Love Letters

[3rd Person POV]

Another bell suddenly rang throughout the house, startling the ones in the library. 

"Why would they have that function?" Rosary asked, looking up to try to figure out where the sound of the bell was coming from. 

"Because, my parents want this house to have the same significance of a grand church." Titus said with a sarcastic smile. 

"But honestly speaking? I'm not all that sure. It's new to me."

Josephine neither agreed nor disagreed, but it was clear that the bell had also startled her and baby George, as he began whining when the noise disturbed him. 

Josephine then told them that the bell is to alert all family members to come to the living room, hence why every room has that function. They all got up and made their way over.

In the living room, all the family members were gathered, with Penny and Henry in the middle. It was then noticed that there were other new guests who appear to have just arrived. Whether they were also family members, or fellow rich friends, that would soon be found out later. 

Penny was holding a glass of wine, smiling as she took a sip before addressing the rest of the relatives. 

"I'm so glad that everyone could make it, all members of the Feremore family, our dear friends, and some, new arrivals." 

She did not need point, for pointing was rude, but her implications were clear.

Most heads turned either to Rosary, or to Uncle Motley's girlfriend. 

Paris noticed how Atticus was practically staring holes into the skulls of Titus and Rosary as they had entered the room. There was a large smile carving it's way across his face, and she elbowed him. He gave her a pout. Any outsider would think that Paris was older than the young man. 

"Now that we've given plenty of time for everyone to arrive, it's time we begin the festivities! The kitchen has been prepped with wine and cheese for our wine tasting, the glass chess pieces and poker sets will soon be set up in the drawing room upstairs for our games, and of course, trays with expensive hors' d'oeuvres will now be served! The children's playroom has been prepped and ready on the third floor as well. Let us drink and be merry!" 

Henry stood silently beside her, but moved away as soon as his wife's toast was over. He and the other men went upstairs to the drawing room. 

Most of the women went straight to the kitchen for wine and cheese. Atticus put on a golden boy smile and informed the ladies that he would be escorting all the little kids to the play room on the third floor.

All the ladies called him a saint and 'such a good little gentleman!' as they watched him gather all the children with patience and kindness, escorting all of them to the stairs after the men had already gone up. 

He waved to aunt Josephine from the stairs, asking if she'd like a break from watching baby George. The little cousins followed behind him like little ducklings.

The woman looked over at Rosary.

"I don't know enough about you, to decide what kind of person you are just yet." The woman told the young lady. 

"So far, you seem like a hardworking woman who, is susceptible to her emotions, especially when it comes to romance. But not to worry, if anyone asks me about my impression of you, I'll just tell them that you're a good, hardworking girl who wanted to give the,"

Her eyes strayed over to Titus. 

"... A nice, college student in political science, who wanted to give the bad boy a chance. Riveting enough for people to be interested, but still puts you in a good light. You're young, so our people will understand if you want to make some questionable decisions for the thrill of it. But Titus, whatever they ask about you, I can't guarantee anything about you will be in a good light." 

"I stopped hoping they ever will. As long as there's no slander towards Rosary, I'll take anything." 

Josephine tried to study him once more, wondering what he's after, but soon put it off as she turned and walked over to the stairs. 

She wore a smile as she handed her infant to Atticus who gingerly held the baby in his arms. You would never think he would be the type to sneer or to give a backhanded compliment to anyone. They lightly chattered to each other with visually appeasing smiles as they walked up the stairs together, the little kids following like ducklings. 

"Who are the other people we saw?" Rosary asked Titus now that they were finally alone again. 

"Old friends of my parents, and maybe connections? My parents made sure the Feremore riches would increase by getting a ton of connections and stuff when my mom inherited the company. It looks like most of them are staying at that popular little hotel for tourists."

He noticed that his sister had gone to take their father's place at the chair near the fire place. She was currently chatting with their grandmother, and waved the two over when she noticed them from the corner of her eye. 

