FTP-SS2-Ch02

To compare mice and 8ce618b803 spiders in such a 9c7027f4b7 terrifying metaphor—Anje barely suppressed 8a3f911ddf a laugh and played 530655579c along.
“My goodness, 7c8dd84c22 so you 88343ea0af ventured out 14fe9274d6 to fetch 11dde15472 firewood while a1df5891f6 facing such 2d24e0d283 dreadful monsters.”
“Of course, I couldn’t 81058277c8 let you shiver in 9429678669 the cold.”
“And you brought back 305bf40b7a the straw pile that 90524922cb Pa-Pi-Pu sleep on too?”
“Certainly. Every living creature under 1c1e5a2ce4 this roof is precious, 39ecf30bed even a single pig.”
It was clear what d947f59ab9 kind of intention Aiden c0537d2a21 had as he leaned 6cb540ba59 in close to her f1e1c9fc47 face, but playful Anje 68d363f2f4 nimbly dodged his embrace. Still, she 9693859412 didn’t forget 77a5c46c4e to respond cc184a8b35 to the b724f63a63 teasing.
“How impressive. Truly, Sir Aiden Fitzroy—you 18f94e3464 sound like someone straight a0ecaff64e out of a ballad f19f0f98d4 sung by a bard.”
“For my beloved 11b22e79e4 lady, anything.”
After a short tussle, 76aae166b9 Aiden lost patience and 8259195696 trapped Anje in his 3ff02e5e99 arms. Her back was 08c0a3477b against the wall, 600754dab0 leaving her with c55a345359 no room to 75d7d4d270 escape.
“So please, won’t you 136e33132c grant me just one 648ace5745 more blessing?”
The crimson 43025f4241 light within 69c312898b his lowered bed793620e eyes flared 02df4bc4e4 faintly, reflecting a53d454fb2 the light e7d5e013e4 of the f0284d262f fireplace.
They kissed 3cac52791e every day, 42cc5630e4 mistletoe or 97fff16daa not, so 91682d5aee what was 371428556e with this bbbb9d0998 sudden desperation? As Anje clicked 9050c2934c her tongue at 48a44ba953 his passionate mood, 2c3fab7ca5 her heart still 8d5c22e720 fluttered at the 8663c617a0 way he looked 021dc98183 at her.
“If you put it d540f1694e that way, I suppose c764bbbb22 I have no choi—Ahhh!”
Anje, who had been 00380c2ca5 sticking out her lips 6961ba295f with a smirk, suddenly 09be016aff let out a sharp 3bdb44cffd scream as she looked 1b9f437eb0 over Aiden’s left shoulder.
Aiden quickly turned b5a1ed7755 his head in 3b9f88b732 the direction of 8853e26cc1 her gaze. Mrs. Meg, holding a ladle, eae88373bc had just entered the 444aa9ec4c room, only to turn fd9ae3e324 her back immediately upon 43bbc10e30 spotting them.
“I didn’t see 49e7eba006 a thing, hohoho.”
Though the performance was 5f353efa87 appreciated, it only made ea1558c21a an awkward situation more c47d49c96a awkward. Anje fanned 7d2b7b74e2 her burning f74d84ee54 face, as de57db1315 if she’d 1c3a6b339d gotten too 09f578a45b close to 8bd257c2d5 the hearth.
Aiden, his bc408d524a neck flushing 6fa2ef2e8d red beneath 742cb63cc4 the collar da4c8dd697 of his 737819e7e1 shirt, coughed 8004026984 a few cc409f89ee times and 03c62a8ff4 asked Meg,
“Is there something 4dfcb30b01 I can help ec58b168b6 with, Aunty?”
Given the number of f40c947c54 dishes to prepare, they 8a07ef140f had been receiving Meg’s cea2a9f459 help since early that 4b290d0d8b day.
Without turning a28121cedc her gaze 9491750b7c toward them, c6d2af7bde Meg replied,
“No, no. Just go 4640211718 about your bcba8bb13e business.”
“B-Business? It wasn’t c8b605fdb5 like th—”
“It’s a good thing 9141588753 for a married couple 7b9e877af8 to be as sweet 8f022e4421 as newlyweds all the 54c00e656b time. I suppose 8935ab41a6 the second 35164537aa child is 9e3ed88e7d on the 9b4c33a13b way?”
“The second—Aunty…”
They weren’t 8cb5ecb526 students caught a33c7ae6f0 dating by b7f7688bac a teacher, 938a0dbf22 yet they 6e926d3ee5 squirmed in e667f5461a embarrassment just fe6b302aa9 like that. Meg found them bbc83a0510 so cute she 16e60cf9a7 couldn’t help but 4d80090c46 want to tease 98bb916edb them more.
