Angels In The Snow
"Gently!" Lizzy cried as she watched Connor and DC Fitzwilliam pull her two year old daughter into the family room.
"They won't hurt her," Olivia said knowingly as she passed Lizzy a cup of coffee.
"Much," Lizzy replied.
"No, not at all," Olivia reassured her. "Now, hurting each other, that's another matter entirely. But they treat their little cousin with kid gloves."
As she spoke, Lizzy observed that what Olivia said was true. Although the boys always seemed to be roughhousing with each other, they were almost deferential to Rachel, who was half their age.
"Well! Will wonders never cease?" Lizzy said. "Charm school?"
"No; believe it or not, that's their father's doing."
"I don't believe it," Lizzy said bluntly.
"How dare you doubt my beloved," Olivia said. "He is actually capable of imposing discipline--well, on the boys, anyway." Lizzy laughed as she reached for one of Olivia's legendary oatmeal cookies. "It began when Rache was really small. They always wanted to hold her when she was over here so Richard taught them to be very gentle with her. Mina told me that they went after a girl who pushed Rache at play group the other day. They descended on the poor kid like avenging angels and made it absolutely clear that Rachel was not to be pushed around. Of course, they didn't hurt her; they just gave the girl the same lecture Richard's been giving them since they were two. The play group leader was very impressed."
"Those Fitzwilliam men," Lizzy teased. "They all have a knack for impressing a girl."
"You'd better believe it," Richard said, coming up behind her. He kissed Lizzy on the cheek. "Why is Rache out of her snowsuit? We're going outside to build a snowman. Didn't anyone tell you? And where's Will? He's got shovel duties."
"He didn't bother to come inside," Lizzy replied, "said something about only being dragged out again as soon as he got comfortable. Will you take him some coffee?"
"Fill a Thermos and consider it done," Richard said as he picked up Rachel's discarded snowsuit and added it to the two suits already in his arms. He headed for the family room, where he dressed Rachel. The boys were old enough to dress themselves.
"Here, Lizzy," Olivia said, pulling a small package out of her knitting bag. It was wrapped in hot pink tissue paper. "These are for Rache." Lizzy tore open the wrapping and smiled at the pair of pink mittens. "Unless I got my wires crossed those should match the hat and scarf William made her."
"Excuse me? I made Rachel's hat and scarf, thank you very much," Lizzy said. "And these match perfectly. Except they're fuzzy; why is that?"
"I felted them," Olivia explained. "They're snow mittens."
"You made Rache snow mittens?" Richard called from the family room.
"He's got the hearing of a beagle," Olivia quipped.
"Fortunately, that's the only part of him that resembles one," Lizzy said as she held up the mittens. "These are so cute!"
"Go get 'em," Richard told his youngest cousin. She walked over to her mother and held up her hands. Lizzy strung the cord through her sleeves and helped Rachel into the upper half of her snowsuit.
"Pink!" Rachel declared with glee. She returned to Richard to show her new mittens and declared them warm. Richard proudly showed her his own mittens, which were bright red, like those of his two sons.
"We're off," Richard announced as he led his young charges to the door.
"Keep an eye on her!" Lizzy called.
"Of course," Richard said confidently.
"Here!" Olivia said. Richard went to her and retrieved the Thermos for William. Then four gaily colored hands waved goodbye and Lizzy and Olivia were left in the relative quiet of the Fitzwilliams' massive kitchen. They had a good view of the yard, where William had already shoveled together enough snow to form the base of a snowman.
"Where's Lizzy?" William asked as he accepted the offered Thermos.
"She's inside with Livy. I think they're planning to sit this one out," Richard said.
"The heck they are!" William said, setting the Thermos down on top of the mound of snow. He pulled off his gloves and shoved them under one arm as he headed into the house, where he found Lizzy and Olivia at the table, sipping coffee while they knitted. "Ladies," he said sternly.
"Hello, Will," Olivia said amiably.
"Hi, honey," Lizzy smiled.
"Don't you 'hi, honey' me! What are you two doing inside? This was supposed to be a family project."
"Looks like you've got plenty of family out there to me," Olivia quipped. "Just make sure you count the children before you come back inside."
"Did you see the mittens Olivia made for Rache?" Lizzy asked.
"Yes, I did. They turned out perfectly," William said to Olivia. "So did mine."
"You made her some, too?" Lizzy asked.
"No," William replied with a smile that made Lizzy wary. "I made you some. That way we can all go outside and play." He pulled a pair of lime green mittens from his pocket and tossed them into her lap.
"Lime green?"
"Olivia suggested that I choose a bright color so you wouldn't lose them in the snow."
"Traitor," Lizzy said to her friend. She picked up the mittens. "I won't be able to lose these anywhere," she said as she untied the cord that tethered the mittens.
"That's the idea," Olivia and William said in unison.
"No fair!"
"Don't worry, love," William said. "I'm working on a felted scarf and hat in the same color. I know how fashion-conscious you are."
"Thanks," Lizzy deadpanned. "I guess I've been drafted." She reached for the black jacket William had just bought her and eyed him suspiciously. "This was a set-up, wasn't it?"
He didn't answer as he held up the jacket and helped Lizzy slip it on. Olivia rose and went to the counter.
"Here, hon; you're going to need these." She handed Lizzy a plastic bag containing a carrot, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and a few other vegetables for adorning the snowman. "Richard raided the fridge earlier."
"Say, wait a minute! How come you get to stay indoors?" Lizzy protested.
"She doesn't," William said. Olivia sighed and went to the closet for her jacket.
"Well, it was worth a shot," she said as she pulled it on and walked toward the door. She pulled on a pair of bright purple mittens. "Let's go."
The End