As the two walked over, Paris immediately told Titus about some stores in town that she was thinking of visiting, just to reminisce. Rosary, meanwhile, came face to face with their grandmother for the first time as she slowly walked up to the fireplace, standing beside the elderly woman. 

The grandmother was the only one who seemed like she was truly dressed for the holidays. A Santa hat on her head, a pearl necklace consisting of beads painted in patterns of green and red, and she was even knitting and humming a little tune. The tune sounded similar to a typical Christmas song. 

Beside her was a little table by her chair, holding a mug of warm milk, and a plate of cookies. The grandmother looked like she could be called Mrs. Claus. 

"Hello, ma'am." Rosary cautiously greeted her, bending down to hope she was being respectful enough. 

"You must be Grandmother Caroline?"

"I prefer Grandma Carols. It just sounds much more festive, don't you think?" The old woman responded as she put her knitting needles down. 

She turned to see the young lady and adjusted her glasses. She suddenly smiled.

"Ah. I see I'm not the only one who knows how to dress right for Christmas." The elderly woman pointed to Rosary's sweater dress and scarf, and lightly chuckled. 

"Look at you! You look like one of Santa's reindeers turned into a beautiful young lady. Everyone else came dressed like those Hollywood people. And don't let anyone else know but," She waved for Rosary to come closer. 

The young lady lent her ear. 

"My own daughter looks just like Cruella, only without that genuine characteristic that you would admire in most old cartoon villains."

Rosary covered her mouth, a bit surprised and looked up at Titus and Paris, as Grandma Carol was not actually whispering. 

Paris only snickered and agreed. When Wolfie trotted up beside the grandmother, she lightly gasped and shuffled to sit up. Rosary was tempted to gently move Wolfie away but the grandmother shot her hand up, making sure nothing got between her and the dog. 

She cooed and leaned forward, making kissing noises towards the good boy. Wolfie in response, sniffed her hands and wagged his tail, resting his head in her lap as she began petting him. Carol started from his snout, to the fluffy fur on his head, cooing about his beautiful coat. 

"Jeez Grandma, you talk about his fur like you wanna turn it into your own coat!" Paris joked as she got up from her chair, also reaching to pet Wolfie. 

She was practically ready to bury her face in his fur again. 

Carol scoffed as she continued ruffling and playing with Wolfie. 

"Do you know how long it's been since I last touched such a precious thing? I've never been able to have any pets in the house ever since I married your grandfather, not with his allergy. Course, he made it up to me by making all sorts of stuffed animals for me to keep around the house!" 

"Stuffed animals?" Rosary reiterated in a questioning tone. 

"Oh, yes! Before we started working on furniture and family products, my husband used to run a toy shop, and he made lots of stuffed animals. He had quite the allergy to all sorts of animals you see- anything with fur. The closest he ever had to a pet were fish, but well, you can't play fight with a fish." Grandma Carol laughed to herself as she pet Wolfie. 

"Is that pet store still here somewhere in town?" Titus asked as he checked his pocket for Wolfie's leash that he rolled up and put away earlier. 

"If you want, we can take you to go see the little animals there." 

Grandma rejected his offer. 

"Oh, no need. I wouldn't want to make this handsome little fella jealous, he deserves all my attention. Don't ya you handsome little boy?" She continued to coo at the dog who continued wagging his tail. 

"Although, I do feel quite stuffy and would love to go out. You weren't here for the years it happened, but there were many new shops that opened up around town! And I'd love to go out and do some shopping!"  

Titus nodded with a smile, helping her stand up from her chair, and she handed her knitting needles and yarn to Paris. 

"Paris, be a dear and fetch my main servant Nellie. Tell her to bring these to my room, and to go fetch my coat. I'm going out with my grandson and his new partner."

She turned and asked Rosary what her name was again. 

"Rosary Paloma, ma'am."

"Ah! Like the prayer beads? How lovely!" Carol said as she trotted slowly past Rosary, having gotten her cane and began making her way to the stairs. 

