Page 8 of A Siren Song for Christmas
“It was pretty busy today.” For the next few minutes, Trent kept up a continuous stream of chatter even though Jasper wasn’t paying attention. Eventually he trailed off. He held in a sigh as he stared at his brother.
Strangely, Jasper kind of reminded Trent of Mr Marin when he’d been staring out the window earlier that day. Why did Mr Marin do that?
Was he yearning for some far-off place, like the ocean? After all, sirens lived in the ocean. Trent knew that much. Once again, he wondered why Mr Marin lived so far away from the sea.
“But nothing really exciting happened at the Christmas markets today. Just lots of customers.” Trent laughed. “Cas isin full Christmas pixie mode, of course.” Cas was their adopted pixie brother who was obsessed with Christmas. “He wore all gold.”
Jasper drank the rest of the tea. After a moment he put down the cup. “I might lie down for a bit.”
“Oh. Of course.” Trent rose to his feet, knowing when he was being asked to leave.
He tried not to feel hurt. Jasper needed to rest. Still, it stung. It seemed that none of his siblings had time for Trent these days.
“I should get going anyway.” Trent took a step back. “I promised Ordelia I’d come by tonight and help her with bedtime for the little ones.”
“Say hi to them for me. Thank you for bringing me the tea.” Jasper gave a nod towards the cupboard. “You know where I keep my coins.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Trent waved a hand at him.
“Come on, Trent. Take what I owe you. You already trek across town to get me the medicine every day. You’re not paying for it as well.”
“Fine.” Trent went to the cupboard and opened a drawer. It was a dance the two did every day. Trent offered to cover the costs of the medicine with his own money. Jasper would not hear it.
Trent counted the coins and pocketed them. “There. Fifty bells. Happy?”
Jasper gave a nod.
Thankfully, since Jasper had never bought the elothea seeds himself, he didn’t know how much they actually cost. So Trent could at least pay for most of it. It was one way Trent could help his older brother.
Chapter
Five
“Trent. Come on in! Thank you for coming by.” Ordelia carried her daughter, Ruthie, in her arms. His sister had something red, probably food, stuck in her hair. There was a blob of something yellow next to her eyebrow too.
Trent didn’t comment on either. “You know I’m always happy to help out.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “You’ve always been such a good boy.” She turned to her stepson, who was sitting on the floor, only half-dressed in his sleeping clothes. “And isn’t he an excellent uncle?”
Michael nodded. He smiled at Trent with a toothy grin.
“Can you help Michael get dressed for bed? He just washed.” Then Ordelia smiled at Michael. “After that, maybe Uncle Trent can read to you whilst I put Ruthie to sleep.”
Ruthie held one of her horns in her hand as she stared at her mother with wide, innocent eyes. Of course, that was an act. The little toddler hated going to bed and would no doubt protest loudly with screams and cries.
Trent regularly helped with the nighttime routine, especially because Ordelia’s husband, Tony, often worked late. It was the least he could do for his older sister.
“Come on, Ruthie. Let’s get you to bed.” Ordelia swept from the room.
Trent put down his pack and turned to Michael. It took a couple of minutes to help him get dressed. Thankfully the clothing didn’t catch on his horns. That had happened the first few times Trent had assisted him.
“This one!” Michael proclaimed as he chose a book. He dropped beside Trent.
Trent picked it up. On the cover was a faun surrounded by pine trees in a wintry forest. “The Little Faun and His Big, Awesome, Magical Christmas Adventure.” Trent read the title.
He’d read this book a thousand times to Michael. It was a favourite. Apparently, it had been a Christmas gift from Michael’s mother before she died. Like Tony, his first wife had been a faun.
Trent opened the book. “There once was a little fawn who set off through the snow in search of a big, awesome, magical Christmas adventure.”