The Librarians And the Advent List

Dec 2

It was only the second day of December and Jacob Stone had almost had enough. He hated feeling like this, he used to enjoy Christmas well enough. The family getting together, the kids making a mess, escaping with his cousins down to the bar. It was the one time a year when he felt like he didn't really have to pretend to enjoy his family.

But what a difference a year made. Even though last Christmas he'd learned that Santa Claus was real. He'd seen hope being restored to the world right in front of his very eyes. But maybe instead of getting hope, he'd been given something else. His eyes had been opened. When he'd had it out for the last time with his father, well family would never be the same again.

Thanksgiving had been the final straw. His sister had told him to leave when their father had shown up drunk and ready to cause a scene. He knew then that he would be the unwelcome one that Christmas, not the father that had caused all of their misery.

He really couldn't go home again. He'd told his father he didn't care. But Jacob Stone cared, he cared very much.

So it hurt that everywhere he went, the Christmas carols all seemed to remind him that he had no home for this holiday. Or any ever again.

Yesterday, even the damn Library was taunting him. I'll be Home For Christmas, he thought that the Library was home. Well that's where he'd be on Christmas, hoping he had to save the world again.

Today after Home For the Holidays started playing at his favorite coffee shop, he probably scared a barista storming out.

He got to the Library hoping to drown his misery in art portfolios or crossing his fingers that someone was misusing magic.

He found the Annex empty save for Cassandra. He sighed to himself. He liked Cassandra very much and any other time of the year he'd welcome her company. But not right now.

She wasn't in full on elf mode quite yet but she had a sprig of holly pinned to her green sweater and she was humming Christmas carols as she wrote in her little book.

She beamed when she saw him, "hi, Stone!"

He knew he was being rude, but he just couldn't deal with her today. So he mumbled a greeting and all but ran up the stairs to the mezzanine.

Down below him, Cassandra's face fell and then she looked puzzled. Stone had been acting very strange. Last Christmas he'd been excited about the holiday, painting a picture of all of the fun his family had, even if a bar brawl was included. He'd been excited as her to meet the real Santa.

He had gone home for Thanksgiving and she wondered how awkward that had been after everything with his father. He had been very quiet since then. She wondered if she should talk to him or talk to Baird about it.

She was busy pondering when the main clippings book went off. She called for the others and they were soon whisked off into an adventure.

But it didn't go without notice by Stone that she seemed to be a little off. And it didn't go without notice by her that he seemed a little down.