December 20
Molly looked out over the packed tea room and sighed. Not surprisingly, the bookstore had been rocking all day; it was only 5 days until Christmas, and no one was immune to the last minute Christmas panic. Molly herself still had a few things to buy, but figured she’d hit the stores on Tuesday. She needed to finish filling Schrodinger’s stocking, and she wanted to get something special for SA. Especially since she was pretty damn sure she now knew who he was.
Behind her, the oven timer dinged. Normally, Molly didn’t even bother with the timer, but her senses were a bit overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people surging in and out of her domain. Now, she turned to the oven and pulled out yet another tray of gingerbread men to add to the army marching around the kitchen. One more tray was waiting to go in; she put them in the oven, reset the timer, and then went into the pantry for icing supplies.
When she came out, Tom was waiting in the kitchen for her. Molly had heard the footsteps and her heart had swelled a bit; when she saw who it was, she couldn’t help but feel a little spurt of disappointment. Then reminded herself that Drew had to work, after all. She couldn’t expect him to dance attendance on her all the time.
“Hi,” she said, smiling. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” Tom looked a bit ill at ease, and Molly’s smile slipped. “Molly, can we talk?”
“We are talking,” she said, putting the supplies down on the island and moving to the sink. “What’s on your mind?”
He hesitated, watching her draw a glass of water, then said, “I want to talk to you about us. And about your secret admirer.”
“We’re friends,” Molly said, coming back over to the island and setting the water down. She poured powdered sugar and meringue powder into the bowl, then began adding water and beating it.
“I want us to be more than friends.”
She sighed, not stopping. “I’m not sure that’s possible anymore, Tom. You’re not going to change, and I can’t live with your weird silences. You lost your chance to let me in.” Molly didn’t look at him. “I’m happy with being friends. I like you. I even love you, but I’m realizing that it’s like a sister loves a brother. Not like a girlfriend.”
“And there’s nothing I can do to change that?” Tom’s voice was strained, a little desperate.
“No.” Molly finally looked up at him. “You had your chance, Tom. I’m sorry. I can’t go through that again.” She picked up the red food coloring and dripped six drops into the frosting. “Please don’t ask me to.”
“You know that Drew will be gone, just like I was.”
“Yes, I do.” She stopped and stared steadily at him. Not angry, she realized; there was no anger left in her. “But I don’t think Drew will vanish when he’s NOT being sent out to fix a Gate or find a traveler and think I won’t figure it out.”
Tom had the decency to flush at that. “It wasn’t what you were thinking.”
“How could I know that, Tom? You never told me anything. And then that girl called. And you wouldn’t talk about it. What was I supposed to think?” Molly took a second bowl and began again, making green icing. “But it doesn’t matter now, whoever she is. I don’t really care anymore. I’m just not going to let you into our lives like that.”
“I don’t know if I can be just friends, Molly.” Tom began walking up and down behind the island.
“I’m sorry, then. I’ll miss you.” She mixed up a third bowl of icing and left it white, then she pulled out three pastry bags from the drawer in the island.
“Molly, please, give me another chance.” Tom put his hand over hers. “Please.”
“No.” She pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“I agreed to this scheme because I thought it would give me a chance to win you back, Molly. I was hoping for a Christmas miracle.” He stopped then, as she stared at him.
“Agreed to what scheme?” She had a sinking suspicion that she knew what he meant, and it gave an edge to her voice.
He shook his head, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Never mind. It was stupid. Forget I said anything.” Then, before she could say anything else, Tom fled the kitchen.
Molly watched him go, her mind whirling. It wasn’t too hard to guess what he’d meant by “scheme.” But if he’d been only a part…She shook her head and filled the pastry bags. She’d know everything by Friday.
Schrodinger came trotting in about thirty minutes later, carrying a red envelope in his mouth. He waited until she laid down the icing bag and then put his front paws on her leg, offering the envelope to her.
“Well, well, well. Let’s see what SA sent today.” Molly slipped her finger under the flap and opened the envelope. The CD and scrap of paper came out, along with another ornament. This one was delicate brass, and it shimmered in the light.
“Oh, how pretty,” Molly breathed, enchanted in spite of herself. It was a triskelion, and each arm was etched with fancy Celtic knotwork. She laid it down gently on the island and looked at the note.
“Dear Molly, I’m hoping this is a symbol of what we have before us. A love that lasts forever. But even if not, this Christmas season has been a magical one. Thank you. SA”