Marriage is Murder

"I'll talk to the gift shop manager," Khaat said. "We could try a few and see how they go."

"I'll bring some for the gift shop and some for Madam Malkin's, then," her father said. Khaat was surprised to see Jess bringing her a box.

"For me?" she frowned. She opened the box and was delighted to see the outfit and the jewelry inside. "That's beautiful," she said. "Thank you. The size looks good. And the colors are perfect for fall. I think that's an outfit Brian is going to like a lot. Those are the colors he tends to pick for me if he shops for me. Thank you for thinking of me."

"Dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes," Michael told them. "Dessert might be a bit later, but that's fine. Angus will have the cookies ready in time for the kids to each have one before bed. And we can have the creme brulee with some espresso after the kids are in bed."

"Or we could have dessert twice," Angus said. "I don't know of any law that says we can't."

"Knowing you lot, you'll just practice having dessert over and over until breakfast," Robert laughed.

"That's more Jack's style," Angus said, starting to set the table.

Michael had fixed a beautiful beef burgundy with all the traditional trimmings. Khaat loved Michael's beef burgundy, and Robert was pleased that she ate, what for her, was a good serving. It was still very small, but he was pleased she had done that well.

Robert made a new flavor of tea after dinner. It was a pumpkin spice chai. Kate had made some beautiful new handblown glass mugs in jewel tones, in clear glass. Robert served the tea in the mugs.

"New flavor?" Angus sniffed the his orange colored mug.

"Indeed," Robert said, handing an amber mug to Kate. "It's an autumn flavor. Pumpkin spice chai."

"I love chai," Michael said. "It smells lovely. The pumpkin is a nice touch, and the spice is not too overpowering. You need to keep this blend in your book. Khaat, are you still selling teas in Sparks?"

"Yes. Either by the cup or in some of my mother's colored glass jars. The glass jars tend to be big sellers, particularly as gifts."

"You'll have to make a special autumn jar for these, Kate," Michael said.

"I have a special container made, but they're not jars," Kate said. "If you want to see, I'll show you after we put the kids to bed."

"Oh, that reminds me. Cookies. I promised them cookies. Our grownup dessert comes later," Angus said. He brought in a plate of pumpkin shaped shortbread cookies that were decorated with colored sugars and gave one to each child.

For some reason, Khaat knew Cassidy would be the one who didn't like it. Khaat often felt like Cassidy was entirely too finicky about her foods and missed out on the good things in life by not liking much of anything. Khaat got up and went over to the sofa and sat down and wasn't there more than a moment, when Abbey returned with a different story book, and following her was Dakota and the triplets. They all wanted a story. They climbed up on the sofa with her and piled around her.

Abbey sniffed the air as Khaat opened the book and detected the smell was coming from her teacup. She crawled over Khaat's lap to her mug and sniffed the mug and picked it up and took a sip without Khaat's asking.

"Mine," she said.

"If you want some, I'll get you some," Robert told her. Abbey nodded. Dakota wasn't about to be left out. She pulled the mug towards her and took a sip.

"You want some too?" he asked her. Dakota nodded. That left the triplets wanting a taste. "You might as well let them try it."

"I've not heard of a one year old liking tea," Khaat said.

"There's no reason not to, not if its not too hot for them," Robert said. "Let them try a tiny sip and then I'll get you a clean mug." They all tried the tea and little Robert looked at Khaat.

"Cookies, Mama," He grinned.

"Oh, thats right. It does sort of taste like your cookie did," Khaat said.

"I'll put a little in some sippy mugs for them," Angus said.

"Give me that mug, and I'll give you fresh," Robert laughed. "Add just a little extra milk and honey to if for them, Angus."

"Will do," Angus said, heading to the kitchen. Robert took Khaat's mug and headed to the kitchen. "After having a soothing warm cup of tea and a story, they'll drop right off."

"They certainly should," Robert agreed, taking her mug into the kitchen.

"I'm not worried. Its just tea," Khaat said. She noticed the kids had had their tea and their story and had dropped off to sleep. Brian and Kate and Angus came over to her. Brian took Abbey and Dakota, and Kate took Michael, Angus took Robert, and Khaat took Julia. It didn't take a moment to get them snuggly into their beds.

Khaat came back downstairs as Michael put the finishing touches on the pumpkin creme brulee. He simply put a tray of them on the table with a plate of the pumpkin shaped shortbread cookies and several cups of expertly prepared espresso. He didn't believe Cassidy would eat the pumpkin flavored creme brulee either, but he made sure there were plenty.

"I think I'll go for a bit of a walk," he told them, slipping on his jacket.

"Can I come?" Khaat asked, always glad to have a moment alone with Michael.

"I would be delighted," he smiled at her. "But take your shawl. Its chilly." He handed her a warm pink shawl, and they went out together.

"I wonder if he realizes that in so many ways he has become her substitute for Remus," Kate said.

"I think she knows," Robert said. "And I know he knows, and it doesn't bother him one bit. Perhaps a short walk in the moonlight will do them both good. He'll take good care of her, so I intend to eat my dessert and then find a good book." He and Kate took their desserts and cups of espresso and took them to the living room to enjoy them.

Brian yawned, feeling unexplainably tired early. He didn't say much. He took a dessert, feeling more grateful to get the coffee, though, and lit a fire in the fireplace and sat down on the floor to enjoy the warmth of the fire while he enjoyed his dessert.

"You really ought to go to bed when you get done there, Son," Robert told him, seeing the fatigue on Brian's face. "A good night's rest would do you good. We'll look after things."

"I might, then. Thanks," Brian said.

Michael and Khaat walked across the grounds until they'd found a clearing. Michael built a small bonfire to warm themselves.

"We could just walk back to the house," Khaat said.

"You don't want to go back yet," he laughed, setting the fire alight with his wand. "Nor do I. Are you letting her bug you?"

"No, I'm just tired of it," Khaat said. "Seriously. When we were in Hawaii, she made up her mind to try to expand her palate and not be so limited. She has no bloody clue how hard it is for Angus or you to cook for so many people and have one person who constantly doesn't like it for one reason or another. And she's giving no thought whatsoever that when she behaves like that, she's teaching not just her kids but mine too to try to be spoiled little brats. We surround everyone here with the very best cuisine in the world, and 80% of the time, she finds a reason to turn her nose up at some part of it. I'm sick of it."

Michael just laughed. "You dont' have to worry about that. Your kids, at one and two years old, already eat more things than she does as an adult. But since she takes care of them a good portion of the day, I can see your concern."

"I refuse to teach my kids that," she said. "They're going to learn all of the good things that life has to hold. there are too many foul things out there that they will learn all in good time. But, if they can learn to like as much as possible, then if it comes to it, they'll be able to survive off almost anything."

"You've given this thought. You're a good mother, Khaat. Remus would be very proud of you. But, there is a solution. And its very simple. stop trying to cater to her and plan things she'll like. Let Angus and I fix what we want. She'll either eat it or she won't. There's other food in the kitchen. She can either fix it, or go to her own house to eat, or go buy some take out. Its not up to you to take care of her. If we all ignore that part of her behaviors, your kids aren't likely to pick up on that attitude and adopt it for themselves. You're just frustrated."

"Yes. I am," she said softly. "And besides, she has no clue how complicated some of those gourmet dishes are to make. Its exceptionally rude for her to be like that."

"We dont' fix them specifically for her, though. And if we get so many more people who like it, then there's no point in us geting bent out of shape about one person. Let it go."