THAT evening, once clinic hours were over, Mia sank to the floor, exhausted.
Henrik was already sprawled on a nearby sofa, fast asleep.
Mary, however, was still bustling about, full of beans, tending to after-hours cleanup.
Is Mary even human, or is she an automaton?!
The Head Nurse’s stamina was amazing. As Mia was gazing at her with absent wonder, Mary turned to them, brushing off her hands.
“Now then!” she barked, ushering both Mia and Henrik in the direction of the residence, “It’s time for the festivities to begin!”
Mia was directed to return to the guest room she was staying in.
When she walked in, she found a large potted plant sitting in the center of the room—a miniature fir tree. It certainly wasn’t there that morning.
The fir tree was about the same height as Mia and was decorated with various ornaments, like stars and bells.
“Wow! When did this get set up?!”
Mia was deeply moved. She’d never celebrated a proper Winter Solstice before. Her memories of life with her mother before she was taken away to the sanatorium were hazy. In fact, the most vivid memory she had of her childhood was of the day her mother was taken away.
There were several large boxes placed underneath the tree. Mia leaned in curiously and could make out the writing on the card attached to the nearest box. It said: “For Mia.”
Mia opened up the big box, her eyes widening. There was a green dress inside. It was velvet! And very, very fancy!
“Wh-What’s this for…?”
“It’s a Winter Solstice gift.”
“W-We’re exchanging gifts?!”
But Mia hadn’t brought anything…she wrung her hands for a moment, then froze. Something was odd…she turned around quickly.
Wait, who was that speaking just now?
It had sounded like Mary’s voice, but Mary was nowhere to be seen. Instead, another woman was standing there, her curvy form resembling Mary’s, and yet…
“Huh?”
Mia did a double-take. Out of her nurse’s whites and with her hair down, Mary looked so different. But there was no mistake, this was the same woman Mia had spent the day working alongside.
“Now then! Help the young lady get dressed!”
At Mary’s command, the door opened, and several women dressed in maid uniforms trotted in.
“You were such a big help today, pet! It’s just as Henrik said—you’re a real hard worker! Thank you for everything.”
Mary beamed, her voice as perky as ever.
“But you must be tired. Sorry, I was a bit of a drill sergeant to you today, but this place needs people who can keep up, and I had to test you a little. Well, you exceeded my expectations, and then some! We were all a fluster when our naughty son announced he’d be bringing a girlfriend home for the holidays! You know, I’ve always wanted a daughter, and I’ve often thought about how much better it would have been if Henrik had been a nice, sweet little girl instead…”
Mia blinked rapidly as Mary continued to chatter away.
“Um…Wait…”
It couldn’t be, could it?
As Mia stood there licking her dry lips, unable to speak, Mary guffawed.
“Oh dear, pardon me! I forgot to mention! I’m Henrik’s mom!”
“M-Mom?!”
Nobody told me that! And there’s zero family resemblance! …was what Mia wanted to yell, but her throat felt paralyzed somehow.
“We don’t look a bit alike, do we?”
Oops. Mary had obviously been able to tell what Mia was thinking. She guffawed again, a dimple showing adorably in one cheek as she smiled. Zero! Family! Resemblance!
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Thank…Thank you for today! It was very hectic, but it was a great learning experience!”
As Mia scrambled to make amends for her ignorance and rudeness, one of the maids reached forward and unpopped her top button.
“Wh-What?!”
“You can’t wear that to the festival, you’ll be frozen! We’re much farther north than the capital, you know.”
“P-Please! I can change clothes by myself!”
But Mia stopped protesting as she saw the green velvet dress being brought over to her. Mary wanted her to wear it now?
“Now then, this is only one of my old hand-me-downs, so you mustn’t fuss about accepting it!”
“But…But I couldn’t possibly!”
“You could, and you should, and you shall. You know, I was a skinny little thing too in my younger days! But I just couldn’t part with such a charming dress as that.”
Mia felt a fleeting sense of panic that Mary might have misinterpreted her protests as a roundabout way of commenting on the older woman’s figure. There was nothing she could say that wouldn’t sound even worse, though, so she bit her lip instead.
Mia obediently allowed the maids to slip the dress over her head. It was a winter-wear dress, pleated from the waist with a modestly high neckline and a very simple design, just some light, charming embroidery work. It suited Mia’s personal aesthetic sense very well. The mossy green color of the dress even made her red hair seem to glow like the embers of a fire. She felt amazing.
“I had it shortened a little to achieve the modern look. The old length would have looked just a tad bit drab.”
Mary was right. The dress was cut to a modern, stylish length. It would look super cute with boots. Mia fingered the soft velvet material. It felt so slinky, swishing around her legs as she moved this way and that.
This had to cost a fortune!
Mia felt another rising wave of panic.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t accept such a splendid gift!”
“Oh, do it as a favor to me, please! It’s always been my dream to get my hands on a girlfriend of Henrik’s and dress her up like my own personal doll!”
Mary’s eyes were sparkling. Mia bit her lip. Should she correct Mary about her and Henrik’s relationship? Or would that be presumptuous of her?
No, no, she couldn’t let Mary get the wrong idea!
“Um, Henrik and I are just good friends. There’s no need to do all this for me…”
“You shy little thing! You know, Henrik said as much himself. You two are just as cute as two blushing peas in a pod!”
Mary grinned, her eyes crinkling. Mia’s effort to clarify the situation was clearly a misfire.
But in society, it was simply a given that bringing a girl home to meet your family meant she was your special someone. Even though Mia was really only here to help out, the optics of the situation were the same.
I’m going to have to get Henrik to explain things seriously to his mom later…
Still chewing her lip, Mia meekly allowed the maids to finish adjusting the dress.
His mom is going to be so disappointed…
But as she looked into Mary’s sparkling eyes, Mia knew she couldn’t bring herself to spoil the older woman’s special moment.