Chapter Three

Cheer

"What is takin' that woman so long?" Ouiser snapped, munching on the neck of a beheaded gingerbread man. Annabelle, being of patient mind, ignored the impatience of Ouiser in favor of a more hopeful suggestion.

"She should be back any minute." She replied, watching the hot-chocolate pot bubble warmly. "She shouldn't be long."

"You said that five minutes ago!" Ouiser shook the gingerbread man by the leg at her angrily.

"And now I say it's going to be a few..." She stopped when the door opened. Clairee trudged in, covered in snow and shaking. Her coat was draped over her package loosely, and her gloves were nowhere to be seen. Her fingers were turning blue at the ends and her face was so red that it could be used as a warning beacon. Annabelle rushed to her with an open blanket.

"Look at you, poor child! Riskin' your life for a single present." She wrapped the blanket around Clairee's shoulder, sitting her down on the couch and setting the box on the table. "Why is your coat over it like that anyway?" Annabelle asked, taking the coat and hanging it on the rack with her other wet affects.

"No reason to get so cold for a single gift. Who's it for?" Her curiosity overtook her and she reached out to touch the package. Clairee's cold hand grabbed Annabelle's, pulling it away.

"It's..." Clairee coughed roughly into her free hand, "It's for Ouiser. Don't touch it." Her eyes were full of determined vigor. Annabelle backed off, returning to the hot-chocolate. Ouiser looked over at the half-frozen woman with wide eyes, startled. Her eyes drifted to the box on the table, and for a moment she was rushed with an unnatural feeling of warm anticipation. She shook the feeling away and walked quietly over to the box, ghosting her fingers over the surface before picking up it.

"If it's not money I probably won't like it." Ouiser said, glancing Clairee. She was smiling, egging her on to open the package. Ouiser pried at the lid with her thumb, pushing the lid back only a crack. Two big, brown eyes met her's, staring at her through the little space.

With a tiny little yap of a bark, the creature in the box jumped up, knocking the lid off onto the floor. It put its tiny little paws on the lip of the box and licked at Ouiser's face in a happy greeting. Ouiser, though annoyed that there was a tiny, yappy little dog licking at her face, could not completely hide her smile. She sat down next to Clairee, put the box down beside her, and set the puppy in her lap. It sat down, tail wagging frantically, wriggling to get back to its licking.

The puppy was fairly small, with big brown eyes and wiry hair around its muzzle. Its fur was a mottled mix of red and chestnut and light brown and rust colors, and its chest was a dainty cream. It had black around his face and paws and on the very tip of the tail, and it had two little white toes. It waited a second longer and then jumped back up in Ouiser's face, licking.

"So, like it?" Clairee laughed, punctuated with several coughs. The puppy turned to her and jumped in her face, making her laugh. Ouiser tried to laugh with a fake cough into her arm, effectively hiding her smile as well.

"S'ok, for a dog." Ouiser said. The puppy, completely content for the moment, trotted back into Ouiser's lap, stretched, and lay down, asleep. Ouiser's face lit up with a half-smile as her eyes watched the little gift of Christmas cheer snooze softly in her lap. Clairee scooted over and rubbed the puppy's head, leaning her own head on the taller's shoulder. Ouiser flinched slightly, but didn't move away completely. Ouiser looked over at the brunette, and her annoyed pout turned to an angry frown. Clairee was asleep on Ouiser's shoulder.

"Oh lord!" Ouiser groaned loudly. She looked around and realized she was completely alone in the shop. She groaned again, bringing her hand to her face. "Damn girl..."