Chapter 10 A Song of Ice and Chainsaws

It was Sunday afternoon, and Graeme was having way too much fun with that chainsaw. He might be 21 but he looked more like an 11-year-old with a new toy. Not that Gray wasn't much different, especially with some of the tools he'd made himself out of ice.

Creating something with ice make magic was a whole different world than sculpting in

ice. Graeme had shown Gray a picture of himself posing with last year's ice menorah for reference. The Graeme in the photo looked proud of himself, and as they got to work Gray could see why.

This was laborious. First, they needed to make a base. This had been Gray's job. A chainsaw and an ice block made a satisfying combination. It didn't quite fill the hole that his lack of ice magic caused, but it was the most enjoyable experience he'd had in Brooklyn. He had been a little nervous at first, because although carving the base was very straight forward, ice supplies were limited. Graeme had gone all the way to Queens to purchase the blocks of ice and had to rent a special truck to transport it. It had been a major endeavor, which he had made clear he didn't want to repeat.

Now they were using a chisel to start creating each branch of the menorah. So much labor for such a short-lived item, but Graeme clearly enjoyed the process, and Gray was finding it enjoyable too, once he let go of how long this was taken for something that could be done in a few seconds with ice make magic.

He was surprised at how good Graeme was at working in a team. He was patient with his instructions, and let Gray have a nice amount of lee way, even though Graeme was clearly the main sculptor and Gray the assistant. They worked mostly in silence, with Graeme sharing some tips and suggestions here and there.

The only thing Gray could use his magic for was to make some spinning tops called dreidels. They were small and pretty much useless. They looked cute though, and the kids would love them, which was the main point.

It took a good four hours to complete, and once they had stored the menorah and the dreidels and packed up the tools, they headed out. The brisk November air was perfect.

"You do this every year?" And all by himself?

"Yeah. Thanks for the help. I was behind this year. You have a good feel for it and you're good with the tools."

"Sure. Thanks for including me. It was fun. Especially using the chainsaw."

"Oh yeah. That used to be my favorite part." Used to be? It seemed to Gray like it still was.

"So, what are you using the menorah for?"

"It's purely for decoration. Because we need to light a menorah on the actual holiday, and I'm sure you know that candles, flames and ice don't mix well. It's for the big Chanukah party Rabbi Levy has every year. He tries to get people interested in the holiday. It's next Sunday night if you want to see it in action before it melts into nothingness."

"Speaking of flames, I'm flaming hot today, and you both are way too sexy, but don't worry, it won't be too much for me to handle." Nati seemed to have arrived out of nowhere, and now Gray was thinking of that ridiculous song about being too sexy for your shirt.

"Just ignore him, Gray."

"Yeah, I figured that was the best way to handle him."

"Oh please. You two are cruel."

"I have a new rule, Nati. Every time you waste those ridiculous pick-up lines on me, you need to give me an update on what you've done or planning on doing to find a real boyfriend. So, noo? What's the update?" Gray liked this word, noo. It was usually said with a very impatient inflection. As in "so?" but with ten times the impatience. Maybe this should be imported to Magnolia.

"I just spoke to you Shabbos!"

"Yeah, and you told me nothing. What have you done so far?"

"Says the guy who ignores-"

"Don't even-"

"the perfect girl-"

"You're totally changing the subject."

'And you're totally interrupting me." Listening to these two was like watching a ping pong game.

"Do I need to find a freaking boyfriend for you?" The eerie thing about watching Graeme sometimes was how his facial expressions were Gray's facial expressions. He hadn't realized how angry he could look sometimes.

"No. Julia-"

"I said don't change the subject!" Graeme seriously needed to chill out. Oh great. Gray really didn't want to remember how Lyon told him more than once how hot headed he was. Okay, so Graeme was more similar in ways he'd prefer not to think about.

"I'm not. Julia has a holiday party and she's inviting me, because there's some hot guy there she says would be perfect for me."

"Okay, fine. What else?"

"She needs a date, and I think you'd be perfect."

"I see what you're up to. Aren't you going to be her date?"

"No. I'm being fixed up with this guy. Oh, come on. It'll be great. You're perfect for each other."

"Whatever. When's this party?"

"Next Sunday."

"Can't come. I have to go to Rabbi Levy's Chanukah party."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, Ice Hunk."

"Okay. Next Question. Gray, your turn." Okay, this wasn't exactly his forte, but why not.

