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Andrzejki

11/29/2024

Leo squinted at the morning light blazing through his bedroom window. “But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?” He sat up and itched his head.

The sound of an engine revving convinced him to get up and investigate. “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” He stretched his arms and twisted his back as Grace turfed her own yard, trying to get the little coupe out of the grass.

He yawned and trundled off to the bathroom. When he returned to his room, Grace was standing by her car with her mom. He shook his head and slipped on his sneakers and a sweater.

Leo jogged down the stairs to find his dad closing the front door, a newspaper tucked under his arm.

“Where are you going?”

“Help Grace get her car out of the yard so I can get back to sleep.”

“Really?”

“Why not?”

“Hmm, chivalry is not dead. Don’t hurt yourself. I’m sure they have Triple-A.”

Leo nodded and headed outside. It was colder than he expected, but he figured he’d be working up a sweat soon. “Hey, good morning.”

“Hi, Leo.” Mrs. Chmielewski shaded her eyes with her hand.

“Can I help?”

“I don’t know.” Grace squinted at him. “Can you?” Her thin lips were curled up in a disdainful smirk.

The morning sun danced through the wild strands escaping her honey blonde braid. She looked as rumpled as he felt.

“Probably.” He put his hands in his pockets and looked around. “Mind if I repurpose some of your decorative gravel, Mrs. C?”

“If you have an idea, do what needs doing.” She stepped back to watch.

Leo tossed handfuls of gravel into the ruts behind Grace’s front tires. “Back up slowly. I’ll give a push if it’s needed.”

Grace hopped in and started the car. She eyed him suspiciously as she shifted into reverse. He was holding his hands out. “Yes, I heard you. Slowly.”

A slight smile as the car inched backwards. He could see the smile give way to knitted brows, so he put his hands on the hood and pushed. She didn’t know if the sudden shiver she felt was because of the morning chill or the determination in Leo’s hazel-green eyes.

“Success?” Dad was nursing a cup of coffee as he read the paper.

Leo yawned as he looked in the fridge for something. “Yeah, she’s back on blacktop.”

“Well, good. That was nice of you.”

Leo grabbed a cheese stick and peeled it from the plastic wrapper. “Sure, but more importantly…”

“Isn’t it kind of late, even by your standards?”

“No school. No work. No particular place to go. Seems like a perfect day for hibernating.”

“Got your Christmas shopping done already? I thought that was the purpose of Black Friday. Besides, you could be out there handing out your business cards.”

“Word of mouth has already provided more work than I can possibly do, Dad. And, no, diving into the commercial mosh pit of Black Friday isn’t my idea of a great time.”

“And here I thought you were a people person.” He turned the page.

“Good night, Dad.” Leo retreated from the kitchen.

Grace poked at her eggs. “What was that all about?”

“What do you mean?” Her mom stirred a pan of home fries.

“He just wanders over, gets me out of the yard and zombie walks back home?”

“Leo’s a nice guy.” Mom shrugged. “He wanted to be helpful.”

“Why isn’t he at work like everybody else?”

“Even interior decorators get Black Friday off, Grace.”

“Daddy doesn’t have off.”

“He could if he wanted. He says all the impulse buying and the hype makes for a big day.”

“Impulse buying and tractors.” She thought about it as she chewed. “I’m not seeing it.”

“It’s a retail thing.” Mom shrugged. “They mark everything up so they can offer big discounts on shopping holidays, but you have to buy in the sales window. He can explain the psychology of it to you when he gets home.”

Grace put her face in her hands.

“Are you alright, hon?”

She rubbed her temples before taking a sip of her apple juice. “Yeah, it’s just the idea of Staś Chmielewski explaining psychology to me…” She took a slow, deep breath. “I think my brain exploded.”

Her mom shook her head. “Your father is a lot smarter than people give him credit for. You can’t be a dummy with such good sales figures. He’s got technical knowledge and people skills. People like him, which is more than can be said for that one over there.”

“Please, Mom, don’t start.”

“Are you going to be around to help set up?”

“I guess it depends on how many hours Dr. Hu can give me.”

“Well, if he doesn’t work out, maybe he can farm you out to Dr. What and Dr. Where.” She brought the pan over to the table. “Want some?”

“Seriously?” Grace groaned.

“Your cousins are coming over for Andrzejki. It will be fun.”

“Mandy and I are the only single girls. Might as well flip a coin instead of jumping shoes.”

“Daddy says Josh should be in it since we didn’t do Saint Catherine’s. Mandy and Emma are bringing some of their friends. Come down and help me get the place ready.”

Grace flapped her book shut and followed her mother downstairs. “Grammy?”

“What? Am I too old for Andrzejki?” She smiled. “Besides, I brought my lucky key.”

Before long, guests arrived, and the party began. Grammy told stories of how members of the family had foretold their marriages by pouring wax through the lucky key.

“Your turn, Grace.” Grammy waved her over.

She shook her head and approached the crucible of molten wax. As she reached for it, a dog barked out front.

“That’s a sign.” Grammy smiled.

“That’s a coincidence.” Grace tipped the wax over the ornate trefoil bow of the antique key. The wax drizzled through the various openings into the cool water below.

“Let’s see, Madame Science.” Emma teased.

Grace pulled the odd clump of wax from the water and dabbed it dry. As usual, it looked like a random blob. Whatever shadow it cast would be less an augury and more of a Rorschach Test for her family members.

Her cousin, Amanda Gajewski, was the first to call out. “L, M. That is clearly an L and an M.”

“No, you don’t.” Grace shook her head sternly. “Larry Mazur is way too old for me.”

“You could do worse.” Her dad laughed.

