"Mom, I got the mail!" Vincent proudly held a stack of letters.
"Thank you! Careful with that, though, there could be important stuff in there." Jodi took the stack from Vincent. "Oh, I was right. Pension, bills, a little something from Caroline...and that's right, it's time for Winter Star letters!"
"Yay! Can I open mine?"
"Yes you may. I'll put everyone else's on the desk here." She handed Vincent his letter.
"I hope I get Jas!" He tore open his letter. "Or Sam! Or Sebastian!" He unfolded it, tossing the envelope on the ground.
"Pick that up, please."
"Yes ma'am." He picked up the envelope, then went back to his letter. "George?"
"Oh! Mr. Mullner!"
"The old guy in the wheelchair? That's no fun!"
Jodi sighed. "The Feast of the Winter Star is about more than what's fun for you, Vincent. It's a chance for all of us to give to each other."
"But I'd rather give to Jas."
"I know, honey." She sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside her. "But, hey, think of this as a secret spy mission!"
Vincent jumped up by his mom. "What?"
"You have to use your intelligence and cunning to figure out what George would want, then get it for him without him knowing! You can't just guess, because he may not like it. You can't ask him directly, because that would ruin the surprise. You have to use…" she leaned in conspiratorially. "...espionage!"
"Espy-what?"
"Espionage. Spying. Act like a secret agent, gathering information and sneaking around!"
"COOL!" He hopped down from the couch and ran out the door. "I'm gonna do espionage!"
His first stop was the dog pen outside the Mullners' house. Alex was there, throwing snowballs for the dog to catch in his mouth.
"Hey Alex, can you help me with espionage?"
"Huh?"
"I wanna spy on your grandpa!"
"That's a terrible idea!" Alex laughed. "He's a veteran of the First Gotoro War. He doesn't talk about it much, but his job was gathering intelligence. Spying. So, he wouldn't like getting spied on himself, and you'd probably get in trouble."
"Well," Vincent said, giving Alex a sly grin, "what would he like?"
"To be left alone, mostly. I think he'd be happiest sitting in front of the TV with a warm blanket, watching his favorite show, and eating scrambled eggs with leeks the way Granny likes them." Alex paused. "If you really wanna spy on someone, how about Haley?"
"Maybe I'll do that. Thanks!"
Next, he found Evelyn, decorating the Winter Star tree.
"Hello, dear!" She patted him on the head. "Would you like to help decorate?"
"Yes please! But I can't reach the top branches."
"Neither can I. We'll have Alex get on the ladder and do those later."
After a few minutes of silent decorating, the espionage started. "Soooo," Vincent asked, "What are you hoping to get under the Winter Star tree this year?"
"Maybe...a fairy rose bush! It would look so beautiful in my garden. Or a chocolate cake!" She giggled.
"What about your husband? What does he wish for?"
"Every time I ask him, he says he wants some blasted peace and quiet. But I know for a fact that he'd like a warmer sweater. And here's a secret: He really loves leeks! They're hard to get this time of year, though. The Zuzu City Winter Market's farmer's market section might have some. I saw them there last year."
"Okay! Bye!" With that, Vincent took off running.
The next morning, the snow was falling. Vincent bundled up as well as he could; he had a coat and a hat, but no gloves or boots. He emptied out his piggy bank and stuffed the money in his coat pocket.
Jodi stopped him at the door. "Vincent, honey, where are you going?"
"Out to play."
"Okay, just be back by dinner."
"Yes ma'am. Bye, I love you!"
Vincent walked out of the house, toward the backyard...then sprinted to the bus stop. He'd done it! He was officially on a secret mission. He'd be going to the Zuzu City Winter Market...as soon as he figured out which bus went to Zuzu City.
"Excuse me, Pam?"
"What's up, kid?"
He pointed at her bus. "Does that bus go to Zuzu City?"
"No, the Zuzu bus stops across the street. Comes every hour on the half hour."
"Thank you!" Vincent carefully looked both ways, then walked across the street.
