Gypsy Christmas 2

It is the thought that counts, but sometimes the execution matters too.

Gypsy Christmas 2

At home, I went straight to my room, threw the bag on the bed and went to my wardrobe. I pulled out the shoebox hidden in one corner, which held my papers and most precious treasures.

Here I kept Mica's worn letters, a tiny keychain-sized teddy bear my brother gave me for Christmas in our last year together, and an empty bubble gum box my brother fought so hard for when the hunters found it on me and took it.

Inside the box lay a tiny pebble with a face drawn on it with a marker — as we had no toys, it was one of the pieces Des had made. It was all I had left of my childhood. And a flimsy photo album in the depths of worthless junk.

Most of the pictures were of me and my brother as children. I never felt strong enough to flick through them in their entirety, and little has changed. The photo album opened willingly towards the middle, where an orphaned picture was inserted between the pages. This picture was the only one in the album that showed me after my twelfth year, and it didn't show me with my brother.

The corners of the photo were crumpled, and one of them split in two. I smoothed the paper out on my thigh and just watched Alex's huge grin and my own grumpy expression for a moment.

The picture was taken by Encsi, after she'd snatched her packmate's camera to provide evidence of my existence in her pack. She was so lucky that the camera must have been some kind of antique because it immediately released the finished picture, otherwise I would have had to smash it, destroying it along with the evidence.

So I contented myself with merely taking the picture from her and only threatening her with the destruction of the little machine. I carelessly stuffed the photo in my pocket and ignored the disapproval of the two children. Then somehow I forgot to throw it away.

I repacked the box and banished it to its place at the bottom of the dusty wardrobe. I walked back to my bed with the picture and retrieved the frame from the bag. Only then did I notice that Luna had included colourful wrapping paper and ribbons with the stuff. I sighed deeply — I took the hint. If you're going to give gifts, you have to do it right.

Now she must be very pleased with herself, I thought resignedly and set about the really unnecessary and far more tedious work than I would normally tolerate. After all, it's totally unnecessary to wrap your gifts if others going to unwrap them, isn't it?

By the time I'd finished, it was getting dark and Alex galloped into the room excitedly.

"The girls came over," he informed me.

I wanted to roll my eyes — I had a hunch that Alex had arranged it that way, with Jo's help. Little conspirators.

"Oh," I said without any surprise. "I guess we shouldn't keep the ladies waiting then."

Alex nodded readily. I grabbed the bag of presents so that I didn't have to come back for them later. I also had a hunch that I had to go through a long and painful ordeal before the presents could be given, which the delinquent ahead of me and his faithful companions thought was an inevitable part of Christmas, but I would rather skip it — unless it involved food. That would be sumptuous.

We entered the kitchen and almost immediately I felt Jo throw herself at me. She hugged me, gave me a light kiss on the cheek, and smiled sweetly. My heart was beating wildly in my chest as if Jo's presence had it under some kind of spell. With every ounce of strength I had, I tried to keep my composure and not think about how much I wanted to kiss her.

Coffee gave me a reserved glance. As I knew her, spending Christmas together — with me and Alex — was not her ideal Christmas either. She nodded and sipped her freshly brewed coffee.

The kitchen looked disgustingly festive, with colourful decorations, garlands and baubles everywhere. It's not exactly what we agreed on, and for this, I will have a chat with Alex.

We sat down at the table and drank mulled wine, which, although Coffee brought, she hadn't tasted — I figured once she got my gift, she'd change her mind. Jo baked cheerful, beautifully decorated gingerbread cookies for the occasion. And Alex had rigged up some old, worn-out radio that spouted out songs that were too drippy and too Christmasy for my taste.

Jo laughed as she recounted her own experiences of the afternoon and gave a detailed account of her gifts. Her warm voice filled the air and my heart. I barely noticed that I was slowly softening and occasionally smiling. When she asked about it, Coffee shared that she had received really meaningless, ordinary gifts from her relatives and that she was most happy about the coffee machine her father had bought her.

Jo let out a laugh, not understanding the significance of the gift. The coffee machine meant that Coffee's father, after years of struggle and rebellion, had more or less accepted his daughter's extraordinary lifestyle.

