Home for Christmas

[Anna Grant]

@Tom Grant
Sometime over the Christmas holidays

“It’s good to have you home for a bit,” Anna said fervently to her younger brother. Tom had graciously accompanied her for a walk through their city, to which she had, for once, agreed if only to escape the madness that descended on their place with arrival of the holidays. It wasn’t unusual, per se, as she was used to being busy, but lately tension in the house could be cut with a butter knife, in part to Anna’s refusal to attend one of their mother’s acquaintance’s holiday balls. “There’s not a single normal person left there and I refuse to remain in the same place on my own much longer.” She felt she could afford a bit of drama around the other part of sanity in the family, as normally, her brother would be at school and she’d be dealing with the lot on her own.

She had warned Tom he’d be coming home for Christmas and more family conflict in her most recent letter, both due both their parents being under the same roof and Mother being in a tiff over Anna’s refusal to go to what looked like weekly holiday balls the woman attended courtesy of her acquaintances. Oh, she had gone to one or two that merited her attention, but found them hopelessly dull. How did people manage it on daily basis? Thankfully she managed to keep her opinion to herself, mostly, for she guessed her brother shared it, but she hadn’t asked and he hadn’t volunteered as of yet, so all she had were guesses at best.

“And if I see another snowflake I have to charm to emit light, something will break and it won’t be the snowflake,” she continued. She spoke in most casual tone she could, but she was actually furious and Tom could probably guess at both the tone and the cause of said tone, seeing as he arrived right in the middle of yet another argument into which Anna had been dragged by default of being there. As it was, snatching up a pair of gloves, a parasol, and appropriate hat and cloak took minutes, especially as she was used to last-minute exits to avoid a most unladylike blow-up. For now, she was happy to let things simmer down a little, at the very least on her end. Properly talking to a brother she hadn’t seen since September aside from his Hogsmeade weekend if they planned for it was another plus.

  

[Tom Grant]

"I wish I could say the same but it is good to see you," Tom said in reply to his sisters fervent statement. Tom listened to his sisters rather rather dramatic statement with an amused grin. "Fret not, dear sister. It is my last year of schooling, remember? Just a couple of more months and I will be home more regularly," he reminded though he wondered if she could withstand their mothers utter stupidity that long.

The balls his sister was often flung at were really more like fancy dinners with a bit of dancing in Toms opinion considering they were thrown by middle class ilk. Actual balls were more the way of the upper class and if Anna found the middle class styling of a ball boring, she would surely die of it in an actual upper class ball.

"Oh but Anna, it is all so beautiful, he replied, being sarcastic despite genuine sounding tone as was his usual way. The shame was, it would be beautiful decor if his mother had not overdone it. It now looked merely gaudy.

  

[Anna Grant]

She merely rolled her eyes at her brother’s amusement. Well, he could laugh all he wanted, the situation was that ridiculous, though she was glad he wasn’t there to see it. “You’ll get sick of those scenes soon enough,” she promised with a sigh and another eye-roll. Not very ladylike, of course, but she could care less at the moment. “And thank Merlin for that,” she added as he reminded her it was his last year. “You really can’t graduate early enough for my taste.” Or she could meet someone good enough to marry, of course, but so far there were no options that she liked, if at that, though she wasn’t averse to the idea. At the thought, the young woman wrinkled her nose in distaste, wondering if she wasn’t being put up to the arguments on purpose for just the cause.

Anna then had to laugh at his mock-genuine tone. “It stopped being beautiful the moment she started putting up those great bows enchanted to change color at dizzying pace everywhere she could and all those light-emitting snowflakes, and you know it,” she teased, not at all hiding her distaste for the current décor. And thanks to their mother having magic, it was literally in almost every spot available for those things. She had attempted to stop her mother from overdoing it, again, and was met with just the sentence her brother uttered, yet again. All in all they ended up with what Tom got to glimpse before being ushered right back out, though she was glad her brother had his sense of humor. It certainly put an unique perspective to things, in her opinion.


@Tom Grant

  

[Tom Grant]

"I already am," he stated bluntly as they continued walking along. Mildly curious as to the cause of her nose wrinkle, he gave her a questioning look before snickering at her laughter. "You know mother will only snark for you to find a husband if you make more complaints about the decor," he pointed out. Though he thought perhaps she should. Someone who'd let her work and could perhaps finance their shop.

  

[Anna Grant]

She merely rolled her eyes at her brother’s words, though she knew he was quite right about that. “That’ll happen when it happens, and no earlier or later,” she responded, brushing her skirts off as she stepped over the pile of snow she couldn’t quite cross without going through it. There was a pair of events she thought she might attend happening soon enough, if only to ensure her mother wasn’t going to end up ruffled more than she already was. Then again, she might be able to pocket a few of those ridiculous bows for a just in case matter. “Do you think some of those bows’ll make nice clothing decorations for more eccentric tastes?” She grinned once she found herself seriously considering it. They were going to have to get rid of them eventually, and why waste when you could recycle?


