Thursday, December 17

“Are you sure?” Pavel asked his mother, who threw her arms up in exasperation.

“I am not six!” Ella told him, and to both Molly and Drew’s amusement, she stood up and shoved her son gently towards the door. “I am a grown woman, and I do not need you hovering around me. Molly and I will be fine baking, and you can go and do whatever you have planned.”

“Come on, man,” Drew said, kissing Molly quickly. “Schrodinger, you coming?”

No, I think I’ll stay here. I heard there would cookies. The CrossCat stretched. And I have a nap that I need to take.

“I think we’ve been thrown over in favor of naps and cookies,” Drew said to Pavel.

The pirate shrugged. “I can’t argue with that. Naps and cookies are pretty awesome.”

“True, but there are Christmas presents to buy.” Drew led the way out to his truck. It wasn’t snowing yet, but Pavel could taste the coming storm on the wind. The grey clouds were a solid mass in the sky, and there was a cold wind that touched everything with fingers of ice.

“So, what is the plan?” Pavel asked him, as they trundled out of the driveway and towards the Cove.

“Molly asked me to stop in and get Schrodinger’s new cape from Home For All, and I have some things I want to pick up for her,” Drew said. “I still haven’t finished filling her stocking.”

“So we’re going to wander around Market Square until you’re inspired?” Pavel said.

“Pretty much.”

Pavel nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He leaned back and sighed. “I should pick up some things as well.”

Drew gave him a sideways look. “For your mother?”

“And other people.”

When Pavel didn’t expand on that, Drew prodded him a bit. “Molly?”

“Maybe.”

“Am I going to have to pry it out of you with a crowbar?” Drew said, a bit exasperated. “Spit it out, man!”

Pavel shifted a bit. “I’m thinking I might take my mother home for Christmas.”

“You mean—”

“To my grandmother’s house.”

Drew looked at him again, slightly stunned. “Why?” The question just sort of slipped out before he stop it, but the quiet admission had seriously startled him.

“Because it’s odd.” Pavel stopped, as if picking his words carefully. “But I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since my grandfather died. And especially since Mother came here with me.”

“Remembering things?” Drew prompted him, when the silence stretched between them.

“Yes.” Pavel looked out the window at the snowy landscape going by. “And realizing that I don’t just have bad memories. I mean, most of the good times happened after the old man passed out, but there were times when Mother and I had a good Christmas.” He smiled, almost to himself. “She always had a book and cookies for me when I got home on Christmas Eve, no matter how late it was, or how tired she was. Or how old I was, for that matter.”

“Age is kind of irrelevant around Christmas,” Drew agreed.

“True.” Pavel looked at him. “But part of it is you.”

“Me?”

“You, and Molly. And what happened this summer at your wedding.”

Drew didn’t say anything for a bit about that. His faery grandmother Phoebe had come to his and Molly’s wedding, and it had been the first time that Drew had admitted to anyone that he had nonhuman blood. He’d been afraid that Molly would break off the wedding, but she’d simply nodded, smiled and the wedding had gone on.

“You mean Molly not freaking out about my faery blood?”

“No, actually. That didn’t surprise me at all.” When Drew blinked, Pavel chuckled. “She’s lived with a CrossCat for four years. Faery blood is nothing to her. Besides, she loves you. Love conquers all.”

“So what was it?”

“Your cousin.”

“Doug?” Now Drew was really confused. “What does Doug have to do with it?”

“He showed up, with his husband and baby, and you accepted him. You accepted all of them, and didn’t let the fact that they were not what you were expecting, not what you remembered, bother you. In fact, I know how painful seeing them must have been.”

Drew pondered that. “You know, it never occurred to me that seeing them would be painful,” he said. “It was, a little, but really, I was more concerned about Molly meeting Phoebe. Seeing my cousin was actually pretty awesome. And seeing him happy? That was even better.”

“Even though he’s happy with a man,” Pavel said.

“Who cares?” Drew said. “They’re happy, Ryan has two great dads, and I get a great new cousin out of it. How can that be bad?”

“Ask Tim’s family,” Pavel said. “But that’s besides the point. You welcomed them in, and I would be a lesser man if I couldn’t do the same.”

“And you’re wondering if your mother might be right, and your grandfather wrong?” Drew guessed.

“I don’t want to be him,” Pavel said. “I don’t want to go through life being bitter and hating a construct in my own mind. Especially since now I know that there are extenuating circumstances.” He leaned his head back. “That’s a difference too. I’ve stopped seeing the world in black and white.”

“Shades of grey?”

“Well, I suppose.” Pavel smiled. “Shades of tea, maybe. I’ve drunk a lot of tea over the past few years here, and I’m not sure Molly doesn’t mix something into it.”

“She does,” Drew said, grinning, as he pulled the truck into the Home For All’s parking lot. “It’s called love and kindness. Molly doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.”

“Very true.”

