There were no guests in the dining room that morning, and Sarah finally had a chance to relax. Stoking the coals in the stove to bring some warmth back to the chilly Inn, she sank down in a chair at one of the tables, one hand holding her forehead and the other clasping a cup of tea. The ticking of the clock on the wall and the crackle of the small fire were calm and melodic to her troubled senses. Just as she let out a long, peaceful sigh a polite knock on the door jolted her out of her reverie, causing the hand holding the cup to shake and sprinkle droplets of scalding tea on her skin. With a gasp and a hiss of pain she put the cup on the table and stifled the hand on her apron, clutching it for a moment before hurrying to the door.
When she opened it, her first impression was being faced with what looked to be half the Montressor Main fashion line. She smiled and leaned against the doorframe. "Oh, hello, Delbert."
From beneath the frilly collar of his coat, Delbert gave a warm grin, oblivious. "Goooood morning, Sarah! Mind if I come in?"
Sarah shook her head and steeped aside. "No, of course not! I was just sitting down to tea, you can join me if you'd like," she said as she helped him remove the coat, blinking curiously at the pile of snow on his coattails.
"Certainly, that would be wonderful! I should love a cup of tea…" said he cheerily as he stepped into the Inn. Then he saw the expression on her face as she looked at his outfit and a tinge of red glowed underneath his brown skin. "Oh, uhh… you see…" he stuttered as he began to shed more of the velvet material, until he was standing in his usual, simple outfit of tatty breeches and waistcoat. "The family is over for the holidays at the Manor, and uhh, my Aunt is in fashion design…"
Sarah held up a hand to stop him as she put the coat on the rack, which looked sorely out of place in such a careworn home. "It's alright, Delbert, I perfectly understand."
He looked very relieved. "Oh, thank goodness… I mean, it's not that I don't like my aunt's clothing," he added quickly, "It's just, it really isn't me, I don't dress like that you see and I look quite ridiculous as I don't even like to wear those kind of coats they're so heavy and confining and purple just really isn't my color and-"
"Delbert, it's fine!" Sarah laughed. "Have a seat and I'll bring you some tea to calm your nerves."
Delbert seemed rather flabbergasted, mouth ajar. "Ah… thank you, Sarah." He went and sat next to the place Sarah had vacated, feeling quite foolish and muttering to himself about countenance among women and frilly clothing given by snobbish aunts.
Sarah returned to her seat next to Delbert with another saucer and steaming teacup, which she placed before him before sitting and attending to her own. "So Delbert, how is the doctorate coming?" she asked as she took a sip of her cooling tea, peering over the rim at the dog-like alien.
"Splendid! I'm expecting I might receive it any moment now… just uhh… working out the kinks," he replied as he attempted to figure out how to hold the delicate teacup with his clumsy fingers. He finally resigned to holding it with both hands much like a bowl and lapping at it, as was habit.
"I see… so you have your thesis all worked out?"
Delbert almost dropped the teacup. "Th- thesis?"
"You know, that paper on your astrophysics theory you're required to write for the doctorate… you've only been talking about it for months."
"Oh, that thesis…" He gave a little cough and set the teacup with a muffled clatter upon the saucer. "Coming along great, marvelous, just having some problems with procrastination - pro - demonstration, demonstrating my theory, you see." Another forced cough as Sarah raised a brow in suspicion. "But by my word, Sarah, it will be a stunning thesis! Why, finally I will be able to procure myself a place in the limelight of astrophysics; the Academy will bow at my feet," (He made a dramatic sweep of his arms as he said this) "and finally I will achieve the title I have toiled for these past years: Doctor Delbert Doppler!" He finished with a rather theatrical pose, as if receiving some divine gift from the heavens.
"Uh-huh. Well, no one deserves it more than you do, Delbert," she said with a shake of her head. "So what do you plan to do with that title?"
Delbert froze a moment, and then dropped his arms. "You know, Sarah, I really do not have an inkling… I just like the sound of Doctor." Made rather uncomfortable by Sarah's look, he fumbled to change the subject. "So uhh, how have things been between you and… you know…"
"Leland?" She sat back in her chair with a sigh, clutching the empty teacup. "He's been getting distant lately… more than usual, anyway…" Her gaze drifted to the window, which was covered by the holoblinds with springtime scenery. "He hardly ever talks to Jim, just scolds him… I mean, I can appreciate his diligence to his job, but I have a feeling it isn't going to be long until…" She cut herself off, biting her lip.
Delbert shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about Jim… he's still young but he's a strong lad, he'll make it through."
"I hope you're right, Delbert, I really do… I just don't know how he'll take it if anything should happen to his father, especially at Christmas. He just adores Leland… I only want him to be happy, that's all."
"Well, he seemed perfectly jovial when he was pelting me with balls of frozen hydrogen dioxide this morning along with his blue-furred accomplice…"
"He did what?" she exclaimed as she snapped back to attention, torn between amusement and surprise. "Oh, I'm so sorry about that, Delbert… that explains the snow…" She rose and went to the door. "I'm going to have a talk with him about…"
She stopped dead as she pulled open the door and was immediately faced with what seemed to be a hideously mutated ball of maroon fluff. She gasped and clutched her heart as Jim poked his face from under the creature he was holding up, big smile on his face once more. "Can I keep it, Momma? Please?"
"I… uhh…" she stuttered in shock as the bundle gave a little shake and blinked two huge, golden eyes at her, pupils in slits. "James, what is that?"
"It's a kitty! Or at least, that's what Daddy told me it was… he showed me one once that lived in the mines, they eat scrats," he said as he hugged the thing to his chest. The creature seemed hardly affected and lay like a rag doll in Jim's arms, making a sound similar to the rattled purr of some dilapidated machine. "Poquito and I found her all alone, I think she was abandoned… can I keep her? She needs a family, and I thought she could share ours."
Sarah blinked speechless at the ragged, pathetic little creature in the boy's arms and gave a sigh. "Alright," she began, then hurried on as James gave a gleeful shout and he and Poquito tumbled into the Inn, tracking snow with them. "But it better be house trained! Jim, did you hear me? Jim!"