Rosary turned back to Titus. 

"She seems very pleasant."

"Exactly as I remember. Thank goodness." He sighed with relief. 

Rosary asked Paris if she would be coming along but the woman rejected. She wanted to try the wine and cheese, then go upstairs to the game room and as she phrased it, 'observe the old coots pretending to be smart as they play poker.', maybe even record if she feels that something funny will happen. 

It depends on what how well the mini bar is utilized, and she was very keen on not missing out on whatever funny business may happen. 

"You don't think anything funny or fun in general will happen with your grandma? She seems pretty energetic and hearty to be around."

"She's a nice grandma, but, if I wanted to hang out with an elderly person and gossip while shopping, I'd be doing that with my landlord back in New York, no offense to her. I'm here for drama and chaos. You two keep Grandma safe! I'm looking for something juicy!" 

Paris waved to her as she headed to the kitchen. 

Titus would later inform Rosary that by 'juicy gossip or drama', Paris actually meant blackmail.

After his grandmother came down, dressed and ready to go out, he asked her if she wanted to get one of their servants to drive them around town. She rejected, saying she's sure Titus must drive just fine. 

Her main servant Nellie, who also called the grandmother, 'Carol', was informed of where Carol would be going, and bid them to have a fun outing as they left. 

Rosary felt strange as they walked outside the lodge, looking up the house, and to the big round window on the third floor. Wolfie nudged her forward, urging her to go towards the car, for he knew that while the cold was nothing to him, Rosary should not stay in the cold for long. 

She had Wolfie sit in the back and snuggle close to Grandma Carol, helping the woman to get buckled in but she insisted she needed no help. 

"My eldest grandson may be an adult now, but that says nothing about me!" She insisted. 

Rosary only nodded, going to the front passenger seat. 

The gates reopened as they drove out of the property grounds, and made their way into town. This is when Grandma Carol began to reveal more of her true personality. 

When they made it into town, Carol helped her grandson jog his memory about all the places in town that never changed. She helped advise him of the best place to part, showing how eager she was to get out of the car and go out on the town. 

Rosary let her have the leash so she can walk Wolfie, and they went to explore the different shops. She pointed each one to the young couple, reminiscing to the young lady about the ones that never changed despite actual decades, and informing Titus of the new ones that appeared while he was in jail. 

Titus was trying to find a balance between hovering over her and making sure she didn't slip in the snow, whilst also catering to her whims and doing whatever she wanted to do.

"You know Titus, when I insisted that you drive, I was actually hoping you were a tad rusty, given your time in prison, and that we'd have a fun ride into town with you swerving and such." She suddenly said.

"I, I'm sorry?" He questioned, caught off guard. 

His grandmother sighed as she led them down a path in between buildings, her cane making soft taps against the sidewalk. 

"To be honest, I expected you to be different when you got out of prison. Before your arrest, you were such a fun, smart, and outgoing person! After I heard you were released from prison, I was hoping you'd at least have some tattoos! Back when I was young and got arrested, I did everything I could to make it would be easy to see that I once spent time in jail!" 

"S-should I be hearing this, ma'am?" Rosary stammered. 

Carol only responded with a chuckle as they entered a liquor store, something that neither of the two noticed until they were greeted with a welcome from the man at the cash register. 

"Well, now that we're out of the house, you can hear all you want! The amount of stories I could tell you about my youth, and the fun certainly didn't stop just because I got married! Or had children! My Penny seems like such a refined young lady, she would never tell you about how we once took a hike through the woods when she was a child, and she met a wild fox! She's loved fur ever since." 

"Did, did she skin that fox??" Rosary hesitated to ask. 

Grandma Carol didn't answer, only trotting away to one of the liquor aisles, namely the aisle categorized as the vodka section. Wolfie trotted beside her, being the only thing that made sure she walked at a steady pace and put Titus' worried heart at ease

As they helped her shop for a certain type of vodka that she wanted, she asked how they met. 

