"It's not about the snowgoon, Demetrius!" Sebastian's voice pierced through the kitchen.

"That's exactly what it's about," he said. "I took it down, and now you're yelling at me. That's not necessary."

"You let Maru's cute little snowman stay! It's like she can do no wrong, and-"

"Sebastian, stop." Robin turned to the kitchen table, holding a hot pan of eggs. "In this case, it really is about the snowgoon. Demetrius only took it down because it was blocking the path, that thing was HUGE!"

"I could get around it!"

"Well, we're not all built like you. I ended up having to climb on that bottom snowball to get around it. There's no way Maru could have gotten past it."

"Her fat ass could stay out there for all I care…" Sebastian mumbled under his breath.

"Sebastian, do NOT talk about my daughter that way!" Demetrius roared. "If I hear that out of you again, I will-"

"Demetrius!" Robin slammed the pan down. "You're not helping! Get out of here! I'll bring your breakfast if I ever get a chance to finish it!"

Demetrius stomped off to the bedroom he shared with Robin and slammed the door.

"He always knows the exact wrong thing to say." Robin turned back to the stove. "And the exact wrong time to say it." She set aside a couple crystal fruits, a cutting board, and a knife. "Sebby, you're my baby. You always will be. When you were a little kid, after your dad left, it was just you and me. I know you haven't forgotten that, and I haven't either. You were what brought me through the darkest time of my life. I have a bond with you that I don't have with anyone else in my life-not Demetrius, and not even Maru. She's the daughter that made our family complete, but she's not you and she doesn't have the history that we have."

Sebastian silently made his way to the counter and started chopping crystal fruit.

"Thanks, honey. Listen, anyone who tells you that all moms love their children the same is a liar. I love you differently than I love Maru. You and I go way back, to the days in the river house when all we could eat is what we could forage and cook over a campfire."

"I kinda remember that! I found a snow yam one time and I was so happy...until you cooked it up for dinner."

Robin laughed. "Yeah, they're not my favorite either. Anyway. Demetrius says he took the snowgoon down because it was blocking the path. He may be right. That's the only reason I would have taken it down, it was cool! Build another one on the lawn, and I'll make sure he leaves it alone."

"That took all day. I'm not sure I wanna build another one."

"That's fine too, you get to pick what you do with your time."

"Try telling that to your husband." Sebastian tossed some chopped crystal fruit in a bowl. "He made me do all of Maru's laundry the other day."

"He did what?!"

"Yeah." Sebastian deepened his voice, tossed the hair out of his eyes, and screwed up his face, imitating Demetrius. "Hey Sebby, that laundry down there ain't gonna do itself! I want all five loads done by the end of the day!" He shook his hair out. "Four were Maru's, one was his and yours, and I had a deadline coming up. I ended up bringing my laptop to the laundry room and sitting on the floor all day."

"Ugh." Robin rolled her eyes. "Far be it from me to throw my husband under the bus-"

"Why not? Don't know the schedule? Zuzu City bus runs every half hour starting at 7:30, Calico Desert bus starts at 10:00…"

"Dude!" Robin held up a hand. "Too far!" She pressed her lips together to hide a laugh. "He should not have done that. I'll go over the house rules with him again-we all do our own laundry, and you work from...remind me again?" She dished some eggs out to each plate. "No! Wait! Write it on the whiteboard on the fridge instead. That way we'll all know."

"Okay. Crystal fruit's all chopped and tossed with honey and ginger, by the way."

"Thanks, honey. I love you. Wish me luck delivering Demetrius his breakfast and calming him down now…"

"Love you too, Mom. I'll be working until 4:00."

That night, Sebastian made his way down the mountain to the saloon. Sam had wussed out of playing pool with him, and Abigail wasn't feeling well, so he was grabbing some takeout for her. As soon as he entered the saloon, Gus hurried over.

"Sebastian! I'm glad you're here, I need to talk to you."

"Why?" He sat down on a stool.

"It's about your mom."

He narrowed his eyes. "What about my mom?"

Gus laughed. "Nothing bad! I'm just her Winter Star friend! What do you think she'd want? I got your dad-"

"-Stepdad!"

"Sorry. Got your stepdad last year, gave him a tool set. I think I kinda struck out."

"Whatever. Mom still uses those hand tools, she needed some new ones...so they were helpful to someone, at least."

"Okay. I feel a little better now. I'd hate to think of them gathering dust in a cabinet somewhere. Anyway, since she's already got tools, what do you think your mom would like?"

"Oh, man, all I'm thinking of is food. She loves peaches. She loves goat cheese. She would probably marry your spaghetti if she could…" He slammed his hands down on the bar. "SPAGHETTI! Replace Demetrius with spaghetti!"

Gus laughed. "You really don't like that guy, do you? He's always been fine with me, I like him!"

"You've never tried being his stepson."

"This is true, and it would take way too much drama and finagling for me to give that a shot." He grabbed the glass near Sebastian's seat and dunked it in the sink. "Anyway, she likes food. I could definitely go somewhere with that, food is my thing...but it doesn't quite seem like enough. I mean, she's done so well with the saloon's remodels over the years, and she's always so nice to be around. She's one of my best customers."

"And she's my mom, so you better get her something good."

"Duly noted!" Gus laughed. "Now, would you like a drink?"

"No thanks, but I will take a Spicy Eel to go."

Later that night, after most of the patrons had trickled out of the saloon, Gus walked out from behind the bar with a beer. He sat down with Willy and Clint. "Hey, guys! How's it going?"

"Takin' the night off," Willy said.

"It's going…" Clint took a swig of beer.

"Listen, guys." Gus took a sip of his own beer. "Robin's my Winter Star friend, what do you know about her?"

