Chapter 6 Sinclair
I walked through the palace with my dad until we reached his door. My parents and aunt were all staying in the apartment next to ours, which was very convenient.
I said goodbye to him there and promised to see him later for dinner. We’d made plans the day before to visit the Sugar Shack for milkshakes, but he was tired, and my mom and aunt were still in town shopping.
And we’d all apparently forgotten we had dinner with the Frosts and Kringles this evening.
If Jayne wanted to go to the Sugar Shack before dinner, I would happily take her and JJ. A little family outing with just the three of us would be nice.
I went into the apartment. “Jayne?” I called out softly, not wanting to wake JJ if he was sleeping. Or Jayne, if she was sleeping.
“In here,” she answered.
That had come from the kitchen. I walked in and found her staring at a sheaf of papers. I grabbed a can of Coke from the fridge and popped the top. “JJ sleeping?”
“He is.”
“How did he do at the shop?”
“He did great. More gifts were delivered.” Her gaze never left the papers.
I paused to glance in the direction of the dining room. The gifts seemed to be arriving nonstop. “Oh, boy. I can help with those.” I took a sip of my drink, then tipped the can at what was in her hands. “What are you up to?”
She looked up as I walked over. “It’s the guest list for Naming Day.”
“Oh.” I kissed her. “How did the dress shopping go? Did you find something? Was LeRoy happy to get a look at JJ?”
She laughed and reached into the box beside her for a truffle. “That’s a lot of questions. It went fine, I found a dress, and yes. I think I answered them all.”
I grinned and helped myself to a truffle, too. “Good.”
“Did your dad like the museum?”
“He loved it. I think he’ll go back again if he gets the chance.”
“Wow. Did you get him his own crawler to drive?”
“I did.” I took a bite of the truffle and nodded at the paperwork. “What’s this all about? Is there someone you think we should invite?”
“No, I’m checking to see if LeRoy is on the guest list, but I haven’t found his name. I promised him an invite.”
I nodded. “He should definitely get one.”
“I agree, and I’m going to see to that, but look at this.” She pointed to a name.
I peered closer. “It says Holiday. Isn’t that basically like Smith in the North Pole? Who’s that?”
“Holiday is a very common last name here, but that’s not what it says. It says—well, I don’t know what it says. The letters move every time I try to read it.”
“Really?” I looked again. It still said Holiday. “I don’t see any letters moving. Just the name.”
“Huh. This is so weird.”
“I’ll say. How can you see letters moving and I don’t?
“I have no idea.”
I wasn’t about to say it was some weird post-pregnancy thing, although it very well might be. “Maybe it’s … some kind of winter elf thing?”
She stared at the paper. “It might be. I was thinking the name has been magically redacted. But why wouldn’t you be able to see that? You’re not human. You’re as supernatural as I am.”
That was true, but I still wasn’t a winter elf. “What does magically redacted even mean?”
“Well … it’s like it’s there but not. For some reason, no one’s supposed to be able to tell who this person is. And yet the name is still there. Must be a reason.”
I ate the last bite of truffle. “I agree. Why not just erase the name? Why leave it there? Why use magic to make it unreadable?”
She glanced up at me. “I have no clue.”
“Where did you get the list?”
“Ezreal sent it up to me, but he got it from Flora Merriweather. She’s the royal event planner.”
“If you really want to know, I’d ask her.” I stopped myself from having another truffle and took a gulp of my soda instead. “Why didn’t you just get the list from her to begin with?”
“I was afraid she’d rope me into helping with the Naming Day. Get me to make decisions about things like seating charts and napkin colors and what music should be played during the banquet.”
I smirked. “Isn’t that her job? If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. JJ’s a pretty good excuse for being otherwise occupied.”
“Yeah, I know. You’re right. I’m going to call her and ask her about the name. Maybe it’s a mistake? For all I know, that could be LeRoy’s name right there.”
I leaned against the counter. “And if she asks you to help?”
Jayne lifted her chin. “I will tell her I am otherwise engaged taking care of my infant son.”
