Making Fantasia (Prequel): Social Christmasing

Chapter 4: The New Normal

Chapter 4:  The New Normal

Wendy couldn't wait to wake up! And she was so cheerful when she did!

It was December 21st. The sun was shining. The snow was glittering. There were only four more days until Christmas. 

Today was Jim's birthday. This afternoon, she and Jim would celebrate, then find her family a tree. She and her brothers would decorate the tree for Christmas.

Finally – and most stupendously – Wendy was having morning tea with her father.

Nothing could dampen her spirits! Even contracting the Tiara Virus wouldn't spoil her mood (but Wendy wasn't about to test that theory, ever).

   Wendy bounced from her bed. Waving at herself in the mirror, she dove into her closet for a dress.

It took a little longer than expected – Wendy hadn't dressed-up since meeting Jim, who maintained a strict jeans-only policy when they were together. The dress code had been irritating at first, but proven very practical when they were wrestling heavy machinery or plummeting hundreds of feet from his solar surfer.

Two years had passed since she had worn a dress, and Wendy was startled to find many of her frocks were too short. However, she did find a satin nightgown in a dresser drawer.

Contemplatively, Wendy fingered the sky blue fabric. Deciding it wasn't completely inappropriate for early morning attire, she slipped into the nightgown and dashed downstairs.

The canapé was unoccupied, so Wendy assumed her father was already in his office. As expected, she saw a light under the office door. Happily, she hastened to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

After setting utensils for her brother's cereal, she popped the kettle on the stove. As the water warmed, she polished her mother's china and arranged a beautiful Christmas tray. She chose peppermint leaves for steeping, as it was the most Chirstmas-y flavor they had. They hadn't any fruitcake, but she compromised with gingerbread (bequeathed by Jim's mother, Sarah Hawkins). She even sprinkled the gingerbread with powdered sugar to make it look like snow.

The kettle whistled. No it sang! Plumping her bow, Wendy filled the teapot with water and brought the steaming tray to the office door. Attempting to play Jingle Bells with her foot, she tapped the oak panel.

 "Father! It's me!"

 She waited. She listened.

There was no response.

Wendy's smile flattened. Reasoning that he merely hadn't heard, she reattempted.

 "Father?" She tapped again (this time without the Jingle Bells). "Father, its Wendy. May I come in?"

She heard a grunt. "Come in."

The office was dim. It looked like a winter storm had passed through. Mr. Darling's desk was overburdened with papers from McDuck Bank. Calculators and pencils were clustered everywhere. Three software programs were loading at a debilitating speed on his laptop as Mr. Darling manually entered the data into spreadsheets.

 The only uncluttered piece of furniture was a glass serving cart. The tempered glass gleamed under the only office window. Wendy would have used the cart for her tea tray, but it was already set with four crystal decanters, each filled with a different blush of whiskey.

 Wendy looked at her father. He was huddled over a spreadsheet, a crystal glass in his hand.

  "Um..." Wendy wavered by the door. "Father?"