I had just barely survived a Hanukkah at my girlfriend's when I made the mistake of inviting her over for Christmas Eve. It had been a polite offer because she and Honesty had never been to one, and neither of them had met Kelly yet. Of course, Rebecca accepted. The language that came out of Kelly's mouth when I told her that was impressive, especially because we still had a week to go. Apparently, adding two people with very different dietary restrictions onto the sixteen already attending on a week's notice was too much to ask. Still, by the time Rebecca and Honesty showed up at the house in a borrowed sedan, Kelly was ready.
I, on the other hand, was not ready in the slightest.
My parents and sisters were off doing their own things when the two of them showed up. In the case of Anne this meant terrorizing everyone foolish enough to step in her kitchen, including her mother, and the maid the governor had gotten mom and dad to replace Anne. So it had fallen to me to watch the four year old redhead the governor had also saddled us with at the same time. I would have pawned that off on Marie, but she was currently asleep and Ruby was absolutely terrified of her for some reason. I understood why she didn't like Constance, because my sister was a clingy alcoholic, but Marie was a much easier person to get along with. So, while Marie napped in my bedroom, Ruby played some rhythm game Anne bought her in my sitting room on low volume while I half-watched, and joined in when prompted.
Which is how my girlfriend and her maid found me dancing with a four year old to the original Saturday Princess Show theme, in all its eighties technopop glory.
Our new maid Gem, who had guided them up to my room, had a smile carefully concealed behind a hand, while Rebecca just giggled a bit and Honesty kept up her usual exasperated expression even as she put down their overnight bags. We kept dancing until the song ended, and then Rebecca bent down and tried to speak to Ruby
"Having fun?" She asked. That was a mistake. Ruby immediately dropped the controllers in her hand, which dangled from her wrists as she hid behind me.
Gem quickly apologized for her daughter. "Miss Rebecca, I hope you'll forgive my daughter. She's shy around strangers."
"That's fine. Honesty's little sister was just like her at that age, and Honesty was pretty shy as well. They grow out of it." Rebecca said, as she reached in her purse. "Is she allowed to have sweets?"
"Only a couple, and they can't have pear juice or artificial sweeteners ma'am." Gem supplied. "We wouldn't want Ruby spoiling her dinner, especially because Miss Anne is making it."
My girlfriend nodded, and fished out a packet of candy coins. "Ruby, I have some gelt," She said. "Do you want some? They're chocolate."
That did get Ruby to come out from behind me, and she accepted a couple of the coins from my girlfriend after glancing up at her encouraging mother.
"Honesty, can you go get us some drinks? I'm sure Gem needs to get back to work, and my fridge is empty." I said, cursing my squatter of a sister. "And Gem, you can go, we'll keep an eye on Ruby until dinner."
"Mister Petersen, what would you like me to get?" Honesty replied.
"Juice or water for Ruby, a cucumber lime glucolyte for Marie, and one lime phosphate for me." I looked over at Rebecca, "Actually, I think Rebecca wants one as well. And then get yourself whatever."
"Actually, I'll have iced tea." Rebecca replied. "Good guess on the phosphate, but it's two."
"I try," I replied, as I watched Ruby scurry back to the couch while her mother and Honesty left the room.
"Anyway, where is Marie?" Rebecca asked insistently.
"She was feeling tired again, so I told her to take a nap before dinner." I replied, not mentioning that it was probably still morning sickness.
"Nausea?" Rebecca replied.
I nodded.
"Poor girl." Rebecca continued, "Still she's been a real trooper about it, I offered her some of my nausea meds and she wouldn't take any."
Probably because she doesn't want to do anything to put the twins at risk. "It's probably a diet thing," I lied as I joined Ruby on the couch. "You know how she is about meat."
"Are you sure she's okay? She's been absolutely ravenous when she isn't sick, and that's not normal." Rebecca said as she sat down next to me.
That just made Ruby cling to me like a security blanket, so I reflexively put an arm around her. It didn't help her calm down immediately, but some gentle words and the promise of candy eventually did the job. I had to pretend to not be annoyed by the chocolate that Ruby got on my shirt as part of it, but I don't think she noticed.
"I wasn't expecting you to be so paternal." Rebecca said, as she leaned over to look at Ruby carefully unwrapping a coin before taking a bite out of it.
"I was just as surprised as you are. I guess it's just a habit from Marie." I replied. It didn't hurt that it gave me a good excuse for staying as far from Anne as I could. Also, Ruby was cute when she wasn't in the middle of a panic attack.
"Anyway, you didn't give me a straight answer earlier. Is the Governor showing up?" Rebecca asked. "If she is, I need to prepare myself."
"She doesn't approve of mom's lifestyle, so she doesn't set foot in our house. I think the last time she even got within five miles of it was for a campaign event. Why would you need to prepare yourself? She likes you." I replied.
"Steven, the last time we met she called me a Jewess to my face, said she was disappointed I wasn't a real Belle Juive because I was a brunette and should get some hair dye for a better effect, and then suggested that if I was going to be Honesty's Salome, I should've tried seducing Constance." Rebecca said, exasperatedly. "I had to look the last one up!"
"Like I said, she likes you." I replied. If she didn't like her, the Governor would have just sniffed and told me to get a better wife before doing the over-under on sending her a scholarship to Someplace Very Far Away instead of just warning off her pet leg-breaker's niece.
Ruby, semi-oblivious to all of this, just kept unwrapping and eating gelt.
"Steven."
"She also said you'd make a good wife, and should stop saving yourself for marriage to lock me down before someone else did." Which had been the strangest thing she had said to me that evening without including the phrase carnal knowledge.
"I know that."
Marie took that moment to shuffle across the hallway to the bathroom without acknowledging either of us or Ruby, and shutting the door behind her. Judging by the half-empty bottle of glucolyte in her hand, she was definitely still nauseous.
"And you're sure she's fine?" Rebecca asked, as she avoided mentioning the by now very obvious bump Marie was sporting.
"Mom thinks it'll pass soon, it has gotten a lot better."
