Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
“More of your merriness, I see,” I comment, and Devin glares at me. It’s adorable.
She moves to Liesje’s side and beams at her. “Merry Christmas. We brought a tree to decorate and I have some garlands. When I heard there was snow coming in, I wanted to have the holiday, and I thought we might celebrate it together.”
Devin smiles at Liesje so radiantly that I can tell it’s working. Liesje eyes the tree, eyes me, and then sighs. “Come on in.”
We step over the threshold and into the house, and I’m pleased to see that Liesje has been attempting things. There’s a few less boxes on the counter than there were yesterday, and I know that’s a big victory for her. I helped her clear all of the wrappers and trash out of the room just the other day, and as a result, the interior is far more spacious than it was. I can tell Devin is surprised by the changes, her mouth falling open, so I swat her backside with my tail.
She makes an outraged sound and jerks around to look at me.
“Thought I saw a bug,” I murmur.
“It’s winter, you prick.” Devin scowls in my direction and hugs her rodent closer.
“This merriness is overwhelming,” I call out in a dry voice. “Truly, it’s everything you said it would be, Devin.”
If looks could kill, I’d wither on the spot.
“All right, you two. Quit pulling on her pigtails to show her that you like her. No need to pretend with me,” Liesje says, moving forward. “Now where shall we put this tree of yours?”
Pulling on pigtails? I eye Devin. I do not know what a pigtail is, but perhaps it is like young children back home, when a young male thumps the horn of a female to get her attention. The female always gets annoyed, but I know some secretly like it. Is that like this, then?
Or is there a secret, attractive little human tail that I am unaware of? I’m intrigued.
“The tree is for you,” Devin tells Liesje, and it’s evident to see she’s excited over the gift. “It’s not really like a pine in the slightest, but Sinath suggested a live tree so you can plant it and enjoy it later.”
Liesje fingers one of the green leaves thoughtfully, admiring the plant in my arms. “It is a good idea. This world needs more trees. And I didn’t expect to see a pine tree anyhow.” She moves across the small, cluttered house, and towards a window near the kitchen, pulling down a fabric covering. “Here.”
The moment she pulls the fabric free, a cloud of dust goes up. I cough. Devin coughs. Jerry screeches and bounds out of Devin’s arms, running under the couch.
“Oh, Jerry,” Devin says in exasperation. “It’s just a curtain…kinda.”
Liesje eyes the fabric in her arms. “I liked the pattern and thought I’d make curtains out of it. My mother always had cheerful curtains in her house. Said it made a home. But I never got around to it.”
“Curtains don’t sound very exciting to me,” I say in a cavalier fashion. “But if you want to make a skirt for the tree, Devin insists upon giving it clothing.”
“Devin does not!” The female in question glares at me.
Liesje just laughs. “You two are ridiculous. Come and help me get the tree settled. Devin, do you know any carols off the top of your head? My family always sang carols while decorating the tree.”
Devin does, and for the next while, she goes through her catalog of strange songs about “rain dear” and a man made of snow. Her voice is lovely and lilting, and it sounds far more entrancing than my people’s music. We ignore the mess in Liesje’s house and concentrate on decorating the tree with the ribbons and garlands that Devin has crafted.
There is no “mantel” for dirty socks and so a kitchen counter is declared to be the place for stockings, and to my surprise, three of them are set out, all in different colors. The white one is for Liesje, the red one for Devin, and the green for me.
“I had to crochet them quickly, so if you see an ugly stitch, look away,” Devin says with a laugh, her eyes dancing.
It might be the first time that anyone has actually created something for me. It does not matter that the sock is strange and small and will not fit my big mesakkah foot with its splayed toes. It does not matter that there is only one and thus my other foot would get cold. It was made specifically for me, and I love it. “It is the best thing I have ever seen.”
Devin gives me an odd look, but her smile remains.
The flat, painted ornaments go on the tree next, but they’re so heavy that they weigh the fragile branches down. Liesje has the idea to hang them from the ceiling instead, and so we take a bit of clear plas-wire and I hang ornament after ornament above our heads. They hit my horns, as I’m quite a bit taller than the other two, but they both look so happy that I’m willing to duck for the rest of the day.