(advent) Day 15 – Donations

Thursday, December 15

 

Can you believe that it’s Christmas in only ten days? Schrodinger asked, as he and Molly walked down the street towards St. Michael’s Church. It’s really snuck up on me this year!

 

“Really? How?” Molly teased him. She was moving slowly to avoid any icy patches, as she was carrying the precious Advent calendar in her arms. The snow from the day before had finally stopped, but the temperatures had plunged, and the last thing she wanted to do was fall on the Snow Queen’s castle.

 

I don’t know, but it feels like it has, Schrodinger said, and Molly was struck again by how literal he could be when he felt like it. Even with the Advent calendar. I don’t even have my shopping done yet!

 

“You and me both,” she said, as they stepped onto the walkway. Molly relaxed a little – Father Christopher was very good at making sure the walks were shoveled and de-iced, which was comforting.

 

The good father himself answered the door to the rectory once Schrodinger had rung the bell, holding it open so they could come inside. “You’re the first ones here!” he said, as they went into his big kitchen. “Although Kiaya called to say she and Gideon were on their way.”

 

“Corrine said she was picking up Lily at school and then coming over,” Molly said. “She left the bookstore when we did.”

 

“So they’ll be here soon too. Excellent.” Father Christopher rubbed his hands together, pleased. “With so many hands, this should go quickly.”

 

Are we doing the baskets for the needy again, Father? Schrodinger asked, looking around. The kitchen table was empty except for a cup of tea and the castle, and the CrossCat tilted his ears at the priest.

 

“Not exactly,” Father Christopher said, going over to his stove, where a large pot of fresh tomato sauce was bubbling gently. “Once everyone is here, I’ll explain.” He looked at Molly. “Did you bring bread?”

 

She nodded, pulling off her backpack. “Do you think two loaves will be enough? I made big ones.”

 

“It will be plenty.” Father Christopher took the two big loaves of Italian bread Molly had made earlier in the day and laid them on the counter beside the stove. “We’ll make the garlic bread in a bit, before we eat.”

 

Molly had time to take off her coat and they all had a cup of tea before the doorbell rang again. When Lily, Kaylee, Jack, Gideon, Corrine, and Kiaya had all come in and shed their coats, Father Christmas filled tea cups (and hot chocolate cups for Kaylee and Gideon, who had requested it) and then explained what they were going to do.

 

“I was going to do the baskets for the poor again this year, and I have,” he said, taking a sip of his own tea. “But then I was talking to Mrs. Hoskins, who has the boarding house down at the harbor.”

 

“The one for the visiting sailors?” Molly said. “She’s a sweetheart.”

 

“Indeed, she is,” Father Christopher agreed. “She stopped in a few days ago with some more presents for the orphanage in Portland, and was talking about how she had some new folks in the boarding house now. Folks who don’t seem to have anywhere to go, and she was looking for some ideas for Christmas presents for them. And that got me thinking.”

 

That maybe we should be making some baskets for them, too? Schrodinger asked.

 

“Yes, exactly,” Father Christopher said. “These folks aren’t homeless, but they’re far from home, and Christmas can be very lonely if you’re spending it alone.”

 

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Kiaya said. She smiled. “I’m so glad we moved here. This is a town that takes care of everyone, doesn’t it?”

 

“We certainly try,” Father Christopher agreed. He looked at the castle in the middle of the kitchen table. “So, how does this magical creation work?”

 

“We have to find the day’s number,” Lily said. “It’s hidden somewhere on the castle itself.”

 

“And when we find it, we press it, with our fingers,” Kaylee added, not to be outdone.

 

“And a window opens!” Gideon finished. “And it shows us a scene from the Snow Queen’s house, and then we get to do something!”

 

It’s pretty amazing, Jack said. They did a great job with it.

 

“So let’s look.”

 

Molly moved the castle so they could all look at it, and for a few minutes, there was silence as the ten of them looked.

 

There it is, Kaylee! Jack said suddenly. On the bottom right side of the main hall!

