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Sideways, bend down, shuffle... Shuffle some more, hit head on the door header, bend some more, shuffle-shuffle... Lose. Dignity.
Finally, I was inside their miniscule entry hall. From there, one big step of mine was enough to get me into the living room, where the only place I could sit was the couch, which I occupied entirely with my frame. Aura and Mina disappeared into the kitchen, while Joseph busied himself with the fireplace. There was no need for more wood to be thrown in, but he did it anyway, just to have a reason to turn away from me without making it too obvious.
I took this time to study my surroundings. The house was tiny compared to my cabin. I guessed it worked for two people, but I wasn’t sure there was enough space to raise children, especially if they wanted more than one.
“Thank you for your generous donation,” Joseph said, standing up to face me. “When winter is over, I will use part of the credits to expand the house a little. Mina and I wanted to add another room for quite a while. And the rest we will save for when our son or daughter comes of school-age. Hopefully, we can send him or her to a private school.”
I looked at him like he was speaking in tongues. I blinked once, twice, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying. Donation? What donation?
“Mina and I didn’t want to let Aura send her blood to the Temple. After her house burned down, she moved in with us, and we would’ve gladly let her live with us forever. She and Mina have been best friends since they were children.” He was still standing with his back to the fireplace, in a rather awkward stance, with his hands in his pockets. “But now I’m glad she didn’t listen to us, because she seems... happy.”
The two women emerged from the kitchen. On two trays, they brought tiny porcelain cups – tiny for me, at least – cookies and sugar cubes. Aura sat down on the armrest of the couch, half on top of me. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to touch her or not. What would her friends think if I put my hand around her waist?
Joseph brought a chair for Mina and one for himself. I felt bad that I was occupying so much space and forcing them to adapt.
“Oh, let’s show them what we got for the baby,” Aura said excitedly.
I pulled out the two presents. They were small enough to fit into my coat pockets. Aura had asked the man we’d bought them from to wrap them up, and it wasn’t immediately obvious what they were.
“It’s not much,” she said as she passed the gifts to Mina. “I know nothing about babies.”
“Thank you so much,” Mina said. She unwrapped the teddy bear and showed it to her husband. “You shouldn’t have.” She looked at me. “Especially after what you’ve already done for us.”
“Oh, it was nothing,” Aura said. “Don’t even mention it. You helped me so much after my parents passed, and then after the house... Well, better not talk about it anymore. You needed the credits more than I did.”
The credits! I’d paid the Temple for the service of providing me with a perfect match, and the priest had asked Aura what she wanted to do with the credits. It was weird that Joseph called it a donation. If it was a donation, then Aura had made it, not me.
“I just want to say that my wife wanted you to have the money. I just did my part and paid the Temple,” I said.
“Thank you, nonetheless,” Joseph said.
I nodded, and then Mina poured tea for all of us. As I did my best to use the tiny cup without breaking it, Aura dominated the conversation. She told them about our home, about Snowdrop and Frost – who was currently snoozing at our feet – and even about Fluffy and King. For a second, I was worried she was going to tell them about how I’d made her cover her eyes, but she didn’t. She only talked about the good things and didn’t even mention the snowstorm and how she’d gotten lost and almost died. She told them about the greenhouse, the workshop, and explained that we came into town to buy yarn and Christmas decorations.
“So, you’ll come into town more often?” Mina asked.
“If you don’t mind having guests once or twice a month, definitely,” Aura said.
“We can come every week, if you want,” I told Aura.
She turned to me. “Really?”
“When the weather is good.”
“I’d love that!” She turned to Mina and Joseph. “Don’t worry, we won’t bother you that often. I just love going to the market. And I’ll start knitting again! My old clients are still interested.”
Mina stood up then and came to hug Aura. “I’m so glad everything has worked out for you. Just so you know, Joseph and I have been thinking about you a lot.”
“You shouldn’t have worried,” Aura said. “I told you not to worry.”
“You know how she is,” Joseph said about Mina. “Tell her to not do something, and she goes and does exactly that.”
We laughed, and I noticed how relaxed I felt. I even ate a cookie.
We spent another hour with Mina and Joseph. While the women talked about baby things, Joseph and I talked about how he could better add a new room to the house. I offered to come help him, and to my utter surprise, he accepted. When Aura said it was time to go and I realized the visit was over, I felt a bit sad. We said our goodbyes, and when I helped her into the sleigh, she whispered in my ear,
“You’ve made a friend. Don’t worry, we’ll visit more often.”
“A friend?”
