Caroline
"Wow, Jodi – I don't think I've ever seen you do that many reps in one session!" Robin exclaims.
"Well you know how it is," Jodi replies, as she eases into one of the chairs around Caroline's kitchen table, "the older you get, the more work you have to do to stay healthy."
"True," Caroline agrees, "but with the big Winter Star feast coming up, I think I might just pick up the slack after the holidays."
Jodi fans herself with a napkin. "I know it's not the best time to try to get back in shape, but there's so little time before the new year… I just thought it might be best to get a head start now, you know?"
"Don't most people wait until after the new year to start making fitness resolutions?" Robin asks, as she helps herself to a muffin. "I think you've earned a bit of a break."
"Well, I may have also been feeling a little extra inspired to look good lately," Jodi admits.
"It's definitely working," Caroline replies, and Robin nods in agreement. "So…" she continues, with a sly smile, "where exactly did all this newfound inspiration come from?"
"I meant to tell you sooner but… Kent's coming back," Jodi begins, twisting the napkin between her fingers. "I... Well I got the notice that he was being discharged a while ago, but I didn't know if that was going to change. You've seen the news, right? It's just awful." Caroline puts a hand on Jodi's forearm, and she takes a breath before continuing. "But then I got another letter, from Kent this time, and it sounds like it's really happening."
Caroline gives Jodi's arm a light squeeze. "Oh, Jodi, that's so good to hear!"
She nods, her face finally relaxing into a smile. "I'm so relieved he's coming back. I mean, I'm a little nervous too; he mentioned he might be a little… different in his letter."
"I'm sure he just wanted you to know that he might need a bit of time to readjust," Robin assures her, "and so that you can prepare the boys, too."
"Right. I haven't told Vincent yet, actually," Jodi continues. "I thought it might be a nice surprise for him… that, and I'm not sure he'd be able to sleep for the rest of the year if he knew."
Robin laughs.
"And Sam?" Caroline asks. "Does he know yet?"
Jodi nods again. "He opened Kent's letter with me. I'm not sure how he feels about Kent coming back yet, but I think it'll be good for him to have his dad home again… he just hasn't had much of a male role model to look up to without him, you know?" She untwists her napkin again, before setting it down on the table. "Maybe he'd have a bit more interest in girls if he had someone he could go to for advice."
For a moment there's an uncomfortable silence around the table. Robin is the first to break it. "Well, we'll have to have you and Kent over for dinner some night once he's back!"
"That would be lovely, Robin," Jodi agrees.
"Have you got a lot left to do before he gets home?" Caroline asks.
"Well, a lot of cleaning still, but that's always the case in my house. Sometimes I wonder if the house would be a little cleaner if I'd raised two girls instead…" she says, with a wistful look.
Caroline smirks. "Oh, I don't know about that… Abigail's room usually looks like a tornado hit it – and the things she leaves lying around the house! I swear, I'm going to break my neck one day tripping over those boots of hers." She pushes her chair back from the table with a sigh, and glances between her two friends. "Would anyone like some tea? I was thinking of making myself a cup."
"Oh, no thank you," Jodi replies. "I should probably get going, actually… I promised Vincent we could bake some cookies today."
Robin waves to Jodi before turning back to Caroline. "I'll take some tea, if you don't mind."
She taps her foot against the wooden table leg as Caroline measures out two spoonfuls of loose green tea leaves for their cups, and sets the kettle on the burner to boil. She seems lost in thought when Caroline finally returns to the table with two steaming cups of tea – her chin propped up on one fist, and her gaze fixed on something outside the kitchen window.
"Something on your mind, Robin?" Caroline asks, setting one of the cups down in front of her.
"A couple things," Robin answers, reaching for her cup. "Holiday shopping, some new plans for the farmer…" she trails off for a few moments, before looking up at Caroline, "and I didn't want to bring it up again while Jodi was here, but I keep thinking about what you said the other week, too."
Caroline blows gently on her tea as she thinks back to their conversation last week. "About Sam and Sebastian?" she asks.
Robin nods. "I think you might be right – I think he likes Sam," she says, with a tiny smile. "I was teasing him the other night while we were looking at some old pictures together – little comments about how Sam's kind of cute, you know? And he was blushing , Caroline."
Caroline raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything else in response.
"He told me they were just friends, of course, but I just had this nagging feeling that there was something more going on," Robin continues. "So, I tried to tell him that he could talk to me about anything, and he promised me that if he were dating someone, he'd tell me."
"Well that's a start, right?" she replies.