Inside the store, Drew rang the bell and watched Pavel prowl up and down the aisles. “Schrodinger loves the toy aisle here,” he called. “And he’s due for another set of feathered wands.”

“Such a cat,” Pavel called back, heading towards the aisle.

“And you’re surprised?” Drew turned back to the counter as Julie came out of the back room, carrying a large package.

“Molly called,” she told him, handing him the package. “Said she forgot to tell you that it’s already been paid for, and by the way, could you pick up more cream on your way home? She said they were going to make fudge as well.”

“For fudge? Absolutely.” Drew accepted the box and opened it, admiring the dark blue velveteen coat Molly had picked out. “She’s so good at this.”

“She is,” Julie agreed. “And this one has the matching hat she asked for as well.”

“No booties, though?”

“No booties,” Julie said, and they shared a laugh over that. Schrodinger had categorically refused to ever wear the booties that Molly had gotten him again, and they had mysteriously been shredded when she went to unpack the winter stuff this past year, rendering the point moot. “Also, let her know that the treats she asked for will be in the day before Christmas. My supplier won’t be here before then, I’m sorry.”

“No worries,” Drew said, as Pavel came up, several feathered wands in his hands. “Schrodinger will have plenty of treats in his stocking, I’m sure.”

Julie agreed, reaching for the wands. “Do you want these wrapped?”

“If you could, that would be great,” Pavel said, looking a little surprised. “That way, he won’t know what they are.”

“That was my idea,” Julie said, pulling out a sheet of wrapping paper and some tape from under the counter. “He’s too smart by half, and this at least preserves some of the mystery.” She wrapped the wands quickly and neatly, then added them to the large bag that she’d slid Drew’s box into. “Anything else I can get you guys today?”

“That’s it,” Drew said, and Pavel nodded. “Do you mind if we leave the truck here and walk for a bit?”

“Not at all,” Julie said, handing Pavel his change. “As long as you aren’t blocking the loading dock, I don’t care.”

They locked the gifts in the truck, then wandered off down towards Market Square. It wasn’t hard to find – there were lights everywhere, on all the shop windows and eaves, and the statues in the middle of the green were decorated as well. Once again, Drew relished the fact that Carter’s Cove was so heavily in to the Christmas season.

Bits and pieces of music drifted out of the various stores as people went in and out – not canned music, like in many malls, but actual musicians, playing or singing or both. Drew inhaled deeply and turned towards the smell of deep, rich roasted coffee beans. “Let’s go visit Katarina and Mick,” he suggested.

“And feed your secret addiction?” Pavel teased.

“It’s not secret,” Drew said, as they went into the Vienna Cafe. “She knows I’m addicted to Katarina’s Linzer tort.”

“And luckily for you, I’ve just finished one today,” Katarina said from behind the glass display case. Her lovely accent never failed to thrill Drew – Katarina and her husband Mick had come from Europe, bringing with them their own specialties and exotic foods. Rather than compete with CrossWinds Books, the Vienna Cafe and the tea shop swapped recipes back and forth, but the Linzer tort was one thing that Molly refused to make, preferring Katarina’s version to anything she could make.

“Can we eat have a piece?” he asked, and she nodded, dimpling. “And hot chocolate for me.”

Pavel, to his surprise, requested a hot chocolate as well, and they took seats at one of the tables in front of the window. Mick brought over their desserts and beverages, with a smile and a “Welcome” in his Scottish brogue. Once again, Drew wondered how the two, so very dissimilar, had managed to meet, and once again, thoughts fled as soon as the first bite of tort hit his tongue. Katarina was as much a magician in the kitchen as Molly was.

“So, when are you thinking of going to your grandmother’s?” Drew asked, as they lingered over their chocolate cups.

“After the ball, most likely, if we go.” Pavel shrugged. “Depends on what Mother wants.” He looked at Drew. “What about you? What are you guys doing for Christmas?”

“We’re hosting everyone at our house Christmas Day.” Drew felt a thrill of excitement at saying that, even though it was the same as last year. Having his own house, with his own family, was everything he’d dreamed it was, and more. “It’s the only place with enough room for everyone.”

“Ah.” Pavel said, and Drew shook his head.

“You know you and your mother are part of the family,” he said. “That means you’re invited too.”

“I thank you,” Pavel said, smiling at his friend. “I’ll have to see what Mother wants to do.”

Katarina came by and set two small boxes down next to Drew, who looked at them and then at her questioningly. “For Molly,” the Austrian woman said, smiling. “One of my friends sent me a tin of her Christmas tea, which is a bit different from the one Molly serves at the shop. I thought she’d like some. And butter cookies, of course.”

“Thank you,” Drew said, slipping the boxes into his coat pockets. “She’ll adore them.”

“Merry Christmas!” Katarina said, flashing her dimples again.
“This is an amazing place,” Pavel said, as they stepped out into the cold air again. “I am convinced again that this is where I should live.”

“I can’t disagree with you,” Drew admitted. He looked around the bustling square. “Well, where next?”