Theodore (8 page)

The five of them, Anna carrying dear little Abby, while Rose
alternated from Theodore's hand to Emily's, were soon back in town.  Hearts
were lighter that the unpleasant reasons for their early arrival had been laid
to the open, and yet so well received by the family as a whole.  Emily gave
Anna the whirlwind tour of the town.  Theodore was proud of his fellow
townspeople as, while some were nervous around the obvious offworlder that was
Anna, they were all at least polite.  Civility.  More so than at the
university.

Emily made quick work of the shopping, with others watching
the children such tasks went much faster!  Theodore shouldered the groceries
and they were soon back to the town tour.

“Mary Firemeadow's place is right over here,” grinned
Emily.  “Might as well have you poke your head in and say 'hi!'”

Theodore laughed, “Um, Mary is the midwife in the town.  I
guess Second Mother is bound and determined that you two should meet today.”

Anna just grinned as they approached a broad squat house
with the markings of an apothecary out front.  As they approached the front
door, a busy lady with a soft striped coat in her early forties quickly exited
the building.  She flashed Emily a quick smile, “If you are needing Siân, she's
in the back.  Just knock loudly on the door.  I'm a bit busy right now...”

“Actually, we came looking for you,” began Emily as everyone
picked up their pace to keep up with the spritely lady.  “I was wanting to
introduce you to our guest for this summer, Anna Westmore.  Her mother is a
doctor and she's done her fair share of emergency work as well.”

Mary grinned as she looked Anna quickly up and down,
“Medicine out here is different in some regards, others are the same.  A cut is
a cut is a cut... You ever helped with any deliveries?”

“Taik infants, only four.  Other infants of all species,
well over fifty,” grinned Anna as she fought to keep up with the lady.

“Want to make that five?” the lady grinned back.

“Like right now?”

“You won't catch me walking this fast otherwise,” grinned
Mary back.

Anna's faced exploded, “Certainly!  I'd be delighted!”

Theodore laughed, “Um, Second Mother, did you
know
Mary had a call today?”

Emily just grinned slyly back, “Maybe... but honestly I was
expecting tomorrow!”

“That's the problem with babies,” grinned Mary.  “They have
their own schedule and no one is going to tell them otherwise!”

“You're going to stick around, right Theodore?” asked Anna
suddenly serious.  “I mean I've studied your language hard, but there is a
lot
of particular vocabulary that I'm certain I've not learned.”

Theodore's fur flared and his ears flushed. 

Mary laughed at his display, “I think the poor boy might be
a little squeamish!  Do you speak Gamerah?”

Anna beamed, “Very well!  It's probably the second most
common trade language.”

“Good, good!  We'll get by fine.  Let the poor boy have his
peace!”

“Um,” began Theodore ever so eloquently, “I'll hang around
to help make sure you make it back home.”

“Good answer!” laughed Mary.  “Come come, it's the
Fairwinds.  They are right outside of town.”

“Theodore, pass me the groceries and I'll take the little
ones back to the house,” smiled Emily.

The food and children quickly departed with Emily while Anna
and Theodore had to run to catch up with Mary.  She had a place to be!

“Emily planned this whole thing, didn't she?” grinned Anna.  “That
is why she was so insistent back at the house!”

“Second Mother is a bit over organized it seems,” laughed
Theodore.

“Someone has to be in that family,” remarked Mary
offhandedly.   “Mrrr... that was poor of me.  I do apologize, Theodore.”

Theodore cringed at the statement but held his tongue and
just nodded.  It wasn't an inaccurate statement, but it still rubbed his fur
backwards.  Anna just smiled and took his hand.  Theodore needed that, and soon
found he had no choice but to smile back.

Theodore sat in the kitchen with Paula Fairwind, First
Mother of the house, her husband Liam and their two year old daughter Pearl. 
The mood was light and friendly and light snacks graced the table.

“So, you met Anna back at the university?” asked Paula with
a broad grin and honest curiosity.

Theodore shook his head and smiled, “No.  We met her and her
parents when the starship had to make that emergency landing.  Both her mother
and father are doctors.  They were most helpful!”

“And she speaks the Old Tongue!  Quite progressive of her
education.”

“Her mother is flawless in the Old Tongue, but Anna didn't
start to study Old Tongue until we met.  Anna knows many other languages as
well, and it was through her skill with language that we first met at the port
as she had to save me from petty bureaucrats who didn't speak the trade
tongue.”

“I'm surprised to see you back so early, I thought you were
in school for at least another month yet.”

Theodore gritted his teeth, “Yeah, well there was another
scary complication so we came out here so the police could try and take care of
things.”

