Merlin skidded in with a full water cooler.
“Oh, good,” said Merlin. “You’re back.”
Norris surveyed the office. Roland had saved the Christmas tree from getting knocked over, but the star had fallen off and several glass ornaments had broken. The menorah table was overturned, and so was all the office furniture but Dali’s big desk. Holiday decorations and bowls of candy were scattered across the flooded floor, and the paper banner Merlin and Dali had been working on was underwater.
“Er,” said Norris. “Sorry.”
Blue ambled out from under the desk, rolled in the water and paddled his paws in the air, then belly-flopped down in the water. He nosed around curiously, found a miniature Snickers bar, and began delicately unwrapping it with his teeth and claws.
“I can help clean up,” Norris volunteered.
Roland gazed out at the wreck of the lobby. “I do appreciate the offer. But I think it’s best if you don’t come back till the holiday party.”
“That’s the problem,” Norris burst out. “My mate hates holiday parties! She’s totally burned out on winter holidays because of her job, and I asked her to come to this one and she refused! She said she’d do anything else, but not that! My Dunkleosteus says I should just turn into a Dunkleosteus—”
The Defenders all exclaimed, “NO!”
Swim against the tide,his Dunkleosteus advised.If all your friends beached themselves, would you do the same?
Subdued, Norris said, “I’m sure she’d come to the party if I explained why. I don’t want to make her do something she’ll hate, but I can’t keep suddenly turning into a Dunkleosteus on dry land. It’s dangerous.”
“Ah!” Merlin exclaimed. “There’s a third option, Norris. You can awaken her to the true spirit of Christmas.”
“It’s not just Christmas she has a problem with,” Norris said glumly. “It’s also Hanukkah.”
“Then awaken her to the true spirit of Hanukkah too,” said Tirzah as she retrieved the menorah from Dali. “So maybe it’s not the most important Jewish holiday. It’s still a nice one. It’s the Festival of Lights. Isn’t that beautiful? You light the eight menorah candles to commemorate the miracle of the oil.”
“What’s the miracle of the oil?” Dali asked.
“In ancient times, they lit the menorah with oil instead of candles. The temple only had enough oil for one day, when it needed eight days’ worth.” Tirzah flung her hands wide and declaimed dramatically, “But lo! The one day worth of oil lasted for eight days! It was a miracle!” She dropped her hands and said in her normal voice, “Or maybe they didn’t know exactly how long a barrel of oil normally lasted, who knows. Anyway, we light the menorah and give kids chocolate coins and make latkes, which are potato pancakes fried in... oil!”
She turned excitedly to Norris. “Hey! I’ll teach you to make them. You can fry some up for Annabeth. No one can stay mad at a holiday based around deep-frying.”
“She’s not just sick of Christmas and Hanukkah,” Norris said. “She’s pretty much done with winter holidays in general.”
“Then try focusing on ‘winter’ instead of ‘holiday,’” Fen suggested. “Take her for a walk in the park. Talk about the beauty of the snow. See if she has any nice childhood memories of winter.”
“Buy her a box of her favorite candy and wrap it in winter-themed paper that isn’t holiday-specific,” put in Natalie. “Like pine cones or snowflakes.”
“I don’t know,” said Norris doubtfully. “I’d love to buy her candy and walk with her in the snow, but I want to do that for its own sake. Not as part of a... a holiday plot.”
Roland splashed through the kiddie pool that the office floor had become and patted him on the shoulder. “Think of it this way, Norris. It can’t be fun for her to have her job ruin the entire holiday season for her. If you can help her find the joy it again, you’ll be doing her a favor.”
“And for God’s sake, don’t turn into a Dunkleosteus on the second date,” said Carter. “Ease into it. Give her another date or two, then tell her about shifters. Have a good long conversation about it, then offer to show her.”
“And tell her exactly what it looks like and how big it is first,” advised Dali.
Norris was offended at the idea that Annabeth didn’t know how big a Dunkleosteus was. “I don’t need to do that.”
“Norris,” Carter groaned. “You can’t just spring a fish the size of a van on a woman!”
Before Norris could explain, Tirzah suggested, “Do a countdown, so she knows exactly when it’s coming. Three... two... one... Dunkleosteus!”
He left feeling better. Itwastoo bad that Annabeth’s job had burned her out on winter holidays. Itwouldbe nice for her to have a good experience with them.
That evening he picked her up at the coffeeshop, as they’d agreed to do the night before after she’d declined his invitation to the Defenders holiday party. He gave a sigh of sheer happiness as she came out to his car. She was just as glorious as she’d been the day before, as she’d been the moment he’d first laid eyes on her, as she’d been when they’d kissed. And the smile that lit up her face when she saw him was the most beautiful thing of all.
"How about a walk in the park?" Norris asked. "We could buy some hot chocolate or hot cider. Unless you're sick of that too."