Just then, Sam left the backyard. He was heading toward Sebastian's house, until he saw his little brother hanging out by the mine cart. He jogged over there, slipping in the snow and flailing his arms to catch his balance. Vincent giggled.
"Bro! Whatcha doing out here?"
"I'm going on a secret mission! I did some espionage and found out that George really likes leeks! He's my Winter Star friend so I'm going to the Zuzu City Winter Market to get him some."
"Oh really? Do Mom and Dad know about this?"
"No, that's why it's a secret mission! They'll be so glad I didn't make one of them go!" Vincent beamed. "I even brought my own money."
"Okay, woah, dude. Think about this. You're a little kid! Like, I get what you're trying to do, but you can't just take the bus to the City on your own! What if something happened? You could get kidnapped! Or lost! Or you could freeze to death! Mom and Dad would kill you if they found out!"
Vincent's lower lip started to tremble.
Sam continued. "Look. I know you wanna go to the Winter Market and get a gift. I don't have anything going on today, so I can go with you, but next time, you gotta ask! You're too young to be taking the bus to the City by yourself!"
"Yes, sir." Big tears fell from Vincent's eyes.
Sam wrapped his little brother up in a hug. "Sir?"
"Well, you're acting like a grownup."
"I kind of am, huh?" He chuckled. "It's just because I love my little bro and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Vincent sniffled. "Am I in trouble?"
"Not this time." Sam ruffled his hair. "You had no idea. And you lucked out, 'cause I'm the one who found you."
Just then, the Zuzu City bus pulled up. Sam got on first and paid for both tickets.
"I brought money for my ticket," Vincent said quietly.
"Well, now you don't have to spend it on a ticket. Want a window seat?"
"Yeah." Vincent sat down near the back of the bus, by a window. When Sam sat down beside him, he said, "I even knew how many G to bring. I brought 100 for the ticket there, 100 for the ticket back, and 50 for some leeks." He crossed his arms. "I knew what I was doing…"
"You did." Sam put his change in his pocket. "Good job planning ahead and making sure you had enough money. Now you can spend those extra G on lunch."
"Oh yeah! Lunch!" Vincent perked up. "Maybe I could get a hot dog! And some cranberry candy!"
"I bet you could."
When the bus pulled up to the downtown stop, right in front of the market, Sam hopped out in front of Vincent. He picked Vincent up and swung him over the curb, then set him down on the wet sidewalk.
"Hey, can I give you a shoulder ride?"
"YEAH!" Vincent jumped up. "Um. Why?"
"Because this snow isn't messing around. See how it's starting to stick to the sidewalk? You don't have winter boots. I don't want you to get your shoes wet. Having wet shoes and socks is miserable." He turned Vincent around and put his hands under his brother's armpits. "Now get ready to jump. One! Two! Three! Jump!"
Vincent jumped, and Sam lifted him onto his shoulders. "Yeah! This is awesome. But wait! You don't have snow boots either!"
"Correct! I have wool socks, though, and you don't. It'll still be unpleasant, but not miserable."
"Is Mom gonna buy me boots?"
"I dunno. Money's tight."
"Are you gonna buy boots this winter?"
"I hope so."
"But you go to work and get a paycheck!"
"That's true. But the paycheck has to pay for more than just boots. It's a lot of boring grownup stuff that you don't really need to hear. We have enough for food and electricity and house payments, we have enough for everything we need, but sometimes we don't have enough for everything we want."
"Oh."
The rest of the walk to the market was silent, with Sam concentrating on staying out of snow piles and slush puddles, and Vincent taking in the big-city atmosphere.
The farmer's market portion of the Zuzu City Winter Market was outside, to take advantage of the natural refrigeration. It was the size of a city block, covered by a large tent to divert the snow, so Sam put Vincent down. Some of the sellers had professional-looking booths; others sold produce from boxes stacked on pallets, folding tables, and the backs of pickup trucks.
