Page 84 of Cosy & Chill
Cosy, Chill & Sparkle
Sleeping late, lounging in bed until rumbling stomachs sent them downstairs around lunchtime, snuggling on the sofa, eating ice cream, and making out was a damned fine way to spend Christmas Day. They did absolutely nothing constructive and looked forward to more of the same the next day. If it hadn’t been for a lack of mouthy fae in their vicinity, their world would have been perfect.
As it was, Leo spent far too much time waiting for the downstairs door to bang open or listening for Roisin’s footsteps on the stairs, and Finn turned his head just as often.
“We never asked her what kind of food to leave for her.” Leo set a glass of whisky and a slice of apple cake on a small table beside the fire.
“Or why she was doing battle with the cutlery drawer every night.”
“She was searching for the hoard.”
“Yes. But the hoard was two floors up in the attic. It wasn’t anywhere near the kitchen.”
“Yeah, well. Another thing we’ll never learn.” He joined Finn on the sofa, and for a while they sat, eyes on the plate and glass. They’d left food every night, finding each offering untouched in the morning.
“It’s not unlike feeding Santa’s reindeer, isn’t it?”
“Don’t be an arse. I’m not leaving her carrots and mince pies! The type of food can’t be critical, or she’d have said so.”
“I don’t even know what her favourite foods are. She used to gulp coffee by the gallon, but she’s never really eaten with us.”
“She did eat my ice cream.” Leo disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared a moment later with a small bowl of ice cream nestled into a larger bowl filled with chipped ice.
“You’re so cute.”
“Shut up. It’s my new vanilla whisky ice cream and I used Bushmills to flavour it. Maybe she’ll like that.”
“I don’t think we’ll ever see her again,” Finn sighed.
“Maybe not. There’s no chance to forget her, though. Not after all the work she did.”
Since she no longer had to hide from them, Roisin had used her last few days in the human realm to sort out the storeroom, office, and kitchen behind the shop. Doing all this work themselves while running Cosy & Chill would have taken them years, while not looking half as good in the end. It was a shame they never got the chance to learn how far her talent for interior design truly reached, and which houses she’d decorated in all her years.
Still, she’d found her amulet and had returned home after twelve hundred years trapped in the human world. That had to count for something.
“We can leave out food for as long as we like,” Leo said. “Just as we can think of her every time we celebrate. You’ve said so yourself: she’s part of this adventure. Part of the reason we’ve made it this far.”
“And don’t you forget it, Boyo.”
Their heads turned so fast, they almost gave themselves whiplash.
Roisin stood in the doorway, dressed in a long, hooded cloak over a deep green gown that matched her eyes. She looked radiant in a way they’d never seen before.
“What are you doing here? Are you visiting? Come sit!”
“I’m not sure.” Her bright smile dimmed a little. She stepped to the hearth and gathered up the food and drink, cradling it protectively as if she feared someone would take it from her. “It was grand to see the old home again,” she said, balancing ice cream, cake and whisky glass until Leo nudged the coffee table closer.
“Not all it was cracked up to be?” he asked with sudden insight.
“Not the way I remembered it. I lived through twelve hundred years of changes on this side of the veil. It didn’t occur to me that my world would change as much. Or that I’d find being home… boring.”
“Boring? Nobody in fairyland needs an interior designer?”
Roisin made a face. “I told ye—we faearemagic. At home, my skills are nothing special. Here… here I can make a difference to people’s lives. I didn’t realise how much I enjoyed that.”
“Then why don’t you stay here?” The words slipped out before Leo could stop himself. Once they had, he realised that he’d meant them. He’d not trusted Roisin when she’d first appeared in their lives, but he’d changed his mind. Now, he considered her a friend.
Finn was on the same page. “I think, if we ask the Tienfields, they wouldn’t mind us renting you a room.”
