28. Bells
December 25, 2006
"Church?" Shego asked for the third time as she stood with arms crossed, leaning against the sideboard in the hall.
"For the last time, it will make Mother happy," Drakken hissed, glancing around for the red-haired woman as he wrapped his scarf around his neck. "Please, Shego, it's been a perfect Christmas!"
He was gone again, off to find a glove which had somehow been lost and that he'd been searching for for the last half hour, while Shego had been ready to brave the elements despite wanting to stay curled up with him on the sofa. Or perhaps escape back to his bedroom upstairs. But, it was a day of traditions, after all.
She had never been to a church. Or at least if she had, it was before the comet and she had no memory of it. She had a feeling of unease about the whole thing, even though she had no idea what to expect. Just something inside of her told her she couldn't possibly belong.
"You sure they won't burn me at the stake?" Shego hissed when Drakken rushed by again.
His only response was to roll his eyes as he continued his frantic search, and Shego shook her head. But she straightened abruptly in the next moment as Mama Lipsky entered the hall.
"Oh, be careful dear! The Nativity scene," the older woman said, and Shego turned to see that her hair had knocked over a tiny donkey figurine among the decorations on the sideboard.
She watched as Mama Lipsky rearranged all of the small figures just slightly, lingering on the manger with the baby.
"I used to scold Drew for playing with all of the decorations when he was a boy," the woman said. "Oh, I do miss the sound of a child playing around the house!"
Shego lifted a single brow as Mama Lipsky turned and looked at her, holding the manger for a moment before setting it back in the scene. Before Shego could quite figure out what was in the woman's head, she'd started toward the door where Drakken was buttoning his coat.
"Oh Drew, you left your glove in the living room," she said, waving the missing item. "And don't make that face, it's not very attractive."
Shego smirked as Drakken plastered on a grin after his grimace and took the offered glove.
"Th-Thank you, Mother! Shego...ready to go?" he asked hesitantly, keeping the forced smile.
She didn't say a word, but nodded and joined the family by the door.
There was a different feeling in the icy air that morning, Shego couldn't help but acknowledge, as they entered the courtyard of the old New England church. People were more cheerful, the conversations all bright and bubbly as she watched people hugging each other and children laughing as they played in the snow. But all of that was eclipsed in a moment as the sound of just a few bells that had beckoned them for miles on their walk grew into a cacophony.
Shego paused, and her eyes traveled up the stone tower that contained the source of the sound. It was powerful and beautiful, seeming to speak words that were in a secret language that one would need the key to understand. Or perhaps a lifetime.
"Oh, that one's pretty too," the voice of Mama Lipsky pulled Shego's attention back to ground level, and she followed the woman's pointing to a life-size Nativity scene in the snow on the church lawn. Some children were playing nearby and one had climbed on the back of one of the cows. Shego watched as the child's mother pulled him away and quietly scolded him, by her expression.
Drakken leaned over to Shego and whispered in her ear, "Eddie tried that once."
Shego snorted, but before she could comment Mama Lipsky was talking again.
"They did such a good job on that figure of the baby Jesus. Oh, it reminds me of when Drew was a baby! It would be so nice to have a baby around the house again...don't you agree, Shego?"
"L-Let's hurry inside Mother," Drakken said, rushing around to grab the woman's arm and usher her forward through the snow. "We want to make sure to get good seats!"
Shego was blinking and attempting to process what had just happened, but before she could do so there was suddenly a little girl standing in front of her, smiling. She took a breath to speak, though she wasn't sure what to say. However the child spoke first.
"You're green!" the girl exclaimed, a broad, innocent smile on her face.
"Yeah," was all Shego managed. She was several years out of practice of interacting with kids.
"Green's my favorite color!" the girl said, and then skipped away. It was only then that Shego noticed the dark green coat the girl was wearing.
She watched as the child clearly said something to her mother about her, pointing back. Shego was blank-faced when the woman smiled at her almost apologetically before turning and leading her daughter toward the building.
"Shego!"
She startled at Drakken's voice and turned as he grabbed her hand.
"It's crowded, we need to find seats together," he continued as he pulled her along to where Mama Lipsky was waving next to the door.
Shego glanced up again at the tower as the bells continued to ring out their secret message that beckoned, and felt some of her disquiet fade. It was Christmas day. It had been wonderful from the moment she woke to the smell of mulled cider in the kitchen, and for every moment after. There was no reason that should change.
She quickened her step to catch up to Drakken and placed a brief kiss on his chilled cheek. He grinned at her as he blushed, and then he leaned down to whisper.
"And don't worry, just ignore my mother's hints," he said.
"...What?"