Grammy smiled at her.

“What?”

“Did you notice the direction of the dog’s barking?”

“It was right out front. Probably Jenny Hollis walking that Eskimo dog of hers.”

Grammy shrugged as she wiped the wax from her lucky key. “Probably.”

11/30/2024

“Leo?”

He turned around to find Grace lugging a case of beer. “That looks heavy. Can I get that for you?”

“Would you mind holding it a minute?”

“Sure. Huh, Old St. Casimir’s Christmas Spiced Ale.” He took it from her. “What’s a Święty Kazimierz Batch?”

“It’s the first batch of the holiday season.” She massaged her hand.

“Wow.”

“What?”

“How long has it been since your last Confession if you’ve got to bribe Father Nowak with limited edition beer?” There was a mischievous twinkle in his spruce-toned hazel eyes.

“Alright, smart guy. I’ll take that back now.”

“Are you sure? I can hold it for a while. The line is moving rather slowly.”

“They have churches in the city, too. Besides, this is from Ronny.” She flicked her braid back over her shoulder and reached out for the beer.

“It’s really no problem.”

“Alright, Mr. Gallantry. Be my guest.”

He found both annoyance and relief in her dark amber eyes. They sparkled like root beer barrels. He’d never noticed that before. “So, the city, huh?”

“Yes.” Her face lit up with a geeky smile. “I got an internship at the Wisler Institute and Dr. Wisler arranged for me to work with a colleague of hers at St. Hedwig while I’m on break.”

“Wow, the Wisler Institute? That’s got to be pretty intense.” He ran his free hand through his wavy ash brown mane.

‘Well, that takes care of what I have to confess about today.’ Grace suppressed a shudder. “Not terribly intense. At least, not the parts I have access to.”

“Sure, sure.” He nodded. “So, you’re not into the whole Black Friday, shop ‘til you drop thing?”

“That’s more Emma’s style.” Guilt twisted in her belly. ‘She’s pregnant. Should have gone with her to help. I’m going to be here for hours saying Hail Marys, Our Fathers and Acts of Contrition.’

“Joan’s, too. She has a whole system for all this.”

“Really?”

“I made the mistake of asking once. She could probably be a contender for a Nobel Prize in Economics.” He was taken aback by the intensity of her gaze. ‘I’m going to be here for hours saying Our Fathers, Acts of Contrition and Hail Marys if she keeps this up.’

She reached for the case of Old Cas. “Looks like it’s your turn.”

Leo turned to look at the confessional. The curtain was drawn aside. “Looks like it. Well, see you in a while.” He handed her the beer and backed away awkwardly.

She smiled and gave him a flirtatious wave. ‘Oh, my God. Flirting in line for Confession? You’re going to be here all weekend.’

 

Leo had performed his penance by the time Grace emerged from the confessional, but he continued his prayers until she was done with hers. ‘Does it negate the Confession if you fake penance to get a coffee date?’

“Still here? You must have been a very naughty boy.”

“Says the girl who bribed her priest with a case of Krupnik Ale.”

Her cheeks reddened. “I did not. Ronny asked me to bring it with me.”

“Are you doing anything now?”

“Not really.”

“Want to go to the Zavijava for a last-minute splurge before Advent?”

“Normally, I’d say no.”

“But?”

“You’ve been killing me with kindness this weekend. I suppose a Gingerbread Latte with my personal hero wouldn’t be such a terrible thing.”

“Hero?” He genuflected as he left the pew. “Surprising, but I’ll take it.”

“And what’s your guilty pleasure?”

“Huh?”

“What are you planning to get at the Zavijava? You picked the place. I’m guessing you have something in mind.” She dipped her fingers in the holy water on the way out of the sanctuary and crossed herself.

Leo studied the holy water stoup mounted by the door and contrasted it with the image that had jumped into his mind when she said ‘guilty pleasure’. He silently recited another Act of Contrition before dipping his fingers in.

“Having second thoughts?”

“No, no, I’ll meet you at the Zavijava.”

“Is that good?” Leo stirred his dark chocolate peppermint iced coffee.

She squeezed her eyes shut with delight. “Just the right amount of ginger. How’s yours?”

“Suitably decadent for the day before Advent. Want to try some?”

She took his cup and sipped from his straw. “Wow, that is decadent, but I don’t see how you can drink an iced coffee in this weather. Want to taste mine?”

He smiled as she handed him her cup. “Oh, yeah. That is perfect.” His eyes went wide. ‘Is she playing footsie with me?’ He handed her drink back. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Plan?” She retracted her feet. ‘He thinks I’m being too forward. What the heck am I doing? Seriously, what are you doing?’

“For Christmas break? Do you have any school stuff or whatever?” He looked down at his iced coffee and noticed a hint of lipstick on his straw. ‘Why’d she pull her feet away so suddenly? She thinks you’re a blithering idiot. That’s why. Good thing you’re going the extra mile to convince her of it.’

“Oh, yeah. Um, Dr. Wisler arranged for me to work with a friend of hers over at St. Hedwig’s. How about you?”

“I have a few projects lined up.” His foot searched for hers.

“Somebody mentioned you’re doing interior decorating?”

“Yes, I’m taking Interior Design classes at Pennswald State, but I’ve been doing some decorating jobs to establish myself.”

“So, you’re keeping busy, too. That’s good.” Her foot found his and nestled into his arch. “Are you going to finish that cookie?”

“Be my guest.” He slid it to her.

She brushed her fingers down the back of his hand as she took the half cookie from his grasp. ‘Nothing?’. Their eyes met. ‘He’s got pretty eyes, but Dad would burst a blood vessel. I can’t do this. We can’t do this.’