Mr. Blutkaiser was one of the famous nobles and, as such, he initially refused to hear of his daughter's nonconformist ideas. Perhaps Coffee would one day persuade him to sip coffee instead of his afternoon cup of crimson — about the same probability she had of successfully gaining her father's consent to befriend a human.

With a bittersweet smile, Alex shared that the most surprising thing about the whole Christmas for him was receiving a letter from a childhood friend, Encsi. He told the girls they were together since birth and noted that as children we played together a lot. This was a slight exaggeration because they wanted to play with me and I usually outsmarted them and laughed at their pathetic attempts.

He told them about his life in the pack, leaving out the information about werewolves for Jo's sake. He and Encsi were real rascals, always up to something mischievous. Thanks to them, the pack never had a moment's peace — of course, the brains was usually Encsi, and Alex followed her lead.

"I was really surprised," he laughed, his voice both cheerful, and yet I could hear the ill-concealed bitterness in it.

"I visited a friend today," I said without any introduction, and all eyes turned to me. They probably hadn't expected me to speak, "She's traveling with the Gypsy Caravan, and she's invited us to the performance tonight. She said she wanted to meet you. Would you like to meet her?"

"The gypsy caravan?" asked Jo excitedly.

"My dad was planning to take me," she added as an explanation, "But then work got in the way."

"Who's this friend?" asked Alex curiously, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"I haven't known her long," I admitted.

"We should definitely go," Jo said enthusiastically.

Coffee sighed deeply and nodded, giving in to the pleading gaze. Alex was a little suspicious, perhaps thinking it was someone dubious again — though it was not that far from the truth — but he seemed interested.

"Time for the gifts", he announced, and Jo's face lit up.

"Who's first?" the wolf asked, though it was obvious.

Jo lifted her bag to her lap and pulled out the first gift, which she then handed to Coffee. The vampire girl's lips curled upwards, if I didn't know her, I'd say she was smiling. But knowing her, I didn't even try to accuse her of such a thing. The colourful wrapping concealed a rose formed from glass.

"It's beautiful," said the vampire, "Thank you."

With that Coffee handed her own gift over, which was a fancy booklet. Jo often wrote stories, and I could see that the notebook she sometimes scribbled in was slowly filling up.

Jo took out the next gift and shyly held it out to me. Smiling, I took it and unwrapped it. It hid a snow globe with a little house under glass, with pine trees and a snowman next to it. Maybe this is what a real home at Christmas looks like.

"Thanks," I said, then took out my present and handed it to her.

Jo's lips parted in wonder as she finally tore open the wrapping and saw the necklace. Coffee, who was sitting closest to her, must have felt the magic pulsing faintly because, for the first and probably last time in her life, she looked up at me with a poorly concealed acknowledgment in her eyes.

"My God!" Jo exclaimed, her eyes shining like two fireflies in love, "It's wonderful! Tell me it didn't cost a fortune!"

"No, as a matter of fact, I got off cheap," I reassured her. "Can I help?"

Jo nodded embarrassed. My fingers barely touched her silky skin, but it felt like a fiery chill. I looked deep into her eyes and recognized again the warmth I loved most in her.

Coffee cleared her throat as I withdrew my hand, and Jo blushed even more. The vampire girl gave me a scowl, but didn't say anything, nor did she try to curse me to hell which I took as progress.

Jo then presented Alex with a personalized apron with the letters Master Chef on it. Alex, of course, was a little embarrassed and said under his nose that he was not such a good cook. I grinned, with this Jo even beat my studded collar from last year. (Instead of embarrassment, Alex was delighted, and assured me that he would wear it at one of the wicked heavy metal concerts as soon as he got the chance.)

Alex finally chuckled and remarked that he was actually bored of his old apron and liked this one very much. He'd chosen a book for her, which Jo was quite pleased with. It was a romance novel she'd mentioned once over lunch.

Coffee presented Alex with a cookbook, which the wolf appreciated and assured the vampire girl that he would put it to good use. Coffee gave me a packet of exotic cocoa, which she had obtained through his father's trade network. As far as I could tell, the packaging alone was worth more than all my possessions. I never thought the vampire girl would find the gift that would sweep me off my feet.

