Thursday, December 24th, 2020
"Order ready!" the deep-voiced cook called from behind the counter, placing some minestrone soup on the ledge. Pacifica walked over and picked it up. Just a few more minutes, and she would be off shift, she told herself as she brought the soup across the diner to the furthest booth, near the old juke box. Sitting there was the one customer they had there, an elderly homeless man who looked like he hadn't had a bath in a week.
"He-here you are, sir," Pacifica muttered placing the soup, a steel spoon, and napkin on the table in front of him, making sure she didn't touch him at all. It's true, she had made such progress at being empathetic during the past eight years, but there was still a part of her that felt phobic towards anything or anyone that looked like they had been wallowing in filth.
"Thank you, miss," the old man managed to say in a low, somewhat weak tone, "It's been a long time since I've had soup that had smelt this good." To Pacifica, it was just some plain minestrone soup, but to this guy, it was probably the most tastefully gourmet meal in the world. He picked up the spoon and stirred it a bit before tasting it and smiling. "How much do I owe a pretty lady for such a nice meal."
"Oh please," Pacifica shook her head, "It's on me."
"Oh, but you're too kind, miss," the old man muttered, "Such a masterfully crafted soup should be very expensive, and I'd hate to have a sweet young lady like you…"
"I think you underestimate how deep my pockets are," Pacifica gave the hobo a wink, "Besides, it's Christmas Eve. I'm feeling generous."
"And what are you still doing here at work?" the old man laughed feebly before coughing, "Surely you've got a family to spend time with, maybe even a nice young man to keep you warm by a fire?"
"Actually," Pacifica blushed, "my boyfriend and his family are arriving in town this evening and staying for the weekend!"
"Oh well that sounds wonderful," the man smiled, "It must be hard being apart…"
"We don't get to see each other too often," Pacifica sighed, "First there was the quarantine, but even after President McGucket made the vaccine and ended this stupid virus before it got out of hand, he's studying over in Massachusetts. We still talk over video chats, but it's not the same thing. Of course, I'm still studying at UP, but I come here and work for Ms Wentworth during my breaks from there. She gave me my first job, so it's the least I can do for her."
"Well, it's good that he's coming to visit you now," the old man replied, "It's nights like this that I miss my wife…" He looked out the window, as did Pacifica, at the continually falling snow. It had been covering the strange, eldritch town for the past day now in a thick white blanket and the silence that came with the cool winter air. The two thought for another moment about what it meant to be isolated in this now cold, quiet world of theirs. Then the man spoke up again. "But take my advice: go see him right now. Every moment that you can have with him, cherish it, because it is those moments that are worth more than gold when you get to be my age, both the good and the bad times."
"And I was just about to relieve her!" Lazy Susan bellowed while slapping Pacifica on the shoulder, startling her to the point where she nearly dropped her pen and notepad.
"Really?" Pacifica responded, "You really don't want me to stay and clean the grease out of the ovens?" Her stomach churned at the thought of it, but at least she had grown more used to it than when she was 13 and just starting out. Still, it never really got any easier.
"Of course!" Susan chuckled, "I know how much you hate doing that! Besides, that Pines boy is almost here; it's important that you go see him and give him that little box."
"Uuuh, what little box?" Pacifica stammered, her heart beating faster and faster every second, "What could you be talking about? I don't know…"
"Ah, don't play dumb, sweetie," Susan was still smiling, "I saw that little thing that fell out of your jacket pocket when you came in this morning. it was such a pretty case, I thought some sort of fairy was about to pop out of it, but I think I've got a good idea of what's in it. Now go on and give it to him; you two don't need to be distanced anymore. I'm going to help find a place for our one patron to rest his head for the night."
"Thank you, Ms Wentworth," Pacifica smiled, walking backwards towards the break room.
"And I've told you time and again to call me Susan!" she laughed, "We aren't so formal here."
"Right…Susan," and Pacifica then rushed off to the break room to gather her belongings. She raced to the bathroom to change from her diner uniform into the dress she intended to wear for the evening. From the flashy red dress, to the green thigh-high stockings, red snow boots, thick and fluffy-fringed winter coat, and yes, even her silk lingerie, she spared no expense with any of it. She wanted to look her best when she saw everyone…especially Dipper.
She then headed out into the snow and got into her dark purple 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, driving off down the snowy road towards the mountain resort area.
Going up this side of an icy mountain was never easy, no matter how many times one had done it, but she managed, just knowing when to lightly tap the breaks to compensate for the ice. Most of it, however, had already been salted earlier in the day, which made it at least somewhat less treacherous. As she drove, she used one hand to steer while she held the silver locket Dipper had given her a few years back that had both of their senior high school pictures in it. Even when they were apart and couldn't video call each other, she held that to feel close to him. It was still light enough that Pacifica could see the tree line that met the dark grey sky. She could still make out the flurries as they flew through the air. The dense foliage was a marble and pine green blur as she continued to curve around each hill.
