Bread when I'm hungry, fire when I'm cold

[andhiswife]

Dated December 31st, 2017 / January 1st, 2018:

Attending the New Year festivities up at Kagura is out of the question, for several reasons. Firstly, Greta just doesn't want to chance it after last year's mess, especially with Saoirse in tow. Nor does she want to leave Saoirse with a sitter, in case whatever madness the new year unleashes ends up terrorizing the countryside while Greta's away. No, after all the busyness of the holiday, she thinks a quiet night in sounds far better than a mountaintop soiree that may or may not go horribly wrong at the stroke of twelve.

After a bit of waffling, she'd also invited Thomas over. Holiday preparations had become so all-consuming since the party that she hadn't seen much of him since then. She had stopped by his shop to give him a small gift: some high quality Earl Grey tea. Busy as they both might be, she wasn't about to drop off the face of the earth after their date had ended so agreeably. But while she'd been tempted to invite him for Christmas, she had also worried it would seem like a bit... much. Casually entertaining a pair of wayward near-strangers had been easier to contemplate than the thought of having Thomas over.

Perhaps she was worried about impressing him, after he'd all but literally swept her off her feet. Or perhaps she just didn't want to spend Christmas constantly squashing the urge to haul her guest off and do something Too Forward to him.

But as New Year's approached, there was no getting around the fact that she simply missed his company. Surely, she thinks, she can handle a quiet night in without embarrassing herself.

The preparations are far less overwhelming than they could have been. The cottage still looks charming; all the decorations she'd been scrambling to finish before Christmas are still up. She's got plenty of wood to keep the fireplace going throughout the evening (for the atmosphere, if not out of any real necessity). Even cooking doesn't manage to intimidate her; she's spent far too many months trying to please a manor full of fussy children to quail at the thought of making dinner for three. If anything, she's rather excited to make something that doesn't have to involve peanut butter or ketchup in some form. There's a fresh loaf of bread sitting out on the counter, and beef, potatoes, and vegetables in varying states of completion.

By the time Thomas arrives, the scents of roast beef and rosemary are already permeating the cottage. The dogs have been watching the proceedings with such rapt intensity that she half-wonders if a knock will even draw them from their posts, but they do end up scrambling towards the door.

"Saoirse, love, could you go welcome our guest?" Greta asks, glancing over her shoulder at the lass. Saoirse had been so keen to see Greta all dressed up for the party that Greta had spent the last week-and-change before Christmas frantically putting together a fancy little dress for her, so she could get in on the fun. For her own part, Greta has kept things rather casual, unwilling to wear anything that couldn't handle the rigors of the kitchen. She's in one of her nicer dresses -- just nice enough that she questions whether she ought to be wearing it to cook at all -- but there's an apron slung over it, and her hands are... rather a mess, actually. She wipes them off on a spare dishcloth, backing out towards the hall until the front door is in sight.

"Hello," she calls out, grinning at Thomas once he appears. "Sorry, I'm just a bit of a mess, but I'm fairly certain it'll be worth it. Saoirse can take care of you, in the meantime."

Comments

[selkiesaoirse]

Saoirse adores her dress. It makes her think of sea foam during a storm, and it's very pretty. She has a hair bow that matches the flower, and when she opens the door for Thomas, she curtsies for him with a big smile. She makes to take his coat, pulling out her step stool so she can hang it on the hook inside the door. Tonight is going to be special — it's her first New Year's eve staying up late! — so she's going to be careful to be a good hostess.