2. Winter of Five
There’s a brassy chill in the air!
Flakes gather soft and quiet.
The friends bundle up and head outside to face the frost and share a hot chocolate with their neighbors.
They arrive at their neighborhood restaurant, called “Dealer’s Choice” because they all take turns cooking and no one ever knows what will be on the menu. The only thing that never changes about this eatery is that they all get served taco salad on their birthday. Other than that one single dish, no one has a “usual order” or plans ahead, they just enjoy each other’s cooking.
When you sit outside on the porch during fine days and evenings and look straight up, you can see all the tree tips pointing together and it’s an especially fine view when the moon or the sun shines right through the clearing in the canopy.
When the weather is especially cold, wet or bitter, they enjoy building a little fire inside that warms the space with flickering, popping light and heat. There are always soft blankets to be found in a trunk by the door and really good slippers that seem to fit anyone, no matter what size their feet are or if those feet have claws, scales, feathers or fur. That’s how you know it’s a “really good slipper.”
On this chilly morning, it was Robin the Robin’s turn to make breakfast.
Robin had lived in the neighborhood much longer than Mousey and his friends, Clementine Pennyfoot and Teddy Bearon. She was the one that always delivered letters between her bright beak and had a beautiful way of describing things with big, delicious, words. If the friends ever had trouble describing what they were feeling deep in their chest, they would always know how to say it out loud better after trying to tell Robin. She just knew words. She knew how to listen to people and let them find their own words too.
Robin was behind the old oak countertop when the friends blustered in through the door with a gust of frigid air. As they entered, she ruffled her feathers and glanced up at the sound of the tinkling bell on top of the door.
“Brrr! I’ve got a cup of hot chocolate for your nose and a warm fire for your toes! Come in and sit down, friends! ” Robin sang out.
They all nodded gratefully, not saying much because their faces were still frozen stiff as they shuffled over to the set of chairs by the fire. The floorboards in the Dealer’s Choice Restaurant creaked loudly with every step. They always did that no matter what the weather wanted to do that day, but you didn’t notice it after a while.
Looking up from the Dealer’s Choice Neighborhood Restaurant
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