Chapter 4:
A couple of days later Rae was working in the back parlor, trying to create a playroom for the twins when something outside caught her eye. She stared out the window a moment before smiling. SNOW!
And it wasn't sparse, dirty, wet flakes like it was in New York. It was fluffy, white flakes! With childishly glee, she ran through the house shrieking "It's snowing! It's snowing!" She flung open the doors of Ann's and Andy's room. "It's snowing!"
The two exchanged a confused look, before following her slowly down the stairs
Rae flung open the study's doors, where Spot was seated, thumbing through some books. "It's snowing Spot!" She rushed over to the window. "Look at how white it is!"
"Go away!" Spot growled, from his chair behind the desk. Rae made a face at him.
"Grumpus!" she said.
"Nag!" he snapped back.
Rae made another face before leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.
Ann and Andy were standing right outside the door. "Did you and Mr. Spot have a fight?" Ann asked.
Could the few words they exchanged be considered a fight? "No sweetheart, just a little disagreement." Rae said, smiling at her.
"Is Mr. Spot gonna play in the snow with us then?" Andy asked hopefully. "I wanna build a fort!"
"Mr. Spot is too busy to play with us, but I can build a fort just as good as he can."
He looked at her a bit skeptically. "But you're a girl."
"Nah uh!" Ann yelped. "Miss Rae can do anything!"
Rae smiled. "Thanks Ann." she said, patting the girl's head. "Race you outside."
Both children shrieked in delight and ran after Rae. They stopped when once they were outside. Where was Rae? They took a few cautious steps into the yard. Suddenly, they were hit with snowballs! Turning, they saw her grinning and preparing to throw another pair.
Inside, Spot heard giggles. He walked slowly to the window and peered out. Down in the snowy yard below, a snowball fight was going on. Rae had been right. The snow WAS extremely white. He'd never seen snow that was that clean before... How could the three of them be so happy when he was so miserable?
He sighed. He almost wished he could decree that NO ONE have fun unless he could have it too... "Like that'd work," he muttered to himself.
He walked back over to his chair, and slumped into it. If only there was some way to turn back time. Back to the factory... change his actions. 'But what could I do? I couldn't leave them kids in there to get blown up!'
The door to the study creaked open and Rae stuck her head in. "May I come in?" she asked hesitantly.
He grunted. "No one's stopping you."
She slipped in, closing the door behind her and leaned against the door. "Spot, I don't know what I did to upset you, but don't take it out on Ann and Andy too. They want you to come play in the snow with them."
Spot closed his eyes. "I'm busy."
"Busy feeling sorry for yourself." Rae muttered.
He turned on her. "Shut up Rae, I'm not in the mood to hear it from you!"
"Just come out and play for one hour. Andy really wants you to help him defend the snow fort that we built."
Spot glanced at her, sighed, and rose to his feet. "All right..."
"Thank you, Spot." she whispered. He nodded vaguely and left the room. She smiled slightly. A small victory.
"Hey kids!" Spot called out, traipsing into the cold snow.
"Mr. Spot!" the twins yelled, running over and attaching themselves to his legs, nearly knocking him over.
"Whoa, whoa. Let a fellow keep standing!"
"Are you gonna help me 'fend my fort?" Andy asked.
"Sure thing kiddo."
~*~
Sometime later Rae collapsed on the snow. "I GIVE!" she yelled. "I just can't keep going."
Quietly, Spot handed Andy an armload of snowballs. "Go get her," he whispered.
Rae screamed when Andy dumped the snowballs on her. She jumped to her feet and instead of attacking the little boy, she charged toward Spot.
Laughing, Spot ran. "Why are you chasing ME, woman! He's the one that got you!"
"Cause you told him to." she yelled, diving at his feet. He yelped, taken down. She grabbed a handful of snow and held it over his face.
"Oh, you don't scare me Rae Kelly. It's just a bit of snow."
"That doesn't matter. The point is that I got the best of you." She said with a smirk.
Spot hooked his foot around her ankle and yanked back, causing her to trip. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." He knelt next to her, "Rae, are you still as ticklish as you were when we were little?"
"No." She answered, trying to get away from him.
He pinned her to the ground. "Haven't you learned that you can't lie to me?"
"Me? Lie? No way."
He waved his finger in her face. "Now, Kelly. I think it's time to find out just how ticklish you really are."
Rae gave him a look. "Don't you dare, Spot Conlon. Don't you dare!"
He smirked at her and sending a quick glance over his shoulder at the twins, he began to tickle her.