“Oh, I'm terribly sorry!  Um, off to happier things, yes?”
replied Paula with mother-like comfort.

“Yes, ma'am!”

“If you want happier things,” beamed Mary from the hallway. 
“It's a boy!  All parties tired but doing well!  Give us a few minutes to clean
everyone up and we'll pass the newest around!”

Paula and Liam nuzzled each other playfully while little
Pearl just grinned and bounced in place.  Theodore couldn't help but to smile
along as well.  The Fairwinds' family had just gotten larger!

Theodore quickly found himself running back to the
Firemeadow's residence: Mary had left in such a hurry, she had forgotten to
grab a change of clothes and Mary was quite insistent on staying with her new
charge for at least two days.  Theodore enjoyed the distraction as well as the
fresh air.  The smell at the house was... odd and the prevailing conversation
was Mary going over fairly graphic technical and physiological terms with Anna,
back and forth from Gamerah to the Old Tongue.  None of which was in his
comfort zone.

  Siân met Theodore with happy smiles at the news of the new
child and a bit of a chuckle that Mary had left so quickly.  “We thought it was
going to be later this week; no sense in arguing with the baby, however!  Step
inside out of the sun, I'll grab some things for Mary.”  He stepped into the
lobby and Isabel, Second Mother to the house, quickly bid him sit and got him a
fresh drink.

Scarcely five minutes later he was back on the road again
with a basket under his arm.  He kept a quick pace, not quite as manic as his
trip out, but he had a certain nervousness about leaving Anna alone...

A nervousness that bore no fruit as Anna was the delightful
center of attention as he returned.  Mary was quite openly bragging on her and
poor Anna was still blushing.  Theodore laughed to himself at her display, when
humans blushed, they
blushed!
  Her whole head turned red!  Anna smiled
at Theodore's return and, at the insistence of the now larger family, they
stayed around for super.  But soon supper had passed and Anna and Theodore
found themselves walking hand in hand back to Theodore's place.

“Um, I don't mean to pry,” began Anna carefully.

Theodore instantly laughed, “I thought
I
was the one
all apologetic.  Spit it out, let's hear it!”

“Um, is there something between Mary and your family?”

“Nope.  Mary sacrifices politeness for the sake of
expedience.  And as a result she tends to be rather blunt in all her
communication.  She's a Third Mother that could
easily
have been a First
Mother but she likes her station and the flexibility it offers.  I'm going to
assume that your question has something to do with the quip she made about
organization in my house.”

“Yeah, that seemed a little rude...”

“Not Mary's finest hour.  You notice she did apologize at
least...  But the long facts are true: my First Mother is not even remotely
organized.  First Mothers tend to run the family business, and, well... she's
an artist.  A very good artist, but still much more an artist than a
businesswoman.  She gets preoccupied by her work, lost in details... all sorts
of things that just aren't good for a very tidy household.  Emily is a
micromanager.  The two ladies could not be more different, but they both
need
each other.  Emily needs to dream a little and Fiona needs to be a lot
better organized.  We were a hollow house until I was about four... very
nontraditional!”

“Hollow house?” asked Anna curiously.

“We were a family with a First and Third Mother, a child,
that was me, but no formal Second Mother.  Charlotte sorta filled in as a
Second Mother, but she was another house artisan first and foremost.  Dad did a
lot of free hunting to make sure that food was plentiful, so I sorta raised
myself to start with.”

“Didn't seem to hurt your schooling,” grinned Anna.

Theodore managed a good laugh, “True enough!”  An honest
sense of warmth washed over him, “Emily came in, squared away what schooling I
did have, got the books in order and soon we were making money.  She started
promoting my mothers, and getting sittings and things organized.  All sorts of
stuff.  She really did our family proud.”

“With such a business flair, I'm surprised she didn't come
in as a Fourth Mother or something.”

Theodore grinned, “First and foremost Emily loves kids and
teaching.  I think the main problem is my First and Third Mothers are just
giant kids!  It has worked out well enough.  Money became stable and then Rose
quickly came along.  It was a great delight to have little Abby come along even
if I was off at school.  I figure I'll have a few more siblings here in the
next few years now that things are doing so well.”

“Pshaw!  Things were obviously going fine before; look at
how well you came out!”

Theodore laughed and kissed Anna warmly on the cheek.  A
split second later his fur rippled and his ears burned, “Um, sorry about
that...”

“I've been trying to get you to do that these last four
days,” grinned Anna.

That did little to calm poor Theodore's fur...

It was starting to get dark as they made it back to
Theodore's house, but there were no worries.  Theodore knew the way quite well,
even for having been absent so long to college.  Broad grins greeted them all
as they entered and Anna proudly announced the arrival of the Fairwind's baby
boy.