@Tom Grant

  

[Tom Grant]

"Yes, make sure he isn't a right git and will let you work," he reminded, not that he really had to. They had plans and no husband of his sisters was going to interfere with them. Besides, he doubted she would marry someone he disliked.

Tom thought on the next question for a bit before rolling his eyes and nodding his head. "I dare say it would. And for those with garish fashion sense."

  

[Anna Grant]

“And you ensure it’s a girl you can work with,” Anna teased him, though she inclined her head in agreement with his words, and suspected he wouldn’t pick someone whom she didn’t get along with. She was of same mind as him on thought marriage and he well knew it. Some might call their hopes for business they had in mind too ambitious, but they worked well enough together that they just might pull it off – provided their respective marriages when or if time for those came wouldn’t interfere.

She had to chuckle at the mention of those with garish fashion sense, of which she had entirely forgotten. “Indeed. Some would even make lovely dresses. Or hats.” She was mostly teasing, though she had to admit she’d seen some rather horrid ones, so a few psychedelic-ribboned hats would probably fit in quite well. Amused with herself, she chuckled quietly at the thought. “Mother would be the first customer, since those bows were her idea in the first place,” she added, explaining why she found it funny. Her brother was most certainly not there when the monstrosity was brought home, so he missed Catherine’s cooing over how darling those things were. Anna herself was of another opinion, not that it mattered much yet.


@Tom Grant

  

[Tom Grant]

"Ah, but I can wait until I am fourty before people will start to wonder if I have perverse inclinations. You, my dear sister, are approaching spinsterhood," he said, quite bluntly as was his usual.

"Profit is profit," he reminded. Even if he personally thought most people looked horrid in some things (a fact he often shared with said people much to their displeasure), the fact was, those people would still continue to dress horridly. Might as well profit from it.

  

[Anna Grant]

In answer to Tom’s blunt words, Anna responded as bluntly. “I prefer being a spinster to marrying an interfering busybody or worse. Neither of us needs that variation, do we?” She supposed it was being extreme, but she didn’t particularly want the other option, either.

Folding her hands in front of her, she gave a cheerful grin, both at his answer to her question, and the possibilities. “I suppose I shall make an exception for winter holidays and ongoing public events, however, though no promises. If anything I get to see what the folks prefer to wear at the moment.” Her brother well knew their most busy time was precisely over the holidays, and Anna tended to spend most of them at the store due that. There was simply no time for her to be elsewhere, at least in her opinion, though this could provide her with useful information, if anything.

  

[Tom Grant]

Tom laughed heartily at his sisters words. "Indeed! You don't need to be marrying someone who doesn't see things the way we do." Really though, if his sister secured a secure marriage that brought more money into the shop, the man let her work and was not a tool, it would be a definite plus. It was also rather high standards but there had to be some bachelor that fit.

"Fashion trends are so momentary. If only more people would stick to the classics."

  

[Anna Grant]

“Of course not,” she sniffed at her brother’s laugh, though then had to laugh herself. Of course, security and ability to keep working instead of idling about was the best, because they both knew how their parents responded to their ideas and what their own ones were – which weren’t too good for the shop, so neither of them needed an extra complication they could do without.

As for the comment on fashion, Anna hummed in agreement. “Some do, at least in cut of their clothes, but really, those colors,” she lamented, brushing her hand over her gown, one of the favorites she was wearing. “Some of them ought to go.” Admittedly, they looked well enough on young people her age and younger, but on those older? Please. Sometimes the clothes she saw made her cringe, and she knew Tom was no different, just more blunt about it than she was. After all, she had to keep up appearances, for now, anyway.

  

[Tom Grant]

"I quite agree, dear sister," Tom intoned before figuring they best head back. They would have to sooner or later and he would rather do so before dinner went cold. And before they would have to endure yet another lecture. "For now, let us return to our humble abode."

  

[Anna Grant]

Anna sighed. They did have to, before their parents sent out a search party, but she didn’t particularly want to. “Of course. Far it be from us to get lost on our way home and have Mother send out a search party so she can spend half the dinner lamenting about such a necessity,” she agreed. It was really rather a terrible perspective, in her opinion, though she didn’t mind her dinner getting cold. Still, as it was rather inevitable, they might as well return themselves. That would, after all, save them half an hour’s worth of lecture that was possibly awaiting for them as they spoke.

  

[Tom Grant]

Tom chuckled at his sisters comments before steering her back towards home. It truly did feel that they were all the other had though that was far from the truth. Anna had her cronies just as Tom had his own. Amongst family though, they truly were all the other could rely on.