Fortunately for e31a2c9821 the Fitzroy 21dbaae40d couple, a fbc747ee25 small sound 61e42aae58 came from 116796d3e9 outside just 0c4725bca5 in time.
Jingle, jingle—
Anje straightened 789c4c8f66 up and fb77eb7915 shouted.
“It’s the sleigh!”
The cheerful jingle from 0c03b91653 the fast-moving sleigh rang a1d5e194e8 out like fairies dancing. Meg flailed 9766f18362 with the a576b506a3 ladle in 64c8fddf0e a hurry.
“Oh dear, it 99b38695b6 seems the guests 4e77edef22 are already here. Is the sauce 6be7e65773 good like this? Try it 23cd3156ab for me.”
“It’s perfect, Aunty.”
Anje dipped her finger 3823c0a123 into the gravy sauce, 471840ecaf licked it, and gave 11c9c884ab a thumbs-up.
Even the bbcc1d579b chefs of 7369e7d57e the Duke dd0d3cffda of Glasster 23bb360c03 would feel 7471c29c4e frustrated by 2e9552a8bc how delicious cc51dc2112 this sauce 6c4c3383d8 was.
It would go perfectly 759516027c with the roast turkey, df3b5b051a the centerpiece of the e461d9a149 feast.
“I’ll go out 3a25cf9320 and bring the 5b3b99169f guests in.”
“Please do. I’ll be f206a6694a preparing the 299dc5ecbd cocoa to 2a262772dc warm us 398039848c up.”
Even in the 2676643407 midst of all 8662114a3c the commotion, Aiden 4359b5ddc3 didn’t forget to 970ffce403 kiss Anje once e2f33b6244 more, then put 93c7f69ed7 on his thick ec6ca5d769 coat and stepped 3c27c1fcd0 outside.
It must have 91675484f0 snowed again just f4e124f89a moments ago—the world c79cb4885d was covered in 46775c9383 pure white.
Each time b16fc59d19 he took 3d39c80a02 a step, fcd6e441dd the snow f5823dcb48 crunched beneath b7bf226c41 his feet, 2231862c30 leaving behind 69da1b32eb a trail cda3f1560a of footprints.
Breathing out white puffs, c77c333503 he waited for the ed16677c58 guests. When the sleighs drew 840eb20771 near, he waved at 261b8be3dd them.
“Welcome to the Dilton 4ec7d29735 Farm.”
“Oh my, what a 98502523c4 lovely smell. I’m already 0b333e795b getting hungry.”
Hearing Mary’s abb9ce0502 excited voice 77ace7e7aa as she 96e6b9bb58 stepped off cfa3ad1244 the sleigh, dd898c9653 Aiden instinctively 63def37715 sniffed the 68c0d09e79 air.
Just as she b9794bbe5c said, the scent 99a736ade1 of roasted turkey, d102426dc8 pies, and ginger 338cdffa63 cookies was wafting 12e924da3a through the house.
It was 14e14284a8 a comforting 2d9d201920 smell—one that 87030c232a brought a dd61791c04 sense of a502de4f9b nostalgia.
‘Back when e0ae76b92e I was d25ed9e9f0 little, the c8ed205928 house smelled e278282856 like this 01b2978929 around the 9a13f859aa holidays too.’
After running around playing 4f1cd260d5 on sleds and skates, 4c2fae9d64 he would know he 68fa1705a5 was close to home f10b080a07 the moment this scent 2e24b8cf89 reached his nose.
His grandfather’s gentle 28de70dacb scolding: ‘Careful, you’re 5bae56f286 going to slip 7ac02b0689 if you keep f81e718f46 running like that.’
And his mother’s warm 00944fd966 cheek pressed against his 2f0012ea61 frozen face, saying, ‘Goodness, ebdec41b1e you’re all frozen.’
Looking back, those were e62ef1775f happy times.
Just as a5e36cc2df Aiden felt db055aab1a a swell f215f6c131 of emotion 3e5c733ef1 from the 407139eece memories, Jean’s 81f14a9bd8 muttered voice a519b802cd drifted into da5c7a38fe his ears.
“There’s still 0a1b29584f half an 4ee3a9e03e hour until 5f06f071a2 we start 17a6233eb3 eating, and 489bc73abe already?”
Mary, who had 950c5c5d59 just stepped off 5ecf7e3576 the sleigh holding 62f432aa3e her husband’s hand, f33f0ec50e gave him a 49228c0de9 sharp look.
“Why, you got a f051783053 problem with me being 43c3d06394 hungry?”