"No more questions. I'm done."

"Calling me ice hunk necessitates more questioning. I'm sure Gray has a great question for you." As much as Gray didn't appreciate being put on the spot, he was enjoying being on the same side as Graeme's.

"So, what is your plan for this date with this unknown guy?"

'I'm planning on dazzling him with my gorgeousness, my humor and my smile. Unless he's kind of slimy, and then I'll just be trying to get away from him."

"Well, good luck."

"Maybe you could go with Julia to the party, Gray."

"Yeah. You're off Sundays. Would you mind? You'd get her out of my hair and get to watch Nati make a fool of himself." He could just see Juvia finding out about this. She had toned down so much, but would she consider her own counterpart a love rival? Oh well. He'd have to deal with that. It's not like this was a real date or anything.

"It's fine with me, but does she really need a date?"

"I have no clue."

"She's coming over later to ask you, Graeme, so you'll find out."

"Oh, crap. Just what I need. I see her enough with this stupid competition we're training for, now she's coming over to ask me out on a date? Doesn't she get that she's wasting her time? It's weird."

"Oh, come on, Graeme. She's gorgeous, gentle and kind and she loves you. What more do you want?"

"You date her then."

"Uh, yeah. How long have you known me, Graeme?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I know. You're gay. You're not into girls, blah blah blah."

"And you say you are."

"Well, maybe cuz I am."

"So, show it by dating Julia."

"You know that I'm not dating yet, and that my father is going to be heavily involved in doing the research on girls for me." That was weird. There would have been no way Silver Fullbuster would have been involved in getting Gray dates. But in his world, people dated to get married, and the parents were involved a lot more, or at least that's how it seemed from what he'd heard offhand.

"And I know that you're ready."

"I need to get a career first."

"Excuses, excuses. I'll see you two later, hot icy hunks." He ran off before they could say anything.

"'Hot icy hunks?' isn't that contradictory?" It sounded like something Juvia would say.

"Yeah, but that's never stopped him."

When they had gotten back Graeme's grandmother had returned. Gray hadn't been so sure what to expect. Maybe a short old wise woman in a wheelchair. This woman wasn't like that at all, although she radiated an air of confidence, and seemed sharp. She was a few inches shorter than Graeme, and looked a lot like Silver, which meant that she looked like Gray too, which was a little unsettling. He had never known his grandparents, or any extended family at all. Would his paternal grandmother have looked like her?

"Graeme, your father told me, but I still can't believe it. Are you sure you didn't get cloned?"

"Hi, Bubby. This is Gray Fullbuster. He's staying in our basement."

"Hi, Mrs. Silverstein."

"You're so polite. You two look almost exactly alike. If it wasn't for the hair I'd get confused. Call me Lila. Nice to meet you." She shifted her focus to her grandson. "Graeme, you've been getting along with Yehuda?" Her accent was different than the others. Her first language was clearly not the same as the rest of her family.

"Yeah, well, sort of."

"Which means no."

"Bubby, you know what he's like."

"Yeah, I know, and I also know he's getting married in less than two months, and then he'll be out of your hair, so maybe just suck it up until then?" She switched her focus back to Gray. "Where are you from Gray? You have family in New York?" She didn't waste time.

"It's a little complicated. I don't have family really." Well outside of Fairy Tail, but he wasn't sure she'd get it. But she seemed to get it. Her face softened a little,

"Ah. Yehuda was telling me. I was the same way. So was my husband. We went from being two people to having 5 children and then we had grandchildren, and now great grandchildren. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be alright" What had Yehuda told his grandmother about her? And what did she mean that she was the same way as him? Why didn't it bother him the way she had talked to him in such an unnecessarily sympathetic manner? What had she been through that made her speak this way?

"Graeme, you were going to show me something from your routine."

"I want to, but can I take you to the rink tomorrow? It's kind of hard to demonstrate on a regular floor."

"Okay, that sounds good. What's going on with that nice girl you perform with? No pressure of course." Interesting. Graeme was blushing, which he never did when he spoke to Nati about Julia. Why was his behavior seeming more and more familiar from when Gray had tried to ignore Juvia's attentions while also trying to ignore that his feelings had started to change, until it had almost been too late?

They had washed their hands and went to the living room couches.

"You'll see her tomorrow Bubby. And are you sure there's no pressure?" Graeme was smiling.

"Well, do you want me to say the pressure's on?"

"Bubby, please."

