It had been only about three months since Audra moved out, but it still felt like welcoming visitors when Violet opened the door for her and her new husband. She yelled, “Merry Christmas!” and gave her old roommate a quick hug.
Then she hurried them both inside to see what Logan was carrying.
“Don’t show her yet,” Audra said.
“Do I have to wait until everyone is here?” Violet asked.
“I hope I don’t have to hold it that long.” Logan pretended the canvas was heavy.
“Only until Ryan comes out of the kitchen,” Audra said. Then she raised her voice. “Why are you still in the kitchen, Ryan? Don’t you want to wish your sister and brother-in-law a merry Christmas?”
“No!” he yelled back, though they heard the laughter in his voice, and he stepped out a moment later drying his hands on a towel. “Let’s see the new masterpiece.”
Logan began to turn it around, but Audra stopped him when someone knocked on the door.
Violet moved to answer it. “How did you not notice someone right behind you?”
“It’s probably Trevor,” Audra said. “He obviously didn’t come early with Ryan, and I would have noticed anyone else’s car. Plus, he’s the only one who wouldn’t have called out for us to wait for him. Except maybe Cameron…” The thought she was putting into what had been only a teasing remark reflected the nerves she still felt about showing off her new work, despite the number of times her friends had raved about previous paintings.
And Violet did find Audra’s brother Trevor behind the door. She waved him inside as the others called out greetings and holiday wishes.
“Now I can show this?” Logan asked Audra.
She nodded and grinned nervously.
Violet watched as the front of the canvas was presented. Her eyes tried to take in all the details at once so she could give an informed opinion without making Audra wait in suspense. It depicted a pristinely manicured garden with flowers and shaped hedges along an oval footpath. The side of a castle poked onto one side of the canvas with several gargoyles perched along the top. While the flowers were prominent because of the bright colors, the castle stood out to Violet as different. Audra’s landscapes rarely included buildings or other man-made structures. She’d done an amazing job with the details on the stones and the stern features of the gargoyles.
Trevor was the first to comment. “I’m surprised it’s not a Christmas picture.”
“I’ve been trying to get this one right for like four months,” Audra said. “I wasn’t thinking of Christmas when I started.”
“Oh! The shadows…” Ryan’s eyes popped as he discovered what Audra had done to make her work kooky. “That’s genius!”
Violet studied the shadows and quickly saw what he saw. The gargoyles’ wings were tightly furled on the ledge, and yet their shadows showed the wings spread as though they were about to take flight. “That is very cool,” Violet agreed.
Audra soaked up the praise. The others admired the painting as they arrived as well. Although Trevor didn’t offer a compliment directly to Audra – he’d told his sister before that someone had to hold back for the sake of her ego – the way he pointed out some specifics to Alison showed that he was impressed.
Violet and Ryan heard a few nice things about the meal they prepared. She would have felt bad about asking him to cook on his day off if he hadn’t repeatedly assured her that he enjoyed cooking with her far more than any of his coworkers, and that it was most fun when they sparred over how much fruit to add to certain dishes. As soon as everyone was finished eating, the group worked together to clear the table that was actually two tables pushed together.
Trevor grabbed one end to pull the tables apart, but Ryan stopped him with a wave of his hand. “We’ll need them together for Grand Seigneur.”
“What?” Trevor sounded more surprised than confused.
“You told him!?” Audra stepped closer and gave Violet a friendly punch in the shoulder.
“You knew I was going to tell him,” Violet said.
“Yeah, but… but… I thought Ryan would have enough sense to cover for you and pretend he didn’t know.”
Trevor glanced around the room and apparently saw no one else questioning the situation. He addressed Audra in a dry tone. “Go ahead and tell me your plan so the rest can pretend not to know.”
“This is the 2nd Annual Christmas Eve Tichu Party with a Full Moon.” Audra took a deep breath before she launched into her explanation of what that meant. “So naturally we have to do something a little different and since it’s not Friday you already had your regular Tichu and Grand Seigneur is almost Tichu anyway and… and this way we all play together, which is a very Christmasy thing to do.”
Violet expected Trevor to go along with the plan only grudgingly. She expected him to give everyone a hard time for keeping it secret to try to trap him into agreeing. But he surprised her and everyone else when he said, “Let the 2nd Annual Christmas Eve Tichu Pary begin.”
To be continued...
By the way, did you spot Audra's kookiness on the covers when you read the series?