Feel free to review one-shot suggestions! This is a short one. It's the day before Christmas Eve in the beginning.
An Unexpected Arrival
The whole household is excited when Miss Perumal's cousin graces the Benedict's house for Christmas. But with her comes an old friend... An unexpected arrival.
"Mr. Benedict." Reynie huffed impatiently.
The man in question looked up from his stack of papers - which didn't really help, because in his chair the paperwork was taller than he was. He rolled out from behind his desk and folded his hands on his lap. "Yes, Reynie?"
"Amma's cousin is coming for Christmas." Reynie burst out excitedly.
Mr. Benedict seemed excited too. "So it's all settled, then?"
A few days ago, a FaceTime message had come from Miss Perumal's cousin. They had communicated, and now she was coming for Christmas, and bringing a surprise - something Reynie was briefing through right now for Mr. Benedict.
"Well, that's wonderful, then!" Mr. Benedict seemed pleased. "When is she coming?"
"On a plane, tomorrow." Reynie bounced excitedly. Yes, he was fourteen years old and knew as much as a college student - or perhaps even more - but even fourteen-year-old got excited and bounced up and down. "At six in the evening. Oh, and she's deaf. But she can read lips."
"Indeed." Mr. Benedict stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I just happen to know sign language."
Reynie stared at the man before exiting the study.
The house was all a buzz. Kate zipped around hanging decorations and pulling new ones out of her bucket, Reynie and Sticky vacuumed, and Rhonda, Number Two, and the Perumals helped with the cooking, with Moocho of course. The Washingtons, Milligan, and Mrs. Plugg went shopping, and Constance was bribed into cleaning up the upstairs guest room, which was no small task for a four-year-old. Mr. Benedict did paperwork.
Finally came the time when everyone waited anxiously for the taxi to arrive. The children were posted as window guards (Constance watched from upstairs and the other three from downstairs) and the grown-ups did last-minute tasks, like tilting some tinsel slightly to the right. There was a scary moment when half of the lights on the Christmas tree went dark, but it had only been unplugged, which was an easy fix.
The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow, until it was ten minutes after six - while it felt like hours.
Finally, there was a taxi pulling into the driveway. Reynie raced to the door and opened it.
There was a form there, a womanly figure all bundled up in a red coat, a checkered scarf, a simple brown hat, and two suitcases. Then there was a hug as the tall woman with dark hair bended down and embraced the boy that was nearly as tall as she was. Then there was a flurry of hands that Miss Perumal quickly translated out loud for everyone to understand.
"She wants to know where Mr. Benedict is." Miuss Perumal announced. "She has a surprise for him in the taxi."
"I'll get him," Kate said and disappeared down the hallway. "He's probably in his study somewhere." Came a distant call.
The woman, Reynie's aunt, went out to the taxi. Kate being who she was, she and Mr. Benedict were waiting for her and the bag she carried.
Mr. Benedict signed hello to her. The woman smiled and signed something back, but then she reached inside her back and pulled out some blue paper. Beckoning to Mr. Benedict, she unrolled it - it had been rolled like a treasure map, or an old-timey scroll - and showed it to him.
His eyes widened as he studied the blueprint before him, the design uncomfortably familiar - almost as if... In the back of his mind...
"The drill." He finally cried aloud. The woman smiled ruefully and tapped her nose.
"But... No one knew about the drill." Mr. Benedict stroked his chin. "Nobody except..."
The woman tilted her head and smirked at the puzzled expression on his face. Go on, she signed. Say my name.
"Violet?" He whispered, in shock. But understanding what was happening before it happened, they both tapped their noses at the same time.
So, what'd you think? I hoped you like it. Don't forget to review with one-shot ideas!