Chapter Four
Dillon
On December seventeenth, I had a brainwave of what to get Tane for Christmas.
I was closing up shop, smiling at the growing pile of presents and non-perishables in the donation box, when it hit me.
Tane was homesick, he hadn’t said as much but he kept talking about home and how Christmas was as a kid.
I could order some New Zealand food and treats and surprise him.
Christian was at the checkout, so I went in back and fired up my work computer.
I Googled what kind of snacks and drinks were unique to Aotearoa.
People seemed to agree on a few things: Some kind of chocolate drink called Milo, a spread called Marmite, various brands of chocolate and candy, something called a chocolate fish, and a pre-made Pavlova were included along with cookies and a drink called L&P, I had no idea if these were his favourites, but I’d give away the surprise if I asked him.
My usual suppliers didn’t have anything like that, so I went to a dedicated New Zealand imports place and made a nice big order through there, adding a couple of extra candy items that the website automatically suggested.
I put the order through and sent up a little prayer to the universe that it’d arrive in time.
I got a text from Aster, my recently-out-as-trans younger brother.
Aster: I’m an hour out big brother, hope you’re ready for a surprise! Train ride is taking foreeeeever
My stomach clenched with sudden fear that Aster had brought home a partner and I hadn’t planned for enough food for Christmas day. Let alone a gift. Oh god, wouldn’t Aster have told me if they’d met someone?
Dillon: what kind of surprise?
Aster didn’t reply immediately and I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry.
Dillon: Aster?
Aster: it’s a good one, I promise, not to fret darling bother
Aster: *brother, sorry
My jaw tightened, and I took a slow breath.
It’d be fine.
If it was something big, Aster would have forewarned me, he knew that our autistic minds needed time to adjust... right?
I checked the clock, almost closing time. I went back out front to relieve Christian and close down the store.
***
Well, closing on time didn’t work out. I had a flurry of people hurrying in just at closing time and I didn’t have the heart to turn them out.
One young guy, a regular from the new game design place, Queen Gaming, was buying a stack of fancy boxes of chocolates I’d ordered in for the holiday season.
“Stocking up?” I asked, giving him a smile so he’d know I was teasing.
“Haha, yeah, gotta post everything before the cut off date. My family are all over the place now.”
“Ah, mine too,” I said.
It was well past Aster’s arrival time and I hoped Tane had met him at the train station like I'd asked.
“I sent some stuff to my folks but they keep on moving around, last I heard they were in Vermont for a true white Christmas but I have no idea if they’ll get the stuff I sent or they’ll decide it’s too cold and move on.”
The guy laughed. “We can only hope.” His gaze flicked to the donation box and his smile grew. “Oh hey, that’s a great idea... do you mind if I grab a couple more things to add to that?”
It meant longer before I saw my brother, and found out what this mysterious surprise was, but I couldn’t say no.
Not when the cause was so good. “Of course, take your time.”
Ten minutes later, the guy added chocolates, cookies and some cans of food to his order. I rang it all up and packed his things, the rest he put straight into the donation bin.
“Come along to the fire hall on Christmas Eve, if you have time,” I said. “There’s going to be a bit of a party and there’ll be live music.”
“Hell yeah, I love that. I’ll tell the others at Queen Gaming, maybe we can do an office collection.”
“Thanks, that’d be great. Just bring it along to the store.”
Full of Christmas spirit, I closed up after he left, did the balances and made my way home.
It was chilly, a clear night with the sky full of stars. If it hadn’t been for Aster teasing me about whatever his surprise was, I’d have been floating on air.
But the niggling fear kept at me. What if he’d broken his leg? Or had been beaten up by some bigoted thugs? What if he’d quit college and was actually moving home?
I let myself into the apartment and cleared my throat, bracing for the worst. “I’m home!”
“Welcome home!” Tane called from the living room.
“Dill!” Aster came crashing through the door. No broken legs.
He looked great, more himself than the last time I’d seen him. He’d cut his hair again and was wearing an oversized hoodie with his college name emblazoned across it.
He tackled me in a hug and I laughed, catching him, trying not to fall over from his sheer exuberance.
“Hey Aster.” I held him with one arm and ruffled his hair with the other. “How was the trip?”
“Complicated,” Aster said. “You’d better come and see.”
He grabbed my hand and led the way into the living room.
Heart in my mouth, I followed. What could it possibly be?
Tane was sitting on the couch, a blanket piled strangely on his lap. He gave me a sheepish smile.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Gingerly, Tane took hold of a corner of the blanket and tugged it back, revealing a tiny bundle of orange fur.
