Capítulo 61: Cranberry Season (December) Part 8
There aren't any Roman Catholic churches in town, but several Protestant denominations. For sheer pageantry, though, you can't beat St. Mark's Episcopal. Especially at Christmas.
Fabian had been raised Roman Catholic, but for various reasons had stopped going to church as he got older. Since he'd been in Twin Mills and seeing Lisa, he'd started attending St. Mark's Episcopal. Twin Mills didn't have a Roman Catholic church. The Moreno family had asked for a church in Twin Mills at one time and had even offered to donate the land, but the diocese wasn't interested in building one. There were Catholic churches in both Newtown and Oxbow, and the diocese felt those were quite enough. There wasn't enough Roman Catholic population in Twin Mills to justify their own congregation. Instead, the Moreno family donated the land to the town and joined the Episcopal church. A lot of them found it highly ironic that the very land they were going to give to the church was now the site of the carnival.
Fabian had had his problems with Roman Catholicism, and had been pleasantly surprised when he started attending St. Mark's. The ritual was comfortingly familiar, and Lisa's brother-in-law was a very talented pastor. The general philosophy was closer to Fabian's own. The music was always first rate, too. His family joined not long after he did.
He expected a lot from a midnight mass, and St. Mark's delivered. Incense, music and candles, all made even more magical by Lisa's presence. He hoped the coming year would be good to her. She really deserved better than what she'd been through the last few months. He promised himself that he would do whatever he could to make things as easy on her as possible.
She looked beautiful tonight. Instead of her customary braid, her hair was in a french twist, revealing an elegance to her features that usually didn't show. She wore the outfit she'd worn when they'd played in the downtown businesses -- a frilly white blouse and a long, full black velvet skirt. She sensed him looking at her and smiled at him. He reached over and took her hand. He looked in the bulletin and noticed another hymn was coming up. Lisa had taken her bulletin apart and used the pieces to mark her hymnal and prayer book. He loved singing hymns with her; their voices blended well. He liked to sing, although he had to admit that Franco had the excellent voice between the two of them. Franco was considering joining the choir and Shelly was encouraging him.
Fabian looked at Lisa again, remembering when he'd been here before. He could recall more of that summer all the time. He'd been close to both Craig and Lisa. Lisa had been very different then. The Lisa he remembered had been a very active four year old. He loved the Lisa she'd become, but couldn't help but think that it might be good for her to rediscover that four year old who almost drowned because she could not sit still in a canoe for one more minute. Her life jacket was hot. It was itchy. It was choking her. She was bored. She wanted out of the canoe right now. Lisa had grown up to be everyone's friend and confidante, a good waitress with good manners and an even better memory. He was in love with that Lisa, but it might make her life easier if she could find the fire of that four year old.
When you're in love, Christmas becomes magical again.
Lisa was dressed when Fabian arrived. She wore jeans and a soft cashmere sweater in a charcoal gray that made her eyes seem more intensely blue. Her dark blond hair was down, pulled back from her face with a barrette.
"Hi," she smiled. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you, sweetheart." He put down the shopping bag he carried, leaned in, and kissed her. A long, deep kiss that made her toes curl and left her breathless. He pulled back with smaller kisses, then one on her nose to make her smile. She did, then stepped back so that he could come in.
"Next year will be better," he said. "We can do Christmas stockings."
"That's a great idea," she smiled. "I suspect that Felicia will be making us some at some point. She usually does. I started a fire first thing this morning with one of those fake logs. It's already going out."
"I'll make sure it's out before we leave," he promised. "I understand -- it's somehow not Christmas without a fire in the fireplace." He followed her into the living room. "Looks like someone was a good boy this year!" Buster was stretched out in front of the fireplace, gnawing on a smoked pig ear and mumbling growly puppy-talk to himself." He was wearing an obviously new collar.
"He's been a very good boy," Lisa said. "Good thing, too -- he's growing so fast! I can't believe I had to get him a new collar already! Was Santa good to Bruiser?"
"Of course," Fabian grinned. He sat on the couch and unpacked the shopping bag he'd carried in. Lisa went over to the tree and retrieved two presents, which she put on the coffee table in front of him.
"Wow, sweetheart! That present is huge!" Fabian said, lighting up almost like a little boy. "You first." He handed her a cube-shaped present. Lisa opened it and laughed.
"I love people who collect things," he said. "It makes shopping so much easier!" She pulled out a kitchen timer in the shape of a chicken, and then an odd ceramic chicken with holes where the tail should be.
"What is this?" she asked.
"I saw both of those things in a store when I was at the violin contest, and I thought of you."
"You've had these since September?"
"When you find something cool and perfect, you buy it," he told her. "There should be a small bubble-wrapped package in there." She reached into the box until she found it, then unwrapped it.
"Measuring spoons!" she said, letting out a delighted laugh.
"I think you can guess where they go." She could. The spoons were perfectly shaped to to into the slots in the back of the ceramic chicken, creating its tail feathers.
"Oh, Fab! That's clever!" she said, smiling. "Thank you!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
"Your turn." Lisa handed him a small, flat package. Tied to the bow was the lion Christmas ornament.
"Oh, Lisa," Fabian sighed, his eyes stinging with tears. "It's Leo."
"That's what I thought," she said. "Your mom started a line of Christmas decorations for the bazaar. I grabbed little Leo right away."
He unwrapped the package and burst out laughing.
"Handkerchiefs!" he said. "Thank you, sweetheart!"
"But seriously ...." She tried to hand him the large present, but he shook his head.
"It's not my turn," he told her. He handed her a package of similar size to the handkerchief box.
"You got me handkerchiefs?" She raised an eyebrow, and he laughed again.
"Hardly. Open it."
She did. Inside was a small jewelry box with a well-known jeweler's name embossed on the top. She opened it and gasped. Inside was a sapphire pendant and matching earrings.
"Oh, Fabian! Thank you! They are beautiful!" Now her eyes filled with tears.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder