o----(::::::::::>10 Searing 4620
The shop and the apartment above it were in decent shape. The last few months had been total chaos for the Chrysotephanos family. Back at the beginning of Glade, their very first consignment of wine from Teos had arrived, shepherded by his grandson Ajax, the family’s agent aboard ship. He immediately set back to sea, hoping to bring in a second load before the harbor froze over in Frost. That left Andros, his daughter Dorothea, and her three younger children, sixteen-year-old Harald, fourteen-year-old Aspasia, and twelve-year-old Erik back in Oxentide to set up shop.
And set up they did. They rented out a small storefront near a major square in the heart of Oxentide, complete with storage in the basement and a comfortable apartment above. It was a distinct improvement over the tiny room the family of six had shared before the move. Andros and his three grandsons took the big room, leaving Doro and her daughter some privacy in the smaller bedroom. Andros found it great fun - lots of late nights telling stories and giving sage advice.
For this week, however, Ajax was out of town and the other boys were bunking with their mother. Andros had cajoled the boys into cleaning the room to the point that it no longer smelled like a collection of wet socks. Dorothea had been unusually helpful at getting the rest of the apartment looking nice. She’d never met Miki, and while she was happy for her father she also seemed a little skeptical of this woman he talked about in such reverent tones.
Andros himself was a ball of nerves and excitement. He’d gotten a haircut and beard trim that morning and had his best clothes laundered. The living room was spotless and there were fresh flowers on the bedside table in his room. The sheets were clean, the mattress re-stuffed with fresh straw. The little picture of Miki he’d had painted several years before was in a place of honor on the wall.
She was supposed to be on the fast ferry coming upriver, which arrived at 3:00 and was rarely late. That meant she’d be here at 3:30 if she found her way easily. Andros closed up the store at noon, and at 2:30 Dorothea shooed the children out to play in the square while she herself went to the market. The plan was to give Andros and Miki a little quiet time to catch up, then Dorothea would come and introduce herself, then the children would arrive home in time for family dinner.
It was all rather elaborately choreographed and Dorothea found it all funny, but Andros wanted to give Miki the best possible impression of what life here was like. That’s because he was planning to propose. Again. And maybe this time she’d finally settle down with him.