Shrieking loudly, she began to giggle. He HAD to know she was ticklish! "Stop! Stop!" she tried to gasp between giggles. Grabbing a handful of snow, she smashed it into his face.
He stumbled back a bit and she jumped to her feet and ran behind the twins, holding them in front of her.
"Aw, that's low. Using the kids as protection?" He smirked.
"Tickling me was a low blow!" she retorted.
Spot shrugged and glanced around. "Well anyway... The snow is pretty nice. First time we've had it before Christmas... well, a lot of it, anyway."
Andy nudged his sister. "What's Christmas?"
Ann shrugged and then pulled Rae's shirt. "What's Christmas?"
Rae sent a shocked glance toward Spot. "It's kinda hard to explain, I guess we will just have to show you." Rae said, smirking at Spot
Spot arched a brow.
"Come on Spot, you know what I'm talking about."
"Do I now?"
She sent a glance toward the twins. "The T-R-E-E and the P-R-E-S-E-N-T-S!"
With a frown, he glanced at them and then her. "I don't know..."
"It will be sooo much fun." Rae said. Ann and Andy were looking back and forth from Rae to Spot.
After a long pause to consider, he nodded. "All right then..."
Rae squealed in delight and threw her arms around his neck. Spot stumbled backwards, startled by her display of delight.
"You and Andy go find a tree while Ann and I will go see what's in the attic." Rae ordered, grabbing the little girl's hand and dragging her toward the house.
Ann and Andy exchanged confused but excited looks and ran off with their respective 'adults'.
Ann followed Rae up to the attic. "What are we looking for?" the little girl asked.
"Christmas decorations."
"What are those?" Ann asked. "Mr. Spot and Andy are going to bring us a nice tree and we are going to put candles and bows on it. And maybe some other things if we can find them up here." Rae answered
"Ooh... that sounds so pretty! Is that Christmas?"
Rae smiled at the little girl. "OH Ann, Christmas is so much more than that. Decorating for Christmas is just part of the fun."
She jumped gleefully.
~*~
"Mr. Spot?" Andy asked as they walked through the woods. "What's Christmas?"
"Well, you know the bible story with Jesus right?"
Andy nodded.
"Well, Christmas celebrates when he was born."
"Oh....ok. Why did Rae send us to find a tree?"
"Because we're going to decorate it."
"Decorate it?"
He nodded.
* * *
Several days later, just three days before Christmas, after the twins were in bed, Rae knocked softly on the door of the study, where Spot had once again locked himself in.
"What?" was the grunted reply she received.
She sighed. "Will you let me in?"
Rae heard him stalk across the room and unlock the door. He threw it open. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"I want to talk to you about the presents for the twins." she replied.
"This is all your doing! Not mine!" Spot said.
"Well you agreed to it, so you're going to help! Can't you be PLEASANT for once?!"
"If you got them presents you can do the rest on your own. I got the stupid tree for you. And I will be pleasant when -I- feel like it."
"Oh, get off your thrown Mr. High-and-Mighty!" she snapped, though she was prepared to step back should he move to hit her again.
"Watch it Kelly." he growled.
She sighed. "Fine Spot. Be that way." She turned to leave. She stopped suddenly and turned around. "I know what happened was bad, Spot, but you can't let it ruin your whole life." Before she could say anything else the door slammed in her face. "You know I'm right!" she yelled through the door. There was no response.
She sighed. She had to get through to him, but how?
She turned away from the door. Whatever would happen would have to wait for later. She had presents to deal with.
* * *
Spot woke to someone bouncing on his bed. "Wake up Mr. Spot." Ann called happily.
He rolled on his back, grunting. "Ain't it a little early for you to be up, Ann?" he murmured sleepily. The sun was just starting to rise.
Ann just kept bouncing. "There's all kinds of boxes under the tree Mr. Spot!"
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "You went down and peeked before anyone woke up?"
She nodded. "Andy's down there too. I said that we needed to come get you and Miss Rae."
"Good luck getting her up," he mumbled, rolling to a sitting position.
"That's why I got you." Ann said with a grin.
He patted her head. "Even -I- can't get her up," he said with a very vague smile.
She pouted. "Can't you do somethin'?"
Stroking his chin, he replied, "Well... I suppose I could try." He reckoned there were a few tricks he could think of that hadn't been tried yet. He snickered. What if he simply carried her outside? Surely the extreme cold would wake her. Or even dump snow down the back of her shirt. Oh bliss. He chuckled and climbed out of bed. "Come on kiddo."
