, and he couldn’t wait for them to be safe and warm in the apartment.

 

When they got to Molly and Schrodinger’s building, Molly hustled all four of them out into the snow, then turned to her aunt. “Call me when you get home,” she said, and Aunt Margie nodded. “Drive safe.” Then she hurried to unlock the front door, and Aunt Margie drove off carefully.

 

“Come on,” Molly said, ushering everyone in and up the stairs. Molly and Schrodinger had the second floor apartment in their building, and the building’s owner had put in a brand-new generator in that summer. So it didn’t matter how much it snowed – they would be dry and warm.

 

“Wow, this is cool,” Zoey said, as Molly unlocked the front door to the apartment. The foyer had been decorated, as it was every year, with a greenery garland wound around with sparkling white lights, and Drew had put up a wreath on their front door, with red holly berries and a golden bow.

 

“Thanks!” Molly said, as they came into the apartment. “We like it.”

 

Schrodinger more than liked it. The small apartment he shared with Molly (and increasingly with Drew, but that was okay too) wasn’t the fanciest place he’d ever been, but it was warm, and filled with love. Like the lair he’d grown up in. It was home.

 

“Schrodinger, why don’t you lead everyone into the living room?” Molly suggested. “I’ll get us some hot cider and something to eat, and we’ll warm up. Sound good?”

 

Lily looked at the cranberry she still held in her hand. “Sure, but what about these?” she asked.

 

Molly winked at her. “Let’s get warmed up first and then we’ll see what we can do about that.”

 

I think she’s got a plan, Schrodinger said. Molly’s plans are usually good ones, so let’s go.

 

He nudged Lily’s leg, and after a moment’s hesitation, she and Zoey followed him and Jack into the living room. The Christmas tree hadn’t been gotten yet, but Molly had already cleared the space for it, and moved the couch and chairs away from their normal space next to the hearth. They had a fireplace, although Schrodinger couldn’t remember the last time it had been lit, and Molly’s treasured Christmas nativity scene was set up on the mantel. The television was moved into the corner, so they could still watch it, and out the window, Schrodinger could see the snow falling. It was going to be a long storm.

 

“Zoey, what’s your phone number?” Molly called out from the kitchen. “I want to let your folks know we made it here.”

 

Zoey gave her the number, and then snuggled on the couch with the others. Molly’s couch was deep and soft, with several handmade quilts on them. “This is the best way to spend a snowy day,” she declared. “Absolutely the best.”

 

“And we haven’t even done anything yet!” Lily giggled.

 

But it’s warm, and we don’t have to shovel, Jack said, poking his nose against her neck and making her giggle even more.

 

And maybe later, we can have a snowball fight! Schrodinger said, tickling Zoey’s cheeks with his whiskers.

 

“We’ll see,” Molly said, coming in with a wooden tray that was piled with steaming mugs and goodies. “The way it’s snowing out there, I might not find you again! You might be lost in the snowbanks!”

 

Nah, I’d make it back. Schrodinger abandoned tickling Zoey to investigate the tray. Besides the promised hot cider, Molly had put some of the goodies she’d been keeping in her fridge at home: some gooey caramel brownies, some leftover candy cane cookies that hadn’t made it to the bake sale, and some ham and cheddar scones that she’d warmed in the oven while the hot cider was bubbling. How else would I get fed like this?

 

“I knew it! You and Drew! You only love me for my cooking!” Molly gave a suitably tragic sigh as she took a mug of cider and one of the scones and installed herself in one of the recliners. “Whatever shall I do?”

 

“Don’t stop cooking,” Lily said wisely, her mouth full of brownie, and then looked confused when Molly started laughing.

 

“Thank you,” she said, picking up the remote and turning the television on. Nothing but snow greeted their eyes. “And the power is out.”

 

Zoey looked at the lights, which still glowed. “But it’s not!”