Clint gestured toward the only other occupied table in the bar. "Why don't you ask Lewis? He hangs out with her more than I do."

Gus cringed. "I don't want to interrupt him and Marnie for that."

"Why not? Doesn't Marnie go to aerobics with Robin?"

Gus leaned in. "She does, but Marnie really doesn't like Robin." His voice was soft. "Don't tell anyone, but I think there may be some sort of jealousy issue going on."

Willy rolled his eyes. "Women!"

Gus held up a finger. "I think if Marnie was in a stable relationship, she wouldn't have these issues...but the man she's seeing won't let her have that. It's not a women problem, it's a guy who's too weak to commit problem."

Clint nodded.

"But we're talking about Robin here!" Gus continued. "All I know is she likes food. I don't like giving food as a gift, because food is my job. It's just too expected."

"Hang on, I wanna know why Marnie's jealous of Robin!" Clint's voice was hushed and conspiratorial.

Willy, in the same hushed voice, piped up. "Because Robin's pretty and Marnie ain't!"

"Actually," Clint said, "I think Marnie's prettier. Robin's built like a superhero because she's out there lumberjackin' all the time, but Marnie has character. She's soft and feminine."

Gus took another drink of beer.

Willy interjected. "You like 'em weird! I know you want Emily, even though she has weird hair and she's lanky and goofy...she's all knees and elbows! And I don't know what you're seein' in Marnie, she just looks like an average middle-aged lady to me."

"I've been to her ranch before. I've had to build furnaces and fences, and shoe her horses. There is something so soft and sweet and cute about her. You know those dogs with all the wrinkles?"

Gus held a hand to his mouth, stifling a laugh.

"Or that one cute little thing in Junimo Kart that's on the side of the machine? Marnie makes me react like those things, she makes me want to hug her and protect her. There's something in her eyes that just makes me want to squeeze her." He glanced up at Gus. "Don't tell anyone."

"I am bound by the Bartender's Confidentiality Agreement," he said plainly.

Clint continued. "Robin is just...blah."

"No she ain't, she's gorgeous!" Willy interrupted. "It's just that she wears work clothes all the time."

"I got it!" Gus pulled out his order taking notebook. "Robin wears work clothes all the time, even here! I could get her a new outfit!"

"How about a dress with a swingy little skirt? That would look great on the dance floor…" Willy looked up with a smile.

"That would be nice," Clint said, "but hard to imagine." He glanced at Willy and leaned in again. "I still say Marnie's prettier."

Willy firmly shook his head. "Nope, Robin. I've seen that girl scale a pine tree before."

"I get it, Robin's totally strong. But Marnie is soft and cute." Clint looked over to Gus. "Help me out here."

"No, my mouth is full," Gus said. He chugged the remaining half of his beer.

"Robin could be a swimsuit model," Willy said.

"If I wanted to look at swimsuit models, I'd get a copy of the Swim Surf Sport catalog!"

"Ask anyone else in this town, they'll say Robin is prettier!"

"Maybe so, but that won't change my mind! I am on Team Marnie," Clint said, jabbing his finger into the tabletop for emphasis.

"Guys!" Gus pointed to the clock, hoping to distract them. "It's almost last call, want any more beers?"

They ignored him, and continued their hushed argument until Gus turned the saloon's lights up.

The next afternoon, as soon as Emily came in, Gus started asking questions. "What's a good outfit for a woman to wear dancing? What if she wears pants all the time, would a skirt offend her? What kind of top? How can you tell what size someone is just by looking at them?"

"Woah, slow down!" Emily giggled. "Dresses are good for dancing. I don't think a skirt would offend anyone unless they were a guy who doesn't wear skirts, or if it was super short. And if you don't know what size someone wears, a wrap dress would be a good idea."

"What's a wrap dress?"

Emily grabbed an order ticket. She sketched a wide piece of cloth with sleeves and a ribbon around the waist, and a figure wearing a dress tied with a belt. "The dress is tied with a belt, so it can accommodate people of different shapes and sizes. I actually made a wrap dress that would be a minidress on me, but a tea-length dress on, like...Maru."

"What color? Can I buy it off you?"

"Why? I mean, it's green with a leaf pattern. But...why?"

"Winter Star!"

"Why don't you just make your friend some food?"

"That's what everyone always expects! I try to break away from that. Besides, business has been good lately, I have enough to splurge a bit."

"Awesome! Who's your Winter Star friend?"

"Robin."

"Ohhh yeah. She needs a dress, BAD." Emily giggled. "I love her, but her clothes are just sad. The only time I ever saw her wear a dress was when she did Clothing Therapy. And she looked good! I don't know why she doesn't dress up more! I can definitely get that dress to you, I'll sell it for 2000G. I'll have it washed, pressed, and ready for you tomorrow when I come in."

"Great!"

On the day of the Feast, just before dinner was served, Gus found Robin. "Hello there! I'm your Winter Star friend!"

"Oh, good! I'm looking forward to it!"

Gus handed over a package. "Here ya go."

Robin grabbed it, nearly flinging it backwards with how light it was. "Wow! I was expecting something heavier." She sat it down on the table and opened it up. After she lifted the dress out and held it up, she gave Gus a quizzical look.

"It's a wrap dress, Emily made it."

"Mom!" Maru grabbed Robin's arm. "I know this pattern, Emily designed a dress that would fit just about everyone. When she made the first one, she tried it on and then had me try it on, just to make sure."

"Thanks, this is really nice…and I'm looking forward to dressing up a bit!" Robin turned the dress around. "I just wonder what shoes I'll wear with it."

The next Friday, Robin and Demetrius were dancing at the bar. Robin wore her new dress, a full face of makeup, hair up in a braided crown...and a pair of her dirty old work boots.