"I thought it was. Last night he asked me if I wanted to walk down to the night market with him, and I thought I had really made some progress with him. I can't remember the last time he asked me to do something with him, Caroline! We had a nice chat on the way down, he met up with Sam on the beach, and I left to do my shopping." Robin pauses for a moment, and her smile fades. "Once I was done I tried to find Sebastian to let him know that I was leaving, and when I did… well, it looked like they were kissing."
"It looked like they were kissing?" Caroline repeats. "Or they were kissing?"
"I think so. I don't know," Robin admits, staring down at her full cup of tea. "It was pretty dark… and I didn't want to interrupt them if they were, so I just sent him a text message to tell him I was heading back home."
"Hmmm. Well, what time did he get back?"
"He didn't – he spent the rest of the night at Sam's..." She pauses again, and then continues, "and now that I've said that aloud, it really does sound like there might be something more going on, and I think it might have been going on for while now." Robin sighs. "I don't know. Do you think I'm reading into things too much? Or do you think he might be hiding something from me still?"
Caroline takes a sip of her tea as she considers all this. She's almost certain at this point that Sam and Sebastian are crushing on each other, if not already dating. She just doesn't think it's her place to tell Robin that. "I think it's a possibility," she answers. "I think you really need to let Sebastian tell you himself."
"I'm trying to be patient, I really am. It's just… it breaks my heart knowing that if he is gay, he still feels like it's something he has to hide from me," she says with a quiet sniffle. "And I don't know what else I can do to let him know that it's okay."
Caroline reaches over to give her friend's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "You're a good mom, Robin. I know you're trying your best, and I think all you can do at this point is wait, and let him open up to you when he's ready – about whatever it is that he might be keeping from you. He might be gay… or he might be bi, or he might be struggling with something else entirely."
"You're right," Robin says, wiping at her eyes. "Thanks, Caroline."
Abigail
"We're not open today," Abigail's dad reminds her, as she swipes the key for the shop doors from the front counter.
"I know, but Sam and Sebastian are coming over to hang out," Abigail replies. "Mom said it was okay," she adds, when her dad makes a face. "We're just going to make a gingerbread house, maybe watch a movie, exchange some gifts... the usual holiday stuff." Winter Star was still a week away, but they'd had a tradition of doing their own little gift exchange in advance for a few years now.
Her dad exhales loudly. "Well, try not to clear out the snack aisle this time, please. I don't order this food for you and your friends, you know."
They'd only taken a few bags of chips, and a case of the shitty, off-brand soda her dad likes to carry, but Abigail doesn't think that's worth arguing over. "Yes, Dad."
"One more thing," he says, as she turns to leave. He scribbles something down on a scrap of paper, and hands it to her. "Can you post this on the bulletin outside?"
"I guess," she agrees with a sigh. Abigail doubts anyone will actually read it. She pads over to the front door – still dressed in her pajamas, and a pair of slippers – and unlocks it, before slipping out to pin up the note. "Fucking shit," she mutters under her breath, as she fumbles with one of the thumbtacks, nearly dropping it into the slushy snow that's gathered underneath the board.
"Chilly today, isn't it?" she hears a familiar voice call out to her.
She turns around to find the farmer standing behind her. Abigail is suddenly very aware of the fact that she's not wearing a bra underneath her pajama shirt.
"Yeah, I guess I'm a little underdressed," she replies, folding her arms over her chest.
The farmer laughs. "Well, maybe if you're lucky someone will knit you a nice scarf for Winter Star," she jokes. "Have you got your secret gift all picked out yet?"
"I might," Abigail replies. "You?"
"I haven't quite decided what I'm going to give yet," the farmer answers, adjusting her well-worn blue backpack that looks as if it's stuffed to the seams. "I'm thinking I might whip up a little something special in my new kitchen, though. I'd tell you what I'm making, but that might ruin the surprise!"
"Well, we can't have that," Abigail agrees. "Has Robin been doing some more work on the farm, then?"
"She has! She's actually working on some plans for a cabin at the moment – have I told you that I've got a cousin moving to the valley in the spring?" The farmer doesn't wait for her to answer. "He'll be living on the farm with me – in his own little cabin, of course. I've just been growing so much on the farm that it's a lot to handle, you know? It'll be good to have an extra set of hands to help out with it all."
"Yeah, I can imagine." She rubs her hands up and down her arms as she tries to think of something more interesting to add.
"Oh, I should let you get back inside!" The farmer says before Abigail can. "It's much too cold for you to be standing out here like that!"
As much as Abigail would like to stay and chat, she's shivering too much to protest. "It's a bit nippy, yeah," she agrees. Ugh, nippy? Gross. "I'll see you around, then? Maybe when I'm not wearing my pajamas?"
