𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕. ♡ 𝒋𝒐𝒉𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆.

xix

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  "do you want it?" trish asked before sipping the steaming mug of hot chocolate snug in between her small hands, watching as her bunny slippers dangled just above the wooden floorboard below the kitchen counter.

  "oh, yeah," johnny confidently answered back. a silver fork twirled around in his fingers as it reflected off the delicate plate on the table in front of him. he noticed its small whirlpools of white even in the dimly-lit space.

  it was a cold day that day. much too cold for johnny to stay out in his lot, but the atmosphere of his own house rivaled the chilly air. his feet took him to someplace hopefully warm. hopefully, somewhere he felt safe. his worn-down sneakers took him downtown and a little farther, until they stopped at the yellow house.

  it was warm, "did you see a price onnit?"

  johnny glanced up from the half-eaten peach pie at the sound of her voice. yeah, this place was sure warmer than anywhere else he could think of all right.

"yeah, 'bout almost a hundred bucks."

this earned a tiny gasp of shock from the girl. johnny dejectedly chuckled at the response before continuing to devour the slice of pie.

trish felt a surge of happiness seeing the boy enjoy her baking as he always had. there was silence in the house, but a comfortable one. it was quiet enough for their conversation to echo inside the chambers of her head.

if this train set johnny saw in a store window on the way here had been about a hundred bucks, she didn't have a clue how she'd be able to accumulate the funds to get it for him that christmas. she filed though all her usuals, people who stopped buy for treats so often she knew what and how exactly they liked their sugary orders. the greggor family and their six children are barely making through the holiday season, so she couldn't possibly ask for tips from them. if she asked very nicely, maybe the grumpy mrs. ornstein could spare a few dollars. she was sure jolly ol' carp the deli man would help her cause. and to really impress, she could make mrs. kendal and her knitting club two whole boxes of muffins! but would that still be enou—?

  "but it's not like it'd be all that great in my hands anyway," the boy sighed.

trish raised an eyebrow, "and why'd you say that?"

"it'd be awfully sad if some sixteen-year-old was building a train set all by himself in a cold lot. even if i did, at best its controls would freeze right up. at worst, it'd get stolen. why bother, huh?" johnny replied. hearing this made trish's shoulders sink, and she hid her small frown under the sip she took from her beverage.

"well, jahanna's secret santa thing is coming up soon. maybe one of the boys will get you somethin' that happens to be even better?" trish tried to perk up the boy's attitude.

"oh, yeah. maybe..." was all he said before drifting off in thought, thinking how he's get a gift for anyone with the next-to-nothing amount of money in his pocket.

  the rest of the afternoon was calm and solemn. for the two of them, it was a welcomed break from the antics of jahanna and the gang. johnny finished his slice of pie. he got up and politely thanked trish for letting him crash at hers once again. trish packed up some gingerbread cookies in one of the new boxes she made for her small business.

  "look, johnnycake! i even drew some snowflakes on 'em for the wintery season. i'm planning to make them tulips in the spring," she had told him.

  "looks great, smiley," he praised.

  with the box of cookies, trish sent johnny off with a warning to steer clear of his parents.

  "they might still be mad, so you maybe ought to keep a distance from 'em."

  "yeah, yeah. i got it. see ya later trish!"

  "see ya..."

  trish watched from the front doorway with a sigh and a smile as johnny stepped through the snow and started down the street. the old scarf she lent to the boy that was once her father's fluttered in the wind. after he was out of sight, trish dashed back into the house. she grabbed a wool jacket, one of her mother's scarves knitted by grandma, mittens, and one of her dad's baseball caps out of the small closet in the hallway.

trish then embarked on a quest to see this train set for herself.