(advent) Day 6 – Sorry it’s late!

[vg_ford]

Tuesday, December 6

You didn’t forget the castle, did you?

Schrodinger came running down the stairs to meet Drew at the door as he came in. They had come straight from the nursing home to the farmhouse the night before, since by the time they’d finished hanging the chains and sharing the goodies that Molly had brought, it had been very late, and Lily had school the next day. Molly and Schrodinger had actually slept in, and Drew was going to bring the castle home with him when he came back from the Station.

“I didn’t,” Drew assured him, putting his bag down on the bench next to the door. There were snowflakes on his hat, and as he took his coat off, melting snow sprinkled down on the floor. It had been threatening to snow all day, and apparently now it had made good on that threat. “It’s in the living room, under the window. I carried that in first.”

How are the roads? Schrodinger asked him, as they went into the kitchen. Molly was in there, mixing up another batch of dough for the peppermint snowflakes she was making for the bake sale on Saturday. Drew paused to kiss her mid-stir, and then went over to the stove and poured himself a cup of hot water from the steaming kettle.

“They’re fine,” Drew said, holding up another mug. Molly had a steaming mug next to her, but Schrodinger nodded and hopped into one of the chairs. The farmhouse kitchen was large enough to have a small butcher block table and four chairs in one corner, as well as the island where Molly was baking and the large stove. “It’s more flurrying than anything, and the road crews are on the ball. Don’t worry. I’m sure Corrine will be out soon with the others.”

I hope so. It won’t be fun if we have to miss a day.

“You won’t, “ Molly assured him. “Trust me. This is important enough to the Cove that the Snow Queen and Old Man Winter won’t let a little thing like weather interrupt it.” She laughed a little at that. “Seems so odd to say that, but it’s true.”

Have they heard anything from Caliban? Schrodinger said, as Drew brought over both mugs of tea. Earl Grey for Schrodinger, of course, and a vanilla peppermint that Drew had recently become fond of.

“Actually, King Mendron sent a message out to all the Gate Stations yesterday, stating that his son was on the move,” Drew said, stretching out his legs and sighing. “But we’re not sure to where. He might not come back here.”

“I hope not,” Molly said. “It would be nice not to have to worry about him for Christmas.” She shook her head. “Ah well. I noticed Lily didn’t seem as down yesterday – did you have a talk with her, Schrodinger?”

Not me. Other than to tell her I love her and that I’m here if she needs to talk, I mean. The CrossCat blew across his tea, cooling it before he took a sip. But I think going to the nursing home last night helped. She loves it there.

“Grandma Rose and the others are such good people,” Molly agreed. She turned the dough out onto the marble block inlaid in the island that she had already sprinkled with a bit of sugar, and shaped the cookie dough into a log that she then wrapped in plastic. It went into the refrigerator with the eight other logs that were already in there. Schrodinger knew that Thursday and Friday, she would be baking and decorating them. Luckily, her magic allowed her to keep the cookies fresh without having to worry about making them too far ahead of time.

Then she went to the pantry and came back out with more ingredients that she started to measure into a clean bowl. “I thought we’d make pizza tonight for dinner,” she said, and both boys nodded enthusiastically. “While I do, Schrodinger, can you help Drew get the living room cleaned up? If it continues to snow, we might have guests all night.”

By the time Corrine pulled into the driveway with Lily, Kaylee, Jack, and Gideon, Schrodinger thought she might be right. The light snow flurries had blended together, becoming a steady stream of snowflakes that danced in the glow of the golden faery lights that were strung in the yard. To Schrodinger’s utter delight, after  Drew had found several large cat stuffed animals that were currently hanging out in the sleigh, looking for all the world like a bunch of CrossCats out for a ride, courtesy of the large polar bear that was hitched to the front of it.

“We brought our sleep-over stuff!” Gideon announced, as they all came into the house. “Just in case!”

“Good!” Molly said, grinning at them. “I don’t think Schrodinger will mind sharing his bed!”

Not as long as you don’t kick, Schrodinger agreed. And Molly’s making pizza for dinner!

“And maybe french toast for breakfast,” Molly said. “But let’s see what the advent castle has for us today!”

