Letter in hand, Patience slid onto the arm of Schuler’s seat. Anax extended a thick tendril to wrap around her waist as Schuler opened the envelope. She made no effort to read past her husband’s shoulder, he would relay anything important to her ears. Instead she mused over the little gown while Schuler read. She nearly left her position to continue sewing when Schuler rested the letter on his lap and issued an amused huff.

He turned to Patience with a beaming smile. “Albert and his family have finally settled in New Georgia, Kanata in a junction town called Yaleton.”

“They were in the Torondek before, weren’t they?” said Patience.

“And now he’s expanded his outfitting trade!” Schuler slapped the unoccupied arm of his chair. “That brother o’ mine, that entrepreneuring fox!”

Patience laughed at his jubilation.

“Er, yes,” coughed Schuler, straightening himself. “Since they couldn’t attend our wedding, they’ve now invited us to visit!”

“Really!” she breathed.

Fate appeared to be weaving a web. The first thread led to a trunk showing up on their door, and now a second thread sent them an invitation to travel. For a brief moment, Patience wondered if this web would lead to a spider’s trap of disappointment or be a glittering tapestry to admire at its completion. Still, it was a promising opportunity and would be a grand distraction from domestic duties.

“They would love to meet you,” Schuler continued. “This would be the perfect time for our honeymoon!”

Patience nodded. “I would very much like to meet them as well … and Kanata does sound like quite the place to visit.”

“Traveling!” Anax burbled.

Schuler beamed. “We can spend Christmas with them!”

“People …” hummed Anax.

“What about Anax?” asked Patience. “I don’t want to leave him here while we’re so far away.”

“Hmm. We can have him all the way to Yaleton … Once we meet my brother, though … I suppose we could take him out privately on our daily excursions.”

“Do you not want me to have Anax on in the presence of your family?”

“I don’t know if it will sit well with them. Your other proclivities might already test their tolerance.”

“I’ve married you, I’m your family. They must accept that regardless of what they think of me. And Anax is your family too now!” Patience declared.

“I don’t want to cause a stir …”

“I’m not asking you to introduce Anax as a person. I’m only asking that he be present.”

“I’ll be good. I’ll be silent,” said Anax.

“They’ll be none the wiser. I’ll even wear dresses the entire trip! To make up for his presence and to conform to what is commonplace.”

Schuler balked. “You? In a dress? For more than one day?”

“I’m sure I could wear my mother’s. I can have Mrs. Laurence tailor a couple of them to fit.” She placed her hands on her hips. “It shall be my sacrifice.”

“I’m honored,” Anax remarked.

Schuler stroked his chin and his lips split into a smile. “Well, how can I refuse that?” He then rose to fix supper. As he navigated the kitchen, Anax bogged him with questions about the area they would visit in two months’ time.

A flurry of anticipation swept over Patience. With so much to prepare for, she immediately dashed to her old room where she had moved her parents’ things to pick the dresses she had promised.

Now that she and Schuler had moved to the main bedroom, her room from her youth seemed a distant memory despite her full occupancy only several months ago. She approached it with as much reverence as she had with her parent’s previous room. Her old wardrobe revealed her mother’s collection of clothing. Riffling through the columns of fabric, Patience considered each piece.

She wiped her palms against her thighs, feeling the cotton weathered by the elements and washboard. She had chosen her pantaloon style for their billowing legs after seeing such garments from the Osman Empire in a book. From afar the pants would take the appearance of a dress, and it deflected attention comfortably. Slimmer trousers were too conspicuous as Patience found out years ago when she tested the fit and utility of one of her father’s pairs. People noticeably gawked and gossiped from even across the street.

Soon to be under the scrutiny of Schuler’s family, Patience would abandon this small part of herself. She had grown so accustomed to pants, she insisted upon a pair of bloomers under her wedding gown rather than a petticoat. A grin bent her lip. She would allow herself this one indulgence on the trip. Her dress hems were long enough to hide this statement, and the family would be none the wiser. Patience shook her head, flinging continued thoughts of pants aside. Her hands alighted on two pieces from her mother and she set them aside to later take into Keaton.

At the kitchen table with a platter of creamed spinach and roasted beef, Schuler spoke of his family. It had been many years since he had seen them last, so he could only impart so much information, but each tidbit led Patience to form a more tenable vision of them in her mind.

Patience perked from her loaded fork. “We ought to bring gifts.”

“They don’t expect anything, but it’s the season, after all.”

“A housewarming as well!” she chirped. “Hm, how old are the children?”

“Lemme do some math here …” Schuler scratched his chin between Anax’s jaws. “Eldest are twenty and seventeen. The youngest are ten and six.”

“I suppose I can sew an animal for the six-year-old. The girl, correct?”

“Ruthie." Schuler nodded with a bite of beef.

“Anax, would you like to help me?”

“Sure,” said the skull absentmindedly. A glimmer of a tendril appeared at the rim of the dish, licking a dollop of cream

“I’ll get a bottle of wine for Albert and Marguerite,” said Schuler, “maybe marbles for the youngest boy, Philipp. Elias is getting to be a man now, so perhaps something special for him.”

“What about a hip flask?”

“That might be nice. Hm … now about Ingrid, the seventeen-year-old.”

“Oh, I could sew a little drawstring coin purse for her. I’ve got some velvet and silk swatches saved.”

“That sounds perfect.” Schuler tilted Anax up and reached past the corner of the table to kiss her forehead.

“Gifts are such a trivial matter,” said Anax as his tendril moved to the beef. “Tell me more about where they live!”

“I’ve told you all I know! I haven’t even been to Kanata proper—Tahoma I imagine has similar terrain, but we only performed in Siahl along the coast.” Schuler shook his head. “Words can only do so much. You’ll just have to wait until we get there to see with your own eye!”

Patience swallowed, reflecting on her last vacation away from Keaton. “It’s a bit exhilarating, isn’t it? Kanata seems so wild and rugged. I imagine it’s far from the comfortable charm of St. Phocas.”

Schuler snorted. “At least where we are going to stay.”

“I can’t wait to enter a forest again,” said Anax, “even if the trees and land are different from my home region.”

Patience sighed dreamily. “I don’t want my imagination to run amuck. Perhaps I ought not to fill my head with fancies refreshed from my books.”

“Wipe your mind clean and don’t think a thing.” Schuler grinned. “It’s a wide, open world. Let’s see what it has to offer!”

A promise of the wild was a tempting image. Anax dared to imagine being in Kanata. Feeling the unturned earth, embracing the air untouched by smoke or fumes, existing free of humans and any trace of their presence for miles around. Perhaps he could even form his full body, shed his humanoid form for his original shape, and have a run if either Patience or Schuler would agree. The creature’s fog hitched. He only hoped it would be realized.