Chapter Twenty Six: Holiday Cheer — Part 2

The Three feasts

Even with the gloves and lotion, Kevin finds it necessary to help ChoCho finish the major sewing work on the final two dresses in order to get all the work done on time. Kevin starts by wearing gloves, so as not to suffer ChoCho’s fate, and the two chat idly while they sew. Jynx is busy in the woods with Daria, looking for anything that might help the party along. As they leave for another hunt, Daria posts a sign on their door in order to make certain that people stay out. It looks like it is written in blood, and knowing Daria, there is a chance that it might well be:

No pirates, sailors, politicians, house keepers, busy bodies, or engineers beyond this door until Day 1 of the New Year. Small canines included. No Exceptions.

The first feast had been a breakfast, and had filled everybody up so much that it was hard to get back to making gifts. The second feast, a week later, was moved, oddly enough to lunch, because Heath misestimated how quickly her food would be ready, and she didn’t want any of it to settle too long on the table. The two weeks from the first feast to the morning of gift giving flew by with the men working out in the woods, ignoring the chill, all of them moving in quiet secrecy on projects that occasionally required ChoCho, or Kevin, to help out. Now, on the morning of the celebration, presents are made and wrapped, snacks are ready, and all that remains is for everybody to wake up, come together in the Commons, and exchange gifts.

ChoCho fills the fireplace with the hottest burning wood, loading it with twigs and arm thick logs until it is so stuffed that the stove will burn hotter than it has ever burned before. He is sitting in the orange light of the building flame, watching it lick about the wood, waiting for others to wake up. Heath sits down next to him, puts her head on his shoulder, urging him to take some warm milk and crumbles she has brought for him. He smiles and drinks the milk, eats the crumbles. She’s always hugging him and Kevin, Jynx and Daria. In fact she’s got a hug for everybody these days. This morning she is wearing a robe, intending to lounge around until about noon.

“Fire sure is purdy this morning. Those my presents over there?” Heath asks, sounding sly.

“The biggest pile.” ChoCho says. “They aren’t all there yet, though.”

Heath is now beaming. The entire corner of the commons has piles of presents there. Most of them are small, covered in blankets or cloth napkins because nobody wanted to risk a drive into town in inclement weather and scavenge through the bones for wrapping paper. Heath has one big blanket that ChoCho knows the contents of. Inside are three skirts and appropriate undergarments, of course, and the only question ChoCho has in his mind is which ensamble Heath will try on first. On top of that is a single gift from the four men, and a note from Joe, explaining his decision to commission ChoCho in her instruction of the martial arts.

Next to her pile is a pet blanket, in which are treats for Gryphon. Then are smaller piles for ChoCho, Daria, Jynx, and Kevin, and even smaller piles for the four men. ChoCho knows what is in most of the piles, just not what has been placed in his pile, and though he is patient, it is taking all his effort to keep his hands off of the cord wrapped bindings. People migrate from their rooms one by one, coming together in couplings and groups. Heath gets up with the arrival of each person, getting the crumbles and hot milk from the kitchen. Joe and Blake come in last, about thirty seconds apart: a hickey on Joe’s neck that betrays a night of passion. ChoCho is happy for Joe that Blake is not holding back any more.

Jynx, not a morning person, isn’t really speaking to anybody. Rather than join the others, she leans against the wall, drinking her milk and eating her crumbles, looking like she’s about to bite somebody if they get too close. After a quiet moment of deep breaths, Jynx opens her eyes, looks around the room and at everybody, taking it all in. George and Jude are cuddling near Joe and Blake, and the pirates are positively glowing with love. Kevin has his head on ChoCho’s shoulder, Daria is actually hanging on Kevin’s arm, looking positively giddy with anticipation. Heath has her head on ChoCho’s shoulder, is nodding off, actually, probably because she’s been up for two hours slow cooking soy milk from powder and making crumbles, which is something that sits somewhere between a donut, a crescant, a cookie, and a biscuit. She has no idea where the girl got the makings for the pecan pralines she mixed into the crumbles, but is thankful for the indulgence.

She lets out a sudden exhalation of anticipation, her voice transitioning between a snapping bark and resonant growl. “Enough of this sappy shit!” She says. “Let’s get down to the business of sharing.”

Everybody looks at Jynx, at first either fearful or annoyed, leaning more toward fear when they see the smile on her face. It looks sort of crazy. She starts picking up gifts, walking around the room, saying who they are from, and who they are going to as she sets them by their owners. She is so focused on everybody else that she doesn’t notice her own pile with its oddly wrapped and shaped bundles until there are no more presents left with anybody’s name on them. As it turns out, even though he is the last to get his present, Gryphon is the first to open his. More accurately, he burrows into the blanket the second it is dropped in front of him, eating the treats even as Jude tries to get the blanket open before the dog can eat himself sick.

Heath’s first present is a small one, and she opens it slowly, setting the napkin aside. It turns out to be a necklace with a small ruby set at the center of a simple mandala design with matching ruby earrings. She puts them on immediately, asking everybody how they look on her. She sees that all of the girls have similar designs, but that none of them are precisely the same.

