by Palladian
“Hey,” she greeted Riss with a smile. “I hope we didn't wake you.”
Riss gave her a tiny grin in return. “You two were making so much noise there was no chance I could keep sleeping.”
Casey snorted with laughter, her expression full of disbelief. “Sorry about that,” she replied, giving Riss a cheeky smirk.
Riss just nodded, trying to keep a straight face. “Looks like you two could use some help, though. What needs to be done?”
“There's a spare apron hanging over there, so put it on, pull up a stool, and let's get cracking,” said Casey. “We'll figure out something for you to do.”
As the three of them settled in around the kitchen island, Lex and Casey continued talking, with Riss adding an occasional comment or question. But after a little while, Riss sighed.
“It's too quiet. I'm used to listening to music all the time, except when Lex is working with me. I'll be back in a minute,” she said, slipping out of her apron and exiting the kitchen.
After a few minutes Riss returned with an Mp3 player hooked up to some computer speakers. Cool electronic music with a subtle and entrancing beat sounded out the moment she turned everything on. Riss smiled and sat back down to work as the other two listened for a moment before resuming what they'd been doing. After a little while, a song came on that Lex recognized from some of her evenings out with Casey and Serena, and she unconsciously began singing along as she chopped up some walnuts. After a few minutes, though, Lex recalled her location and her head snapped up to look at Riss and Casey. Lex could see the hint of a smile on her friend's face as Casey worked at kneading something on a floured board.
“Why did you stop?” Riss asked a second later. “You never told me you had such a good voice.”
“Well, I've been working on my singing lately,” Lex responded with some embarrassment, hoping Riss wasn't just joking.
“In that case, I'm going to change the settings to bring up more vocal music,” Riss replied, wiping off her hands on her apron before fiddling with the Mp3 player.
Lex felt too shy to sing the next song that came up, but the one following that was actually a favorite of hers. As she began to sing, Riss chimed in as well, singing harmony along with Lex.
“My mom did subject me to a few years in the church choir,” Riss admitted after Lex pierced her with a questioning stare.
Soon Casey joined in on a song, and then they all sang together, laughing and encouraging each other to take the lead on different parts of the songs. In the middle of singing one song together, Lex turned around after hearing a sound behind her.
Serena stood there, surveying the room with a good natured smirk. She wore a dark green dress that fell slightly longer and seemed looser than the clothes she usually wore, paired with black leather boots that came up under her knees with short, flat heels. A long red silk scarf tied around her waist completed the outfit, and she wore a long black leather trench coat and gloves as well. Her makeup looked subtle, and she'd pulled her hair up in a sophisticated style.
“I've never heard so much noise around here,” Serena said with a frown that threatened to break into laughter, shaking her head. “You people actually look like you're having a good time or something!”
They all laughed in return, even Riss breaking out a small chuckle.
“You look beautiful,” Lex said. “Are you heading out to your parent's house?”
“Yes,” Serena replied, with a sigh. “I wish I could stay for dinner here, though; it smells delicious. I'm sure it'll be a lot more fun, too. Anyway, I'll be back in a few hours.”
“All right,” Casey said with a nod. “Don't worry, there should still be plenty of food left when you get back.”
“That's exactly what I'm worried about! All right girls, don't sing the house down while I'm away,” Serena said with a wave, and disappeared.
Riss looked at Lex. “I don't know if I'll ever get used to her just vanishing like that,” she said with a shake of her head.
Lex smiled and kept working, continuing her singing along with the next song that played. After another hour or so, the three of them realized that they'd put the last dish into the oven. They just sat for a moment, then, exchanging grins until Casey stood up.
“I guess I should get to some of these dishes,” she said, heading for the sink.
“Let me clean out the dishwasher first,” Lex said. “It should be full of clean ones now.”