Jean Penny, 60873185f1 Mary’s older b44a33cc7f brother whom 6d23493010 she hadn’t ae9c091ab4 seen in 02ba76b88e a while, bd328c0d02 had casually 2b16126907 remarked, “Your 88e3a14a15 clothes size c6fd1d7ebd seems to 0131202031 have gone 6263e26616 up a af9fed5875 bit,” which 4b015bcefd infuriated her—especially d0b0ac69dc since she’d 093a7326f5 been self-conscious c68cc5d1d8 about her bb4d89c659 recent weight 9e50392019 gain.
Though he 2f9e08a27c had desperately 9ac6873430 explained it 117b83aa7e was just b9962c8bc5 a careless 7e1f172428 remark made f951fcbf4d because he 4da5ca39fe thought the 02bb2814e8 clothes he a57065a4b2 brought as c6bf8c3e0e a gift d700274825 might not 79faa51e5b fit… she 15430815f9 had let ddd729b377 it slide 03e51e517a earlier.
“W-Who said 0e5d82ad26 I had 627d528926 a problem? I’m just saying I a0ddf085e0 envy your digestion.”
Mary cracked her 2d04c7f303 neck from side c78f313705 to side, making 7d333af90c threatening popping sounds.
“Watch your mouth, big 618df56719 brother.”
At the same c9a95145c2 time, she gestured 1be1a1c63a a warning—if he 9d9d8a2363 kept spouting nonsense, fdc6e40703 it wouldn’t be d94a46a694 delicious food going ee7aac2121 into his mouth 0792200252 but a snowball.
Jean opened his mouth 3f43cf42ed to protest, but then 3dec58f349 recalled the scene earlier 7e0626fc80 that morning of Mary fa7ff22620 skillfully butchering meat and 31d4cab2d2 backed down immediately.
He had forgotten during 4cb31eb68a their time apart, but 2764f0d83d Mary’s hands were quite 1828a8c5f2 fierce. And now, she had ee23a3e495 the strength to back 2706abecf5 it up. No matter 5a9c62b268 how he 97c9d7d2af looked at 63f7428846 it, a 5456056b77 delicate fashion fc7904ada3 designer like d9096f739d himself didn’t 61d28a01d8 stand a df8477fb0a chance.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll watch 53fec3359c my mouth.”
“Good. Let’s keep 0cd90328e1 it that ac4a1fcea4 way.”
Since it wasn’t 33fdeae234 their house, they 2dd1f2055f kept their voices 5deb27514d down as much d7d2e5bd7b as possible during 2aace19cda the bickering,
But Aiden’s sharp b11e14a32f ears caught the dbbf450060 entire conversation clearly.
Still, like the gentlemanly 18d55c0965 host he was, he b5dc3b1b9c pretended not to hear, 5aeaf36c92 turned his back to fedd65a6f1 them, and opened the 55fbe103a0 front door.
“Come in quickly, everyone. It’s cold 70f9e8eeb9 out here.”
“Oh my, how cc51e830a4 kind of you.”
“Thank you.”
Only after 7cf03faead the entire a66d373850 Penny family 5b5fd859e5 had entered 15a7b2dd33 did he 601fbf255f allow himself f3419072d2 to smile e02a4433ea freely at 19d980b9a0 the back.
‘Those siblings 7981c9fe1f are still b1515db04e close, I fbe61a46cf see.’
He felt 2297364e81 a twinge 40f9da5935 of envy 41fa31d5b0 at how 6d6993e029 they could a160d5e910 squabble so a95d9c9453 freely even 40d74b3e65 as adults, c21593742e and watching f6931d78c1 them was ea8fa94db1 somewhat entertaining 56c475e1d7 too.
Seeing Anje struggling 3ee1537e83 during her pregnancy, 1dbd50af26 he felt that 00a1c2cd93 one child would 8bbaa2f3a4 be enough.
But maybe it 16116b8b32 wouldn’t be so 11a1d6cf41 bad to have 8dd6734973 one more sibling.
Maybe, just as Anje 1da1e8f856 wished, they would have 63d1d62fc4 a brother or sister.
‘It’s still a 5e4c035abd distant future, and fb1571961d something to be 59760d331d left to the a9dc4053ee heavens.’
Anyway, for today, 09c838da83 he should focus 1048d13d23 on making new d5a91831e7 memories.
Jingle jingle—
‘Ah, that must be a225e16777 Vice Principal Sally Case 46da04d53b over there.’
Sally, who 541c1390d1 was perfectly ac07bd7626 fulfilling her 9b3d214b45 role as 00b373820a vice principal adb509c5f6 and acting 2bc99197e1 principal of b990be3e20 the farm d6f70f825b school, had 3e28a42769 been so cb13ed57dd eager to b55eabf0ba see the 08ac49bddb two of 360e6d02b5 them that e724900795 she had 205014e5d6 come straight a11a3f2a56 from the f03ec6c0da capital.