 

Her little finger touched the small “15” that hovered near a window that had a little window box attached to it, with some flowering plants in it. The window opened, and for a moment, the smell of tomato sauce was overwhelmed by the smell of fresh bread and roasting meats. The room inside was obviously a kitchen (and Molly had to wonder how many kitchens the Snow Queen had in her palace, really), and there were people busily making what looked to be a huge feast. There was an intricate dance of cooks and servers and helpers all moving at once, under the watchful eye of a tall woman in a stained apron, who didn’t let anything out of the kitchen without touching it at least once. She looked up at them, and tossed a napkin towards them.

 

It fell in Kaylee’s hand, and she read slowly, “Christmas is a time for sharing. Especially with those who have very little of their own.”

 

“Good sentiments,” Father Christopher said. “Are we ready to start our preparations?”

 

They were, and so they followed him into the large dining room in the rectory. For most of the time, the dining room was used as a secondary office for Father Christopher, who preferred to entertain guests in either the kitchen or the large living room. But right now, it was covered with an array of items to be put into the gift bags that were piled at one end.

 

“Mrs. Hoskins was nice enough to give me the names of all her guests, and I called the Seaman’s Hostel as well,” Father Christopher said. “Then I went around to the various shops around here, and tried to get things I thought they would like.”

 

Molly looked over the supplies. There were practical things, like warm woolen socks and handkerchiefs, and a pile of the plaid lumberjack shirts many of the sailors seemed to prefer. But there were other things too – gift certificates to the bookstore and other shops, blank books, chocolates and other goodies that would brighten anyone’s day.

 

“This is a great idea,” she said, moving to the end with the gift bags. “When do we start?”

 

>Activity: Donate something today. It can be something as small as 15 minutes to help someone with chores, or buying a gift for someone who might not have one.

Originally published at The words of Valerie Griswold-Ford. You can comment here or there.

(advent) Day 16 – Do adventures have bedtimes?

Friday, December 16

 

“Just a hint?” Drew teased, and Molly laughed at him.

 

“No,” she said, starting to roll small balls of dough and setting them out on the baking sheet in front of her. “You know the rules. You don’t get to know about my dress, except for the fact that it’s gold this year. That’s it.”

 

“Which is a change,” he noted, stealing a bit of dough from the bowl. Molly slapped at his hand. “You don’t usually do gold.”

 

“No, but I’m in love with Phoebe’s lights, and this reminded of them,” she said, and then mock-glared at him. “Stop trying to find out more about it!”

 

He chuckled. They both knew that if he’d been really serious about trying to figure out what she was wearing, he’d have simply looked in her closet. But they’d been playing this game since the first year he’d been in the Cove, and they both still enjoyed it. She told him the color, so he could buy her a corsage that would match it, and that was it.

 

“Of course, I could just recycle one,” she said, considering. “I guess I really don’t HAVE to buy a new dress every year.”

 

“Why not? It’s not like you buy very many anyways,” Drew said.

 

Molly shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seems…wasteful?” She paused. “I’ve been thinking lately about things like that.”

 

“What kind of things?”

 

She was quiet while she rolled several more balls of dough out. The sweet rolls were studded with bits of candied orange peel, and there was cinnamon and cardamon in the dough. “I’m realizing how lucky we are,” she said finally. “And how maybe we don’t really appreciate that. Think of how different any of us could have turned out if we didn’t have the supportive friends and family we have. It’s not even the money. It’s just the people.”

 

“You’re thinking about Caliban,” Drew said, looking at her shrewdly. “And wondering what could have been done to help him.”

 

Molly nodded. “I keep thinking back to when I was talking to him, the last time,” she said, finishing the last of the dough balls. “And the more I remember, the more I realize how incredibly lonely he must have been.”

 

“You can only help those that are willing to be helped, Molly,” Drew said. “And at that point, the only help Caliban wanted was to take over the Snow Queen and her realm. You know that.”

 

“Do I?” She sighed. “Maybe. But maybe not.” Then Molly shook her head. “It’s in the past now. But I’m still going to wonder.”

 

“Just don’t let it get you down,” he said. Then he looked at his watch. “Time to head back. Save me some of those rolls?”

