Afrobaron, thanks for reading! Glad you are enjoying it. I also have a new follow and favorite, so that is encouraging.
This chapter takes place only in this world, so it doesn't really carry along the main thrust of the story. Consider it a "special episode" of sorts, which can be skipped without missing much vital information.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Christmas Special
Friday:
Even the dog has a present under the tree (the lion costume we found for him at a discount store) and a stocking nearby. We've spent nearly all of Mairead's weekly "allowance" that she gives herself to see to expenses, along with the extra Christmas money, but the weekend is nearly here, and we'll have spending money again.
We have to get through a six-hour shift at her day job, but we intend to be well prepared so it will pass quickly. For breakfast, Levi fed us something that looks like it came from a summer camp or army mess hall, but tastes like someone's mom made it from scratch. He's kind of amazing like that.
Last night, we had a mishap with a candle. We did what you're never supposed to do—left it unsupervised. Turns out the candle holder wasn't entirely fire-proof, and there's a good reason they tell you to remove that big, round sticker from the bottom of your pillar candle before you burn it. All these years of experience Mairead has with fires and candles, and this is the biggest "oops" she's had with them. That's a pretty good record, and it definitely taught us all a valuable lesson. Don't worry, though—it was easy to put out with just three good, strong breaths, and it hadn't spread to anything else yet. Leaving a window open and a fan blowing for an hour or so cleared the smoke.
It seems that fire is like a dog: little and cute and warm and sweet... until it starts trying to eat things you didn't feed to it. Then it's time to put it out. OK, you don't have to say I'm clever, but I enjoyed that analogy.
Just before it's time to go—I finished Toothiana's book while enjoying a mug of my new favorite drink. You put your cocoa mix in a mug, throw in some instant coffee, pour your hot water in, stir, and top it off with a splash of eggnog. I'm a genius. It is SO good. Ate some goldfish with it... not real ones. The cracker kind, only these were "honey bun" graham fish. I can't believe how tasty this snack is. I don't get hungry much in the other world; here I enjoy food a lot more.
The end of the book left me reeling with new information once again! I'll try to write a bit more after work, though we'll be on call for the other job then.
/'*
Oh, my gosh. The day job is crazy. I'm so glad we don't have to go back until after Christmas. One patron was particularly unreasonable and hurt Mairead's feelings a bit, but then late in the day a random stranger had a surprise for us.
"Sometimes I feel God telling me to do a random act of kindness," he told us. Since Mairead happened to be the one serving him, he gave his gift to her. It was money—how much, we didn't know, as it was all curled up.
"Oh, that's so sweet of you," Mairead said. "Thank you so much."
As he was leaving, we started to open it up. Was it five dollars? That would be nice. Very nice. It looked like a five. No, it was a twenty. We were like *blink blink* random stranger gave us twenty bucks.
It completely turned everything around and made the stressful day suddenly bright and peaceful. It was one of the nicest things a stranger had done for Mairead in her whole life. After work we used some of the money to buy a couple of last-minute things we'd been wanting but holding off on because we already spent plenty for Christmas. This included some candy which we shared with coworkers (share the blessing, right?) and some teeth-cleaning dog treats for Mairead's dog, who shall be called Tricky (don't like to use his real-life name, as it could put Mairead's anonymity in jeopardy). Toothiana would approve of that purchase... probably not the candy, though.
Another little surprise came when we got home. We knew the dog treat pack was supposed to hold five chew sticks, but when we opened it, there were six. It was like the random act of kindness wasn't quite done giving yet.
Now we're relaxing in the glow of Christmas lights. We're on call for the night job, but tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We will probably open most of the presents in the morning (before or after breakfast is up for debate—there's been talk of making apple pancakes or crepes and baking muffins) and then go to Mairead's brother's house to give presents to him and his wife and kids and spend some time with them. But tonight I'm starting Sandy's book, so I'll be well occupied until we get called to work or go to sleep.
Unfortunately, the forecast says it will probably be too warm for us to have snow here... so I fully intend to play with the snow machine tomorrow. Maybe feed some ice cubes to the dog. Eren gets cold easily, but I miss the ice and snow a lot. Maybe while the others are asleep or out on call, I'll fly somewhere colder and have some fun.
/'*
Eren wanted peppermint cocoa. So, we put a couple of soft peppermints in with the mix, and then I convinced them to let me add eggnog again. By george, I've done it again! It's like drinking the best candy ever. I'll have to tell Bunny about this. Maybe he'll make some eggnog-themed chocolate eggs.
Saturday:
I got in a good night of playing in snow. Eren, however, got only about half the sleep he was hoping to. Apparently the proverbial sugarplums dancing in his head wouldn't let up. Mairead's family has always had the tradition of opening their presents Christmas Eve morning, because they wanted to take their favorite new things with them when they went to her grandparents' house that day. So, naturally, we adopted the same procedure. Eren started another tradition last night. Mairead has written an old-timey Christmas carol. I won't put it down here, because she wants to publish it in a book someday. But Eren's idea was to join hands and sing the carol together the night before Christmas Eve. I've never had a tradition like that before. It was pretty cool.