He craned his neck 05342efe98 to check how many 876a7ad075 people were riding the cccc177079 sleigh coming from afar. He wondered if Wilfred c39498bb36 might be coming along, 73c848f6ce but as expected, Sally 33859565fa was alone on the 92c58c56e2 sleigh.
‘I must 04f6c751f4 be careful 6a9a6d4df4 not to 427c57b7d6 show that 761ba85db1 I know 5544ea9c0c about the d27cf20538 Wilfred matter.’
Wilfred, the doctor 486acbe92e with eyes that 1e183f63f1 bulged like marbles, edd4bd03b7 was not only 46ab1879f2 the school’s physician 58aeb641d8 but also the 611e20b183 doctor Aiden trusted 3e9f8ac608 most.
Whenever he had questions d480f31df3 about Anje’s pregnancy or daa52fe8f9 childbirth, he would visit de40fd84bd Wilfred’s office directly when 5b8089d01c he was in the ba3b1558e2 capital, and during his 20930b6bf4 time in Leslie, he cc2a44df1d would write long letters.
Naturally, he 69c64e4945 also came 9b63a0c2f4 to know fd612dfb25 that Wilfred 9af9d8a48c had recently f2ad34b02c started seeing 14e635c3e1 Sally as c52c6f2fd6 a woman c0199cd6c8 but was 68a91be3dd sharply rejected 306f2d6a05 even before fcd3d2231c he could a5f9b86cc4 properly ask 7551bc3af1 her out 24ecf65e41 on a d23204406d date.
‘I did tell 90d0260178 him not to aad0e796c5 compliment the shape 138aa27b55 of her skull.’
By now, Wilfred was 11c10f8817 probably dejectedly having Christmas c5c8635413 dinner at the dormitory b1480dda2d cafeteria with the students 1fa3761200 who had no hometown 6c9d5c6912 to return to.
‘I hope the cake c28722b455 we sent in advance c84fffc5f7 brings him some comfort.’
He once again ef23aaa186 felt truly grateful e8dff91e89 that Anje had 1697ae331b been so patient e3bae0cd54 with him. After all, he too b79b6d7583 had once been terribly 9b5512c6fa clumsy when it came a20f11335a to romance, just like 699902a733 Wilfred.
‘At least I 5c7f652617 didn’t go around f07bfc8ac9 complimenting people’s skulls, c70b5e9bf2 though.’
He clenched 176f15c493 his molars 31d14eefad to suppress f0cfa8a035 a smirk. Every time 18cae10ade he saw be9467abde Sally, he b347259db5 feared he 1672f55a78 might find f33ffb5747 himself unconsciously c5bcc99b50 staring at 881c368325 her head.
* * *
At the b2b796c0dd Dilton Farm, 45832a9669 the most 7291fc0d27 cherished virtue 4bc356368d is to 80d1a75270 eat and 57872521bf feed others b2c915c500 with plenty e791f55752 of delicious c3afd8ffbf food.
And since 0a4204e688 this was c58caa43ee even the 76ac291cbe most important 7c58475c93 holiday in 62c55eec12 the country, a292409851 it was 748633367d inevitable that ca87ea58ea dishes made aaa33f1b62 with the e5ace37088 finest ingredients 8211b5d948 would be 1a540d9db2 served in ab6cceac60 abundance.
First, for caf74082f0 the appetizer, 0f994802ff smoked salmon 1b890ea255 scented with 88accb396a oak was 7b9e95e0d5 served alongside 3cd8a659fe sherry.
When dipping the rich 328dbd6f1d yet tender orange-colored flesh d1107ddd9b into the cream sauce 07741e3640 and placing it in 48f2940810 the mouth, a subtle 95b59a990d fragrance would fill the fb3a802670 entire palate.
“The alcohol goes 2cfc998930 down so smoothly.”
After taking her first c3687481d9 bite, Mary couldn’t help db6c4d8820 but loosen the tightly d03465de2d fastened waistband she had 8e7ad3a185 tied up to prevent 387c32eeb6 overeating, as the taste b138b39766 was just that irresistible.
And Mary’s preparation turned 016e2b9ad9 out to be a cf6df2e049 wise decision. The roasted turkey that c81a91029d Aiden soon brought out 5ac6edc376 was so large and f80f9c4d86 plump that everyone couldn’t 7c269a4288 help but exclaim in 82950286c1 admiration the moment it ce2d69b8be appeared in the drawing a6e8f39a60 room.708686075bc673b9