After finishing clean up and checking to see when everything would be ready, Lex realized she had about an hour before dinner would be done, so she ran upstairs to take a quick shower and get dressed. When she hurried back downstairs, her passage greeted by savory and spicy scents, she was wearing a long black skirt and a green sweater. She saw that Riss had changed into clean black jeans and a navy hooded sweatshirt. She and Riss joined Casey in taking things out of the oven and transferring food into serving dishes until finally everything had been set out. Lex and Riss looked at each other for a moment over the kitchen island, then Lex heard her own stomach growl and the two of them smiled.
“Are we waiting for anyone else, Casey?” Lex asked.
Casey shook her head. “No, it's just the three of us for dinner. Are you two ready to eat?”
With some relief, Lex nodded and sat down, noticing that Riss seemed almost as hungry as Lex. As she looked around the table, though, she wasn't quite sure where to start. Casey had roasted the two halves of a small pumpkin and then filled them, one with a rice pilaf cooked in broth with lots of vegetables, and the other with a sweet spiced couscous with pine nuts and cranberries. Also, they'd made mashed sweet potatoes, a faux roast with stuffing in the middle, a bowl of extra stuffing, and a fresh cranberry and orange sauce. Riss had cut up raw carrots and celery sticks, and they'd also made freshly baked rolls with a deep gold color and a heavenly smell. After taking a little of everything, Lex sat back down and started to eat, suddenly even hungrier than she had been shortly before.
“So, tell me,” Lex said after she'd eaten a few bites and found that everything tasted just as delicious as it looked, “how did you make all of this while Riss and I just cut up, measured, and stirred things?”
Casey laughed. “It was much easier to have the ingredients ready so that I could just assemble everything and start it cooking. Thanks, guys, for all your help.”
Lex looked over at Riss, who was nodding and chewing. Once she'd swallowed her food, she said, “It all even tastes good.”
“You sound like you doubted it would,” Casey replied with a smug smile.
The three of them all laughed then, and the meal continued with discussions of cooking and music as another interesting title began to play on Riss' mp3 player. Once everyone had eaten their fill and sat contented around the kitchen island, Casey asked, “So, what should we do next?”
“I vote for eating some dessert when the Chens get here, and after that, opening some presents,” Lex replied with a grin. “We should probably clean up a bit first, though.”
Casey chuckled and nodded in response. The three of them moved to begin packing the rest of the dinner away into the refrigerator and clearing away the dishes. Lex began rinsing the dishes and handing them to Casey to put in the dishwasher, and as Lex's mind wandered to the subject, she suddenly asked, “So, do you guys have any New Year’s resolutions or anything you're looking forward to getting done in the new year?”
Lex remained quiet as the other two women appeared to be deep in thought, then Casey spoke up again. “That's easy. Get stronger and sharper. But I guess that's what I try for every day, so the coming year's no different. How about you, Lex?”
“Well,” she began tentatively, although she'd been thinking on the topic for weeks, “it seems like everyone here, except for maybe Joan and I, have abilities that are way beyond what most people can do. I guess my hope for this coming year is that I can figure out a way to become more…extraordinary.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” said Riss
almost inaudibly, shooting Lex a look from under her eyebrows as she drew close to the sink.
Lex had heard Riss and felt a little puzzled by her statement, but Casey hadn't heard over the running water, so she raised her head, a slight frown on her face.
“What's that, Riss? What's your goal for this year?”
Riss was silent for a moment, her eyes abstracted, and then she spoke in a normal tone of voice, but something about her statement seemed to ring out louder than that. “I want to be freer.”
The other two became thoughtful, and Casey nodded. “That's a good goal. I think we could all use that.”
They continued to talk about their plans for the upcoming year as they finished cleaning up the kitchen and then moved all of the desserts onto the long table in the living room. Casey had made a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, several plates of assorted cookies, and apple and pumpkin pies. They'd also made a pot of coffee, which Riss immediately took a cup of, and they laid teas and mugs out in the kitchen for the guests about to come. Finally, Lex and Riss both planted themselves on one of the couches in the common room to wait for Casey to finish showering and changing and for the Chens to arrive.