"'Bubby, please.' Anyway, anything interesting happen while I've been away apart from you being cloned?"

"Nothing much. I'm practicing for a couple of competitions. I need to start applying to grad school for next year."

"Yeah. What area?"

"Business." The older Mrs. Silverstein got an annoyed look on her face. She seemed displeased.

"Business? Why?"

"Well, I'm great at math, and Aunt Leah's a project manager and getting a business degree would definitely look good and –"

"What do you want to do, Graeme?"

"I just said. Business."

"Really?"

"No. Not really, but what else is there?"

"What about something you'd like to do?"

"I don't know. I like ice skating and making ice sculptures, but I can't make a decent living with either."

"So, think about it. Don't make a decision right away, zeeskite." After rubbing her grandson's shoulder affectionately, she got up and headed to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Bubby." Gray didn't know what a zeeskite was, but he could see that Bubby Silverstein got away with saying things to Graeme nobody else could. Kind of like Nati, but different. Graeme clearly respected his grandmother and looked up to her.

Julia showed up and seemed a bit flustered to see Graeme and Gray together in the living room but calmed down when she saw Lila. Graeme looked instantly more annoyed. Maybe Gray had misread him earlier.

"Graeme, Hi. Hi Gray. I was wondering if maybe I could speak to you privately, Graeme?"

"It's okay, Julia. We saw Nati an hour ago. He told me about the party. I can't go, but if you really need a date why don't you ask Gray? He's off Sunday."

"I know it's normally not done, but I really just need someone to accompany me."

"I told you, Julia. I can't go. Rabbi Levy's Chanukah party is the same night, and I have to be there."

"Oh yes, of course. Your ice menorah! How could I forget. I wish I could see it. You're so talented." The way Juvia looked at Graeme was making Gray miss Juvia more. It was just how she looked at him that was pure Juvia. What was she doing right this moment? Maybe she was on a job with Gajeel and Lilly.

"Thanks. So, what do you think. Gray, you're okay with going, right, and it's okay with you, Julia?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm off work that night."

"Thank you. That's very kind." Julia looked like she was trying hard not to cry, when she left, after the arrangements were made.

Yehuda had shown up. Gray had a theory. Yehuda was a nice guy, and very sensitive in fact, but when it came to Graeme he switched into the same kind of patronizing jerk Gray knew so well from Lyon. It was like he couldn't help himself. But wasn't Lyon the same way? He was very polite and nice to other people, but somehow with Gray it all disappeared. There was always this tension between them, and he had to admit he also played a role. Was he ever happy to see Lyon? Not really. Lyon would have been very much aware of this too and reacted to it. Graeme was the same way. A few times the older cousin had started it by speaking to Graeme in a patronizing way, but most often it was Graeme starting it, and Yehuda reacting. Shit. Could it be so simple as that? Maybe if he just was friendlier with Lyon maybe, who knows, maybe their weird and messed up relationship might get better? Gray pushed all this aside.

"Graeme. Gray. How did the ice sculpting go?"

"Fine." Said with that familiar annoyed impatient voice Gray found so familiar. How often did Gray sound like that? More often than he'd like.

"The party's in a week, right? I can't wait to see it. I don't know how he does it, Gray, but he's quite talented with a chisel."

"Don't forget the chainsaw." Graeme smirked.

"Yeah. The chainsaw was amazing. I got to help a little, but Graeme is very talented and so careful in everything he did. It was impressive watching him work."

"I've only ever seen the end product, but it's very impressive. I hope you don't mind Gray, but I need to speak to Graeme alone. You don't have to leave. We'll go to the den."

As the two left Gray heard a very impatient "What do you want now, Yehuda?" from Graeme. He was happy to see them leave. Observing how Graeme interacted with people, especially Yehuda and Julia, was bringing him to too many uncomfortable places he preferred to leave well alone.

I watched some YouTube videos about ice sculpture as my very brief research for this chapter. There's a neat one about Okamato Studio in Astoria, Queens, which, had it existed in November 1996, probably would have been the place Graeme would have shopped for his ice.

It's funny, but in my head, Lila Silverstein was at first an old infirm lady in a wheelchair, kind of the way Gray had imagined her in the story. Then I realized that she would be 72 years old, and her character ended up being very different. In keeping with the color theme, Lila means purple in Yiddish.

Plot elements will start to come in more in the next two chapters. I'll be honest though. This is not the most plot driven story in the world.