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Sun streamed into the pastel room, the cat beds brightening to their true colours, the chest of drawers built of ornate, chestnut wood, handcrafted, was beaming bright as ever in the early morning light. Lucy Maud Montgomery shifted her head on her pillow, the colour was fading on it now almost a dull grey than a nice, ashy blue, her petite hands wrapped around her ink-smelling girlfriend, Louisa May Alcott. The two had been friends ever since Louisa had rescued Lucy from the awful orphanage and then stood up for her later. Even her strange gift of a snowglobe after Lucy had quit her job at the Guild had been cherished almost as much as Anne of Abyssal Red, the redheaded doll of a redheaded girl’s ability and a disliking towards Mark Twain, a running joke they had despite being friends.
Yet all was calm in the mind of Louisa, four dancing sisters, one tomboyish, one a dear, one blonde with curls and one unlike the others, desiring fancy life and parties and bespoke, ivory gloves to wear on one’s wrist. These four were of recognition to their dreamer, mere characters created in her mind, four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. She’d told Lucy of these characters, her book they revolved in, Little Women - same as her ability, her dreams of the four ever since, their doting mother, their absent father, the boy who was their neighbor, the grandson of old Mr Laurence. Lucy recognised the names of three of the sisters, for those were the names of Louisa’s beloved cats, Jo, a black tuxedo, Beth, a mousy-brown tabby, Amy, a striped ginger, all fluffy and caring with their owner’s love and admiration.
Ever since moving in together, Lucy noticed Louisa’s many pairs of mittens, all of which were either stained, torn or too tight or too big, the brunette’s hands were small but not so small they could squeeze into children’s mittens but not so big upper sizes in adult mittens fitted. Therefore, to make sure they were absolutely perfect for her girlfriend’s hand, were dark enough stains wouldn’t show and wouldn’t get torn, Lucy began knitting mittens for Louisa exclusively, literally no-one else ever got any of the girl’s knitted creations, not even the failed cat mittens, whose faces were all mushed up and their noses touched their eyes, which Lovecraft had insisted on having.
“Morning, Lou..” Lucy drooled, her mouth in Louisa’s hair. Her phone rung on the bed stand, a familiar ringtone which would have annoyed most but one Louisa found calming as it was wind-chimes on a hill house far into the countryside, sheep baaing, cows mooing, goats maaing, horses neighing, all aspects of country living in one bundle.
“Good morning, Luce, answer your phone,” her girlfriend nodded and twisted over, taking her phone in her hand and answering it.
“Hello?”
The distorted, barely clear voice of Margaret Mitchell could be heard.
“Yeah, oh sure! Of course you and Agatha can come over later, me and Lou are just getting out of bed but come over when you like.”
“Yes, okay bye, bye!” Lucy hung up and stared as her girlfriend sat up in their bed.
“That was Margaret, she wanted to ask if she and Agatha could come over later, I said they could,”
Louisa nodded and went to get dressed into her dress she’d laid out yesterday night.
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Margaret sat in the passenger seat of Agatha’s car, her hands grew slightly sweaty as they drew nearer to their destination.
“Are you excited?” She asked.
“Why, of course! You promised you’d make that gorgeous jasmine tea of yours, dear!” Agatha exclaimed, waving her hands.
“Yes, I’m sure Louisa will cherish it,” said Margaret, staring at a raccoon on the side of the road as they stopped at the traffic lights.
“Not long now,” Agatha smiled, reaching over to hold the other’s hand.
And she was right. As soon as they pulled up, a litter of cats came running to meet them, as well as two young ladies in dresses.
“So good to see you guys!” Lucy said, grinning.
“Come in, please,” Louisa added on and led the group
With that, the new arrivals soon found themselves in the comfort of warm, candle-scented home. Cat hair was on all the furniture and the cats, curled together in a trio, on the large, grey beanbag Lucy stole last month. A fruit-bowl was situated on the coffee table, looking almost garish against the greys and neutrals of the room because its bright hue. Inside the fruit-bowl were grapes- in all colours beside green-, apples and pears, both sweet and juicy with their ripeness. A tray of American cakes sat to the right side of the fruit, sprinkled with sugar and filled with cream. There were also many candles on the surfaces, blueberry pancakes scented candles, wood scented candles but the one that stood particularly was an almost forest-smelling candle with accents of cake and fire, roasted chicken and sugar. ‘Very peculiar’, Margaret thought as she took a bite out an apple and sniffed once more.
“Now, Margaret..?” Louisa’s voice rung in the women’s ears.
“Ah Yes, my tea!” She thrilled and bounced into the kitchen.
Margaret Mitchell’s magnificent tea was a specialty for many but a basic for Agatha, that is why she cherished it so very much. Jasmine tea was her favourite, its floral undertones were mixing perfectly with the rejuvenating flavour of the tea, a slight bit of sugar could be tasted with enough focus and occasionally, you could taste a flower like a rose in your sip. It was pleasant.
Lucy, who had been pacing the length of the hallway for about nine minutes, hesitated, she’d got an idea. The idea had been tough in her mind, when should gift Louisa her gifts? When would be absolutely perfect to give a cat and a fresh pair of cat mittens to the person you loved? Of course, she’d been sure her lover wouldn’t have minded as long as it was from her, but the thought lingered still. What if Louisa didn’t like Lucy’s gifts? After all her efforts with the cat gloves and choosing a perfect kitten to make the trio a quadruple. Ugh.. Stupid mind-tricks in her thoughts again.
“Honestly, it would be as bad as you’re making it seem, Lucy!” she said, sighing and yawning before turning to the stairs. Just at the top of them, on the landing, were the presents, one neatly wrapped with silk bows and wrapping papers with snow-globes on it, and the other a cat carrier. She decided eventually ‘better just get it over’ and grabbed the carrier and stacked the wrapped present on top of it and strode down the steps.
“Louisa?” She murmured, gently outstretching a finger to open the door.
All three of the other women, except her, the forth, were sat around the coffee table on the clothed couches, sipping at mugs of tea. The one called to looked up.
“Ah, Lucy, we were wondering were you’d snuck off to!” She exclaimed.
“I-I have gifts.. for you,” Lucy flushed almost as red as her hair, suddenly feeling small like a mouse in a box with no light or air-holes.
“For me?” Louisa responded, carefully taking the presents into her own hands and waiting for her lover to sit beside her.
“Another cat?” She asked, a small smile forming on her face,”what’s it called?”
“Meg, just like the eldest sister in your book,” and with that, Louisa’s face brightened with such energy and her day sparked with happiness, she took the kitten out its carrier and cradled it in her arms, smiling all the while.
“You may open the pretty, wrapped one, Luce, I always ruin the lovely paper with my excitement,” the cat meowed in agreement.
Lucy’s hand took the box and gently peeled away the sellotape to reveal a pair of mittens with kittens embroidered on them.
“Oh wow,” both Margaret and Agatha exclaimed, looking at each other in hopes of a gift.
“They’re.. beautiful! And all the cats’ faces aren’t mushed in a blob.”
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The tea-adorned pair left towards dusk, leaving the cat-cradling Louisa and smiling Lucy on the driveway.
“We should head inside, Lou, it’s cold and you have a kitten in your arms,”
“Yes, I suppose we should, but..”
Lucy turned, surprised at the sudden hesitation.
“But what?” She asked.
“I wanted to say thank you for everything, all my lovely candles, this lovely day and my new lovely, Meg, now I have all the sisters!” And gently, Louisa kissed Lucy’s cheeks, once, twice, thrice.
“Thank you.”