Thursday, December 17<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d Pavel asked his mother, who threw her arms up in exasperation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not six!\u201d Ella told him, and to both Molly and Drew\u2019s amusement, she stood up and shoved her son gently towards the door. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, man,\u201d Drew said, kissing Molly quickly. \u201cSchrodinger, you coming?\u201d<\/p>\n
No, I think I\u2019ll stay here. I heard there would cookies.<\/em> The CrossCat stretched. And I have a nap that I need to take.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve been thrown over in favor of naps and cookies,\u201d Drew said to Pavel.<\/p>\n The pirate shrugged. \u201cI can\u2019t argue with that. Naps and cookies are pretty awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrue, but there are Christmas presents to buy.\u201d Drew led the way out to his truck. It wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, what is the plan?\u201d Pavel asked him, as they trundled out of the driveway and towards the Cove.<\/p>\n \u201cMolly asked me to stop in and get Schrodinger\u2019s new cape from Home For All, and I have some things I want to pick up for her,\u201d Drew said. \u201cI still haven\u2019t finished filling her stocking.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo we\u2019re going to wander around Market Square until you\u2019re inspired?\u201d Pavel said.<\/p>\n \u201cPretty much.\u201d<\/p>\n Pavel nodded. \u201cSounds good to me.\u201d He leaned back and sighed. \u201cI should pick up some things as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew gave him a sideways look. \u201cFor your mother?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd other people.\u201d<\/p>\n When Pavel didn\u2019t expand on that, Drew prodded him a bit. \u201cMolly?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAm I going to have to pry it out of you with a crowbar?\u201d Drew said, a bit exasperated. \u201cSpit it out, man!\u201d<\/p>\n Pavel shifted a bit. \u201cI\u2019m thinking I might take my mother home for Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo my grandmother\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew looked at him again, slightly stunned. \u201cWhy?\u201d The question just sort of slipped out before he stop it, but the quiet admission had seriously startled him.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it\u2019s odd.\u201d Pavel stopped, as if picking his words carefully. \u201cBut I\u2019ve been doing a lot of thinking since my grandfather died. And especially since Mother came here with me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRemembering things?\u201d Drew prompted him, when the silence stretched between them.<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d Pavel looked out the window at the snowy landscape going by. \u201cAnd realizing that I don\u2019t 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.\u201d He smiled, almost to himself. \u201cShe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAge is kind of irrelevant around Christmas,\u201d Drew agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue.\u201d Pavel looked at him. \u201cBut part of it is you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou, and Molly. And what happened this summer at your wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew didn\u2019t say anything for a bit about that. His faery grandmother Phoebe had come to his and Molly\u2019s wedding, and it had been the first time that Drew had admitted to anyone that he had nonhuman blood. He\u2019d been afraid that Molly would break off the wedding, but she\u2019d simply nodded, smiled and the wedding had gone on.<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean Molly not freaking out about my faery blood?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, actually. That didn\u2019t surprise me at all.\u201d When Drew blinked, Pavel chuckled. \u201cShe\u2019s lived with a CrossCat for four years. Faery blood is nothing to her. Besides, she loves you. Love conquers all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo what was it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoug?\u201d Now Drew was really confused. \u201cWhat does Doug have to do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe showed up, with his husband and baby, and you accepted him. You accepted all of them, and didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew pondered that. \u201cYou know, it never occurred to me that seeing them would be painful,\u201d he said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven though he\u2019s happy with a man,\u201d Pavel said.<\/p>\n \u201cWho cares?\u201d Drew said. \u201cThey\u2019re happy, Ryan has two great dads, and I get a great new cousin out of it. How can that be bad?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAsk Tim\u2019s family,\u201d Pavel said. \u201cBut that\u2019s besides the point. You welcomed them in, and I would be a lesser man if I couldn\u2019t do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you\u2019re wondering if your mother might be right, and your grandfather wrong?\u201d Drew guessed.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “Shades of grey?”<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “Very true.”<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n “Such a cat,” Pavel called back, heading towards the aisle.<\/p>\n “And you’re surprised?” Drew turned back to the counter as Julie came out of the back room, carrying a large package.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “She is,” Julie agreed. “And this one has the matching hat she asked for as well.”<\/p>\n “No booties, though?”<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Julie agreed, reaching for the wands. “Do you want these wrapped?”<\/p>\n “If you could, that would be great,” Pavel said, looking a little surprised. “That way, he won’t know what they are.”<\/p>\n “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?”<\/p>\n “That’s it,” Drew said, and Pavel nodded. “Do you mind if we leave the truck here and walk for a bit?”<\/p>\n “Not at all,” Julie said, handing Pavel his change. “As long as you aren’t blocking the loading dock, I don’t care.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “And feed your secret addiction?” Pavel teased.<\/p>\n “It’s not secret,” Drew said, as they went into the Vienna Cafe. “She knows I’m addicted to Katarina’s Linzer tort.”<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “Can we eat have a piece?” he asked, and she nodded, dimpling. “And hot chocolate for me.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “So, when are you thinking of going to your grandmother’s?” Drew asked, as they lingered over their chocolate cups.<\/p>\n “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?”<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “Ah.” Pavel said, and Drew shook his head.<\/p>\n “You know you and your mother are part of the family,” he said. “That means you’re invited too.”<\/p>\n “I thank you,” Pavel said, smiling at his friend. “I’ll have to see what Mother wants to do.”<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n “Thank you,” Drew said, slipping the boxes into his coat pockets. “She’ll adore them.”<\/p>\n “Merry Christmas!” Katarina said, flashing her dimples again. “I can’t disagree with you,” Drew admitted. He looked around the bustling square. “Well, where next?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thursday, December 17 \u201cAre you sure?\u201d Pavel asked his mother, who threw her arms up in exasperation. \u201cI am not six!\u201d Ella told him, and to both Molly and Drew\u2019s amusement, she stood up and shoved her son gently towards the door. \u201cI am a grown woman, and I do not need you hovering around …<\/p>\n
\n“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.”<\/p>\n