Follow me! Molly had Drew put it in the living room!

The living room was one of Schrodinger’s favorite rooms in the farmhouse, especially during Christmas. They hadn’t gotten the Christmas tree yet, although they’d been out to Cohen’s Christmas Tree farm already and tagged the tree that they wanted. Molly’s little Christmas tree was already on top of the TV stand, bejeweled with the bright balls that Drew had commissioned for her, and there were Christmas lights hung in the windows that looked out over the back yard. The castle was sitting underneath one of the windows, carefully placed so it couldn’t be bumped into.

“You haven’t started looking yet, have you?” Kaylee asked Schrodinger.

No, I was helping Drew clean up, he said, leading them over to the castle. So that we’d all be on the same ground.

“I wonder what it will have us do today,” Lily said, kneeling down. “I like that this one has us decorating the Cove. The other one was fun, but this means something. We’re doing something good.”

Schrodinger glanced at her, wondering if she’d discovered what the actual purpose of the calendar, but her face gave nothing away, so if she had, she was keeping it to herself. Yes, he agreed, looking back at the castle for the day’s number. It’s fun to help.

And to know that we are making others happy, Jack added.

“Can you imagine not being happy at Christmas?” Gideon said, crouching down to look at the castle closely. “It’s so sad to think of that. What would you have to do to be so unlucky to be unhappy at Christmas?”

“Sometimes it just happens,” Molly said, coming in behind them. “It’s not done on purpose, but people forget. Or they move away, and lose contact. People get lost.”

“Like Jack Frost did?” Lily asked, turning to her. “Before you and Drew showed him how to be happy again?”

Like Jack, and Old Man Winter before him, Schrodinger said, before Molly could answer. Luckily for the Cove, Molly’s got a magical gift.

“It wasn’t just that,” Molly told him firmly. “The cookies helped, I’m sure, but it was more that I took the time to be there for them. Anyone can be kind.”

Lily pondered that for a bit as she continued to look for the little number 6, the tip of her tongue gliding along her lips. Kaylee was the one who found the window they were looking for, and pressed it.

It had been on the side of a small stable, and when it opened, they saw all the horses, cows, and goats in their stalls, munching on hay and watching two grooms work on repairing what looked to be a set of reins. Then, Schrodinger realized that there were buckets at their feet, and they reached into them every so often. What he had thought were reins were actually knotted garlands of hay and oats and greens and apples, and the grooms were hanging them up for the animals to munch on after they were put together. One small red apple dropped from the basket and bounced out to them, becoming a ball of paper that fell at Jack’s feet. Lily picked it up, smoothed it out, and read, “It’s not just the humans who celebrate the season. Tis the time to remember all our sisters and brothers, especially those out in the cold.”

She looked up at Molly. “What does it mean?”

“It means that you guys should follow me.”

Molly led them back into the kitchen, where Drew was busy popping popcorn. There were three large bowls of fluffy kernels already on the table, and Molly went into the fridge, pulling out three more bowls of cranberries.

“We’re making garlands for the birds, right?” Kaylee said excitedly, clapping her hands together. “Yay!”

“We are,” Molly said, nodding. “And that’s not all, but let’s do this first.”

In short order, all three children were busy stringing the bright red cranberries and white popcorn onto kitchen twine. Once she had them set up, Molly turned and looked at Jack and Schrodinger. “Ready for your part?”

Yes! They both said eagerly. What do we get to do?

“While they’re stringing the garlands, I need you guys to go out to the barn,” Molly said. “There should be several bags out there that I need you to bring in here.”

Bags? Schrodinger and Jack exchanged confused looks. What kind of bags?

“You’ll see. Trust me, you won’t be able to miss them.”

If you say so. Schrodinger shook his head, but he and Jack went out of the large cat flap in the kitchen door. When Molly and Drew had bought the farm last year, they had thought about renting out the stalls in the barn, since neither of them were riders. But they hadn’t quite gotten around to it yet, so the barn was a catch-all spot. There was no hay in the hayloft, but Schrodinger could still smell the dusty summer smell of the bales that had been there for so many years. The farm had been a working farm up until a few years ago, after all.

