Chapter 15 Chloe
CHLOE
What a clusterfuck this is. My mom, aunt, and uncle are coming out to get some more firewood, only being distracted by weird sounds and finding us fucking against the woodshed.
Stupid, stupid, I didn’t hear a thing. I was so obsessed with Ced and their magic mushroom dick that I was utterly oblivious to the world outside.
Gaah… I feel like I am still oblivious to the world outside. Usually, Ced’s spores make me mellow and happy. However, with this particular predicament, I am launched into a fit of giggles, and it takes everything to keep track of the conversation.
When we enter the cottage, there’s a lot of gasping and disbelief, but Ced is well-mannered, and they quickly won my mom over, so they took us back inside. It may help that I’m currently incapable of talking and staring at them with heart-eyes.
My nephews were already asleep, thank God, but the entire freaking family is playing board games in the living room. The moment we enter, they’re all quiet, and somebody drops their glass.
It’s so funny, I almost pee myself laughing, making my mom scold me, but I can’t keep it together anymore.
“You should see your faces!” And I make my way over to the kitchen to grab a glass of wine.
My mom gives me a pointed look, but I shrug. It may not be the best decision right now, but this is an extraordinary situation.
My family recovers quickly, guiding us all to the couches, where we play 20 questions.
They don’t buy it when I say Ced’s a cosplayer, maybe because their branches refused to behave, but they winked and said it would be alright. That’s when they took over and started explaining everything.
I’m not really paying attention because I am stoned out of my mind, and when I hear my grandma cackling, I realize they have been trying to get my attention.
“Oh, give that poor girl a break, she’s obviously high on that magic mushroom dick,” she says. “Is it as good as I remember?” And I spit out my wine across the table.
“MOM!” my aunt yells, and everybody is shocked and silent once again. She covers my 19-year-old cousin’s ears, but he just grins from ear to ear.
Grandma shrugs. “I may be old now, but I had an entire life before you were even a sperm cell in your father’s ballsack.”
Tears of laughter stream down my face, and Ced pats me on the back before he turns towards Grandma.
“You met one of my kind?” Ced’s eyes sparkle, and they turn all their charm to Grandma, who has glassy eyes and a faraway smile.
“Oh yes, I was spending the winter in Finland, I had an aunt who moved there, and she invited me to spend the winter with her after I graduated from college.”
My eyes widen. “You went to college?”
Grandma waves her hand. “It was years ago, not worth mentioning, just some girlish training, nothing like you can do nowadays. But anyway, that’s not important to this story.”
I snort and shake my head, quickly silencing when Grandma glares at me.
“We met on Christmas Eve. We were walking home from a Christmas Eve mass, and I knew I saw something moving in the woods next to the road. Aunt Lydia told me things are always moving in the woods and that the magic is strong during Christmas time. I couldn’t sleep that night, and when I looked out my window, I saw someone standing in the backyard.
I know, I should have been scared, but something drew me in.
” She sighs. “I can remember it as if it were yesterday. He was big, strong, and so otherworldly, I was sure my mind was playing tricks on me. But his hands, that texture on my skin…”
“Alright, that’s enough, Mom. No more wine if you go into details like that,” Aunt Gemma interrupts.
Grandma huffs but takes a daring sip of her wine. “Anyway, we spent the entire Christmas holiday together. I can teach you something about sneaking away at night, young lady, because you lack my skills.”
We all laugh at that, and I shake my head.
“What was their name?” Ced asks. “And how did they look?”
“His name was Baeye, and he definitely looked more piney than you. Seriously, I don’t know how Chloe ever thought you could be a Christmas tree.”
Ced smiles widely. “I cannot either.” They are quiet as they think. “I think I know them, Baeye. It’s hard to remember because we are solitary creatures and rarely truly connect.”
I down my wine, leaving Grandma and Ced to their conversation, before I rise to grab the bottle from the fridge to refill everyone's glasses. It’s not every day you find out that Tree people are real and that your mother/grandmother apparently had an affair with one of them.
Uncle Ron just sits there giving unintelligible remarks, which we all ignore.
So dad hands him the bottle of vodka, which seems to calm him down a bit.
It’s way past midnight when everybody is drunk off their asses and totally enamored with Ced. I’m just as drunk as my family, and I lean heavily on Ced when I rise.
“Wheyou gonna sleep tenight?” I slur with a yawn. “Itz cold outsai.”
They smile at me. I will stay with you until dawn, but I rest better grounded, so I will probably return to the backyard spot if that’s okay.
I yawn another HUGE yawn, and they scoot me in their arms. I snuggle against them and let sleep take me under.