The farmer laughs again. "That sounds like a plan." She gives Abigail a tiny smile before she turns to leave. "They're very cute, though!"
After waving goodbye to the farmer, Abigail returns to the warmth of the store with her arms covered in goosebumps, and a red face that can't be blamed entirely on the cold. She's got just enough time to throw on some proper clothes before the shop doors chime, announcing that someone's arrived.
"Holy shit, did you guys actually sleep in your own beds for once?" Abigail asks, when she finds Sebastian standing in the entrance of the store, alone.
"We had to," he replies, leaning back against a wooden crate that's stocked with potatoes. "I think my mom's started to catch on... the other night, she tried to ask me if I thought Sam was cute." The bell over the front door chimes, and Sebastian casts a nervous glance over his shoulder, relaxing visibly when he sees it's just Sam.
"Well?" Abigail prompts.
"Well what?" Sam asks, as he kicks his boots against the frame of the door to rid them of snow.
Abigail smirks. "Apparently Robin wants to know if Sebastian thinks you're cute."
Sam turns to look at Sebastian. "And?"
"Well obviously I didn't tell her anything."
"Okay, but do you?" Sam tries again.
"Do I what? Do I think you're cute?" he asks. Sam nods, and Sebastian goes pink as he mumbles something incoherent in response.
"Okay, I think that's enough flirting for now," Abigail interjects, as Sam moves to pull Sebastian into a kiss. "You guys do realize you're standing in front of a glass door, right?"
"Right," Sebastian agrees, as he takes a step backwards, almost losing his balance as he stumbles into the crate of potatoes.
They follow her out of the shop and into the kitchen, where she turns the radio on to a channel playing through a loop of holiday songs. "You guys ready to make the best gingerbread house ever?"
"From scratch?" Sam asks, as she digs through one of the kitchen cupboards.
"From a kit," Abigail answers. "I thought about making it from scratch, but I was worried that might be a bit too advanced for you two." She plops the box down on the table. "This seemed a little more age appropriate."
Sebastian frowns at the box. "This says it's for kids ages six and up."
Abigail smirks. "Exactly."
Sam reaches for the box anyways, ripping it open, and dumping the contents out on the kitchen table. "I don't know why you have to open everything like a wild animal," Sebastian comments, as the three of them begin to tear into the smaller packages of candy, icing, and gingerbread squares.
"That's disrespectful to wild animals, Seb," Abigail replies. "I've seen raccoons open boxes more carefully than Sam."
"Are you sure you weren't just looking in a mirror, though?" Sebastian asks, with a smirk of his own. "I could see how it might be hard to tell the difference."
Abigail gives him a stern look. "Watch it mister, or I'll have to return your Winter Star gift." She pops a peppermint in her mouth. "Gotta admit, that was a pretty decent burn, though."
"Here," Sam says, handing her a packet of icing, "some ice for your burn."
"Well at least someone here deserves to get his present this year." She pipes the icing along the edge of two gingerbread cookies, and press them together to start the base of their house. "Speaking of gifts, guess who I got assigned for Winter Star this year."
"Oh, did you get the farmer?" Sam asks.
"Nope. Shane." She makes a face. "I haven't even picked out a gift for him. I mean, what would I even get him, other than a case of beer?" Abigail sighs. "Who did you two get?"
"Well, Seb got Jas, and I got Elliott-" Sam begins, pausing to eat a handful of gummies.
"-so we went down to the night market and got some candy for Jas, and some fancy calligraphy pen for Elliott," Sebastian says, finishing Sam's sentence.
Abigail pouts. "You guys did your gift shopping without me?"
"You've been grounded for ages!" Sam argues through a mouthful of candy.
"I wouldn't have gotten grounded if I hadn't selflessly taken the fall for the snowman, so that you two could go on your dorky little birthday date!" She adds a third piece of cookie to the house. "I hope you guys made it to third base, at least. Please don't tell me I gutted fish for five hours so that you two could hold hands in bed and then share a soft hug."
"It was definitely worth it, if that's what you want to hear," Sebastian replies.
"What I'm hearing is that you guys definitely did not make it to third base."
Sebastian raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? Well how far have you gotten with the farmer, then?"
"Nowhere," Abigail admits with a groan. "I did talk to her today, though. Sort of."
"How do you sort of talk to someone?" Sebastian asks. Sam elbows him.
"Well, she ran into me outside the shop in the snow, while I was still in my pajamas, and I wasn't even wearing a bra, so it definitely could have gone better." She twirls a strand of hair around her finger. "I guess it's still a start, though."
"Maybe she didn't notice?" Sam politely suggests.