So, this morning we groggily got out of bed, wishing each other a merry Christmas, and changed into fresh pajamas to enjoy the lazy morning. We weren't awake enough or industrious enough or hungry enough to bother making the crepes after all. Mairead had intended to read the Christmas story, but we all forgot. We turned the Christmas lights back on, lit our scented candle and proceeded to open gifts.
Even though we all knew what we were getting, Mairead had successfully forgotten a couple of things, so she got some surprises after all. Mission accomplished. I excitedly unwrapped the nightlight I had picked out at the dollar store. It may seem childish, but it's exactly what I wanted. It has a crescent moon and a couple little stars sitting on a cloud and the light it gives off is sort of spectral-blue. I LOVE it.
Eren got a little lantern, Levi got kitchen stuff, and Vin got a bandana and beef jerky. Tricky got his lion mane... which he is not too thrilled about, I can tell you. He was, however, happy about the leftover rice we put on his dog food this morning. You'd think it was roast turkey, as excited as he got.
We just took some muffins out of the oven. We'll eat one and take the rest to Mairead's brother's house to share with them. They're blueberry cheesecake, and just to be mischievous, we put four chocolate chips in each one after we put the batter in the tin. Where do I get these ideas?
I'm eager to get on with reading Sandy's book, but for now it's fun to be involved in the festivities. Tomorrow we will open stockings and then have Christmas dinner with friend Kitsune's family. Looking forward to that.
/'*
It felt so good to make kids on Mairead's plane happy with snow! OK, so it wasn't real snow... it was snow-machine snow. But they loved it. They were laughing and playing in it, scooping it up and piling it on the baby's head. We used up a fair bit of juice, but it was worth it. Most of the kids took a turn pushing the button and telling me where to aim the spray.
Before that, we gave gifts. The kids loved the movies we gave them. We watched one before lunch. After lunch we ate the muffins and played with the snow machine. Then we started the second movie, but that was one Mairead had already seen, and we left partway through.
Once we got home we watched an episode of Wanted, Dead Or Alive. It has the same actor that played Vin in his canon. Vin has had a similar experience to mine, in that this show is starting to meld with his past experience. In The Magnificent Seven, when asked his name, Vin's answer was, "Make it Vin." He never said that was his real name. It's easy to see him having been a bounty hunter before he took up with Chris and the others.
Westerns are fun, I have to say. They all have different premises, but they all have certain stock episodes. Like, "the one with the rustlers that turn out to be people you've known and trusted a long time." Or, "the one with the proud, misunderstood Indian." Or, "the one with the rabid animal." Or, "the one with the persecuted beautiful woman." Etc. So, you have an idea of where the story is going, but you get to see how different characters act in that situation. Sure, it's formulaic, but... still fun.
/'*
Eren nominated himself to make dinner. He told Levi he wanted to do something for him (because Levi normally makes dinner), and Levi, being a good sport, is pretending he doesn't know that Eren wanted the kitchen to himself to make Levi's birthday cake. The rest of us are pretending we don't know that Levi knows. It's a game of deceit, but oddly enough, all because of a deep friendship between those two. Levi takes care of most of the tough things around here, and Eren wants the chance to do something nice for him. It really warms the heart.
I took dinner out to Levi and Vin so Eren could keep busy in the kitchen. Now we're waiting for the cake to bake. Then we'll have to let it cool before we can ice it. Also watching strange things on television. It helps pass the time. And writing this makes time pass, too... the scent of cake is starting to waft out from the kitchen. Almost time to take the pans out of the oven.
/'*
The cat is officially out of the bag. Levi and Eren went out on call, and in passing through the kitchen (as they normally do), Levi couldn't help but see the cake rounds cooling. So he can't pretend he doesn't know anymore, and therefore, we can't pretend we don't know that he knows. It was fun while it lasted! But we still get to decorate it, so maybe we can surprise him with that. Then we can have cake for breakfast. (Here I chuckle with gleeful anticipation.)
(half an hour later) And now we're done decorating it. Eren used icing to form his army division's insignia, I did my bit with blue swirls and snowflakes, and Vin did a red cowboy boot and horse head. We had to fill in a lot between the rounds with icing because of the way they fit together... that never seems to come out right. I don't know how people do it. Never claimed to be a baker, and neither did Eren. He's fretting about it not being the greatest cake, but I'm sure it will taste fine. And in my opinion, the more Frosting, the better. Yeah, OK, I'm just asking for attention now.
/'*
I miss Pitch. I guess that sounds weird. It's just that I've learned so much more about him... I don't intend to go back until tomorrow night at least, but it's going to be hard to wait. There's so much I want to tell and ask him. And yet, part of me feels like I should wait longer for a lot of it. Wait until I have more of the whole picture. After all, Sandy is just about to properly come into the story, and everything could change in a moment, depending on what else I learn. Anyway, I feel like I want to see Pitch, and I think that's the same as missing him.
