This is a submission for the GWP #9 (Happy Holidays 3). Getting a jump-start on the holiday season, this is a Thanksgiving story and my very first fan fiction (can you feel my fear and trembling?) This story does not violate Western Publishing's copyright, thank you very much.
Modern Fairy Tales, Part 1
by Kris
Fifteen-year-old Trixie Belden straightened her back and stretched her arms over her head, greasy fingers intertwined. It was the Friday evening of Thanksgiving weekend, the night before her family's annual open house.
Normally, Trixie loved the holiday season stretching from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. It was a time for family and friends, a time to reminisce and a time to create new memories. But, oh, woe, all this cooking!
She glanced down at the deep bowl of finely ground meat before her. Beef, pork and venison, mixed with nutmeg and ginger, waited to be shaped into hundreds of tiny Swedish meatballs. Aunt Alicia hovered near her, sharing cooking tips and details about her Grandma Johnson's famous holiday smorgasbords.
Alicia was staying with Trixie's family for two weeks. Moms' only sister had decided that it was high time the Johnsons' Swedish heritage was reflected in the Belden family holiday celebration. Moms had stopped making her family's holiday specialties years ago. It was just too time-consuming. She usually stuck with simpler Anglo-American fare for this huge gathering, plus the Dutch cookies donated by generous neighbors like Mrs. Vanderpoel.
This year, they'd moved the open house back two days, so the entire extended Belden clan could sit down to Thanksgiving dinner together. And now here they were, cooking again.
Trixie sighed and returned to rolling meatballs. Alicia filled a deep casserole with chicken broth and began to place the delicate meatballs in the broth. Aaargh! Trixie groaned silently. This is going to take forever! Why can't we just buy a huge honey-baked ham and be done with it! But then her father stuck his head into the kitchen and breathed deeply, savoring the luscious, homey smells. "Alicia, Trixie, thank you!" he said softly. "This brings back so many good memories." He wandered into the family room, his thoughts turning to holidays spent with his in-laws while his children were still small.
Alicia and Trixie smiled at each other. "I know holiday cooking can be a trial, Trixie," Alicia said. "The only thing worse is cleaning up afterwards! But it'll be worth it, you'll see."
From the family room, they could hear Peter turning on the stereo. An old LP with traditional Scandinavian hymns and folk songs began to play. Trixie couldn't decide if Dad was just trying to butter up his sister-in-law, or if he really was enthusiastic about going Nordic this year. The song was lovely, though, and Trixie felt herself relax.
Oh take into thy keeping thy children great and small,
and while we sweetly slumber, enfold us one and all.Enfolded. That's how I feel with everyone here. And EVERYONE really was there.
On the Belden side, her adored Uncle Andrew as well as Uncle Harold, Aunt Eleanor and their kids, Knut, Cap and Hallie, had flown out East. They all were staying at the Glen Road Inn, except for 14-year-old Hallie, who claimed the other twin bed in Trixie's room. "Just so I can be in on whatever Trix stirs up," Hallie had said.
Aunt Alicia had taken over the guest room, and Bobby was camping out on the floor of his parents' room. The oldest male Bobwhites were home for their first real break from college, Brian from SUNY-Binghamton with his roommate Lee Soon Yong, and Jim from Cornell. With her.
Trixie stiffened as tears came unbidden to her eyes, the cozy comfortable feeling replaced by a chilly loneliness. Jim, her closest friend next to Honey, the most wonderful boy in the world, had returned home with a girlfriend, Shelby.
Trixie wanted to despise this young woman, but she just couldn't. Shelby did look a lot like older girls who briefly had caught Jim's eye in the past, like Dot Murray and Laura Ramsey, but unlike them, Shelby seemed pretty nice. And she was everything Trixie was not: poised, worldly, glamorous. And of course, she was gorgeous, with long, straight, highlighted blonde hair and even longer legs.
Trixie looked down at her bare wrist, the wrist that had sported a silver identification bracelet for more than a year. Jim had talked with Trixie before he left for Cornell almost four months ago. She was very special to him, he had said, but he wasn't ready to have a serious girlfriend or to deal with a long-distance relationship.