I smiled. “That’s perfect. Speaking of, I’m going in to see JJ.”
“Don’t wake him up.”
“I won’t.” I kissed her again, then went to check on our son.
Spider and Sugar were sleeping under the crib like it was their fort or something. I leaned in to look at JJ. He was so perfect. Maybe even more so asleep. What a miracle he was. I put my finger under his hand, marveling at his tiny nails.
Babies were something truly special. To think he was half me, half Jayne. It humbled me in ways I couldn’t explain.
I could have watched him for hours, but I didn’t want to wake him, either. After a few more minutes, I slipped out of the room.
Jayne wasn’t in the kitchen anymore. I found her in the living room, on the couch. The TV was on, but the volume was down low. Looked like an episode of The Twilight Zone.
She had the list in her hands, and she was still studying it.
I sat beside her. “What’s up? Did you call Flora?”
“I did. And she couldn’t help.”
“She didn’t know whose name it was?”
“She didn’t know what I was talking about.” Jayne looked at me. “I gave her the page and line numbers, and she said the same thing you did. That the name was Holiday.”
That seemed to eliminate this being winter elf magic. I kicked my shoes off and propped my feet on the coffee table. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“She did say that some names had been on the guest list for ages. That it’s become tradition and that leaving those names on the list is seen as a way of honoring ancestors past.”
“That’s … interesting. On a different topic, would you be okay skipping the visit to the Sugar Shack this afternoon? We’re supposed to have dinner with your family this evening.”
She groaned and set the list aside. “I completely forgot about that. We can do the Sugar Shack some other time.”
I put my arm around her, and she snuggled in. “Might be nice just to sit on the couch for a bit.”
“Yeah, I’m good with that.” Laughing, she wriggled free. “Right after I go get some cake. You want a piece?”
“You’re sharing?” I made a face of mock surprise.
Giggling, she scooped up the list of names and swatted me with it. “That was a one-time offer, so—”
“Yes, I’d love some cake.” I winked at her. “By the way, have I told you lately what a hot mom you are?”
She rolled her eyes, but her smile got bigger. “You have to say that. You’re married to me.”
“I don’t have to say that. I say it because it’s true and you’re hot and I am crazy about you.” I pulled her back down, into my lap this time, and kissed her.
We both woke up to the sound of JJ crying. Jayne sucked in a breath.
I got to my feet. “I’ll get him.”
“I might as well come. He’s probably hungry.”
Sure enough, he wanted to be fed. She settled into the rocking chair in the nursery with him, and I coaxed the cats out with the promise of treats. They followed me into the kitchen and waited mostly patiently while I got the canister of treats out.
“Dadman?” Spider asked from his spot on the floor.
“What is it, Spider?”
“Does Mama love the baby more than me?”
“Spider, what makes you think that?” I grabbed a few more treats than I’d intended, but after a question like that, what could I do?
“Mama spends a lot of time with him.”
“Well, he is a baby. He was just born. Babies need a lot of attention.”
“Yeah, I s’pose.” Spider ate his treats.
But I realized we might have been neglecting the cats without intending to. “You want to play with the fishing pole after your treats?”
Sugar looked up immediately. “Yes, playtime, yes.”
“Okay, I’ll get it.” The fishing pole cat toy was in the coat closet near the door. I got it out and put the cats through their paces until Jayne returned, JJ in her arms.
She laughed at Sugar and Spider lying on the floor, waiting for the toy to come to them. “Look at you two, such lazybones.”
“They’ve already worn themselves out. You should have seen them jumping.”
“Good, they needed that.” She kissed JJ’s head, then turned back to me. “You want to watch him for a while?”
“Sure. Everything okay?”
She made a face. “Everything’s fine.” She held him out to me, which was when I saw the dark stain on her shoulder.
“Except that he threw up on me, so I need to shower again. Pretty sure it’s in my hair.
I really don’t want to go to dinner smelling like sour milk. Somehow, he didn’t get any on himself.”
I tried not to grimace as I took him. “Take all the time you need.”