Sam gave Vincent a light pat on the back, aiming him toward a pickup truck full of foraged goods. There were mushrooms, chestnuts, spice berries, crystal fruits, and leeks. The leeks were way in the back. There was an old woman whose head was wrapped in a scarf standing by the truck. Vincent timidly approached her.
"Um, excuse me ma'am?"
Her face lit up. "Yes, can I help you?"
"How much are the leeks?"
"60G a piece."
"Well, what if I want a whole one?"
Sam snorted. He couldn't help it.
The lady took three leeks out of the truck and explained patiently. "Each leek is 60G. I have a bunch of them. So each piece of the bunch is 60G. This one is 60G," she said, holding a leek out, "and so are each of these. One for 60, two for 120, three for 180."
"Oh! Okay. Can I please have two?"
"Yes you may."
The old lady looked at Sam. "That'll be 120G, please."
Sam gestured to Vincent. "Talk to my brother, he's buying!"
Vincent pulled 120G out of his pocket and pressed it into the old lady's palm. "Here you go, ma'am!"
She giggled. "Thank you very much, sir!"
After lunch and a cranberry candy, the boys headed home. Once again, Sam carried Vincent on his shoulders. Vincent was full of energy and questions on the bus ride home. Sam was more subdued, having gotten a blister on his foot from his wet socks. He was texting back and forth with Sebastian and Abigail, bowing out of pool night at the Saloon since he didn't want to make the walk. All he wanted was dry socks and warm blankets.
On the day of the Feast, Vincent was having trouble holding it together. He wanted his gift, and he wanted it bad. Jodi tried her best to keep him in line, and Jas played with him before dinner, but he was a handful.
When George arrived, Vincent ran up to Jodi. "Mom! Gimme my bag! I can give Mr. Mullner his present!"
Jodi spoke flatly. "That is not how we ask for things, Vincent."
"Sorry, Mom. Can I please have my bag?"
"Yes you may."
Vincent grabbed the bag from Jodi's hand and ran over to Sam. "Hey Sam! Let's go give Mr. Mullner my present!"
Sam laughed. "Sure! Why am I going?"
"Because you helped with my super secret mission!"
"Okay!"
The boys walked over to George. Vincent held out the bag. "Hi, Mr. Mullner! I'm your secret Winter Star friend! I used espionage to find out what you liked, and then I went on a super secret mission to go get it! And Sam helped!"
George took the bag. He looked inside to see two beautiful leeks. "This is my favorite thing! Thank you!" He patted Vincent on the head. "And, Sam, thank you for your help. I bet you had to go all the way to Zuzu City to get these!"
"Yep!" Vincent beamed. "We went on the bus, and went to the Winter Market, and there was an old lady with a scarf on her head! And she said it would be 60G for a piece of leek but then I asked for a whole one and she gave it to me!"
"Well done, young man!" George laughed.
"Thanks! Are you my secret gift-giver?"
"Nope."
"Do you know who is?"
"Nope."
"Oh. Okay." With that, Vincent ran back toward his table, stopping at Harvey's table to ask him and Pam whether either of them was his secret gift-giver.
George left his spot and started making the rounds, showing off his leeks to anyone who would pay him some attention. He showed Harvey, who was glad to see him enjoying some fresh produce. He showed Gus, Elliott, and Leah, who started talking recipes. He showed Abigail, who was just surprised that George was talking to her.
He saw the farmer, giving Sam his gift, and rolled right up to them. "Look at these beautiful leeks! Vincent gave them to me! Sam helped out by taking him to the city so he could get them from the farmer's market. Tell 'em about it, Sam!"
Sam was speechless. George had interrupted Sam and the farmer, right when the farmer was giving Sam his gift. The gift was a pair of Thermal Boots, the boots Sam had been eyeballing for years but could never afford.
Sam blinked hard, swallowed, and then spoke. "Dude, I got a blister on my foot when I took Vincent to the city because my sneakers aren't waterproof. Thank you so much!" He dropped the box and wrapped the farmer up in a hug.
George turned quickly and cruised over to Robin's table. He held up the leeks. "Look what Vincent got me! Ms. Jodi is raising that little boy right!"