Riss turned her attention to a laptop she’d earlier stowed in the cushions on one end of the couch while Lex appreciated the opportunity to rest for the first time all day.
Lex pulled her attention back from her thoughts and watching the circling seagulls outside a bit later when Casey rejoined them. A few minutes after that, everyone heard the front door opening.
Lex tried not to run excitedly out to greet the Chens, but then she had to catch up to Casey and the two of them spilled out into the front hall like children. Mr. Chen and Lily had both come, and Lily also held the hand of a young boy. Everyone exchanged greetings, and then Lily brought her hand up to urge the boy forward towards the other women.
“Ron, these are my co-workers. This is Lex, Casey, and Riss. Please say hello to them.”
He looked up a little dubiously, especially when he had to tip his head back to see Casey's face, but he stepped forward and bowed to each of them, then managed a quiet, “Hello.”
Casey laughed and knelt in front of him. “Lily, he's adorable,” she said, and then to Ron, “Hey, Ron, I'm Casey. Why don't you come in here and we can get you some cookies?”
Lily frowned as Casey drew Ron off into the front room. “Not too many sweets,” she called after them. Lex smiled a moment later as she heard Ron's exclamation once he saw the decorated tree and table full of baked goods.
“How about some tea or coffee?” Lex asked as the other four stepped into the kitchen.
Riss and Lily poured themselves coffee before moving into the common room, while Lex and Mr. Chen waited, Lex leaning on the kitchen counter, while water heated for tea. After asking how his family celebrations had gone, Lex looked straight at her teacher for a moment.
“Mr. Chen, thanks for coming out. I hope this didn't take time away from your family, but I'm really glad you could make it,” Lex said quietly, stumbling slightly over her words due to sudden shyness.
“I'm glad we could come,” he replied, carefully watching the tea kettle on the stove. “The rest of my family gets tired early, anyway.”
Lex smiled to herself as she got the cups ready for the tea. When they emerged into the other room a few minutes later, they both smiled at the chaos of Casey and Ron playing on the floor, examining all the presents under the tree. Lily and Riss had perched on a couch nearby, watching the other two. Lily talked in low tones about how the day had gone so far while Riss nodded in response.
Casey started serving up dessert once they'd all arrived, insisting that everyone had to at least try something. Lex decided to have a little piece of everything, and found the chocolate cake rich and decadent, the apple pie sweet with just the right bite of cinnamon, and the pumpkin pie mildly sweet with a rich custard. Ron wanted to do the same thing, but Lily insisted that he choose one thing that he wanted, so he had a piece of pumpkin pie instead, declaring it to be his favorite. Since he and Casey still sat together on the floor, when his mom wasn't looking, Casey sneaked him bites of her piece of chocolate cake, much to his pleasure. About halfway through dessert, Lex heard a small noise in the front hall, and looked up to see Serena standing by the kitchen door, a look of surprise on her face, as well as the tracks of tears. A split second later, the apparition had disappeared.
Feeling a shiver run down her spine as she wondered what had gone wrong, Lex got up and leaned down to whisper into Casey's ear. “Can you wait to open presents until I get back?”
Casey nodded, giving Lex a serious look as she ruffled Ron's hair. “Don't worry, we'll keep ourselves entertained until then,” she muttered.
“Excuse me for a few minutes,” Lex said to the room at large. “I'll be right back.”
She cut a large piece of cake and then went to the kitchen to quickly make some tea, glad that the water had retained some heat. Once done, she put everything on a tray and hurried upstairs. When she got to Serena's room, she knocked but heard nothing.
“Serena,” Lex called out, “I'm coming in.”
She had to adjust her eyes a bit as she did, since the only illumination in the room came from a small lamp on the bedside table, but eventually she could see Serena sitting at the vanity table crying. Lex swallowed against a lump in her own throat and brought the tray over, leaving the tea and cake in front of Serena.
“My beautiful girl, what's wrong?” Lex asked, putting down the tray and picking up a hairbrush.