Eventually, she made her way to the small clearing where their rented chalet resided. It was a large two story wooden house with long windows that had an elegant gem-cut design. With its size, it could easily fit any and all who would be staying in it tonight. She got out of the car, tramped through the accumulating snow, and opened the trunk to grab the massive stack of gifts she had gotten everyone. The stack nearly made her topple over as she brought them up the creaking wooden steps and opened the unlocked door, giving her the indication that the other guests had been waiting for her and others.
"Everyone can relax," Pacifica grunted out while still trying to sound confident and pleasant, "The Mrs. Claus of Gravity Falls has arrived."
"Woah, Paz!" she heard Wendy shout, "Here, let me help you with those!" She set down a six pack of stout on the nearby kitchen counter and raced over to help her friend with the bright colorful boxes.
"Here," another familiar voice shouted, that of Ariel Pines, the twins' mother, "I'll help, too. Really, don't want you to strain yourself, sweetie." She raced over to help as well
"Well, thank you both," Pacifica sighed, "My time at the university gym is giving me an awesome body, strength and otherwise, but always welcome the help." Soon, all three women had the boxes under the massive tree in the foyer living room.
"How've you been, dear?" Ariel asked, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek.
"Oh, you know," Pacifica answered warmly, returning her hug, "Combination of business essays and helping run a diner between semesters as usual. How was your flight in, Mrs. Pines?"
"Oh, not terrible," she replied, "There was a bit of turbulence halfway through, and Dipper kept insisting he saw something on the wing of the plane."
"Sounds like an old Twilight Zone episode," Wendy interjected having overheard part of the conversation before plopping down on the couch and opening one of the stouts.
"Doesn't it?" Ariel laughed, "He said he thought it was something that sounded Native American; Ithaqua, I think he said…But then of course Mabel chided him about being paranoid and tried to distract him with the next goofy sweater idea she had. But anyways, the twins insisted on driving separately. Dipper said he had to drive to the old Mystery Shack; apparently, there's something he desperately needs down in his great uncle's old lab."
"Ugh," Pacifica put her fingers to her forehead and rubbed in a circular motion, "Something tells me I'll be hearing all about it for the rest of the night. He gets so obsessive about these sort of things, but I love him just the same for it." Pacifica closed her eyes and swooned for a moment. Dipper's passions and confidence in dealing with them were the first things she admired about him those years ago when the two of them were kids.
"Why don't you say hello to your family?" Ariel put her hand on Pacifica's shoulder and pointed to the living area near the fireplace. There, at two leather chairs, were her parents, Preston and Priscilla. And at the sight of them, her stomach began to turn in knots. But Ariel continued. "I need to help Robert in the kitchen. I know you and your parents don't see eye to eye, but it's Christmas. If the soldiers in World War One could put aside their differences on this day, maybe you can, too."
Pacifica steeled herself, took a deep breath, and decided she had to go over there. She then took off her coat and tossed it in the opposite direction, in which case Wendy caught it with one hand and casually draped it over the side of the couch in one fluid motion. Her dress was sleeveless, but it didn't matter in a warm cabin like this. Walking over, her parents didn't regard her at first until she finally spoke.
"Father," Pacifica chirped in a nonchalant tone.
"Daughter," Preston replied, staring at her while spinning his glass of Chianti in a slow circular motion. Priscilla regarded her with some undefined stare, while slowly sipping a glass of what must have been chardonnay.
"And what brings you two out here?" Pacifica asked coldly, "I thought you hated Dipper's family."
"Ha!" Preston scoffed with a twinge of condescension, "Not everything is as black and white as you think, my dear. I don't hate them at all, even if they are middle class. Plus, the boy's father and I both share the same taste in science fiction; we're both Browncoats apparently. There's still a part of me that wants to trust your judgement in this boy and the fact that his little ghost web series will be a successful venture." He placed his glass on a nearby end table and rose from his seat. "But make no mistake, they're not the reason we're here."
"So you humoring and even bothering to mingle with them at all," Pacifica rolled her eyes, "is entirely contingent on Dipper's success?"
"That will all depend," Priscilla finally spoke while likewise setting her glass of wine on an end table and rising to her feet, walking across the light brown carpet towards her, "But that's besides the point."
"The point is…" Preston picked up where his trophy wife left off, the both of them now standing very close to Pacifica. Finally, after an uncomfortable pause that caused the knots in Pacifica's stomach to tighten, her two terrible parents flung their arms around her, causing her to slightly stagger back. "…We're here for you."
"It may be true that we used you as a prized pony we could live vicariously through," Pricilla sighed heavily, still holding her daughter, "But in truth, we want to be able to pass along our best traits to you. My immaculate looks…"
"And my ambition and entrepreneurship," Preston followed, and Pacifica could swear she heard some sort of strange swooshing sound behind them near the fireplace, "You may think we're trying to set you up as some prop to continue our family name, but really, we want you to pass along the Northwest legacy. Isn't that what all creatures in every species do? Hold the desire to pass along or extend what they have to the next generation?"