When is Molly going to realize that she could get so much fresher ingredients if she had chickens and cows? Jack asked him, as they nosed open the barn door.

She won’t get animals, Schrodinger said. Not for food, anyways. She said she doesn’t want to eat anything that she loved. But she’s thinking about chickens and maybe a goat or two.

Goats would be fun to play with, Jack said, his tongue lolling out. Because I know she won’t let us chase the chickens.

Not more than once, no.

Once their eyes adjusted to the dim light in the barn, they saw what Molly must have been talking about. There was a pile in one of the stalls that Schrodinger didn’t remember seeing before. The smell coming off them was familiar too…

Apples! He sniffed the bags.. I smell apples, don’t you?

Yes. Jack joined him, sniffing as well. But there’s another smell too.  He sniffed again. Fabric. And not just the bags. There’s another kind of fabric in there.

Schrodinger peeked inside, as the bags were simple cloth shopping bags that were open on the top. It looks like pillows, he said. Who stuffs pillows with apples?

And why?

When they brought the first two bags into the kitchen, Molly nodded. “Thanks, guys! There should be six total. They can go into the hall, so we can grab them later.”

There are,  Schrodinger said, pausing on his way through. And they aren’t heavy. What are they?

“Blankets,” Molly said. “For the shelter.”

Why do they smell like apples? Jack said.

She laughed. “Because the quilting group makes apple pies while they put them together, usually. I’m sure that’s what you’re smelling.”

By the time the pizza was done, the bowls of popcorn and cranberries were empty, and Jack and Schrodinger had helped supervise the stringing. After they ate, Molly (who had been keeping an eye on the weather) said, “Okay, guys, into your coats and hats! We have to go deliver these!”

“It’s still snowing out, though!” Lily said, cramming her hat over her hair. “Will we be able to get to the animal shelter?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that bad,” Drew assured her. “I’ll drive slow, and the Jeep has the snow chains on. Besides, the animals are waiting for their Christmas presents!”

They piled into the Jeep, and headed out into the snow. The Carter’s Cove Animal Shelter was run by Dr. Ken Harrington, the vet who had taken over for Doc Robbins when he retired. The old vet was still volunteering most days a week, to no one’s surprise, and Dr. Harrington had meshed into the Cove well. The fact that he’d brought in funding to build a brand-new shelter had helped, of course.

The new facility was out along the Casper River, the faster of the three rivers that fed into the Cove, on an old farm that had gone up for sale. The farmhouse and some of the outbuildings had been destroyed in a fire, but Dr. Harrington had rebuilt it, and outfitted the rest of the buildings to deal with the various animals and non-human residents of the Cove.

When they pulled up to the main building, Schrodinger saw that the Animal Shelter had gone for a woodland theme in their decorating this year, which meant their chains would fit in perfectly. There were several large trees, and they had glass globes hung in the boughs that looked like pinecones, but filled with white and green lights. More white lights encircled the windows of the Animal Shelter, and there were wreaths of evergreen boughs on the door.

The waiting room held a large Christmas tree, decorated with colored lights and various animal ornaments. The tree topper was a raccoon holding a star, looking both innocent and mischievous. Underneath the tree were various sized wrapped boxes, with all sorts of large tags on them, sitting on a plaid tree skirt.

“Hey, everyone! How’s the snow?”

Dr. Harrington himself was sitting behind the desk, but he stood up as they came in, and came around to the front, obviously expecting them. He was a satyr, but the white lab coat didn’t look odd on him. Schrodinger assumed it was because they had always seen him in it.

“Hi, Dr. Harrington!” Lily and Kaylee rushed up to him, familiar with the vet because Jack still hadn’t managed to go more than six months without giving in, chasing a porcupine, and ending up with quills in his muzzle. Gideon held back a little, but the satyr gave him a cheerful smile after he greeted the girls.

“Hi, you must be Gideon! I heard you were helping out with the decorations this year!” He held out his hand, and Gideon took it, shaking it firmly. “Welcome to the Cove!”

“Thank you!” Gideon said, and then looked around. “This is so cool! Do you really treat dragons here? I mean, big dragons, not the little ones you can get in pet shops. But like, fire-breathing dragons.”

