I’m moving to a different schedule starting tomorrow, so hopefully these will be up earlier. Thanks for putting up with me, and hope you enjoy today’s episode!<\/p>\n
December 6<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Molly, you busy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Noemi stuck her head around the doorway to the kitchen, her bright eyes twinkling.\u00a0 As Molly was bent over the oven, carefully pulling out two trays of cookies one at a time and setting them on the island behind her, then sliding two new trays in, she didn\u2019t respond.\u00a0 In fact, considering the low stream of cursing coming from that direction, she probably hadn\u2019t heard.\u00a0 Schrodinger, however, looked over at her, then hopped down.<\/p>\n
Can I help?\u00a0 Molly\u2019s not happy right now. \u00a0It\u2019s not a good time to bother her.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Giving the situation a look, Noemi realized he was probably right and backed carefully out of the kitchen.\u00a0 Schrodinger followed her.<\/p>\n She knelt down and stroked his head.\u00a0 \u201cIssues with cookies?\u201d<\/p>\n No. <\/em>Schrodinger leaned into the caress, a purr rumbling up from his throat.\u00a0 She\u2019s just having a bad day.\u00a0 And she doesn\u2019t like not knowing who SA is.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDo you know who he is, Schrodinger?\u201d Noemi asked, scratching him under the chin.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d tell her, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Of course I would.\u00a0 <\/em>He pulled back from her, an offended look in his eyes.\u00a0 Why would I keep that from her?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSorry,\u201d Noemi said soothingly.\u00a0 \u201cI know you would.\u201d\u00a0 She sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened today?\u201d<\/p>\n Tom came in.\u00a0 Asked her something \u2013 I was asleep in the kitchen, but she came stomping in and woke me up.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t even let me love her \u2013 just started making cookies.<\/em>\u00a0 The purr died.\u00a0 I hope Tom isn\u2019t her Christmas present.\u00a0 Is that bad?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d Noemi didn\u2019t mention that most of them hoped Tom wasn\u2019t Molly\u2019s secret admirer, although what she\u2019d found out did seem to point towards him.\u00a0 The breakup between the two of them had done some serious damage to Molly and her confidence.\u00a0 Noemi was sort of hoping it was gentle, quiet Luke herself: he was content to remain in the background for most things, but he knew how to treat a lady.\u00a0 And that, as her grandmother liked to remind her, was important.\u00a0 \u201cNo, it\u2019s not bad.\u00a0 It means you love her.\u201d<\/p>\n She was still sitting there, stroking Schrodinger, when Margie came through.\u00a0 \u201cNoemi! What are you doing on the floor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThinking of how to beard Molly in her den,\u201d Noemi said, and then saw the red envelope in Margie\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cOh no, another one?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d Margie looked amused, not worried, and breezed into the kitchen.\u00a0 Schrodinger and Noemi exchanged looks, then followed her.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m busy.\u201d\u00a0 Molly\u2019s voice was curt, and full of barely-repressed rage, quite at odds from the steady hand and delicate meringue she was frosting the cookies in front of her with.\u00a0 Around the kitchen were trays in various stages of completion: some raw dough, ready to go into the oven; some cooling on racks; and some fully covered in meringue and arranged on silver trays .\u00a0 Noemi was a bit awed by the sheer volume of cookies, and wondered how she could filch one without pissing Molly off even more.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m wondering what happened,\u201d Margie said.\u00a0 \u201cI appreciate that you two kept your voices down, but I had four separate patrons come through the door telling me you and Tom had a spat in the fantasy section.\u00a0 What happened, and do I need to ban him from the store?\u201d<\/p>\n Molly threw her spatula into the bowl of meringue. \u201cNo, you don\u2019t need to ban him,\u201d she said crossly.\u00a0 \u201cHe knows better than to cross me twice now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did he do?\u201d Noemi asked.<\/p>\n \u201cHe asked me to the Snow Queen\u2019s dance,\u201d Molly snapped, and then, when both Noemi and Margie started to chuckle, glared at the two of them.\u00a0 \u201cThis is not funny!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2026got mad\u2026because he asked you out?\u201d Noemi asked, and then burst into full-blown peals of laughter.\u00a0 \u201cSeriously?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to go out with him!\u201d Molly shouted, and then made a conscious effort to calm herself down.\u00a0 \u201cNot only that,\u201d she continued, in a lower voice full of venom, \u201che didn\u2019t exactly ask at first.\u00a0 He breezed in and told me he had tickets for the two of us for the 19th<\/sup>, and what color dress was I wearing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d Margie swallowed her chuckles.\u00a0 \u201cI see he hasn\u2019t learned much.\u00a0 But he\u2019s excited to see you again, Molly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t gone anywhere,\u201d Molly said, picking up her spatula again.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t the one who took the assignment I couldn\u2019t tell my girlfriend about, disappear for three months, and then show up and ask her to forgive me, then marry me.\u00a0 And then be surprised when she flips out.\u00a0 So I don\u2019t see why he gets to be excited.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you are excited,\u201d Margie said.\u00a0 \u201cOr else you wouldn\u2019t be this pissed at him.\u201d\u00a0 When Molly glared at her again, she laid the red envelope down.\u00a0 \u201cThis came for you today.\u00a0 Maybe it will put you in a better mood.\u201d<\/p>\n She left, and Noemi sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI might as well tell you,\u201d she said reluctantly.\u00a0 \u201cAnd don\u2019t hate me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Molly said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat bad news do you have for me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTom bought two boxes of Christmas cards the night he got back,\u201d Noemi said.\u00a0 \u201cWith red envelopes.\u201d<\/p>\n The envelope Margie had laid on the counter sat between, a silent accusation.\u00a0 Molly finished her tray, put the spatula back into the bowl more gently than she had before, and moved the tray to the sideboard to join the three others there.\u00a0 Then she picked up the envelope and opened it, dumping the CD along with the standard scrap of paper.\u00a0 She looked at the note, then growled something and stomped out.<\/p>\n Once the kitchen was silent, Noemi picked up the note.\u00a0 It said, \u201cMolly, just like the song says, I\u2019ve been chasing you for a while.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping this way, I\u2019ll be able to catch up to you by Christmas Day. That would be the best present ever. SA\u201d<\/p>\n Today, SA sent Molly my friend Bob\u2019s favorite carol ever. It\u2019s one of my favorites too. Do you know who SA is yet?<\/a><\/p>\n