He crept into her room and she didn't move. With a sinister grin, he carefully lifted her from the bed. She slept on as he carried her down the stairs and out the door. It had snowed even more in the night, creating huge snow backs near the house. He dropped her into one and sprinted around the side of it.
A deafening scream split the serene, peaceful air. Rae floundered out of the snow and looked around, exerting heavy puffs of air through her nose. Where was he? "I know you're out here somewhere Spot!!!"
On the porch Ann and Andy giggled as Rae began to look around the huge mounds of snow. She looked at them. "Ann? Andy? Where did Mr. Spot go? I'd really like to find him."
"That way!" they said, pointing.
She smiled at them before tearing off in the direction they had pointed. "SPOT CONLON!" she screamed.
They took off after her, not wanting to miss what would happen between their caretakers.
Spot grinned from his hiding place. So the pipsqueaks had squealed on him. What could he expect? They were only five years old.
He waited until she ran past and then stepped out of his hiding place. "Looking for me, Kelly?"
Rae whirled on her heel. "Yes I AM looking for you! Get over here!"
He snickered. "Like I'd do that."
She barreled through the snow at him and tackled him to the ground.
The two wrestled in the snow for a few minutes before Spot was finally able to pin Rae to the ground.
She glared up at him. "There are better ways to wake me up that are healthier for YOU!"
"I can beat you any day, Kelly and you know it. Now get up and go inside and put some dry clothes on, so that the kids can open their presents."
Her glare darkened as she sat up. "I'll get you when you least expect it."
"I know you will. Now move it!"
She stood and trudged, shivering in the cold, back into the house and up to her room to change. When she came back downstairs Spot handed her a cup of coffee. "Thanks" she muttered, dropping carefully onto a couch.
Ann crawled up next to her. "Can we open the presents now?"
Rae glanced at the hopeful children and nodded. "Go ahead." As they raced towards the tree, she noticed something odd about the amount of presents under it. "Spot?" she asked, looking up at him. "Did you add some presents to that pile?'
He looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Why would you think that?"
"Spot, you can't lie to me. I happen to be the best liar in Brooklyn."
He snorted. "Yeah, and I'm the queen of England.
Rae rolled her eyes and watched as the twin tore into the packages
"Jeez Rae, how much did you get them?" he mused with a smirk on his face.
"It's just a few things I found in the attic. It was too cold to walk into town." Ann and Andy were shrieking in delight with each new gift they unwrapped." I don't remember giving them that... or that..." She glanced suspiciously at Spot. "I guess someone else must be living in this house, because I sure didn't put those presents under the tree."
Spot leaned back, propping his arms up against the back of the couch. "Haven't you ever heard of St. Nick?"
Rae glared at him. "I've heard of him, but you know that he's not real."
"Ah, I don't know. Presents magically appearing underneath a tree seems pretty unlikely."
"Whatever!" she muttered, with a shiver, having still not completely warmed up from being outside in the snow.
He smirked and looked back at the twins. Reaching for a blanket, he tossed it to Rae.
"Thanks." she whispered, wrapping the blanket tightly around her shoulders.
Ann screeched and held up a small doll. "Lookit Miss Rae! A dolly! I got a dolly now!"
"She's beautiful, sweetheart." Rae said with a drowsy smile.
Scampering over to Rae, she placed it on her lap. "You can play with her until we're done, okay?"
"Thank you Ann." Rae said, moving the doll to the couch next to her and pulling her legs up, tucking them beneath her quilt.
Ann scampered off to the presents again. Spot pointed to the hand that Rae had clutched the doll in. "Your first doll?" he teased.
She looked down at the doll. "Actually...yes, it is."
He pursed his lips suddenly. "Oh... uh... sorry..."
She laughed slightly. "It's ok...I never really thought about it before now."
"Thank you Miss Rae! Thank you Mr. Spot!" Ann and Andy yelled excitedly.
Rae coughed. "You're welcome kids."
Spot nodded, echoing her sentiments without the cough.
"I'm going back to bed." Rae muttered, attempting to stand, but falling to the floor.
Rising to his feet, Spot grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "What's wrong?"
"I suddenly don't feel so good." she whispered, nearly fainting.
He looked at her oddly. "Why not?" Without waiting for an answer, he said to Ann and Andy, "Say goodnight to Miss Rae. She's gonna take a nap."
"Night!" they chimed happily, not really bothering to look up from their new toys.
Putting her arm around his neck, Spot led Rae towards the staircase and up to her room. "You get some sleep," he instructed as she climbed into bed.