Dr. Harrington laughed. “Well, we would, if we had any fire-breathing dragons that needed assistance! But there aren’t really that many big dragons in the area, so I can honestly say we haven’t treated one here yet. We did have Spot here for a bit, but not because he was sick. Mr. Grey had to travel, and couldn’t bring him along, sadly.”

I wonder where he had to go that Spot couldn’t go, Schrodinger said. Molly never had to leave me behind.

“You’re also not a hell hound the size of a shetland pony,” Molly pointed out. “There are plenty of places I can imagine Spot couldn’t go.”

It’s a great place to stay, Jack added. I’ll bet he had the big kennel. It’s got an exercise yard and everything!

Schrodinger was fairly certain that Spot could control his size, if necessary, but perhaps the hell hound had wanted a vacation as well. There was something to be said for not having to be ogled, and outside of the safety of the Cove, there would have been a lot of ogling done.

Dr. Harrington was looking at the bags they were carrying. “So what do you have for us?”

“We made edible decorations for the outside!” Kaylee said, bouncing a little. “For the birds!”

“And the quilting circle sent blankets for the animals!” Lily added, showing him the bag she had. “So they have warm beds!”

“That’s wonderful!” the vet said, clapping his hands together. “I know just where to hang those decorations. Follow me.”

He led them out a different door, towards the back of the facility. Schrodinger, who had never been here (CrossCats were hardy enough that he’d never been sick, and there was still questions about any vaccinations he might need), looked around him with wide eyes. The air was scented with astringent cleaner, just a bit of fear, and metal, but there was also the underlying smell of care and love. Doc Robbins was in one of the rooms that they passed, and they paused to look in.

The older vet was seated on the floor, holding the tiniest kitten Schrodinger had ever seen in his hands. The little kitten was all white, except for a smudge of grey that covered one eye, like an eyepatch. His eyes weren’t even open yet, and Doc Robbins had an eyedropper in his other hand that he was dripping milk into the open mouth. At his feet, there were more kittens, snuggled up to a cat that was shockingly thin.

Schrodinger stepped in, and paused back until the cat opened her eyes. They were gloriously copper, startling against her black fur, and she looked very tired. Hello, little sister, he said softly, dipping his head. Are you being well-taken care of?

Yes, big brother,  she replied, closing her eyes again. These are good people, and my kittens will survive and grow strong, even if I do not.

You will, Schrodinger promised her, coming a little closer and giving her a comforting lick on her ear. It broke his heart to see how thin and tired she was. You will be well, and see your kittens grow to be beautiful cats. He looked up at Doc Robbins. Right?

“Yes, she just needs sleep, and food,” Doc Robbins said. “She’s in a good place now, and we’re making sure the kittens don’t drain all her resources while she recovers. Luckily, she was found before they all starved.” He set down the white kitten, and picked up another one, this one a black kitten with a white chest and two white socks that protested mightily until Doc Robbins started to drop formula into its open mouth.

Schrodinger nosed the mother cat again. Sleep well, little sister. I will come back and visit, if I may.

Of course. Her voice was a bare whisper, and he saw her settle into rest again.

When he rejoined the others, he saw the solemnity of the children. Dr. Harrington led them away, and said, “She was lucky that she was found. But like Doc said, she should make a full recovery.”

“Good,” Lily said soberly. “She was so thin! How could that happen?”

Bad things sometimes happen, Schrodinger said. But now she is safe.

“And sometimes circumstances force people to make hard choices,” Dr. Harrington added. “We’ll nurse her back to health, and then see about getting her and her kittens into forever homes.”

Schrodinger looked at Molly, who raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you want a kitten, Schrodinger?” she asked him. “They’re a lot of work.”

I know. I’m not sure a kitten alone would be a good idea. But we do have a farm, and it might be nice to have help with the mice.

She looked suspicious. “How many kittens are you thinking?”

Maybe not kittens. That mother will need a home too.

“We’ll see,” she said, and Schrodinger knew the seed had been planted. If he could help that mother cat into a better place, it would make his Christmas that much better.

>Activity: The birds and squirrels love popcorn and cranberry chains! Make one or two and hang them on an outside tree to share the season with them.

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