Enar's Vacation - Open Beta

Chapter 33

5533 Words

This is a beta version of Enar's Vacation. Changes can - and probably will - be made as a result of reader feedback. I hope you'll enjoy it and I hope you'll take the time to give me some feedback. It will help me make this story the best it can be.

+++

The little woman fussed around for a bit, pushing pots and pans about, making room for her basket of bread. When she was satisfied everything was in order, she sat down and waved for everyone else to come join her.

"That's Chocaline, Barry's wife," Lilac whispered to Enar, as they walked over.

Enar found himself seated between Rose and Lilac, with Otter and Chocaline across the table in front of him - on the other side of a small mountain range of food.

Boiled new potatoes, meatballs, and two tubs of thick, brown, cream sauce. A jar of lingonberry jam and a big bowl of lettuce - not to mention the basket of freshly baked bread rolls. No way they'd ever be able to eat all that.

Rose grabbed a pot and started loading Enar's plate up with potatoes. "Say when."

"Thank you, that's enough for now," said Enar and smiled. "Gotta make room for the meatballs as well."

"Don't worry dear, there's more where that came from," said the little old lady with the gray hair. "You can have as much as you want."

"Thank you very much, but this is more than enough for now. I'm Enar by the way. I understand you must be Chocaline, right?" He thought about holding out his hand for her to shake, but with everyone lunging for food and with pots and pans being passed this way and that, it seemed like not such a good idea. No one else had seemed to hold on formality anyway. It'd just be weird.

"That's me lad. I hear you're here to steal our Amanda away from us." Chocaline grinned and winked at him.

Enar froze, a spoon full of lingonberry jam halfway between the jar and his plate. To his side Lilac covered her mouth in sudden fit of coughing, and on the other side Rose seemed to be paying very close attention to the potatoes on her plate.

"Well, no..." Enar's cheeks grew warm. "That... that's not... I had no such..."

"Aww, shush you." Chocaline smiled and waved his protests away. "Don't be so serious. It's just my fool husband telling tall tales again."

"Pah, watch your mouth woman." Barry arrived from within the burrow, carrying another jar of jam. He put it on the table, scowled at the jar already there, and sat himself down. "He's here to steal our little girl away. You mark my words."

Enar felt his face grow warm. This wasn't going his way at all.

Lilac dropped something on the ground and bent to look for it. Rose couldn't keep it in any longer and started giggling openly.

"Fool husband. I say what I want. Our 'little girl' is half again as old as I was when you stole me away. It's about time someone went after her and you know it."

Enar's cheeks burned. His eyes darted around the table, everyone was smiling, or laughing, or glaring - at him. "I just... you know... I mean..."

Barry pointed at him with the spoon from the potatoes. "I know exactly what you mean, and sure and I'll have none of it. None!"

"That's quite enough out of you dear," snapped Chocaline. "You're scaring the poor kid - and you're hogging the potatoes."

"Am not. Everyone's already potatoed up. I'm just worried about our poor little girl."