 

“Considering I made six dozen? I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Molly kissed him and sent him back to the Gate Station with a basket full of ham and cheese scones, fudge brownies, and shortbread cookies. With the Snow Queen’s ball the following night, the Gate Station was busy as ever, and all the techs and engineers were on standby. There were replacements coming in from Boston to cover for them tomorrow night, but tonight, it was all hands on deck. Molly didn’t envy them at all.

 

Then, as she saw him out the front door, she looked over at the pile of children and animals next to the wood stove. Kaylee, Gideon, Jack, and Schrodinger were asleep after playing in the park across the street earlier in the day, but Lily was sitting at one of the tables, writing in her notebook, while Goldie sat with her and read another one of his books. Kiaya sat at the table next to them, busily typing on her keyboard, a contemplative look on her face. Molly had always considered him more of a scholar than a pirate, and wondered again how or why he’d come to sail with Pavel.

 

Then again, Pavel’s not really your typical pirate captain, come to think about it, she reminded herself. Not that you have that much experience with pirates, Molly.

 

Pavel had offered to take them out with him one time. Molly wondered what it would be like.

 

As if her thoughts had conjured him, Pavel himself came into the bookstore. “Hello, CrossWinds Books!” he said heartily, waking up the kids, who blinked sleepily.

 

“Pavel!” Lily said eagerly, putting down her pen and running over to him while her sister and Gideon were still rubbing the sleep from their eyes. “You’re back!”

 

“I haven’t been gone,” he said, laughing a little as she launched herself at him. “Have I?”

 

“Well, I haven’t seen you,” she said.

 

“Very good point. You’ve been at school, and I doubt your teachers would appreciate me coming in to disrupt their classes,” Pavel told her, smiling down. Goldie had stood up when his captain came in, and Pavel waved him back to his chair and his book.

 

We saw him earlier this week, Schrodinger said, yawning and stretching elegantly.

 

“Pavel, did you come to take us on an adventure?” Gideon asked. “We haven’t had an adventure yet today.”

 

“Every day should have an adventure,” Pavel agreed. “But are you sure you haven’t had one yet? I hear you went and built a snow village.”

 

“That’s not an adventure,” Gideon said dismissively.

 

“Says you,” Molly heard Kiaya say quietly, and the kitchen witch hid a smile behind her hand. Having helped herd the children through the snow earlier, Molly had to admit that she agreed with her.

 

“Besides, it’s getting rather late for an adventure,” Pavel continued. “Don’t you know that adventures have a bedtime on the night before the Snow Queen’s Ball?”

 

“They do?” Kaylee gave him a skeptical look. “Really?”

 

“Really,” he said, nodding. “But let’s go see what the Advent calendar says. Perhaps I’ll be proven wrong.”

 

“I’ll go get it,” Molly said, and went back to the pantry where the Advent castle lived.

 

Kiaya was the one who managed to find the 16 where it floated above the main entrance. The doors opened with a flourish and, to their surprise, the Snow Queen herself was seated on her throne.

 

She smiled up at them from the expanded room. “Hello, my lovelies! I hope you’re enjoying the Advent calendar from Jack, Old Man Winter, and myself. We’ve had so much fun putting this together for you!” She paused, and then continued, “It’s hard, though, looking into the future. Harder than you might think. And you’ve been so good, I thought I should give you another present.”

 

The Snow Queen held out her hand and blew gently across her palm. Glittery snow flew up and out into the kitchen, turning into white envelopes.

 

“Invitations!” Lily squealed, as one landed in her hands. She tore it open and gasped. “To the Snow Queen’s Ball!”

 

“I hope I’ll see you all there,” the Snow Queen said. “Now, tonight you’ll probably want to go to bed early. I’ve got something very special planned for tomorrow night.”

 

>Activity: Tonight, it’s a good night to stay in. Molly’s got some special hot chocolate for the kids, and maybe you should make some too. You want to be fresh for the Snow Queen’s Ball!

Originally published at The words of Valerie Griswold-Ford. You can comment here or there.