December 14 – Luke<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the Station Master retreated, another one of Molly and Drew\u2019s friends stepped up. Luke Travers worked at the Gate Station with Drew and Mal, and they were waiting for he and Sue to finally set a date to tie the knot. Now, Molly wondered what he would bring to put on the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you have any thoughts about WHY the Snow Queen is doing this? Besides the fact that it\u2019s cool?<\/em> Schrodinger asked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m starting to possibly understand,\u201d Molly said, and the others looked at her. \u201cYou all know how the Ball fuels the protections around the Cove every year, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drew and Schrodinger nodded, while Tim and Doug looked puzzled. \u201cWhat protections?\u201d Doug asked. \u201cAnd why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause we have two Gates here,\u201d Molly said. \u201cAnd because there\u2019s something about the Cove that\u2019s different from any other Gate town I\u2019ve been in. You said it yourself – Carter\u2019s Cove is unique.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo maybe the wards need an extra boost this coming year?\u201d Drew scratched his chin. \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, I wonder what\u2019s coming down the pike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe it\u2019s something that can be deflected by something like this.<\/em> Schrodinger said. So this is just a precaution. The world hasn\u2019t been as happy as it should be lately.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As if that isn\u2019t the understatement of the year.<\/em> Molly made sure to keep that thought very private. Out loud, she said, \u201cWhat do you think Luke has?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA snowmobile,\u201d Drew said, and Molly laughed. Luke adored his snowmobile only slightly less than he adored Sue, and Molly had taken many a ride through the snow on the back of the machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProbably,\u201d she agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Luke pulled out, though, was a guitar, with what looked like holly berries and ivy leaves wrapped around the neck of the instrument. As he handed it to Jade, the scene went grey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the clouds cleared, Molly and Schrodinger were in a house that she remembered from years ago. Past-Molly and the Terrible Trio sat in a circle around a woman strumming a guitar, along with Past-Luke and Past-Tom, another gate tech that had been part of their group. There was a Christmas tree decorated with brilliantly blinking colored lights illuminating the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease, Mom, play Silent Night!\u201d Past-Luke said, clasping his hands together. \u201cIt\u2019s my favorite!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Travers smiled and her fingers danced along the strings. Her voice wasn\u2019t professional, but it was warm, and it wrapped around them as the children sang with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d almost forgotten this,\u201d Molly said. \u201cLuke lived two streets over from us when we were all little, and we\u2019d go over every year to have Mrs. Travers sing carols with us. Sometimes, we\u2019d go over the nursing home where she worked to sing for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like we did last year? <\/em> Schrodinger said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, like last year.\u201d Molly smiled. \u201cYou guys were much more in tune than we were. But I see why this ornament would mean so much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She blinked and they were back in time for Luke to say, \u201cI can\u2019t imagine a tree without one of Mom\u2019s instrument ornaments on it. This one always reminds me of her, because her guitar was similar.\u201d He handed it to Jade. \u201cShe shared so much with the Cove, I couldn\u2019t choose any other ornament.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you,\u201d Jade said. \u201cWe will take good care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" December 14 – Luke After the Station Master retreated, another one of Molly and Drew\u2019s friends stepped up. Luke Travers worked at the Gate Station with Drew and Mal, and they were waiting for he and Sue to finally set a date to tie the knot. Now, Molly wondered what he would bring to put …<\/p>\n