"Your father's not necessarily wrong," the familiar voice of Ford came from behind them. Her parents then let go of Pacifica for her to see that a few feet from the fireplace was a portal, with Ford (who was now pocketing a portal gun), Stan, and some other strange woman that was hanging on Stan's arm having clearly emerged from it. Pacifica looked at the unfamiliar woman, her jagged, knee-length burgundy dress, her long, bushy gray hair, and she could swear this woman had pointed ears.
"Woah," the odd woman groaned, wobbling for a moment, "I'm used to going through the case door to get here. That portal jumping thing you got makes me nauseous."
"Eh," Stan shrugged with his free arm, "You'll get used to it, sweetheart. I've been dealing with my brother's weird sciency stuff most of my life."
"Ford!" Pacifica shouted and ran towards him, locking him in a bear hug, "You made it. I thought you and Stan would be too busy dimension hopping or whatever!"
"We still wanted to make sure we visited everyone during this imperative time of solstice," Ford smiled.
"That, and I couldn't say no to the dinner I know the extended Pines family makes," Stan patted his stomach.
"And you were going to introduce me to this new young lady when?" Pacifica cocked her head, slightly annoyed.
"Ha!" the woman laughed, "She's already starting with the flattery. Name's Eda, by the way. Are you the great niece I've heard so much about?"
"No," Pacifica sighed but then said under her breath, "But I hope I am one day…Oh, but I like your dress. Rugged…but elegant at the same time, and that amber broach compliments it pretty well. Reminds me that it's been awhile since I looked at Edgy On Purpose's website. I tried buying a dress from there for Halloween once, and they were late on the shipping. Of course, I sent them a bunch of messages about how I'd sue them if they didn't deliver on time." She then winked. "They waved the shipping charges with a profuse apology."
"There's the daughter we know," Preston said to Priscilla.
"I like this one," Eda spoke softly to Stan, pointing to Pacifica with her thumb, "Good taste AND knows how to hustle. Something about her reminds me of my apprentice's girlfriend."
"Eda here is…actually my ex-wife," Stan addressed the group, "We kinda hooked up in Vegas back in the 90's…before she stole all my winnings…"
"Come on," Eda shrugged, "I needed more nice shiny human stuff. That stuff called Gak was pretty fun to play with."
"And then I had a chance encounter with her during my excursions through dimensions," Ford continued, "I was shocked that she had heard of my brother but then not that she mistook me for him."
"Buuuut," Eda interjected, "we're giving this whole thing another shot, once we learned how small a multiverse it really is and that we kinda became partners in crime after our last scam went awry."
"Don't worry," Stan addressed Eda with a look in his eye Pacifica had never seen from him before, "There will be plenty more scams like this to come." The two then began making out with each other in front of everyone.
"Weeeell," Pacifica's eye twitched while she backed away, "It was nice meeting you, but I've got to say hi to everyone else. Byyyeee!" She then walked passed her parents and patted them both on the shoulder before addressing them both again. "Thank you both for coming. I still recognize the importance of our family name. We just need to make some improvements, especially with our PR." She then turned around and smiled at them before walking to the other side of the vast living room.
"Hey there!" Wendy yelped as Pacifica sat down in an opposite chair, the area illuminated by a massive Christmas tree in the far corner, "I thought you were never going to come say hello."
"Sorry" Pacifica shrugged, "Got caught in some conversations. I'm still the most popular girl in Gravity Falls even if I'm not always here."
"Dude, I know the feeling," Wendy followed while taking another swig of stout, "Every time I come back from my trips to Canada for the lumber mill, EVERYONE wants to hit me up all at once. And then Robbie and Tambry seem to have the same issue when they come back from Portland; everyone wants to bug them. They're going to the same university you are, right?"
"Yeah," Pacifica replied, "I run into them on occasion, but we're in completely different fields of study."
"Well," Wendy continued, "Since this virus thing is over, maybe we can reschedule our annual trip to Club 33 again!"
"Oh yeah, always," Pacifica beamed, "Still surprised my parents haven't completely cut me off, but at least they seem…tame tonight. I guess they're not immune to the Christmas spirit either." Just then, she noticed a grey haired young man at the end of the couch across from Wendy. "Is that Gideon?"
"Why, hello there, Miss Northwest," Gideon looked up from his phone before putting it away, "You look as pretty as a peach tonight."
"Thanks, I guess," Pacifica replied, but then she pointed, "And what's your game tonight, Gideon? You're not planning on harassing Mabel again are you."
"Why, Miss Northwest," Gideon chuckled, "She and I haven't even spoken in years. I just wanted to enjoy the festivities with familiar faces. But I'll confess, I was partly thinkin' 'bout seeing if time has changed things or if absence has made hearts grow fonder."
"Well, alright," Wendy joined the conversation, "But just be discreet, honest, understanding, and know when no means no."
"Wouldn' dream of anythin' less," Gideon smiled, "But those two are slower than molasses in winter gettin' here. They shoulda been here about an hour ago, I reckon."
Pacifica looked around and realized the Pines twins indeed hadn't arrived yet. That nervous feeling came back to her gut.
"Where could they be?" she muttered and looked out the window at the continual falling blizzard, which appeared to be growing worse.