Rosary told her that Titus was her pen pal for an assignment, and Titus told her that it was through the series of letters, and a later lead up to meeting Rosary in person. 

She then wondered if when they met, Rosary already had good boy Wolfie with her. 

"Actually, I adopted him much later after having met Titus in person. It was after a sort of, a um- small incident."

"Hmm, sounds like something neither of you talked about." Grandma Carol hummed. 

As she finally picked her chosen bottle of Vodka and brought it up to the counter, her and the cashier began chatting. Clearly she had been to this liquor store before. 

Titus awkwardly gave Rosary a side glance, hands behind his back. She already knew what he was thinking. 

"No, I didn't get Wolfie because of one of your friends." She whispered to him. 

"Then what happened that prompted you to get him? I keep telling you, if one of my friends bothered you when I was in jail, I'd understand. It has been six years, I have no idea what happened to them after my arrest." 

"It wasn't that at all, just, I don't think the guy who followed me was a friend of yours at all." She shook her head. 

"Then who? Something tells me you know who he is."

"I just, I don't want to make any assumptions, and he never did anything but briefly follow me, so, it's okay. It's been a while already." She whispered to him, tugging on his sleeve so they could go back to walking with his grandmother. 

Titus sighed but begrudgingly decided to drop his questions, moving his wrist to hold her hand.

They left the store, Titus offering to help hold the liquor for Carol. She handed it to him so that she could have some free hands to use her cane whilst still walking Wolfie. Grandma still kept lamenting about how Titus only became more boring after getting released from jail, not that she thought it was a bad thing, but it's as if he grew a different kind of spine that one she expected. 

"You can be honest around me, sweetie. I'm sure you must've gotten something interesting from prison." She said as they passed by the stores and bakeries. 

One bakery was holding a fun little gingerbread decorating competition and Carol suggested they try that, instead of the boring poker games back at the house. 

They entered the bakery, seeing multiple tables, each with one team each getting ready. The baker also recognized Grandmother Carol, welcoming her with a hug. He enveloped her with his burly arms. 

"Carol! I had been waiting for you!" He cheerfully greeted. 

"I even had your table all set up. What took you so long?" He joked. 

He guided her to a round table near the window, where they could see all the lights and lovely Christmas decorations outside, but where they would also be placed right underneath the vent where warm air blew down on them just right. 

Grandma Carol scoffed as she spoke with him.

"I would've gotten here sooner, if only these two children here weren't so fussy about me 'taking it easy'! You should tell them how I used to jog and march at parades and ran parties!" 

The baker moved his eyes from his old friend to see the young couple who came through the door with her. He was about to give them the usual greeting before his eyes landed on Titus, and his face contorted, as if seeing a long lost cat. His white frosted eyebrows furrowed in surprise.

"Titus? Is that you?" He asked in the softest voice that a burly, old man like him could muster. 

The young man cleared his throat, awkwardly thinking of avoiding eye contact, before Rosary gave him a soft pat on the back, encouraging him to try speaking up. 

He made eye contact with the baker, sheepish, like a shy little boy. 

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Piper."

The baker let out a hearty laugh, pulling Titus into a tight hug, letting go, and giving him a friendly albeit strong smack on the back. 

"It's been years since I saw you! I nearly thought you had begun some, big city job somewhere out of state! oh, look at you. You used to be a tad frail back then, it seems you've gained some muscle!" He said, giving the young man another friendly smack on the back. 

Titus gave him a grin as his grandmother responded, agreeing that it seems like Titus grew a different kind of spine. 

To confirm their belief in his growth, he looked over to Rosary, silently asking for permission and turned with open arms. When she responded with a smile and didn't step away, he swiftly picked her up, making sure her skirt didn't flow too much, and held her firmly in a bridal carry. He surprised the other people around him, and other heads turned when Rosary could not help hold back her giggle and kick her feet, wrapping her arms around his neck for stability.