Lex took the hair sticks out of the long hair in front of her, bringing Serena's askew hairstyle completely down and then began brushing her hair out. At first, Serena just kept silently crying, looking into the mirror, but after a while she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, relaxing her shoulders against Lex.
“My parents want me to marry this dork of a distant cousin who's been kissing my father's ass for the past few years and following him around. They say they want him to run the company when my dad retires in a few years and they only want someone 'with the family name' to run the business. I told him they should just have him change his name, but they said some dumb shit about how someone closely related should be running it, even if it's just by marriage. I'm not marrying him. I don't–” Serena broke off and paused for a few moments, looking alarmed, and then sighed, her shoulders drooping. “I don't care if they disown me, I'm not marrying the guy.”
Lex thought for a few moments, switching to a comb to smooth out a small section of Serena's hair so she could braid it. “Did they ever talk to you about running the company?”
Serena snorted. “I don't think so. They never said anything that I can remember. I figure I'm just an embarrassment to them, why would they want me running my family's business?” She paused for a few seconds then, obviously sorting through some old memories. “But now I'm wondering if maybe they did eventually want me to take over. It wasn’t ever anything they came right out and told me, though.”
Serena picked up the cake and took a small bite, then looked up at Lex in the mirror, all without moving her head. “What are you thinking about? I can see that something's is going on in that big brain of yours.”
Lex responded slowly, still mentally assessing the situation. “Serena, I know you're upset, but could you come downstairs for a while? There are some presents for you, and I know everyone would like to have you there. If you do, I promise I'll see if I can think of a good alternative to propose to your parents so that hopefully you won't have to make such a hard choice. Deal?”
Laughing and picking the cake up, Serena stood. “Deal. If you're on the case, I'm not worried. Let me change and I'll be right down.”
Lex went back downstairs, everyone's eyes on her as she took the final step into the common room. “Serena will be joining us in a little while to open presents. Should we try to figure out who each package belongs to so that we can just start unwrapping them once she gets here?”
By the time Serena joined them, Casey and Ron had divided most of the gifts into little piles for everyone, still laughing and giggling on the floor, playing around and examining all of the wrapped packages.
The two of them started the unwrapping pandemonium, Casey allowing Ron to open most of her presents, too. At one point, the little boy was excited enough about a gift to run over to his mom and show her. It was a set of the first few anime DVDs from one of Lex's favorite series, and Lex found herself looking at the floor in mild embarrassment.
“I didn't know if he was a fan, so I got a gift receipt so that you can switch up for other videos, if you want,” Lex said, finally pulling her eyes up to meet Lily's. The other woman was shaking her head a little.
“Yes, he's a fan, that's why he's so excited,” she explained as Ron ran over to hug “Auntie Lex.”
Casey's presents included two new dresses, one from Lex, a short, cornflower blue piece with a V-neck, but it appeared modest next to the one Serena picked out, a black latex dress cut low in front and back with a mid-thigh length and grommets and lacing running down one side to just below the hip instead of a regular seam. Looking at the dress, it seemed that was the only way to get into it. Serena cheered and raised her fist to the sky when Casey took it out of the box and looked at it somewhat dubiously.
“Finally, you'll have something other than jeans to wear when you go out with Lex and me! You should wear that when we go back to the Nest the next time. Vinnie asks me about you every time I go there now.”
Casey blushed, shaking her head with a snort of laughter as she bundled it back into the box before Ron could have a good look at the dress. She also thanked Riss profusely for her gift, a small collection of vegan cookbooks. Riss shrugged in response, saying, “Well, I've eaten enough of your cooking, I figured I should do something to help out other than prep work.”
Serena seemed happiest with Lex's gift, a certificate from a local adult toy and clothing store. “I figured you could find something you liked for the next time we go out,” Lex explained. “They came highly recommended by some friends of mine that like to wear leather, so I think you'll like whatever you get from them.” She also liked Casey's gift a lot: a pair of short engineer's boots. Serena immediately put them on, and Lex thought they looked amazingly good on her tiny feet.