Marcus looked at the time on his laptop. It was approaching noon as he tried to focus on his work at VarroTech. Uncle Rex liked to send his employees home early on the eve of the winter solstice holiday and he could hear footpaws and muffled laughter out in the hallway. Everyone was wrapping things up and getting ready to head out.

Sarah and Jacob would also be home early and they’d all planned to have dinner at Jacob’s. His best friend was planning on making a traditional turkey, the thought of which made Marcus’ stomach growl.

Like Sarah, it was going to be the first Festinus not spent with his family.

Uncle Rex had already talked to him about this last month. He said it was important for new families to establish their traditions early and the Festinus holiday was the perfect opportunity to do so. Marcus remembered crying a little, remembering all the past years. Uncle Rex said it didn’t have to mean forever. In time, bringing in more family members as their lives shift and change is the natural course of things. He reminded Marcus that he only joined in with Marcus’ parents’ Festinus festivities after he split from Leo.

He fumed a bit as he remembered his mother responding to his text that he wouldn’t be over for Festinus. She’d simply replied “Okay.” He wondered why he even bothered telling them. They’d been steadily removing themselves from his life for years. It would have hurt him if he cared, but he didn’t.

Marcus shut down his laptop and stowed it slowly into his heavy-duty backpack. The project he’d been working on was becoming a series of fits and starts, peppered with a variety of bugs. He managed to squash one of them that morning, so he felt accomplished.

The snow globe he’d picked up on their vacation to the Domus sparkled on his desk. The shepherd smiled, remembering the trip. Perhaps Uncle Rex was jump-starting their new family traditions by having funded the journey. It felt good knowing Uncle Rex was there for all three of them.

Marcus didn’t see his uncle on his way out of the Marcanius Plaza Tower. He must have been in meetings. The shepherd sprinted to the nearest metro station and didn’t have to wait long for the next train. It was packed with last-minute holiday shoppers and business folks trying to get home. He smiled as he held his backpack on his lap and gave it a hug, pretending it was Jacob, Sarah and Uncle Rex. Indeed, this Festinus was not only shaping up to be the most unusual one so far, but perhaps one of the most loving he could recall.

-

Sarah looked up at the ornate ceiling of the Malaka Museum of Empire History’s main exhibit hall as she made her way towards the front entrance.

Turning her head, she saw a couple of workers cleaning the empty plinth where the Helmet of Marcanius would be placed, awaiting the outcome of Magnus’ trial. She couldn’t help but feel a touch of pride in knowing she, Jacob and Marcus were the ones who pried the priceless artifact from the clutches of that evil horse.

Sarah spotted the guard booth up ahead and waved at the uniformed wolf who always worked the day shift. Happily, the wolf returned the wave. Taking a deep breath, she opened one of the heavy main doors and stepped outside into the sunshine. She hoped her parents were enjoying their cruise. The forecasted weather all across the Metrea was supposed to be incredibly mild and, as usual, sunny. Sarah pictured her father and mother out on the top deck of the ship, reveling in the sea breeze. For the first time, she didn’t feel bad about not spending Festinus with them. They deserved to have the holiday to themselves and take this long-needed break from her dad’s busy work life.

The bus showed up almost immediately after she got to the stop. It was full, occupied mainly by students who’d just finished their final exams for the term. Sarah imagined most of them would be headed straight for the railway station or the coach terminal to make the trek to where their parents lived, much like she did for her university years.

The lion stood on the bus as it trundled down Avenue Empirica, her paw gripping the bar fastened to the ceiling. She let her mind wander, settling on anticipation of a fine turkey dinner that evening. It was Jacob’s first attempt, but he did seem to have a knack for cooking. She wondered what kind of restaurant Jacob and her dad would have, if that ever became a possibility. Maybe she’ll bring it up some day. Perhaps after her father retires and grows restless.

-

Jacob waved at Marus, the chestnut-furred horse who worked the security desk at the employees’ entrance at Vignola Properties.

Marus looked up from his crossword puzzle and waved back, smiling. He had a steaming mug of coffee in front of him. Jacob smiled and pressed on the crash bar on the door, padding out into the bright light of mid-day. The Harbour Centre was busy with activity and he had to dodge both shoppers and workers as he made his way to the metro station. He had a chuckle as he turned up a side street that served as a shortcut. The side street was where he used to hustle as a teenager, giving nervous, anonymous males blowjobs for cash. The years of decay were in the past now, much like his hustling days.

As he waited to cross the next street, he put his headphones up over his ears and played the mix he’d started listening to that morning. It reminded him of Doctrine. He thought about the ugly condo building that was planned for the lot across the street and it made him feel annoyed. At the metro station, he didn’t wait long for a train. It was almost full, so he grabbed a pole next to one of the doors and started checking messages. Looking up from his phone, he noticed a younger tiger standing up, offering his seat to an elderly gazelle. This made him smile.

-

“That was a really good turkey,” Sarah rubbed her stomach as she sat back in the chair. “I could swear that wasn’t your first time cooking one.”