Alex was in a very funny mood, and he gave me a lace thong. A red one. It was the most provocative red thong I'd ever seen. The two girls immediately blushed from ear to ear, and Alex laughed gleefully at my face. Coffee's red slowly turned to green — she must have had good visual skills.

"That's a really... delightful gift, Alex," I said with a jovial grin, "You always know my heart's desires."

"It's only natural, mate," he grinned, then winked. "You're going to be a heartthrob in it."

He couldn't contain his laughter any longer and laughed again, Jo was still embarrassed but chuckling softly. Coffee sipped her coffee instead.

I handed Alex his present. Perhaps he was expecting a funny surprise that had become customary in previous years. When he freed the picture frame from its wrapping, he was momentarily stunned. His lips quivered, he seemed about to speak, but then he didn't. He stared at the picture for a long moment, and then a soft, nostalgic smile appeared on his lips.

"I thought it was long lost," he said softly.

"I found it among some old junk," I shrugged, "I thought you might like it. I would have thrown it away anyway..."

"Thanks, Shay," he grinned, his smile seeming genuine and heartfelt for the first time in a long time.

Luna was indeed right, it was the best present for this idiot.

"Look," he showed the picture to the two curious girls.

"How cute!" exclaimed Jo, "When was it taken?"

"Six years ago," I replied.

Alex looked at me with a warm smile. "I didn't think you'd remember even that."

I shrugged. "I just have a good memory."

"Yeah," he let me off and stared at the picture with a face so disgustingly sentimental I thought he was going to clutch it to his chest, flop down on the floor, and roll around happily like a happy golden retriever. Fortunately, this was purely in my imagination.

"Coffee," I addressed my favourite vampire, and she looked up at me. "Would mind coming outside with me for a moment?"

Jo and Alex looked a little confused, but I sent the girl a smile and Alex a reassuring look, so they didn't say anything. We stepped out into the pleasantly cool air of the late December evening. She looked at me questioningly as I handed her the package. She opened it but still didn't understand.

"It's a special potion, there is only one of its kind in the whole world," I explained. "It gives human taste to vampires for a day. I wasn't sure if you wanted to use it today, I thought it best to give it to you privately so you could decide."

The vampire's words trailed off, her lips parting slightly in surprise. Never in my life had I seen so much hope twinkle in those cold blue eyes.

"Is it..." she asked, falteringly, "real?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself?", I suggested, and she opened the bottle.

She hesitated for a moment, then drank the contents in one gulp. She looked at me a little dubiously, seeming to feel no change in herself. I was expecting this — I held out a gingerbread. It was star-shaped and richly decorated.

The vampire girl took the cookie from me with trembling hands and hesitated for a moment before raising it to her lips. Then she took a bite of the gingerbread and slowly, with closed eyes, began to nibble and savour the flavour. For a long moment, nothing happened, and then the first silvery tears came out from under her black lashes. Slowly, savouring each bite, she ate the gingerbread.

She looked up at me, and I felt that Coffee was, at that moment, glad for the first time for the fact that life had brought us together, and at that moment fully accepted me as her friend. He looked at me with gratitude I could not have imagined I would ever see on her face.

"Thank you," she whispered in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Merry Christmas," I smiled at her, "Do you want to go back and try some things? I'll be right back as well."

The vampire girl nodded and closed the door behind her, disappearing into the house again. I walked down the stairs and looked up to the roof where a dark figure sat. I took the gift from the bag and threw it at him. The cat caught it without a problem. His emerald eyes glowed in the darkness with surprise.

"What is this?"

"I thought it was obvious," I said mockingly, "You know, Christmas. A colourful package. I thought you'd put two and two together."

"For me?" he asked, hesitantly.

"No, for my neighbour Aunt Mariska," I rolled my eyes. "If you see her, please give it to her."

"Oh," he said, sounding very intelligent.

Seriously, I thought he was even going to ask me if I really had a neighbour called Aunt Mariska.

"What, you're not going to open it?", I asked impatiently, "It's fucking cold out here."

With a low growl, he freed the package from the excess paper. He squeaked in surprise.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a mind reader," I remarked, but the cat ignored me.

He jumped down from the roof and was beside me in an instant. With eager haste, he put the cloak on himself, tied it in a cute little bow, and pulled the hood over his head. He was mesmerized by the ethereal material on his hands that hid it.