“Those are based on a sketch of mine.” Joe says. “George carved them into wax, Jude cast them, and Blake figured out how to make a charcoal furnace from a coffee can, and well, charcoal, so we could pour the platinum into the casts. I set the stones.”

Blake opens his present from Heath first, not certain what it could be. What he finds inside the cloth napkin is a bag from Heath’s bag, and inside is the coin she had gotten before, Dark Rama and Sita in embrace. Blake has it in his palm, his eyes are glistening. He feels the ring, still in the bag, and looks at her, spelling out the word ring with a free hand, his expression plainly intending to give it away as a question. Heath smiles, looking a little embarrassed.

“I uh, didn’t think it would be right to separate the two, being they’ve been so close together for so long.” She says.

Heath then pulls on the chord and the blanket pops open, exposing the three dresses within, and also underthings meant to match the dresses they were made for. Heath squeals and studies the dresses closely, one by one. She looks at ChoCho, surprised.

“You make this underwear?” She asks, remembering how she thought he was such a pervert a couple weeks before.

“His hands were all over them.” Kevin drawls.

“Perv.” Heath says to Kevin.

“There is one more present from Blake and I.” Joe says to Heath. “We have commissioned ChoCho to teach you how to protect yourself.”

“So you going to teach me to break people up?” Heath asks, her voice all caught up with emotions.

“Guess so.” ChoCho says, opening his presents as he talks. He has waited until everybody but Jynx has opened their presents to start in on his.

From Jynx he has received three sand filled balls of cloth. “They’re for juggling.” She says quickly.

“I don’t know how to juggle.” ChoCho says.

“I’ll teach you.” Kevin says. “Now open my present.”

ChoCho senses a conspiracy, but keeps his concerns in the back of his head. “It’s a hat.” He says, putting the knitted hat on over his wrapped and growing head of hair. “It is soft and warm.”

“Open my present.” Daria says. “I got you something special, I promise.”

ChoCho opens the napkin, finding a paper folded over so that it has nine squares created by the fold. On the center square are the words, ‘One Wish.’ printed cleanly on it.

“Uh, I don’t know what to think.” ChoCho says.

“Think of anything, anything that Jynx will let me grant you, and I will do my best to make it come true.” Daria says. “I got everybody else trinkets and frivolity, but for Jynx’s boy, I couldn’t settle for the mundane.”

ChoCho sets this final gift down, staring at it, something he will do even as Jynx unwraps her presents. To anybody looking at the party, it might look like Heath has been spoiled, that the men, who got various mixes of tobacco and other kinds of smokables and drinkables, were ill considered, and that Jynx was completely misplaced in her preferences. Jynx lets out a whoop when she unwraps the red sash of cloth covering her present. ChoCho looks back to find Jynx cutting the air with a weapon that looks to be right out of the middle ages.

“Hot shit it’s a spear.” Jynx says, smiling in a way that makes her look evil.

“It’s for when you go hiking.” ChoCho says. “You know, in case of bears or some such.”

“I hefted and wrapped the pole.” Daria says proudly. “George cast back the iron, and Joe shaped and sharpened the blade and base pike. Blake designed the gold and iron seam that locks the blade and pike to the staff. ChoCho and Kevin made and embroidered the red sash.”

“Heath set the shaft.” Blake adds, Heath’s present having been spirited into his pocket.

“So you really like it?” ChoCho asks for everybody.

“Oh thank you everybody.” Jynx says, looking about to cry.

“We knew you would want something more than jewelry.” George says.

ChoCho picks up the paper, opens the stove, and throws it into the fire, letting it eat up the paper, sealing the door back into place. He puts his nose and forhead to Daria’s, his breath sweet with the smell of toothpaste and crumbles when he talks.

“Daria love.” He says quietly. “I’m ready to make that wish.”

“Yes dear?” Daria says, her breath catching.

“Pierce my ears.” ChoCho says.

Daria smiles deeply, tilting her head so that she can be sure that Jynx has heard ChoCho clearly. Jynx nods her approval, and Daria leans forward, slightly, putting her lips to his ear.

“As you wish.” She whispers hotly. “Do you want this wish fulfilled now?”

“Yes, of course.”

Daria is shaking as she heads to her room to get her needles. By the time she is back, Kevin and ChoCho have picked out matching studs, thick like Heath’s had been, and Daria’s smile grows even broader, because now she can use her largest needle.

“Now sit still boy, this will be quick, and done right.” Daria says, pouring the alcohol, readying the jewelry and the needles, washing ChoCho’s ears. “It will hurt a little, okay?”

“Yeah, it’s okay.” ChoCho says.

Kevin steps behind ChoCho, holding both his hands, puts his head to ChoCho’s neck. Daria pushes the first needle through, followed by the second. ChoCho winces, but does not move, the weight of his back against Kevin’s chest. Daria pushes the earrings into place, announcing that she is all done, and Kevin turns ChoCho around. It takes ChoCho a moment to realize that Kevin has put in matching semicircles, that he has lost a moment of time to the experience of pain.

“I uh, would like to be the one to wash your ears.” Kevin says gently.

“Yes, of course.” ChoCho says, feeling something powerful, wonderful, and frightening building deep within him.

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