Again, Eren has been a great comfort to me. You probably wouldn't think it of him, but it doesn't take him long to start telling a friend "I love you." At the least, he usually tells each of us before we go to sleep. I gather that it started because he regrets not telling his mother before she died. But that's a very sad concept, and I don't do well with sad, so I won't dwell on it.
Sunday:
Eren and Levi went out early this morning and came back with pumpkin cappuccino. After trying to sleep a little more, we got up and opened Mairead's and Tricky's stockings. Tricky got a backup for his dog halter along with lots of treats. Mairead got all the fun little knickknacks we found for her, along with loads of candy.
There were Batmobile Hotwheels, a baseball (she likes Hilts from The Great Escape, who was also played by Vin's actor), a mini bottle of sparkling grape juice, a couple of little toys and a novelty pen. Oh yes, and one of those little "magic towels." It expands in water. It has Elsa and Anna on it. Don't start with the ship talk. I know all about that. And I've never met Elsa. Though I'm told she has visited here before. But that doesn't matter. Shut up.
Anyway, the cappuccino had gotten cold so we put ice in it and had it with cookies. That's breakfast on Christmas Day. That and candy. You have to eat fun things on Christmas. I mean seriously, no one eats healthy on Christmas—that would take all the fun out of it. But Toothiana has made me conscious enough to brush my teeth after, even though I'm pretty sure I don't need to. My teeth seem to stay white like my hair.
We showed Levi his cake and enjoyed watching him react to our design. He did manage to blow out the three candles we put on it (in one breath), and ate a slice without gagging. So I call that a success.
I noticed Santa didn't seem to take any milk or cookies last night. Eren said maybe he just doesn't exist in this world. But I say, maybe we just didn't believe enough. It doesn't usually hurt a person to believe in something that's not real, but in this case it could hurt to disbelieve something that is real, you know? Anyway, I'm itching to visit home more than ever.
We've got a little gift for the next-door neighbor, even though they have not been very friendly to us. 'Tis the season and all that. It's about time for us to leave to hang out with Kitsune and her family. I hope I can post this while it's still Christmas. Either way, I wish joy and peace to all of you.
/'*
Well, there's not a whole lot to tell about our day, except that we got unexpected presents from Kitsune's folks. Her mom got us movie gift cards and candy. Her stepmom gave us socks and a scarf.
When we got home, there was a gift on our mailbox for us from the neighbor. It was just candy and popcorn, but to be fair, all the stores are closed on Christmas day, so it's not like they could run out and shop for us. It was really nice—we didn't expect them to give anything back.
It was also nice to get some goodwill, because we all felt pretty heavy on the way home. It wasn't just post-holiday letdown—it was mainly anxiety. We had so much contact with strangers and near-strangers at Kitsune's mom's house that Mairead was pretty stressed out by the time we left. We almost didn't go on to her dad's house, but we didn't really want to go home to the empty house for the rest of Christmas day. Her dad is a cool person and all, but a bit intimidating. What with one thing and another, Mairead ended up feeling more than a little peopled-out.
On the way home, the dam finally broke, going through Eren as it usually does. He cried hard for a minute there—I don't think I'd ever seen someone cry three tears on the same side so fast that the first one wasn't all the way down his face by the time the third one left his eye. The good thing is, once he'd cried a bit, we all felt a little better.
This is what it's like to have a syndrome or a disorder, I'm finding out... See, sometimes people tease Mairead and she doesn't get it. Either she can't tell if they're joking, or the joke is so simple or so feeble that she can't comprehend why anyone would bother making it in the first place. We all make bad jokes, but they're not bad to us because they fit our particular taste in humor. But, for example, if someone teases Mairead in a very serious voice, it sounds like they are criticizing or insulting her. Then, even after she realizes it was a joke, the hurt doesn't go away. It eats at her. Most people would be able to move on, and she tries, but she can still feel it. The term sarcasm comes from root words that mean "tearing flesh," and that is just how it feels to her.
She knows they don't mean to hurt her. They would probably be horrified to learn how it affects her. The thing is, she's only just figuring this kind of thing out, and when it happens, she can't articulate how she feels. She doesn't know how to ask people to stop in a way that won't upset them or make them think she's just weird. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about if you have any kind of social disorder. If you don't, you can't possibly imagine how it feels. However, you can help by keeping an open mind. If you pay attention and don't jump to conclusions, you can at least keep the situation from getting worse.
Anyway, the dog hadn't gotten into any major mischief while we were gone, so other than Christmas being over, things are all right again. And it looks like I'll have this chapter up before midnight, so that's a plus.
Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but I think even I may be funned-out at this point. I'll enjoy all the stuff with everyone as time goes on, but I'm kind of looking forward to things going back to normal. And I'm definitely looking forward to visiting my world again soon. Happy holidays!
Thanks for reading my "special episode." Comment or question if you can spare the time and I'll write more when I'm able. ~Jack