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This scene - in Leonie's point of view - takes place on Christmas Day, sometime in the late afternoon.
Prospero passed me a paper bag and a toasting fork. "Marshmallows," he said but I looked at him blankly, never having heard of them before.
“What are they?” I asked.
“Sugar, mostly,” he replied. “You can eat them like this, but they’re even better toasted.”
He stuck one on a toasting fork and held it over the fire, twisting and turning the fork so it cooked on all sides. Then he held it out towards me, warning me it was hot. It was sticky and sweet, not quite solid and not quite liquid, and I liked it – I could eat a lot of these. Everyone else could too and we were kept busy for a while toasting marshmallows and roasting chestnuts. After the rush had died down Prospero stayed beside me talking quietly.
"We used to do this when I was a child," he volunteered, indicating the marshmallows.
He seemed relaxed, willing to talk, so I asked him what Christmas had been like for him then. His faced tensed up a little and his eyes went dull for a moment. Clearly there was some reason he didn't like to talk about his family. Maybe it was whatever that was, rather than Andrew, that was why he didn’t visit them at Christmas.
"I suppose it was pretty similar to this," he said slowly. "There'd be worship, small gifts, plenty to eat, extended family all around. And in the afternoon we'd go for a long walk across the farm, have a snowball fight if there was snow – I've lots of brothers so it'd be a pretty good fight. Lots of fun."
"So did you start the snowball fight today, then?" I asked him though I knew the answer. He'd been ahead of me and the first snowball had come from behind.
He grinned. "No, that wasn't me, not this time, and it wasn't Andrew either. I think it was Edward."
I looked at him in disbelief.
"Edward's a terrible troublemaker, you know," he told me. He seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face.
What Christmas traditions, customs, and activities do you enjoy? Hit reply and let me know.
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