“Emily, oh Emily!  I can't believe you set our guest to work
on her first day here,” fussed Fiona doing little to hide her pride at Anna.

“Work?  If Mary had turned Anna away the poor dear would
have pouted all day!”  grinned Emily.

“She's right, you know!” beamed Anna.  “It was
wonderful!
 
There are few things more gracious than bringing a new baby into the world!”

“The Fairwinds feed you?” asked Aidden pragmatically.

“Yes, Dad, quite well in fact.  Have you eaten?”

“Yes, but we set some food aside in the warmer just in
case.”

“Leave it out!  It's been a long day, a healthy sized snack
would do well later.”

“I forgot to even ask,” began Emily.  “Are you used to three
or four meals a day?”

“Um, three, ma'am.  But whatever works.”

Emily looked at Fiona and they both just grinned.  “First
thing to do is fix this 'ma'am' thing,” laughed Emily.

Anna blushed, “Yes, Second Mother!”

They all laughed well at that.

“Come on upstairs, both of you.  I'll show off what the
girls did today,” beamed Aidden.

With no small amount of curiosity on his own part, Theodore
followed Anna and his father up to the attic.  “Windows are still open as
everything isn't quite dry.  We'll bring up a heater tonight if you need to...
let all that warm air out and all.”

“Oh my word...” began Anna.

Theodore poked his head up and looked on with no small
amount of shock himself.  The attic, well planked and sealed normally, had all
the odd household spares and random work related parts and pieces removed,
cleaned, washed, a good rug put down along with a mattress and fresh bedding
and then the walls had been painted...

“Remind me never to volunteer to paint a wall!  I'd soil
it!” gasped Anna as she looked around.  “It's gorgeous!”  All along the walls
were murals of Highland country life.  Gorgeous detail and brilliant color
everywhere.

“They do good work, don't they,” grinned Emily.  “They got
into a mood and there was no stopping them.  They probably won't get a brush
stroke in tomorrow, but what they did today...”

“They did all of this today?”

“Yep.  Well, the walls had been whitewashed and Father
primed them,” beamed Emily.

“They shouldn't have wasted such effort on just a room...”
pouted Anna.

Emily smiled, “No.  They wanted to do something special for
you, and there you have it.”

“Um, thank you?” peeped Anna as Fiona and Charlotte poked
their heads up.

“Glad you like it.  Did Father offer a heater?”

“Yes ma'am... um... First Mother.  Yes, he did.”

“Good, good.  Well, I'd recommend giving it a few more hours
before you close up the windows.  Make sure the bulk of the smell is gone.”

“Thank you.  Thank you all!”

All the ladies beamed.

“Well, good night, all of you.  I'm tired early,” began
Fiona.  “I'll see you kids in the morning!”

“I take it from the scream this morning that I accidentally stole
your hot water there for a bit,” apologized Emily as Anna entered the kitchen.

Anna was all grins regardless, “Yeah, caught me by
surprise.  I guess I shouldn't have loitered in the shower.  But it felt good!”

Emily just laughed, “No, my fault!  I'm not used to it being
a full house and I could have just as easily waited until you two ate before I
did the dishes.”

“Um, are we late to breakfast?” asked Anna apologetically.

“Nope,” grinned Theodore.  “It's just that Third Mother made
herself breakfast at four in the morning and Second Mother can't stand the
sight of dirty dishes.”

 Emily grimaced, “I
will
try to be more careful.  I
should have listened to the pipes.  Sorry again, dear.”

“It's okay,” grinned Anna.  “Not the first time that has
happened to me.  What's the plan for the day?”

“Breakfast!” beamed Theodore.

Emily laughed, “Well that, yes.  Then I think it would be
good to get you back in town.  You both need a few more changes of clothes and
those things take time.”

“I did bring a bit of the local currency...”

Emily just tutted her away as she brought out their piping
hot breakfast, “Keep your purse here for now.  If you find something silly or
fun, spend your money on that.  A few souvenirs from the Highlands would be no
bad thing.”

Anna was quickly learning better than to argue with Emily's
odd sense of hospitality and they both quickly devoured their breakfast while
Emily left to tend to little Abby.

Rose poked her head into the kitchen and grinned at the
couple.

“You eaten yet, little one?” asked Theodore.

Rose just beamed and nodded, “Ate with Father.  We still
going into town?  Second Mama said we needed to buy Anna a new pretty dress!”

Theodore grinned, “Why, yes, that is the plan.  You been
practicing your writing?”

Rose nodded and grinned proudly, “In three lettering styles,
too!”

“Excellent!  Soon you'll have a scholarship for off world as
well!”