Trixie had been a little relieved; she figured he was on the same page she was. Since he hadn't actually broken up with her and nothing between them seemed to change, she had weathered his departure fine. Her unacknowledged hopes for the future were still alive. That is, until last week, when Honey broke the news that Jim actually was ready for a serious girlfriend, just one who wasn't Trixie.
****
All the Bobwhites and the Belden cousins had met and welcomed both Shelby and Soon Yong on Wednesday night, when everyone gathered for a late-night snack at Wimpy's. Honey ached for Trixie, Diana took it in stride, and Trixie felt numb, but for some reason, Hallie was furious.
"How could he do that to you? After all you've done for him! What does he see in her? When did the honorable Jim Frayne get so shallow? She's a Barbie doll come to life!" Hallie had ranted as she and Trixie settled down for the night.
Trixie could barely reply. Her relationship with Jim had been just her speed: no pressure, nothing physical yet. They had a sweet, steady friendship, mutual admiration, and the sense of something special between them that she had hoped would blossom as they got older.
Now she decided that he'd really been trying to let her down easy. She'd been fooling herself. Jim was only seventeen, but he was in college. Shelby was a sophisticated nineteen-year-old sophomore majoring in theatre arts at Ithaca College. Jim might enjoy the companionship of his adventurous young tomboy co-president, but it looked like he wasn't attracted to Trixie after all.
That was the worst part. If she were born beautiful, would she and Jim be together?
"Hallie," Trixie finally had managed, "I was just dreaming. He never could have fallen for someone like me. I let myself forget that fairy tales really aren't."
"What do you mean?" Hallie frowned into the darkness.
Trixie had answered in a choked voice, "Of course the heroine wins the handsome prince! The heroine is always beautiful and graceful, even in her rags! There's nothing magical about Prince Charming falling in love with someone like that. Now, if the sturdy clumsy freckly one could win the handsome prince, well, that would be a real fairy tale!"
With that, Trixie had rolled over and refused to talk anymore. Hallie became even more upset. What was with her strong, feisty cousin? Trixie should be angry, not defeated, shouldn't she? Hallie didn't really know; she'd never been in love.
Hallie resolved that she would threaten Mart with harm to the family jewels if he dared to tease his sister this weekend.
****
Trixie shook her head and tried to focus on the here and now. She watched several cars pull into the driveway. Her dearest friends and her family had arrived to help with party preparations. She held her breath as the doors of a forest green Jeep Cherokee swung open, then let her breath out when she saw the occupants. Brian's, not Jim's. Brian had worked all summer to raise enough cash to replace his rusting jalopy with a reliable used car for school. He and Dad had chosen a seven-year-old Jeep, only to return home to find that Mr. Wheeler had ordered a brand-new Cherokee in nearly the same color for Jim. The two good friends had shared a laugh at their similar tastes, agreeing that the choices for tall drivers were pretty limited.
Mart pulled up next to his older brother in the Bobwhite station wagon. Since Honey wasn't old enough to drive yet, Mart and Dan took turns driving the club's car, and they all pitched in to cover gas and insurance. Now the three of them, plus Diana and Hallie, climbed out of the car and bounded up the steps.
They were followed by the rest of the Beldens in Mr. Belden's Taurus and Mrs. Belden's Voyager. Everyone packed into the warm kitchen, exchanging boisterous greetings and divvying up tasks.
Honey and Di went to help Moms unpack the old Swedish linens, serving dishes and Dala-painted wooden candle holders that Aunt Alicia had brought with her. Knut, Mart and Aunt Eleanor helped cook; Dad and Uncle Harold set up furniture; Dan, Hallie, Brian and Soon Yong went outside to string white icicle lights on the eaves of the farmhouse. Uncle Andrew and Cap took on the toughest job of all--keeping eight-year-old Bobby out of everyone's hair! Trixie refrained from asking where Jim was; she felt like it wasn't her business anymore.
Saturday passed in a rush of cooking, cleaning, eating, and socializing. Trixie immersed herself in every task she could find and made small talk with every guest. Ed and Jackie Lynch were there, with twins Terry and Larry and Alyssa and Marissa in tow. Mr. Maypenny, Regan, Ms. Trask, Tom and Celia Delanoy, and Jean Bonamy (the new chef at Manor House) enjoyed the Beldens' hospitality, as did Matt and Madeleine Wheeler. Spider and Tad Webster brought Mrs. Vanderpoel. There were people from Dad's bank, members of Moms' book and garden clubs, friends from high school, and other neighbors.