 

We have a generator, Schrodinger told her. Mrs. Collins, who owns the building and lives upstairs put in a dwarven generator this past summer. It runs on magic!

 

“Magic?” Her eyes widened.

 

“Actually, it runs on something that they mine out on the edge of town,” Molly said. “It’s not coal, and it’s not gasoline, but I’m not sure it’s magic.”

 

Schrodinger looked doubtful. I thought everything that came out of that mine was magic. That’s why they have manticores guarding their mine!

 

“They have manticores guarding their mine because they have always had manticores guarding their mine,” Molly said, putting her mug down and getting up to get a movie. “Or so Julie told me, and since she orders their feed for them, I assume she would know.”

 

Because they need to guard the magic, Schrodinger said, as if it should be obvious. They didn’t always make generators, you know. And it’s hardly the only thing they do now.

“Very true,” Molly said. “I have no idea what else they do.  I didn’t know they did generators until they came to install it this summer.”

 

“Dwarves.” Zoey said. “Like Snow White dwarves?”

 

“Kind of,” Molly told her. “They’re not quite as short, though.” She chose a DVD and went back over to the TV. “Luckily, Schrodinger and I have quite the movie collection.”

 

“What about the cranberry and the popcorn kernel?” Lily demanded. “What did the Advent Calendar mean by giving us those?”

 

“Okay, okay!” Molly laughed and threw her hands up. “I’ll show you.”

 

She went out into the kitchen, and returned with two big bowls in her hand. One was piled high with fluffy popcorn, and the other held gleaming cranberries, glowing like jewels in the light. The four on the couch watched, confused, as she set them down on the table, then went back out into the kitchen.

 

When she came back, though, Lily and Zoey’s eyes lit up. “Are we making garlands?” Lily asked, seeing the rolls of thick black cord in Molly’s hands.

 

“We are! For the retirement home. Mrs. Dawson asked if we would help decorate the outdoors for the birds,” Molly said, and handed two long needles, one to each girl, threaded from one of the rolls of cord. She kept another roll and needle for herself. “So what better way to pass a snowy afternoon than to watch movies and make gifts for someone else?”

 

Which is exactly what they did. Molly hadn’t been kidding when she’d said they had a movie collection, and the bowls of popcorn and cranberries seemed never ending. The afternoon light faded into darkness and Molly put in a version of the Christmas Carol.

 

“Those nightshirts look silly,” Zoey giggled.

 

“Yeah,” Lily agreed. “But I kind of like the hats.”

 

“But would you wear one to bed?”

 

I’ll bet it kept their ears warm, Jack said sleepily.

 

“Hey, what are we going to sleep in tonight?” Lily asked, looking over at Molly. “We don’t have pajamas!”

 

“Oh no!” Molly’s eyes were twinkling, and she got up. “You mean you didn’t bring overnight bags?”

 

“We didn’t know we were staying!” Zoey reminded her.

 

“Good thing I was prepared for such an emergency.” Molly got up and went into her bedroom, coming back with four wrapped presents. “I was going to save these for closer to Christmas, but I think you can open them now.”

 

That got all four of them out of the blankets in a hurry. Molly moved the finished garlands into the kitchen as they opened the gifts.

 

“Nightshirts!” Zoey squealed, pulling the soft purple flannel from the box.

 

“And hats!” Lily added, cramming the dark pink one she’d received on her head. “They ARE warm!”

 

Help! Jack asked, scrabbling at the box he’d unwrapped. Lily hastened to help him, while Zoey assisted Schrodinger. They didn’t have nightshirts, but they did have hats: Jack’s a dark blue that complemented Lily’s and Schrodinger’s a bright red, almost a Santa hat.

 

“You guys look awesome,” Molly declared, when they were all dressed. “Like a picture.”

 

And then she put the movie back on, and they settled in for the night, with the snow falling outside.

 

Schrodinger decided, right before he fell asleep, that this was one of the best days he’d had in a while.