Mr. Piper and Grandma Carol chuckled and applauded the sight, seeing Titus hold her with ease. 

"Now that's how I know you've grown up!" The baker laughed. 

"These young men nowadays, you hardly ever see anyone properly sweep their lady off their feet! And what's the name of the little lady you have with you?"

"It's Rosary, sir." She greeted with a smile, trying to reach over and shake his hand. 

She then reached up, noticing how close she was to the ceiling, and they were then reminded how short the bakery structure was. Titus carefully set her down, also having just realized he was close to smacking her head against the ceiling. 

The baker properly shook her hand and also gave her a tight hug. 

"Welcome to our humble town! I have a feeling I'll see you every year, if the young man does everything right!" He told her playfully as he looked over her shoulder to the man he was referring to. 

 Titus almost wanted to pout, thinking the baker had no faith in his ability to keep a relationship, but he knew the baker was only joking. Grandma Carol sat at the table, Rosary sat beside her, telling Wolfie to sit. Titus joined them after helping to take their coats, and his grandma's scarf and gloves, placing them in a neat pile in the seat beside him, not paying any mind to the other families who saw them pull that stunt. 

Titus could feel their stares, but he knew if he pointed it out, Rosary would feel embarrassed and not be able to focus during the competition. Ignorance is bliss in these cases. 

The baker and his other employees brought out the sets of freshly baked, freshly cooled gingerbread house pieces for each team after everyone signed the roster. A tray with all the required pieces were given to each table, along with tubes of frosting, another tray with assortments of candy, and other edible tools that can be used to build their cookie houses.

It was the first time both Titus and Rosary felt at ease and cozy ever since coming to this town. When they entered that bakery, smelled all the fresh pastries and desserts, seeing the little families or groups of kids each at different tables, they felt they could relax and be themselves. Especially since Grandma made it clear she didn't want to enter the contest to win, she just really liked decorating gingerbread houses. 

Rosary watched as Titus seemed to revert back into his grandmother's precious grandson, helping her quietly decorate their team's gingerbread house. He chuckled, trying to set it up with his clumsy hands, and his grandmother would tease him for that, before helping to properly set up, showing him a trick with using the rice crispy treats and marshmallows. 

She sat up to back away and record a full view of them with her phone, smiling behind it. 

"I'll leave the decorating to you, after I finish this roof! If it manages to fall apart when you are only trying to apply frosting, I'm going to laugh at you." She told him as she smeared some frosting on the edges, placing the two large rectangles on top of the walls. 

"Rosary, come over here and do the frosting so my Grandma doesn't laugh at me!" He called her over, putting his hands together to fake-plead to her with eyes he knew she couldn't resist. 

The young lady put her phone away and jokingly made a sarcastic comment on him not being artistic anyway, as she got to work, taking one of the red tubes. Titus fought back by taking his phone out and showing proof that he could be artistic, showing his grandmother photos of all the latte art he made at work. 

She readjusted her glasses, impressed and surprised, for she visibly remembered that he never knew how to make latte art before. 

The competition ended after timer ran out, and the baker and his employees walked around, checking on how each team did with their gingerbread houses. 

Some houses fell apart, and others were clearly made by toddlers, but since the prize wasn't anything serious, no one felt the need to be too competitive unless they were yearly competitors with certain rivals. 

Rosary and her team's gingerbread house was decorated with all the edges outlined in dark chocolate frosting, shingle designs drawn with red gel and dusted with powdered sugar, and a door accentuated with one of the little rectangular cookies provided for decoration. The leftover rice krispies were covered in green frosting and used as pushes, dusted with bits of crushed up candy. If only they could figure out how to get the candy canes to stand up right, along with how to get the candy corns to stay glued to the broken edges. 

Titus had tried desperately to figure out how to make those stand up, becoming more flustered when he only ended up getting lots of frosting on his fingers. Still, Rosary found it amusing and took photos of the entire tray, including the messy parts, including Titus' hands as he looked for some napkins on the table to wipe the frosting off. Carol had hid the napkins as soon as she saw him getting his hands messy, and only gave them to him after the baker and employees saw. His ears were red. 