“What is that?”
“I um, I found a kitten on the way here,” Aster said, a little sheepish. “He was under a bench at this nowhere train station and he was shivering. He looked so sad, I couldn’t leave him. I smuggled him on the train in my hoodie. Um. Are you angry?”
I shook my head, partially relieved and partially wondering about new problems caused by a kitten. “No, not angry. You did the right thing, but... what if he’s full of fleas?”
“It’s winter, fleas are unlikely,” Tane said. “And I didn’t see any.”
“He’s pretty shy,” Aster said. “But when I picked him up he nuzzled right into my hoodie. He’s small, maybe quite young?”
I breathed out, this was unexpected but certainly not the worst outcome I’d been imagining.
“A kitten...”
Aster put on the ‘cute younger sibling’ act, which I was a hundred per cent aware of but somehow didn't make me immune to it.
It went like this: Aster made his eyes wide and took hold of my sleeve, looking up at me through his lashes.
“There's kitten food at the store, right? and maybe cat litter? You'll let me keep him, right?”
Tane had picked up the sleeping kitten. He stood up and brought it towards me, obviously smitten with the tiny creature as well. He held it up to me.
“He’s really cute, Dill. What d’you think?”
I hesitated, not because I was going to say no — I couldn’t refuse Aster or Tane — but I wanted to draw it out so they didn’t think they could just walk all over me any time.
I lifted a finger to rub in between the kitten’s ears. It made a soft, high pitched sound and opened its eyes to look at me.
Adorable.
“Yes, of course we can keep him. But what happens when you go back to college?”
“Um...” Aster let go of my sleeve to run a hand through his hair. “Hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“Let’s just get him sorted for now,” Tane said. “He needs a few things from the store, yeah?”
“Yeah, I’ll go get them,” Aster said, quickly. “Just give me the keys, bro, I’ll pay for what I take.”
“Don’t be an idiot, it’s your family business too.” I nodded at the hook on the wall where I’d hung the keys. “Go ahead and don’t pay for anything, just note what you took. I think we have kitten milk as well as food, and the litter trays are next to the litter.”
Tane passed me the kitten. “I’ll do dinner.”
Both of them bustled off.
All of a sudden, I was alone in the room with a strange kitten.
The kitten regarded me with suspicion, as if I were the interloper. I figured I should introduce myself.
“Hi. I’m Dillon.”
The kitten yawned, tiny little needle teeth on display.
Something in me melted. It was just so small and fuzzy... I lifted it to my cheek and rubbed against the downy-soft fur on its back.
It made a noise that might have been the start of a purr and relaxed in my hand.
I sat down on the couch and let the kitten rest on my chest, where it promptly curled up and went back to sleep.
I couldn’t do anything but gaze at it, utterly taken with the tiny ball of fluff.
Aster returned after a while and grinned when he saw us together on the couch.
“That’s the cutest thing ever, hold on...” he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of me and the kitten. “I think I got everything, where should I put the litter box?”
“Um, bathroom?” I said, mind racing.
It’d be easiest to clean up in the bathroom if the kitten made a mess. I had no idea about how old the kitten was or how easy it’d be to toilet train him, but bathroom was the best option, right?
“That’s what I thought. I’ll get it set up. Apparently if you put them right on it after they’ve eaten they get the idea.” Aster went out again, from the next room, I heard rustling noises.
On my chest the kitten made a tiny ‘meep’ sound and stretched, blinking its eyes slowly as it woke up. It peered up at me, less suspicious this time but perhaps surprised.
“Good morning.” I used a single finger to rub down its back and it shivered once and hopped down onto the seat of the couch. I watched it wander around.
Aster came back in and grinned, holding a shiny new cat bowl and a pouch of kitten food. “How’s he doing?”
Just then the kitten leapt off the couch and onto the floor. I lunged to try and catch him but I was too slow.
It seemed like far too high a jump for such a tiny thing but he didn’t seem fazed, and trotted towards Aster with a demanding ‘Meep!’
“He knows that’s for him.” I shook my head. “Amazing, have you named him yet?”
Aster shook his head. “Nope, but I thought maybe something festive like Ginger or Holly or something.”
“Holly’s cute, then he’d match your name,” I said.
Tane came in with trays of hot soup and toasted garlic bread. “What about Nutmeg?”
He set a tray on my lap and one beside me for Aster, before heading back to grab his own.
“Ginger?” I ventured. “I mean, he is orange.”
“Maybe. I sorta want to see what his personality is first though.”
“We could try out different names and see what fits?” Tane suggested.
Aster nodded. “That might work, let’s start with Ginger.”