Sunday, December 21<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, spill it,\u201d Lai said, as the Terrible Trio swarmed into the kitchen that afternoon. \u201cThe entire story.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes!\u201d Sue and Noemi chorused, and Molly laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, okay, okay,\u201d she said, pulling tea mugs out and pouring hot water into each of them. \u201cAlthough come on, Lai, didn\u2019t you give him the third degree when you were dancing last night? You looked like you were having a good time!\u201d<\/p>\n
Lai stuck her tongue out at Molly, reddening. \u201cNot my fault he picked my shoe. I know he was looking for yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh? And how do you know that?\u201d Molly asked, putting their favorite teas in the mugs: Christmas for her, green for Sue and Lai, and a spicy Assam for Noemi.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he told me so,\u201d she retorted, picking up her mug. \u201cIn fact, we spent most of the time talking about you. You\u2019re lucky you\u2019re engaged, Molly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI doubt Drew has anything to worry about,\u201d Molly said, and pulled a plate of homemade maple donuts from the refrigerator. \u201cJack\u2019s heart is firmly held in the hand of the Snow Queen. If it\u2019s not, then I\u2019ve wasted most of my December, and I will NOT be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is.<\/em> Schrodinger climbed up and put his front paws on the island. Are those donuts?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey are,\u201d Molly said, putting one on a plate in front of him. \u201cHow did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n I have a highly sensitive nose,<\/em> he informed her. Tea, too?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTea too.\u201d Molly poured water over the tea ball containing his favored Earl Grey. \u201cAre you going to help me tell this story?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ll just make sure you get everything right,<\/em> Schrodinger said, licking a drop of frosting from his nose.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks.\u201d Molly picked up her own tea cup, enjoying the feel of the warm porcelain. A cold front had moved in overnight, finally driving off the warm air that had hovered over the Cove for the past month, and it had actually been icy that morning. The stove in the tea room had been stoked to life for the first time all winter.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, how did you actually meet Jack Frost?\u201d Noemi demanded. \u201cBecause that\u2019s who that was, right? THE Jack Frost?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, that\u2019s who it was.\u201d Molly told them about how Pavel had brought Jack to the farm, asking for their help. The tea and donuts were long gone when she finished with the scene at the Snow Queen\u2019s palace.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe it,\u201d Sue said. \u201cI mean, who would have thought the Cove would be the center of this torrid love affair? We\u2019re just the Cove.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019re not just the Cove,<\/em> Schrodinger said, wiping crumbs from his whiskers. You\u2019re the COVE. \u00a0Everyone knows about you.<\/em> When they all looked at him blankly, he said, Really? Do you really think that Old Man Winter, the Snow Queen, and everyone else who has come through here in the past came through just because you happen to have a Gate or two here?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cUm, yes, actually,\u201d Sue said. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s really nothing historical here. Remember, I work in the museum here. Why else would they come here?\u201d<\/p>\n Look at how much magic seeps into the world here,<\/em> Schrodinger told her. That\u2019s not just spillover from the Gates.<\/em><\/p>\n Molly looked at her hands. Her magic was small, as was most of the magics of those born here in the Cove, and she\u2019d never really wondered where it came from. It just was. If you were born in a Gate town, you had magic. \u201cSo where does it come from, then?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Schrodinger shrugged. I don\u2019t know. But I bet Jade and Jack do. And I\u2019m certain that\u2019s part of why Caliban is so interested in her realm, and her. She\u2019s got the keys to the Cove.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhich means you did a wonderful thing, Molly, in getting Jack back into her good graces,\u201d Lai said. \u201cWhen I asked him last night what his plans were, he said he was currently getting to know the Snow Queen again. It\u2019s been 300 years since they\u2019ve talked, he said it was like discovering her all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wondered if it was possible, at first,\u201d Molly admitted. \u201cJack was an ass, to be perfectly honest, but now that I think about it, I was never unsure about what was underneath. He\u2019s a good guy – he just didn\u2019t know it yet. Caliban, on the other hand\u2026.\u201d She couldn\u2019t stop a shiver from going through her. \u201cHe was just evil. There was never anything human about him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, then, it\u2019s a good thing he\u2019s gone then,\u201d Noemi said. \u201cWe don\u2019t need that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf he\u2019s gone,\u201d Lai said darkly, and they all turned to look at her.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Molly said. \u201cThe warm front lifted. I lifted ice from the puddles in my driveway today. Caliban is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d Lai said. \u201cJack didn\u2019t seem to think so last night, even with the cold. It\u2019s just too easy.\u201d She turned and pointed out to the tea room, where Goldie was sitting next to the stove, reading again, his gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. \u201cAnd isn\u2019t that one of Pavel\u2019s sailors? Why is he still here, if you\u2019re safe?\u201d<\/p>\n Molly had no answer for that. Another chill went through her. What if Lai was right? What could Caliban be planning?<\/p>\n Anything,<\/em> Schrodinger said, answering her unspoken thought. He could be planning anything.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sunday, December 21 \u201cOkay, spill it,\u201d Lai said, as the Terrible Trio swarmed into the kitchen that afternoon. \u201cThe entire story.\u201d \u201cYes!\u201d Sue and Noemi chorused, and Molly laughed. \u201cOkay, okay, okay,\u201d she said, pulling tea mugs out and pouring hot water into each of them. \u201cAlthough come on, Lai, didn\u2019t you give him the …<\/p>\n