"Let's go inside," I said, "I'm freezing."

With that, I started, but the kid remained standing still, unsteadily in his original position.

"What?" I was cold, which didn't have a good effect on my mood.

"Are you sure..?"

I sighed deeply, then turned around with a mocking smile on my lips. "You don't have a place to go, do you? I wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully if a fury came hunting you down from my roof."

We stepped into the warmth, and as the cat planted his feet on the threshold, I was forced to push him into the kitchen. The two girls looked up curiously, and Alex grinned knowingly at me as I rolled my eyes.

"Coffee, Jo," I said, "This is Rolo, a friend of mine who I promised that he could spend Christmas with us."

"Hello," the annoying gremlin kid muttered.

The five of us finally made our way to the gypsies. Coffee wanted to taste all the sweets at the stalls.

"You'll get fat, Izzi," Jo remarked cheerfully, and the vampire girl blushed.

"I have a feeling you're in for a tough diet after tonight," I grinned.

She blushed even more. Alex didn't know what I'd done to the vampire girl, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he suspected I had a hand in it. His look was both pleased and curious, but he didn't ask me a single question the whole night.

The gypsies offered plenty of foreign specialties, and Coffee could not help but take in the smells and tastes. She was almost dancing between the stalls, and perhaps I was seeing things because I might have spotted a slight smile at the corner of her mouth. I'm imagining things. I'm definitely imagining things.

Jo pulled her into her arms and dragged her towards the stalls selling various goods, taking it as her responsibility to keep her friend's weight in check. With her other hand, she tugged at a bewildered Rolo, who still couldn't get used to her directness.

Various crates were lined up on one of the vendor's tables, and the girls curiously opened one, from which a clown's head popped out on the end of a spring. At first, they all gasped for air, Jo squealed and then laughed. Her joyous laughter was joined by another. I couldn't believe my ears, and my eyes seemed to betray me. Coffee laughed. More restrained than her friend, but she laughed. I never thought I would ever see the icy princess of vampires so free and happy.

"I wonder what you did to her," Alex put his arm around my neck.

I looked up at him. He was watching the girls with a warm smile. I guided my gaze back to the stalls.

Rolo sighed, and with a slight smile on his lips, said he wanted cotton candy. Coffee looked at Jo with an enthusiastic look that made her laugh again. Jo clung to them again and steered them toward the cotton candy vendor.

"I didn't do anything special," I replied.

"It doesn't really matter what happened. I've never seen her so happy," the wolf remarked.

I nodded. Coffee was looking for someone in the crowd with her eyes. When she found me, her lips curled up. She shook Jo's jacket and Jo followed her gaze and saw me. She waved happily and called us over. When we got there, without question, I reached into Rolo's cotton candy and plucked a large piece out of it.

"Hey!" he shouted in displeasure, to which I only replied with a wicked grin.

Exotic music blared in the distance, drums, whistles, and flutes. Our little group immediately set off in the direction of the sound, although by the time we had made our way through the crowd of people gathered there, the performance was already coming to an end. The gypsies played music and danced, mesmerizing the crowd. When the show was over, one of the dancers dressed in a blue veil approached me.

"Did I charm you?" she said flirtatiously.

I didn't even have to size her up, she was already showing me during the dance her shapely body wrapped in mysterious veils. She looked more than alluring in that dress — and she was fully aware of it herself.

"Luna," I grinned, then turned to the others, "Guys, this is a very dear friend of mine, Luna."

The gypsy girl stepped up to each of them one by one, introduced herself, and gracefully held out her hand.

Luna felt it was her sacred mission to show us the stalls selling the best gypsy goods while chatting amiably about nothing. In the meantime, she got an ankle-length jacket from another gypsy, which looked warm.

Alex, when no one was looking, whistled softly and poked me in the side.

"Man, you never told me this particular friend was so hot," he said.

"Take your eyes off of her," I grinned.

Luna, as if sensing that our bickering was about her, looked back, and when our eyes met, her eyes lit up in amusement. Of course, she didn't stop chatting with the other girls for a moment.

"There's something in the air..." hummed the wolf next to me, who didn't miss our exchange of glances.

"Oh, shut up," I elbowed him.