Roses eyes went wide, “No!  I'm staying here!  Off world is
too scary!”

Theodore frowned, “Um, it doesn't have to be.  Most of it is
quite safe...”

“Not going until
you
go back!”

He laughed, “Fair enough there, little one!”

Emily returned with little Abby on her shoulder, trying to
coax out a burp, “Oh, good.  Everyone ready?”

Half an hour later Theodore found himself, sitting at a
dress shop while the owner and attendant were busily trying to fit Anna to a
series of dresses.  It was quite the show!

“Okay,” grinned Anna.  “It feels very nice in the torso, but
the back feels a little... breezy...”

There was quite a bit of laughter as they tried to work out
the most pragmatic way of dealing with a dress designed for a Taik, but fit to
a
tailless
human.  The giggles ran fast and long as all other aspects of
the dress seemed so perfect.  It was finally decided the best course was to
just create something custom rather than try to fit an existing piece.

“Won't that be kinda expensive,” asked Anna nervously.

The owner would hear none of it, “Mary came by this morning,
nonstop gabbing about the wonderful job you did for the Fairwinds!  She dropped
a spot off in your name.  She figured you'd be wanting something more local
pretty quick.  She was right!”

Emily grinned, “Good to see Mary's gossiping being used for
good and not evil!”

“Oh, she isn't
that
bad!” mock groused the owner. 
“And you know, coming from her, if it is something good to be said, she really
means it!”

“Okay, Second Mother, was this all part of your plan
yesterday?” teased Theodore.

“No!  But I'd be happy to pretend I did plan it!” she
grinned back.

“Let's shift and have her try a few skirts!  The dance
skirts may get by with only minor tweaking,” beamed the owner.

Anna laughed, “I'm just standing here!  Just tell me what to
do!”

Theodore was proud of little Rose and how well she behaved
at the store.  It took over an hour and she had been perfectly behaved the
entire time.  “Like having another girl around the house?” he asked his little
sister.

Rose nodded enthusiastically, “You going to take her to the
dance?”

Theodore's mind reeled, “Um, dance?  Oh wow, that's just
barely a week away isn't it.”

“She'll have a pretty dress in a day or two.  Now she needs
bells!” giggled Rose.

“Um, bells?” asked Anna.

Theodore's fur stood on end and his ears flushed...

Emily laughed at her son's display and turned her attention
to Anna.  “Girls of your age, when they start to date, wear bells on ribbons to
the dances.  Bells on your ankles and hands!  Toes too, if that isn't too
uncomfortable.  It's a common way to display who is of age to date, as it
were.  Very serious young ladies will have been given bell sets on rings rather
than ribbons.  We can probably find you a set on ribbons around the house...”

“I could buy my own,” grinned Anna.  “That would make for a
fantastic souvenir!”

Emily grinned, “Yes!  I think that would be a wonderful
idea.”

They just laughed to each other as they watched Theodore
staring into space repeating, “No rings, no rings, no rings...”

Theodore gritted his teeth as they entered the front of the
silversmith's store.  He knew it was all supposed to be just a lark, but he had
butterflies none-the-less.  The store attendant was thrilled to be showing off
their wares to an offworlder: human, Taik or otherwise.  “We have silver plate,
bell silver, and pure silver plated over bell silver.  Most people think that
bell silver is the prettier sound.  But some people like to go with less
expensive and own several different styles.”

“Bell silver?” asked Anna.

“Um, it's an alloy of silver.  It's pretty close to Sterling
silver if I remember my classes right.  Pure silver is a bit soft.”

“Okay, that makes sense.  But what about the different
styles.  I mean they are all pretty, but is there a real difference?”

The attendant beamed at the chance to explain, “The
different styles have different weight of bells as well as number.  If you are
doing lots of dances like
Strip the Willow
where you are passing and
turning a lot, you don't want things as heavy on your wrists.  If you are
mostly doing singles dances, then more weight on the wrists is less important
and presentation becomes a concern.  Similar concerns with the ones on your
ankles or toes: weight, number and how will that effect the types of dances you
like?  You can have bells on your tail, but if you are tired after the second
dance, it isn't much of an outing!”

“So, there are choices of metal, design, as well as just the
pretty patterns.  I am so lost here!” laughed Anna.  “I doubt I'll be doing
this again anytime soon so I figure I'll go for quality: silver plate over bell
silver.  The pattern I can just pick what's pretty.  But for the
style
...”
Anna just laughed.

Emily grinned and offered, “You are an athletic girl, just
pick a middle total weight bell and you should be fine.”

“What she said!” beamed Anna.  “So now it's down to just the
pattern... oh wow, are there a lot to choose from...”