"You've gotten meaner over the years." He jokingly pouted, taking the napkins from her. 

"I was just wondering if you would resort to letting Wolfie lick the frosting off." Carol said, petting the said dog who she noticed stayed quiet and in one spot the whole time. 

First place went to a couple who accidentally broke one of the pentagon walls, but managed to make up for it by transforming their gingerbread house into stable. Something similar to the models of stables typically used to mimic the place where Jesus was born in the bible, with broken pieces of their gingerbread wall used as pieces of wood, crackers broken to mimic hay, and they even managed to make the little cradle for baby Jesus. 

The prize was a bag of gingerbread men, family members to be placed inside the winning gingerbread house. Aside from that, the parents could now allow their toddlers to eat the broken cookie pieces. 

Titus asked Carol if she wanted to put their house in a bag to bring home, but then he caught himself, quickly realizing that no one back at the lodge would want to eat gingerbread that wasn't expensive, or knowing that it was the loser of a friendly family contest. 

"As if any of them would know how to enjoy good gingerbread!" Grandma waved off the idea, immediately ripping a piece of the roof off. 

She asked Rosary if Wolfie could have a piece. 

"As long as it's just a little, and that the chocolate frosting is wiped off, I'm sure it should be fine."

"Surely, Wolfie seems like a very strong boy, especially one with such good restraint." 

Carol gave the large shepherd dog a kiss on the head, ripping a different piece of the roof that had no chocolate frosting and feeding it to him. 

"When Titus moved in with me, Wolfie was still just a puppy. You can basically thank him for raising Wolfie into such a big strong boy. He's the one who always takes him on runs through the neighborhood, making sure he gets good exercise."

"Runs? Through the neighborhood?" 

"I-it was so that I could get more used to, going outside- it was my only excuse to go outside often, at the time." Titus nearly wanted to cover his face with his hands. 

Carol chuckled. 

"And to think, back when you were in college, the most outdoor activity you would ever do was lounge outside by the pool during a party. I still have the photos." 

"Grandma." The young man groaned into his hands as Carol laughed and continued. 

"You used to be so lazy back! Even though you played football in high school, as soon as you got into college, you quit but kept your jersey, riding your own coattail! And then you would do nothing but party and play beer pong with your friends on weekends! I still have the photos for those too!" 

He groaned further into his hands as he could feel Rosary staring at him with a mockingly scandalized expression, hand over her mouth as her eyes went wide like a deer in headlights. 

"Please don't picture any of that, dear." He said to her. 

They left the bakery soon after, Mr. Piper waving them goodbye and letting them know they were welcomed back anytime. 

Titus helped his grandmother put her coat and scarf back on, then he helped Rosary put hers on even when she insisted he didn't have to. He slung her scarf behind her, holding both ends, about to tie it, only to gently, swiftly, pull her towards him by her scarf. 

He kissed her briefly before pulling away and tying her scarf. She lightly smacked his chest before also pulling him in for a proper kiss, having to reach up, since he was tall and she was short. 

They made sure nothing was left behind or messier than when they came, and left the bakery to go check out the other shops. 

"Was that really Titus?" One of the employees whispered to Mr. Piper as they began cleaning up all the tables. 

"As in the son who spent time in jail? He seems,,, not like someone who just left prison." She said. 

"Maybe prison was humbling, or maybe he always was a good person, he just needed a change in behavior and habits." Mr. Piper responded gruffly, stacking the trays. 

He looked to the table where he and the other two ladies accompanying him just were, chuckling to himself. 

"It's been years since we last saw him, so it's too early to make any assumptions just yet. But so far from what we've seen, he's certainly nothing like what Atticus had us believe he would be."