Trixie chatted with them all. She even managed to have a brief conversation with Jim and Shelby, but everything felt a little flat. The electricity and anticipation Trixie always felt when Jim was around was gone. She felt oddly disconnected--she couldn't have repeated a single conversation she'd had that day if her life depended on it. She kept up a good front, but anyone who knew her well missed her usual energy and enthusiasm.
Alicia was right about the traditional food, though. Everyone gorged on delicate Swedish pancakes slathered in butter and tart lingonberries; spicy peppernuts (cookies with black pepper and star anise in them); smooth, rich meatballs served over fluffy mashed potatoes; pickled beets and fresh radishes; goat's milk cheese and crispy flatbread; hot mulled wine and hot apple cider.
To Alicia's surprise, the savory vegan lasagna Cap had prepared for himself was a hit with almost everyone. To Trixie's surprise, some people even enjoyed the marinated herring. Thank goodness Mr. Lytell polished that stuff off. I'd gag if I had to clean it up! Trixie wrinkled her nose as she dropped the herring jars into the recycling bin. The flaming hot kimchi Soon Yong had brought as a gift to his hosts also was popular with more adventurous diners.
That night, after all the dishes were done and everyone else had dragged themselves to bed, Trixie's parents tried to talk to her about how she was feeling. "I'm okay, you guys, I'm just really not in the mood to talk about it. Don't worry. I'll be fine," she responded.
"Alright, sweetie. If you need us, we're here," her exhausted mother replied. "Just remember, you're my princess," her father said. Sure, I'm the anti-Cinderella, Trixie thought sourly.
On Sunday morning, Brian and Soon Yong left early to make the drive north back to school, and her parents both took her relatives to the airport. Mart rode Strawberry over to Mr. Maypenny's to go riding with Dan. That left Trixie with Bobby and Aunt Alicia, who answered her silent wish to be left alone by taking Alicia's car to the mall in White Plains to see all the Christmas lights and lavish decorations.
After spending a quiet morning wandering listlessly around the empty farmhouse, Trixie accepted an invitation to go riding with Honey and Di. She and Honey saddled Susie and Lady, than rode off in silence to meet Di. Trixie was glad that Jim and Shelby had already taken Jupiter and Starlight out that morning, and had long since left for Ithaca. Her concerned friends trailed behind her most of the way, leaving her alone with her jumbled thoughts.
As Diana waved good-bye, shouting, "See you on the bus tomorrow," Trixie decided she felt more resigned than hurt or sad. Some of us are just meant to be ugly ducklings. We don't get fairy tale endings.
When Trixie crawled into bed that night, she felt something under her pillow. She pulled out a children's picture book. What in the world? "The Paper Bag Princess"?
Trixie opened the book, and inside the front cover she saw written in feminine script: "To my wonderful niece-- Don't depend on a prince for your happiness. Wishing you a lifetime of adventures! Love, Alicia."
Trixie began to read the story, a smile breaking over her face as the brave, impulsive heroine outsmarted the dragon. By the end of the book, Princess Elizabeth was kicking up her heels, and Trixie was laughing out loud. That'll teach you, Prince Ronald. She saves your sorry butt and you dis her because she doesn't look like Sleeping Beauty? She sure told you where to get off!
Trixie closed the book and snuggled under the covers, feeling like herself again. She remembered all the good friends and loving relatives who had visited that weekend, allowing the glow of Thanksgiving to return to her soul. Maybe the old fairy tales were wrong, after all.
As she drifted off to sleep, Trixie made a mental note to thank Alicia in the morning. Who knew her aunt had it in her?
The End
Notes:
Sissel Kyrkjebo (the Norwegian soprano who sang the wordless vocals on the Titanic soundtrack) included a sweet rendition of this song, called "Thy Holy Wings" in English, on her CD Innerst i sjelen. She also has performed with Placido Domingo, and she recorded the soundtrack to Long Journey Home: The Irish in America. She has a gorgeous voice; check her out!
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko, is one of my favorite books. The first time I read it as a kid, I thought immediately of Trixie. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!