Page 22 of Fortress
“They were nice,” Toby said at last, turning from the window. “I wonder if they...”
“You wanna make a stop?”
Toby hesitated. “Do you want to?”
“Sure.” Jake swung the Eldorado into the one empty space left. “I’m pretty sure those were the best bagels we’ve had in twenty states.”
At first glance, Moe’s Broadway Bagels didn’t seem any different from the other coffee shops and bakeries they’d hit across the country, besides the holiday stickers dotting the windows. A young guy took orders from the crowd of students (many clustered with friends, headphones around their necks), and an older crowd gossiped together. Toby and Jake ordered hot chocolates and a bag of bagels before squeezing through to a small table against the back wall.
Then a heavyset woman with her hair wrapped in a donut-decorated bandana emerged from the kitchen to survey the store. Jake recognized her as Janet, the owner who had given them a ride back to their apartment on their incredibly shitty first outing to the park.He glanced at Toby, who was watching her furtively over the top of his hot chocolate.
Janet made a round of the room, backslapping regulars and making cheerful inquiries.She reached the end of one row of small tables, started to swing back toward the front—then stopped and turned toward them, squinting. Jake sat up straighter, and Toby did the same.
“Now I’ve seen you boys in here before,” Janet said, scrutinizing them with narrowed eyes. “Either that, or I’m getting handsome déjà vu.”
Jake opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Toby stood up and stepped forward.
“I d-don’t think we actually met last time,” he said, rapid but clear. “I’m Tobias Hawthorne.” He held out his hand.
Janet’s mouth fell open, and she stared between him and Jake before bursting into a roar of laughter, clapping her hands once, then moving forward to squeeze Toby in a tight hug. Jake jumped to his feet, but Janet released Toby a moment later. Hisface was bright red, but he was grinning wide, though several conversations had stopped and more than one customer was looking in their direction.
“Which makes this Jake,” Janet exclaimed, and a second later Jake found himself folded in a breath-stealing grip that actually lifted him off his feet. She set him back down to look at both of them, beaming. “Well, I’ll be damned! Maryann and I were sure we’d run you out of town.”
“Nah, we’ve been on the road for a while,” Jake told her. “The bagels brought us back.”
“Damn straight they brought you home, and right in time for the holidays.” Janet couldn’t have been more pleased if they’d brought her pie. “Well, traveling seems to have done you a world of good. Just wait ’til I call Maryann and tell her who came ’round to say hi. Come back for breakfast on Saturday, she’ll want to see you herself. Oh, hang on a sec, don’t move.” She wheeled around and strode across her shop, through the swinging door behind the counter.
Toby and Jake exchanged a look, but they didn’t have to wait long before Janet reappeared, holding two circular metal tins, each wrapped in colorful ribbon and topped with a large bow. She presented them with a flourish. “Happy holidays!”
“But,” Toby said hesitantly, even as he took a tin, “we were only here once, and then you gave us—”
Janet waved a hand. “You already got today’s bag of bagels, and I know you’ll be in enough from now on to make up for it.” She winked at them. “It’s awfully good to see you boys again. You got holiday plans? You shouldn’t miss the Christmas Eve show in the downtown square; they always have great carols, and there’s free cider and hot chocolate to keep your bones warm.” She jabbed her thumb at the community bulletin board near the front door. “Grab a flyer over there if you want. They handed me about a hundred and I promised I’d get rid of them.”
“We’ll check it out,” Jake said, and he meant it. He’d have had to be blind to miss the way Toby’s eyes lit up.
“Thank you.” Toby lifted his tin. “And for this too.”
“Don’t mention it! It’s Christmas, after all.” She shook their hands, still beaming, before turning back to the other patrons.
Jake and Toby slowly sat back down, Toby staring at his Christmas tin as though it might disappear if he looked away. “What is it?”
Jake rattled his by his ear. “Cookies, I’ll bet. Go ahead and open it.”
Toby looked up, surprised. “Don’t presents go under the tree?”
That stopped Jake mid-rattle. Yeah, they had a giant, honest-to-God Christmas tree strapped on the Eldorado right now, but he hadn’t really thought about the whole present-stacking ordeal that usually came after the decorating. The thought used to make him gag. Non-spiked eggnog, ornaments, and presents under the tree were something that families did when they had matching Christmas pajamas and no nightmares about full moons and Novembers. He’d been planning on getting Toby a bunch of gifts (there were so many things he should have, even if Jake had to drive a couple towns out and hustle some maudlin, drunken assholes to get enough cash for it all), but he’d assumed he’d just pull them out of the shopping bags on Christmas Day, the way he and his dad had in years when they had enough cash for presents.
But fuck, this wasToby’sChristmas, not Leon’s.If anyone deserved a Christmas done right, Toby did.
“Sure,” Jake said at last, “if you want to do it that way, but they’ll probably taste better if you eat them sooner. Besides, they’ll be pretty lonely under there, unless you’re up for some serious shopping. Christmas crowds are a real bitch, you know—these parents get all wild-eyed if you get between them and the last Tickle Me Elmo.”
Toby’s mouth quirked in a grin, wry and confident—one of the fucking hottest varieties, in Jake’s opinion. “Well,” he said with mock thoughtfulness, “if we were quick enough on our feet to take down a half dozen spider monsters and things, we might stand a chance.” The grin faded slightly. “There won’t be chainsaws ineverystore, will there?”
“Nah, just the hardware stores, and we’ll steer clear of those.”
They grinned at each other, and Toby leaned in closer. “What would you like for Christmas?”
“Aw, Toby, you don’t have to get me anything. I mean, you know what I like. M&Ms, waffles, you by my side, I’m a happy man.”
