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The Fairest of the Seasons Started by: Ham on Apr 06, '21 23:33

Ham adjusted his tie and smoothed down a curl of salt and pepper hair.  Although he didn't need to, he was wearing his nicest suit and cufflinks, a pair that had his initials.  He swallowed his coffee in two gulps and made sure there was a cup of hot tea for Honey, his younger brother.  He smiled as he fussed with a bowl of porridge and glass of milk he'd set out and called up the stairs. 

"Cherry! Breakfast is ready, you dinnae want to be late to your first day of school!"   It was strange having a child to look after, but something in him welled with pride when he heard his little sister call back down to him. 

"I'll be right there!" 

It had been nearly four months since Hamish and Robert had been ambushed in their barn by an old lady with a shotgun.  In the end, after a frightening standoff that had nearly lead to Robert getting shot, there was an understanding between the brothers and the woman.  She had taken in a waif who had been found ill in the very farmhouse the brothers had purchased and the old lady squatted there while she nursed the child back to health.  Choosing a boy's name the little girl wore boys clothing and never left the old woman's side.  Eventually the old woman realized she couldn't take care of the child like she deserved.  So she returned to the old homestead to recover money she had hidden there and met the brothers.  

Ham didn't know if it was providence or something else, and although he had been beyond surprised about the entire thing, his brother Honey insisted they take the child in.  Which is how they came to today. Her first day of school. 

Honey strolled in to the kitchen and grabbed his tea, frowning slightly at the site of what he had come to call gruel.  Although it was an entirely Scottish thing to do, it still offended his sensibilities.  He didn't even look at Hamish as he brushed past him to get the fry pan and a rasher of bacon. 

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"Ye cannae have a proper meal with just squashy old oats Ham." 

Honey plopped the pan over the stove with an unceremonious clank and hovered his hand over the black surface. Once he could feel the heat radiating off of it, he slapped down a few slices of thick streaky bacon. It was much more common in the states than the meaty slices back in Scotland and he found he preferred this style more. As the slices sizzled, he rummaged around in the box by the stove and plucked out several brown eggs. He cracked them into the pan after fishing the meat out and fried up eggs over medium to slide onto the top of his bowl of oatmeal. 

Cherry had come down and looked excitedly at the bowl of breakfast he placed in front of her, spooning an extra slice of bacon on top as a treat. Ham pursed his lips but accepted his own bowl, tucking in with a muffled "thank you". Honey smiled and sipped his tea, pouring another cup of coffee for his brother as Cherry scarfed down her meal. Under the table, the gray striped cat wound himself around her leg and the orange one swished it's tail as it stared out the window at the birds. The distant sound of an engine rumbled up and Honey glanced out the window to see the bus ambling down the road. 

"Time to hurry up love, the bus is just about here. It being your first day and all, I've packed your tin full of pasties and a little surprise. You have to eat all your food before you can have the sweets, and don't forget the milk this time!" 

Cherry grabbed the tin lunch pail and thermos full of milk, turning to give both her brothers a quick hug goodbye. Heading out the door, she waved one more time and ran pell mell to the bus, her short braids flying and her hat nearly toppling off her head. 

"That girl is going to give me a heart attack I swear. She's worse than we ever were at that age!" He smiled, leaning back to take a bite of bacon as he watched the bus disappear around the corner. Ham set down his coffee cup on the counter and turned towards his brother with a wistful sort of look on his face. 

"She'll be fine Ham, besides we've got work to do."

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"Yer right o course. She'll be fine."  He signed again and grabbed the bowls, giving them a quick wash in hot water and leaving them to dry in the drainer by the sink.  It had been a hell of a summer and he was exhausted.  Meeting Cherry and going through the motions to take proper custody of her had been an ordeal.  He supposed it was the right thing to do after all, since she was kin and all, but suddenly finding the mystery sister they'd been told about and had been searching for was more of a shock than he'd been ready for.  He felt old, and it wasn't a nice feeling. Where had his youth gone? He violently shook his head to clear it of the wistful cobwebs and turned to Honey. 

"The growers got word to me that the mushrooms are nye unto ready and to expect a delivery to the old barn sometime next week.  They'll telegraph us when it's on its way."  He gulped the rest of his scalding coffee and poured himself the last cup of the morning, ignoring the side eye he got from his brother. 

"I also got word that the new building is ready for  last inspections before the city planner signs off on them.  O course I already got him his cut and the amended blueprints.  It looks like our tea shop will be back up and running in just a few weeks if we get lucky"  Ham reached to knock twice on the table and grinned at Honey.  "Let's go get the car eh?" 

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Honey nodded, sipping at his own cup of black tea. He and Ham often teased each other about their habits but there were far worse ones that they could be indulging in. The news that the mushrooms were ready was good to hear as they had been waiting longer than expected for a quality crop. After months of hardship, bad crops, and several mishaps with their old tea shop, it seemed as though they were finally getting back on their feet. 

He grabbed the keys off the counter, much to the irritation of their newest calico who swatted at his hand playfully. They had rescued her from the barn a few weeks before and Cherry had claimed her as her own. She named the poor thing goldfish and insisted on feeding it from the table every night. He gave Goldfish a pat on her head and jerked his sleeve away from her before she could put another hole in it. Once it the car, it rumbled to life as Ham got into the passenger seat and adjusted the radio. The gentle crooning of Doris Day filled the cabin as they drove in relative silence into town to look over the new building. He already had a stockpile of fresh tea bagged and ready to go. Some of his most loyal customers still received weekly or monthly shipments but he was still ready to open the storefront again and cut down on the amount of driving he had to do. They pulled up to the shop just as the inspector stepped out of his gleaming Ford, adjusting the lapels on his jacket. He nodded to Ham and Honey as they stepped out of the car and pulled on his jacket again in satisfaction. 

"Well boys, signman says he'll have the new letters up by tomorrow. Everything is in order and I made sure not to skimp on the inspection, even if the filing process was a but, ah, expedited."

He winked at Ham who smirked, dangling the key in front of the elder brother. 

"You ready to open her up?"

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BlackBlack walks through the breakfast hall. It might have been early in the day, but that wasn't going to stop BlackBlack from sipping away at his hip flask and smoking his fat cigar. He looked over at the two having breakfast together.

"Huh, that reminds me.... I have some honey smoked ham at home."

BlackBlack turns and makes his way to the exit. He was clearly hungry now.

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