I was very happy that Tessa's shop no longer felt like a big antique-filled freezer. The new heating was just perfect. I couldn't see my breath in the air or anything.
The two of us were moving stock around today. Everything had needed to be packed up and shifted while the work was being done. Since then, Tessa just couldn't make up her mind about where she wanted things put back. She seemed almost as restless as I was to change things up.
For what felt like the hundredth time, I opened my mouth and closed it before I could say anything. There didn't seem to be a polite way to tell Tessa that I was making plans to drop my hours significantly. Or just flat-out leave. Of course I didn't mean any personal offence by it. It was just very difficult to get that across when you worked on a largely one-on-one basis.
On the plus side, I hadn't actually made an application yet, and to tell the truth work was a welcome relief at this point. My December so far had been incredibly busy.
First of all there was my change of address. Then I'd had all the shopping to take care of - which may not have been completely finished yet. Magnus had his collection to be getting on with, so that meant that the spare room was now a hazard zone. It also meant that he needed periodic reminding to eat and sleep; a duty which fell to me. Meanwhile I had Izzy begging to be dropped to auditions when our Parents wouldn't take her. Apparently in her mind I wasn't as busy as they were.
To top it all off, Magnus had so helpfully volunteered to host Christmas dinner at our place. Which was an easy decision to make when somebody else was in charge of the cooking. After work I had to pick up the dining table we'd been taking about getting and help to carry it up the stairs to the apartment building.
Needless to say, I wasn't worrying so much about my future while I was dealing with a hectic present.
"'Tis the season to be stressed out." I half-sang to myself, forgetting that I wasn't alone.
Tessa started to laugh. "Where did that come from?"
"I was just thinking about everything I need to do." I explained, smiling sheepishly. "Me and Magnus don't even have our decorations up yet."
"I wonder if we should get decorations for the shop..." Tessa considered. Oh, well. Now there was even more to be doing. "Maybe in the window?"
"Maybe." I agreed. Even if it wasn't much, a few paper snowflakes wouldn't go amiss.
If only it was that simple at home. Magnus had bought so many decorations that it was going to look like the north-pole exploded in our apartment. I sincerely hoped that Chairman Meow wouldn't attempt to eat any fake snow.
"Oh, shit." I muttered. I'd just remembered that Izzy and Max were coming to help us put everything up. Or should have been, if I wasn't picking up the furniture instead of them.
"Problem?" Tessa asked with furrowed brows.
"Sorry, that was rude." I excused my bad language. Way to be unprofessional, right? It was a good thing no customers were around. "Remind me to call Magnus when I'm on break?"
My phone started to buzz just as I finished loading flat-pack furniture into the back of the car. I slammed the boot shut and picked up the device on my way to the drivers'-side door.
"Hey, Magnus." I greeted. I sighed comfortably when I got into my seat. I'd been on my feet all day.
"Who is this Magnus?" Magnus said in a booming voice. "This is Santa. I was short on elves this year, so I've had to kidnap your siblings to decorate my workshop."
I closed my eyes and stifled a laugh. "Are you saying you picked up Izzy and Max like I asked?"
"They're safe and sound." Magnus informed me. His voice was back to normal now. "We're just about go get going."
"I love you." I replied. In my tired-out state was really feeling it. One less stress to worry about had me ready to kiss Magnus and never stop. "I'll see you all soon."
The drive was quicker than expected after I'd put the phone down. I was getting better at finding routes which weren't blocked up with traffic; but around this time of year nothing is a sure-thing. I was glad I hadn't taken main roads because they were choc-a-bloc with vehicles.
Of course, when I got back there was no parking. You couldn't have everything go right, I guess. But the last thing I wanted to do at this point was carry heavy boxes down the whole street. In an ideal world I would have gone straight to bed.
Still, I sucked it up and grabbed two boxes which contained the parts for chairs. I put one under each arm and got to lugging them up the stairwell. Then I kicked at the apartment door because I couldn't knock or turn the handle.
"Oh, Sweetpea, don't do that now!" Magnus gasped when he saw me.
Right away he snatched one of the boxes from me only to be caught off-guard by its weight. Magnus was perfectly able-bodied, though, once he adjusted his grip he was fine carrying it inside. He deposited the box in a space he'd cleared for the assembled dining set and I followed his lead.
"Alec!" Max grinned. I could only just see his face because he was almost completely engulfed by the leaves of the plastic tree.
Izzy was helping him to pull out the branches. There were a lot of branches. I was glad we hadn't gone for a real tree, because if Magnus had gotten a real one of that size then I think we would have spent all winter sweeping up fallen pine needles.
I took a seat on the couch and looked around the room. The three of them had started when I was out, which I didn't mind at all given the size of the job. It seemed like they'd all been very busy.
Garlands and wreaths had been hung wherever Magnus could have found space for them and fuzzy white felt had been attached to the edges of most surfaces to look like snow. This was probably a better plan than the chemical kind. That would have gotten everywhere and the Chairman probably would have tried to eat it.
"Thanks for your help, guys." I told my siblings gratefully.
"You look tired." Isabelle replied.
She had a look on her face which reminded me of our Mother. The way she used to look at me if I tried to pull an all-night study session; or stayed too late on the track because Jace was going to bypass me otherwise. It was sweet of my sister to have that kind of concern.
"I can make it through tonight." I smiled cheerfully. Max was climbing out from behind the plastic branches as Magnus deposited a mug of coffee into my hands. I hadn't realised I was that cold until I felt it heat me up.
"Good." Isabelle grinned. "Because we have to do a tree with our big Brother. It's like the law."
"Well you can't go breaking the law!" Magnus gasped in mock-horror. "Santa is watching."
My boyfriend wasn't half as funny as my little brother's reaction to my boyfriend. The look Max gave Magnus seemed to wonder if he was on drugs or not. Max was at that awkward age where he couldn't quite decide if it was 'cool' to get into the spirit of things or not. His attitude tended to fluctuate depending on the time of day.
Magnus, meanwhile, had seemed perpetually excited ever since his shopping day.
"By the Angel. I'll bet Cam left you a stocking and everything." I commented.
"Probably not the best time to discuss Cammie's stockings." Magnus retorted.
Max looked even more appalled so I jumped out of my seat and steered him in the direction of the remaining decorations. Isabelle sniggered and came over to help us. All I could do was shake my head to myself. Another point to team inappropriate.
Besides that little remark, though, Magnus seemed to keep things pretty wholesome for the rest of the evening. It was more trouble keeping Izzy in check, but I'd been dealing with her for years, and Max knew exactly what to expect from her anyway.
It sounds crazy, seems as Isabelle had always been so flighty, but she was actually the least of my worries when it came to unexpected blips this winter.
This is very late, and I really have no excuse besides the usual 'life got in the way', so I won't bore you guys with all that. I will apologize, though, and give fair warning that I don't know when the next update will be either. That said, thank you very much for reading, I'm doing what I can without forcing things which don't work.
P.S. I realise that this seems very festive and a little odd given that the holidays just passed in real life. The stage the story is at right now doesn't quite line up with our timeline. Sorry if it reads oddly.