"Yes sir." she mumbled as she dozed off.
He gave her a concerned look and then headed out of the room.
~*~
Rae woke sometime later and attempted to crawl out of bed, only to collapse heavily to the floor. She bit back a curse and tried to stand back up, but collapsed again.
From his room, Spot heard the thump from Rae's room and went to go investigate. He entered her room to see her on the verge of tears on the floor.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I can't get my balance, my head feels like it weighs a ton, the room is spinning...among other things." she whispered.
"Stay in bed," he ordered, pulling her to her feet.
He let go of her for a second and she fell to the floor again. "If I could get in the bed I would." she muttered.
With a sigh, he scooped her up and put her in bed. "Now don't try getting up again."
"But I can't sit around here all day and do nothing." she said, collapsing against the pillows.
"You can sleep and sleep and sleep some more. And finish that dress you were making for Ann."
She started to protest again, but stopped when she saw the look that he was giving her. "Fine. I'll stay...For a LITTLE WHILE longer, but then I'm getting up."
"We'll see," he replied, leaving the room.
She growled and threw a pillow at the door.
Spot heard the thump of the pillow on the door, opened the door back up, and threw the pillow back at her. "You're gonna need it."
* * *
Rae spent the rest of the day in bed, but when she woke up the next morning, she was determined to leave the room. She stood up and fell to the floor again. With a sigh, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and leaned against the bed.
Ann scooted into the room with a bowl of soup. "Miss Rae! Mr. Spot, Miss Rae fell!" She scuttled over to Rae and set down the soup. "Mr. Spot made this for you."
Rae sighed again as she heard Spot running up the stairs.
"What did I tell you about trying to get out of bed?" he asked.
"I'm tired of sitting in here. I want to go somewhere else."
He lifted her into his arms. "Fine. Where do you want to go?"
"Downstairs to the parlor."
He instructed Ann to take Rae's comforter, and he carried her downstairs.
He placed her on the couch and tucked the comforter around here. "Now stay here."
She sighed. It was still irritating that she had to sit, but at least it was a change of scenery. "All right."
"Ann, stay here and keep an eye on her, while I get her soup."
Ann nodded, eager to help, and crawled up next to Rae. "Now you stay here Miss Rae."
Rae couldn't help but laugh. She pulled the girl closer to her. "Alright, Miss Ann. I'll stay right here."
She smiled, pleased.
Spot returned a moment later with the soup and pulled a low stool over to the couch. He sat on it and handed her the bowl. "Eat!"
Rae, too tired to argue, took the bowl and began to sip at the soup. "This is good." she whispered, smiling at him.
He smiled proudly. "Course it is. I learned from the best."
Rae finished the soup and handed the bowl back to him. "I'm going back to sleep now." she said, burrowing under her quilt.
Spot nodded. "Come on kids, let's go play outside and let Rae rest."
He sent Rae a look. "Don't move until I get back!"
"I won't, I won't," she murmured drowsily.
Spot walked onto the porch and sat on the steps watching as Ann and Andy played happily in the snow. What was wrong with Rae? It didn't look like she was faking it... was it... The light suddenly went on in his head. Was it from when he threw her into the snow? She contracted the cold that quickly? Had she been feeling bad before then and that only made it worse? He mentally kicked himself. He had spent those days locked away in either his room or the study, so he wouldn't have noticed. He couldn't help it... It was just consuming his life- his accident. 'Too much, you muttonhead,' he scolded himself. 'Couldn't even see your best friend was getting sick. Good going, Conlon.' Things were going to have to change. TODAY!
Then he was pelted with a snowball.
Forcing back a laugh he stood and walked over to where the two children stood giggling. "Alright, who threw the snowball?" They both pointed at the other, repressing their giggles. "If you won't tell, I'll just get you both." he said, scooping up one child under each arm. They both squealed in delight.
He carried them across the yard and dumped them in a snow bank. Dropping to the ground next to them he began to tickle them both. They both screeched, flailing about, giggling hysterically. Andy wriggled free and pounced on Spot, dragging him into the snow.
The three wrestled in the snow for a while longer before Ann crawled into Spot's lap and snuggled up against him. "I'm sleepy." she whispered.
Andy was still running around like a wild man. "All right. I think it's naptime for the both of you," Spot said.
"But, Mr. Spot, I'm not tired!" Andy protested.
"You will be." Grabbing Andy under one arm, he carried him into the house, leading a sleepy Ann after him.
After changing them both into dry clothes, he tucked them into the big bed in their room and went downstairs to check on Rae. If she was awake he had some apologizing to do.
