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“Maybe just the cookies,” Simon said quietly.
"Got any sweetness left for me?" Jean’s boyfriend Clive asked as he approached, waggling his eyebrows.
“Surprised you can take much more sweetness after this morning,” Jean said, leaning into him. She turned to the rest of them and arched an eyebrow.
Simon’s expression said, I regret everything.
“No need to be such squares,” she sniffed. “Older people aren’t post-sexual, you know. Come on, Clive. Let’s go sit in Santa’s lap."
They left, hand in hand, disappearing into the crowd.
"Wow," Cassidy said.
"God dammit, Grandma."
"What’s post-sexual?" Gus asked.
"You know," Charlie mused, examining the shelter’s booth, "If I built a little extension to this table, you could—"
"Stop!"
River hadn’t meant to yell, but now that they had everyone’s attention, they used it.
"Jack, where’s my coffee? Simon … go with him. Gus, go take a picture of the three weirdest things you can find here and then come back and show me."
"When you say weird—"
"Construe weird however it suits you. Adam and Wes, you should go with her. There’s, like, a lot that she will find weird and offend people about."
Both Adam and Wes nodded instantly and took off after her.
That left only Charlie, who turned back to Cassidy.
"I haven’t seen Dave in a while," he said.
Sometimes River amused themself thinking that if you looked up hardware store owner in the dictionary the picture would be of Charlie.
"I think he’s doing well,” Cassidy replied. “Dave’s a good guy."
Charlie nodded. "He is."
"Mommy, that cat looks weird."
A little girl was pointing at the cage where Scream and Dream were now twined around one another. Her mother made a face.
"Cats are filthy and they make the house smell like pee. Let’s go find a wreath," was her mother’s response.
"Did you hear that?" River cooed to Scream and Dream. "You’re filthy and you smell like pee."
Dream yawned. Scream continued to look like an Edvard Munch composition come to life. So, things were back to normal.
At noon, River had the cats who’d allow it dressed in their sweaters. They’d had the idea to enter the cats into the ugly sweater contest as a way to raise awareness of their availability for adoption the night before at Peach’s while hanging out with Simon and scrambled to make them when they got home, manic from the sugar of five rounds of pie.
Cassidy had largely ignored River since the whole friend ambush that morning, about which River was relieved and disappointed. They’d left Charlie in charge of the booth as he was the one person River knew would neither embarrass them to Cassidy nor let any of the other cats escape.
Unfortunately, since the cats couldn’t promenade to display their sweaters on their own, River had resigned themself to carrying them, which was how they came to be standing in front of hundreds of people and holding up a snarly Scream, who was twisting in River’s arms to escape them and the red and green felt sweater that said CATMAS across the back with jingling bells all over it.
Didn’t think that one through, River thought as the tintinnabulation echoed through their head.
They didn’t win, though the crowd Oohed and Awwed over the cats, as hoped.
"That’s The Dirt Road Cat Shelter, which has cats to adopt over in aisle C, everyone!" the announcer read off her index card.
River hurried to get back to the booth only to find it already swamped. Charlie and Rye were both showing people cats.
A couple who looked just married held up Muffuletta, a large white cat that liked to sun himself on his back next to the window. River would slide their hand up and down his stomach and chest as he purred with his eyes closed.
A little boy with thick glasses was hugging Buffalo, the calico cat whose orange and black fur resembled buffalo plaid. Her whiskers brushed his cheek and he giggled. Buffalo licked his nose.
"Oh, look at his little sweater!" a woman cooed, pulling a man who could’ve been her husband or her brother over to River. "Is he up for adoption?"
River stroked Scream’s little face and nodded, holding her up to the woman.
"Her name’s Scream," they said hoarsely.
"Oh he’s adorable!" the woman said, snuggling Scream. "We’ve gotta have him."
River found a smile and nodded, reaching for the paperwork and trying to hold back tears.
CHAPTER 12
Cassidy
When the doors closed on the final day of Craftmas and the music cut out, leaving only the dim hum of voices and lights, Cassidy put a hand to his head to make sure no bloody shards of skull were poking out his eye sockets. It was always a shock that pain so extreme could leave no visible trace.
He’d expected to feel relief. After all, he and Nora had moved more merchandise this year than ever before, and gotten enough custom orders to see them through the winter. It was over and he could go home and sleep for a week if he wanted to.
