The days had blended, each into the next. Months had passed and Lancaster hadn’t done anything worth sharing – he worked, and he played his music. He fixed instruments, and was paid to teach others how to play. At Christmas time, however, the lessons stopped. People took time off to spend with their families; to do their Christmas shopping. To take holidays. So many people that Lancaster talked to – whether at the music shop or at the pub – had plans to leave the city for Christmas. They would travel overseas to warmer climates, or even just to America, or Toronto. Somewhere that wasn’t home, just to make the holidays seem a little more special.
Lancaster had deliberated; he could go home, couldn’t he? He had looked up flights, and how long it might take to organise night travel only. He had it all lined up. But what if something went wrong? In the end, he had decided that he would do it next year.
He thought about the family that he and Pi had created, and how little he had seen of them. They were a disparate lot. If he could not go home to his own human family, then he would stay here and catch up with his immortal family. As he paced the den, he pulled out his phone. Perhaps he would try to catch up with a few at a time.
He sent the same message to Aidan, Asteria, Charlie, and Skylar:
Are you guys busy? It’s Christmas Eve. I’d love to catch up.
There was a tree that he’d set up in the same place it had been set up last year – in the middle of the tracks, huge, and covered with flashing lights and gleaming ornaments. There were no presents under it. Lancaster hadn’t had the forethought, and he hadn’t seen any of the women in such a long time, he’d have no idea what to get them. But Christmas wasn’t about gifts, was it? It was supposed to be about the company.
Or, he hoped he would not be judged poorly for his lack of giving. If all else failed, he’d send them some money. People always liked money, didn’t they?
Lancaster had deliberated; he could go home, couldn’t he? He had looked up flights, and how long it might take to organise night travel only. He had it all lined up. But what if something went wrong? In the end, he had decided that he would do it next year.
He thought about the family that he and Pi had created, and how little he had seen of them. They were a disparate lot. If he could not go home to his own human family, then he would stay here and catch up with his immortal family. As he paced the den, he pulled out his phone. Perhaps he would try to catch up with a few at a time.
He sent the same message to Aidan, Asteria, Charlie, and Skylar:
Are you guys busy? It’s Christmas Eve. I’d love to catch up.
There was a tree that he’d set up in the same place it had been set up last year – in the middle of the tracks, huge, and covered with flashing lights and gleaming ornaments. There were no presents under it. Lancaster hadn’t had the forethought, and he hadn’t seen any of the women in such a long time, he’d have no idea what to get them. But Christmas wasn’t about gifts, was it? It was supposed to be about the company.
Or, he hoped he would not be judged poorly for his lack of giving. If all else failed, he’d send them some money. People always liked money, didn’t they?