He entered the parlor and found her asleep, buried in mounds of comforter. Watching her, he smiled.
She woke up and looked up at him. "What are you staring at?" she asked with a yawn.
"You," he replied, sitting down on the stool in front of her. "Listen uh... Rae... I think... there's something I need to... tell ya."
She rolled over and pushed herself into a sitting position. "Ok. Go ahead."
"Well... I mean... it ain't easy for me to say... you know what I'm saying, right?"
She nodded slowly.
"Well... What I mean to say is... I'm.... I'm... ssssss..... I'm sorry... for hitting you. And being like I have been."
"I forgive you." she whispered.
"I don't know why," he replied. "You shouldn't... I mean... you didn't deserve to be hit."
"You asked me to leave you alone, but I wouldn't listen."
"That still doesn't give me grounds to hit you. You're my best friend. Best friends don't do that to one another."
"It doesn't matter any more. It's in the past and has been forgiven."
Spot studied her and then shrugged. "All right. If that's alright with you then."
"It's fine with me. Where are the twins?" she asked, realizing for the first time they weren't following him around like little shadows.
"Napping."
"They must have played hard."
He nodded. "Especially Andy. He was still buzzing around when I put him down."
She smiled. "I wish I could have seen them out playing in the snow."
"You get better and you will."
She leaned her head back against the pillows. "I wish I knew what was wrong with me."
"I think it's partly my fault..." he admitted.
"What are you talking about?"
"Throwing you into the snow. In your nightgown..."
"Spot, you don't know that that had anything to do with this."
"Well, a fellow can guess about it, can't he? I mean, you may have been getting sick, but throwing you in the snow didn't help any."
"What's done is done."
After a moment, he nodded.
"Will you help me to the window? I want to look at the snow for a minute."
Spot nodded again and took her arm. "Careful, careful." Then he helped her to the window.
She leaned heavily against him. "It's so beautiful out here."
He nodded. "You'd never see that in Brooklyn."
"It's going to be hard going back to all that filth."
He looked at her. "Who said we had to go back?"
"We will. One day."
His gaze drifted back out the window. "I like it better here... even with all the rude townspeople."
"I do too, but part of me wants to go back."
"Why?"
"As strange as it sounds I miss it. I miss having to get up at the crack of dawn and work until after dark."
After a long moment, he replied, "I just miss everyone..."
"We can go back if you want."
He shrugged uncomfortably. "Maybe some other time..."
"I want to go sit back down now." she whispered.
Nodding, glad for the subject to be off of Brooklyn, he led her to her seat.
"Did you ever finish that book?" she asked, settling herself on the couch
He shook his head. "No, not yet."
"Would you mind bringing it to me so that I can finish it?"
With a nod, he trotted off to retrieve it. Then he handed it to her and sat next to her.
"Do you want me to read it out loud?"
He shook his head. "I'll just read it over your shoulder."
"Okay."
She opened the book to about the page they both happened to be on and began reading. Without realizing it, Spot slipped his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled into the nook it created, resting her head on his shoulder. And together they read until they fell asleep.
* * *
Ann and Andy woke refreshed and bounded down the stairs, stopping short when they saw their caretakers.
Andy was all prepared to wake them up but Ann pulled him back. "Miss Rae is sick. You don't wake up sick people."
"But Mr. Spot's not sick."
"But shhhhh!" she hissed.
"I want to go play in the snow with Mr. Spot."
"Oh you made him tired!" Grabbing her brother's arm, she dragged him into the playroom that was in the makings. "Let's just play here until they wake up," she said
"But!"
She whacked her brother with her doll. He yelled out in pain and tackled his sister. She screeched in surprise, trying to fend him off with her doll. Suddenly two strong hands pulled them apart. "What's going on in here?" Spot demanded.
"We were TRYING not to wake you up but Andy was being a meanie!" Ann replied.
He shook his head. "You were both fighting. Both of you march it back upstairs. Ann go to my room, Andy go to yours. I'll be up to deal with you in a little while."
"But it was Andy's fault!" Ann wailed.
"Nah uh!" Andy yelped.
"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" Spot yelled.
That startled them into silence and, obediently, they marched themselves up the stairs.
Spot sighed as he made his way back into the parlor. What was he going to do with them?
"What was that all about?" Rae mumbled, still half asleep.
"They were fighting about something. I sent them both upstairs."
Nodding vaguely, she dropped her head and was out within seconds. Now to deal with the twins. He sighed and walked up the stairs.