"It could be worse. At least you didn't eat a rock in front of her this time," Sebastian teases.
Abigail groans again. "Great, thanks for that reminder, Seb."
"It's probably a good sign that she stopped to chat, though," Sebastian continues. "If she thought you were a weirdo, she probably would have tried to avoid you instead, right?"
"I guess you've got a point." Abigail pops another mint into her mouth. "She did tell me that my pajamas were cute."
"See?" Sam smiles at her. "That is a good start. Plus, if seeing you in your pajamas is enough to make her not like you, she's probably not someone you would want to date, anyways."
"Yeah," Sebastian agrees. "Look at Sam, for example – I've seen pretty much every embarrassing thing Sam's ever done since he was ten years old, and I'm still into him."
"Which is impressive," Abigail agrees, "considering how many embarrassing things Sam has done."
Sam frowns. "Hey."
Sebastian grins at him. "Like that time he tried to fit into the stupid kiddie swing at the park, and got stuck."
"And your mom practically had to take the whole swing set apart to get him free!" Abigail adds with a laugh. "Oh, or what about that that time he cried at your eleventh birthday party because-"
"Okay yes, I think we all get the point," Sam interjects. Sebastian placates him with a kiss on the cheek.
"So, are we done with our masterpiece?" Abigail asks, as she studies their gingerbread house. It's a bit lopsided, and she's pretty sure that only half the candy decorations actually made it onto the house, but at least nobody had tried to frost a dick on it.
Sebastian reaches for the last bag of frosting. "I dunno, I think it's missing something."
"We are not icing a dick on it, Seb."
"It's perfect, then," Sebastian decides, setting the bag back down. "Should we do some presents now?"
They abandon the gingerbread house on the kitchen table - along with all the empty packets and wrappers - and move to the great room, settling down in front of the fireplace. Abigail grabs the silver package she'd stowed away on the mantle, while Sam digs through his backpack.
"You guys didn't bring gifts for each other?" she asks, when Sam produces a single purple bag from his backpack.
"Um, well we were thinking we might actually exchange presents another time," he replies. "You know, in private."
Abigail smirks. "What exactly are you guys giving each other that it needs to be done in private?"
"None of your business," Sebastian mutters, as Sam's cheeks go pink.
"How about you open yours first, Abby," Sam suggests, thrusting the gift bag into her hands. "It's technically from both of us," he adds, as Abigail pulls out a wad of tissue paper, "but we bought you extra to make up for it."
Abigail grins as she holds up a fist full of rock candy. "I have zero complaints; these look delicious." She puts the candy aside for a moment, and passes the silver package to the boys. "So this is actually for both of you to share; I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get you guys a sappy couple's gift now that you're finally a couple."
Sebastian rolls his eyes, but Sam happily tears into the wrapping paper.
"Open the skinny box first, maybe," Abigail suggests, once he's finished with the outer layer of paper. Sam does as he's instructed.
"Oh, these are perfect!" he exclaims, as he holds the first present up for Sebastian to see - a double headphone adapter.
"Thought you guys might find them useful the next time you decide to snuggle up and watch a movie, or listen to one of your sappy mixtapes, or whatever you nerds like to do," Abigail explains. "I also thought about getting you guys one of those dumb mittens you can hold hands in, but I figured I should get something Sebastian could actually be coaxed into using."
"We'll definitely use these," Sam assures her. He passes the second box to Sebastian. "Do you want to open this one, then? Since I did the first."
Sebastian carefully unwraps the last package. "You got us… condoms?"
"They glow in the dark!" Abigail adds cheerfully. "So if you guys chicken out at the last second, you can always just blow them up like balloons and have a glow-in-the-dark wiener duel instead. Although fair warning, I had to buy them from Joja Mart, so I'm not sure how durable those are..."
"Well, that's reassuring." Sebastian passes the box to Sam. "Can you stick these in your backpack? My mom is definitely going to have some more questions if I come home with a pack of condoms."
"You can't just shove them in your hoodie pocket?" Sam asks. "What if my mom finds them?"
Sebastian shrugs. "Just hide them under your mattress or something, dude."
Sam sighs, and stows both presents into his backpack. "Thanks," he says, looking back up at Abigail. "I can't promise we'll use… all of it? But that headphone adapter is perfect." He turns to smile at Sebastian. "Should we try it out tonight? We're having leftover lentil soup for dinner again, so I was kinda hoping I could crash at your place tonight."
"Fuck. My mom's making mushroom casserole for dinner... I was hoping I could come to your place."
As the two of them begin to squabble over dinner plans, Abigail decides that next year, she's going to buy them a cookbook for Winter Star.