"A-Atticus never said anything about-" 

"I know what Atticus implied each time he brought up Titus, Fern. You don't get to my age without ever noticing when someone frequently comes to visit, talking vaguely about another person, and doing that repeatedly, and not seeing a clue of what idea they are trying to plant in people's heads."

The employee looked down, fiddling with her hands. 

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything bad. He's young."

"He's in his twenties. But, I suppose that would still be young, still early enough for him to hopefully catch on to his behavior and start to change." 

The baker and the employees went back to cleaning the tables, getting ready for another round of gingerbread houses.

As they walked past all the shops, now just browsing, Titus couldn't help but glance at his grandmother every now and then, wanting to say something but feeling reluctant. 

"Something on your mind, Titus?" She asked without even looking over her shoulder, as if sensing it. 

"Do the people here, not know that I was arrested seven years ago?"

"The people here have known you for each time you and the rest of the family would come over for Christmas. Many more years than the mere six where you were gone. Word may travel fast, but it takes much more to sway people opinions, especially ones whose interests don't change at the drop of a hat, and especially when they don't much believe articles and would rather see the real thing for themselves." 

They stopped at a toy shop where a train set was being modeled in the big window near the door. The three of them watched as the realistic toy train rode on the plastic rails, letting out a little 'choo-choo' recording sound. 

Rosary noticed through the windows, a shelf full of books and typewriters, and out of excitement, her body visibly shook, wanting to go inside and take a look at the antiques. Titus suggested she go on ahead, saying they'd catch up after looking at the train model. His grandfather liked train models, and they used to have a model into family lodge. He's not sure if it's still in the house, or was replaced with something more chic and fancy, so he wants to take a good look at the one in the display window. 

Rosary nodded, and Carol handed Wolfie's leash back to her, not wanting the boy's feet to get too cold just because he was staying beside her in the growing snow on the sidewalk. 

The bell above the door dinged, and they both went inside.

"I know that I was going on a tangent earlier about you being different from what I expected prison to change you into, but I really do think you came out a good person, and others can see that."

Titus gripped the neck of the bottle of vodka in his hand, crinkling the brown paper bag that it was put inside of. 

"But none of the family can, and even if they could, I'm pretty sure they'd still choose to look the other way. It's been, along time, a lot has happened, and I can't, I don't think the same as them anymore. It's making my plans difficult."

"Well, what are your plans?" Carol turned to him and asked. 

"I,,, I just need to make sure that they see how great Rosary is. But each time I'm about to try, I'm afraid that something will go wrong, or they'll end doing something that will alarm Wolfie and then he'll do something considered trouble and then they'll try to hurt him."

"I wouldn't let them harm a hair on his or your dear's head!" Grandma Carol said, stomping her cane in the snow. 

He nodded, grinning absentmindedly. 

"Wolfie is such a good boy, and your dear seems to have a good head on her shoulders. What are you worried about? Why do you want the family to see how good she is? Don't get me wrong- I've missed you, but if you wanted her to have a good Christmas, then why come and see your family members of all things?"

"... I just, want to repay her for everything she's done."

"And what exactly has she done, in your perspective? No offense, but as nice as some men can be, sometimes there perspectives can be a tad different from what has actually happened. And believe me, your grandfather was very sweet to me, but sometimes he misunderstood me often." She asked, shaking her head with a grin.

As the cold blew harder, wind just getting a tad sharper, Titus ushered her and him inside the store. 

The store clerk greeted them and the said hello back. 

When Titus noticed Rosary nose deep in a certain book in the library section, he ushered his grandmother and him to duck away in a different aisle, further away. He was very thankful that Wolfie was trained not to bark inside a quiet store, even after seeing him, not unless something happened. They ended up in the section where old antique makeup sets were put for display.

"You know those things you said about me earlier at the bakery? How I was lazy, and shallow?" He whispered to Carol as he looked at the antique sets behind the glass boxes.

"Well, prison did change me, but the main reason I changed into a person who drives careful, and knows a lot about dog care, is because of Rosary."