Jacob smiled. “Thank you. I spent hours watching videos and I’m glad it was worth it.”

“Sarah’s right,” Marcus added. “That was delicious.”

“When did you find time to find a little tree?” Sarah asked, gesturing to the small, thin artificial evergreen in a corner of his apartment. At its base were about a dozen cheerfully-wrapped presents.

“I was talking to Titus last week,” Jacob rumbled. “I told him I didn’t have a tree. It was propped up against my locker door at work the very next day.”

“Well, that was super kind of him,” Sarah smiled. She stood up and picked up her plate and silverware. Marcus did the same, picking up Jacob’s as well.

“Titus is a good egg,” Jacob woofed happily. He picked at his sharp teeth and burped once. “But now we have to answer the big question. Do we open gifts tonight or tomorrow?”

Marcus smiled. “Uncle Rex always insisted on the morning of the solstice. We’d spend the day in our pajamas and eat only breakfast food all day. Even for dinner. My parents only put up with it, I think.”

“We always opened them the night before,” Sarah added. “That gave us time for a nice walk or a day in the park on the solstice.”

Jacob looked down at his paws. “My parents gave up on the whole thing when I turned ten. They never wrapped gifts. Sometimes they just gave them to me on the fifteenth or whenever they bought them.”

Sarah stopped rinsing the plates in the sink and turned towards Jacob. “So, what should it be, then? I’m happy to let you decide, Jacob.”

“Yeah,” Marcus added as he finished rinsing the silverware. “This is a chance to start over for all of us and I think it’s only fair you decide since you had to deal with so many years of non-Festinus.”

Jacob smiled. “Let’s open them tonight. That gives us a whole day to ourselves tomorrow.”

Sarah smiled. “Heck yeah!”

-

The three of them sat cross-legged on the floor at the base of the very thin tree. Jacob had hurriedly added a single string of lights to it and, while tiny, the tree had a special level of cheer all its own. Marcus smiled as Jacob handed each of them their gifts. They had four each in their paws. One from Uncle Rex, one from Sarah’s parents and one from each other.

“Who wants to go first?” Jacob barked.

“My cousins always had the youngest one go first,” Sarah purred. “Which makes that Marcus.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jacob woofed.

Marcus smiled and started peeling off the deep green wrapping paper that Zach and Miriam Maroc chose to wrap all their gifts in. It was a guidebook to the railways of the continent, which he held aloft and smiled. He continued to open his gifts. Sarah gifted him a portable hard drive. Jacob gave him a highly-detailed model of an express locomotive. Uncle Rex’s gift was an envelope in a box. He opened it slowly. There was a piece of metal or something in it. When he turned the envelope upside down, a key fell out with a note attached. It read ‘All will be revealed.’

“Well, that’s intriguing,” Marcus wondered aloud. “Uncle Rex can be mysterious like that.”

Jacob opened his presents next. The Marocs’ gift was a cookbook while Uncle Rex’s gift was a small, classically-styled nude statue of Marcanius, wearing only his helmet. Sarah’s present to him was a compact espresso machine. Jacob smiled as he opened his gift from Marcus. Grinning happily, he pulled a neoprene harness and jockstrap out of the box.

“I wanna see you wear that to Doctrine,” Marcus barked happily. “You deserve to dance up on that box in style, go-go boy.”

“I love it, Marcus. I just hope Doctrine sticks around long enough for me to wear this more than once.”

Sarah’s eyes sparkled as she opened her presents, starting with the one from Marcus. It was a thick book richly illustrated with various historical stories from the Ancient Empire. Jacob’s gift to Sarah was a new suit jacket to wear to work. Uncle Rex’s present was in the form of three small statues carved out of white marble, each small enough to fit in the palm of her paw. Two wolves and a deer.

“Oh!” Sarah exclaimed. “It’s Nica, Justus and Antonia! Where on earth did he find these?”

Marcus smiled. “Uncle Rex is the most amazing gift-giver anywhere.” There was one present left, sitting in Sarah’s lap. The shepherd pointed a claw at it. “Is that your gift from your parents?”

Sarah looked down at the green-wrapped gift. “Yeah. It’s strange to not open it with them, but I’m having an amazing holiday with you two.” She picked at a corner of the wrapping paper with a claw and started tearing it off. Inside was a box. Inside of the box was a weathered old book. A diary, by the looks of it. She opened it up and scanned the paw-written pages. Sarah gasped and flipped through the pages wordlessly. A tear started to form in the corner of her eye.

Jacob and Marcus leaned in.

“What.. what is it?” Marcus asked.

Sarah smiled and wiped the tear away. “It’s my mom’s diary. She wrote in it almost every day when I was growing up. There’s so many memories in here that I’d forgotten. And so many more from before the time I could remember.” She sniffed once and wiped away a second tear.

“That’s an incredible gift, Sarah,” Marcus rumbled happily. He put his arm around her. Jacob did the same.

“I think we all got the best gift, though,” Sarah purred.

Jacob looked confused. “Wait. Which gift?”

Sarah looked at each of her dogs with a twinkle in her eye.

“Each other.”