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Aura laughed. My first instinct was to shoo him away, but seeing her happy made me happy, so I let Fluffy eat the tomatoes. Never mind I’d painstakingly grew them in the greenhouse and now he was chewing on them like they’d been meant for him all along.
“This is nice,” she said, picking up a piece of cheese and feeding it to me. “It’s a slow, relaxed life, and I’m all for it. Back in town, I was always stressed because I was on my own, and there was so much to do. But here... it feels like time has slowed down, and we can enjoy every second without feeling guilty that we should be doing more. At least that’s how I feel... I don’t know about you.”
“All I want is you, Aura. Life is perfect as long as I can have you.”
I felt like that was the right answer. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, because my life had always been this way. Yes, it was slow and relaxed. I hadn’t thought for a second that humans might live differently. I was glad I could offer my wife the comfort and peace of mind she deserved.
“You have me,” she said. “And I have you.”
She pressed her lips to mine. She tasted like red wine.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aura
For once, I woke up before my husband. After what we’d done the night before, I’d slept like a baby and now felt refreshed and like I could take on the world.
One look outside the window told me that would have to wait. I doubted I could even open the door. Snow covered the landscape for as far as the eye could see. There was only white, the blue of the sky, and the dark forest in the distance.
I got dressed quietly, not wanting to wake Krampus, then made my way downstairs, where I was greeted by a very happy Frost. He followed me into the kitchen, where I started opening all the cupboards to see where everything was and inspected the fridge and the pantry.
“I’m not sure about your food,” I told Frost. I looked for dog kibble in the pantry but couldn’t find any. To be fair, I hadn’t seen Krampus feed Frost that way. “How about some water?” That I could offer him.
As Frost lapped up the water, I found Fluffy in his box and fed him some fresh veggies. I’d never had a pet before, so this was all new to me. Well, I’d never had a husband before either... I didn’t know what to feed his dog, but I knew what to feed him, so I started making breakfast.
Eggs, bacon, some sausages that I found in the fridge... It all went in a pan if it didn’t go in Frost’s eager mouth. A snack wouldn’t hurt until Krampus could feed him and teach me how to make his food. I made batter for pancakes and sliced some fruit, and before I knew it, I had a rich breakfast waiting on the table. I covered everything the best I could, so it wouldn’t get cold, then started cleaning up the mess I’d made. It would take me a while to get used to this kitchen.
I heard Krampus descend the stairs and smiled to myself. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face. His footsteps were heavy, which meant that I could always tell where he was in the house. He was in the living room now, throwing more logs into the fire, then he made his way to the kitchen, where he stopped in the doorway.
“Good morning,” I called.
He just stood there, mouth agape.
“You did all this?” he said.
I huffed. “Of course I did all this. Did you think I don’t know how to cook?”
“No, I... No, of course not. I just thought I would always do it for you.”
“You can still cook for me,” I said in a seductive voice. “From time to time.”
Before we sat down to eat, Krampus took out a whole cooked chicken from the fridge and gave it to Frost. I didn’t mention the snacks, but Frost and I exchanged a look.
“This is delicious,” Krampus said as he dug in.
“I’ll make my mother’s special stew later today,” I said.
“So, you’re taking over the kitchen...”
I laughed. “I’m taking over the house.”
He leaned down to plant a kiss on the top of my head.
“Now that I can see, I want you to show me everything,” I said.
“I will give you a proper tour.”
After breakfast, the priority was for Krampus to clean up a path between the cabin and the house while I did the dishes. Frost went to help him, and once I was done in the kitchen, I made myself a cup of tea and went to sit by the window to watch them. I saw a crow descend onto Frost, and I thought at first the bird was attacking him, but then realized they were playing. This must’ve been Frost’s crow friend. He needed a name.
