Nøtteknekkeren Read Online Free PDF Page B

open, slipping inside before pulling it shut behind me.
    I didn’t know what servants Uncle Yvo had been talking about, but they had to be miracle workers. In the short time I had been upstairs, gotten changed, and decided to take a peek at the tree, the ballroom had been cleaned and set to rights. The conservatory door was closed, the tables had been cleared out, and the place was spotless and looking like it should be in a museum.
    A couple of small sofas, just the right size for gift opening, had been placed kitty-cornered to the tree, with a coffee table in front of them. The tree was still overflowing with presents too, even though I had seen Uncle Yvo handing enough out to guests that the space underneath the tree should be half empty now. But it wasn’t—it looked perfect. The lights were still twinkling, and I knew I should unplug them, but they were the only lights in the room. The dim light cast shadows everywhere, which should have been scary but made the cavernous ballroom seem cozy instead.
    I went over and sat on one of the sofas. It was comfortable, and I swore it was the same sofa I had slept on as a child. I gazed at the tree, getting the odd feeling that someone or ones were staring back at me. It could be the ornaments—an assortment of dolls, wooden soldiers, and exotic figurines scattered among the more traditional ornaments, looking more lifelike than they had earlier. Or it could be the nutcracker Yvo had shown me, now looking a little battered from Rik’s rough handling. I got up and picked the nutcracker up from his chair, settling back on the sofa with him by my side. I was glad I didn’t get shocked again, because that had hurt.
    “I figured we should do this one more time,” I said. It should be odd talking to an inanimate object, but I swore he was listening to me. “I’d say I hadn’t missed this, but… I think I have. Even if I didn’t know what I was missing, I think I missed this.”
    I turned and looked at the doll. He really wasn’t a doll and it might be insulting to call him one, but what else could I call him?
    “Rik’s parties were always uncomfortable,” I continued. “Hard. I wondered why those people weren’t with their families. But then, they didn’t think Christmas was anything more than another excuse to spend money and drink heavily.” I paused. “They made Christmas Eve seem like just another day.” I sighed. “You showed me it could be magical. Even if I don’t remember that, I know it. And I got another taste of that tonight. I’m not spending another Christmas Eve at Rik’s.”
    I didn’t care what kind of crap Rik would give me. Even if Uncle Yvo never asked me here again, I wouldn’t go back there.
    I was warm and relaxed. I had been on edge for most of the evening, with meeting all those people and feeling like I was the center of attention for most of the night. Rik hadn’t liked that. I was wondering if I should get up and go back to bed, but I drifted off to sleep, feeling very much at peace for the first time in years.
     
     
    I WOKE with a jolt, wondering where I was, and then questioning what had caused me to wake up. There had been something, not quite a noise, but more like an instinct telling me I needed to stop sleeping. I hadn’t been dreaming…. Not that, but I thought I was still asleep with what I was seeing.
    My uncle Yvo appeared to be crouched on top of the grandfather clock on the far wall. I wondered if he was drunk to be up there, or if I was drunk to be seeing him, because I couldn’t think of a way for him to get up there or for the clock to support his weight.
    I’d had only one glass of wine this evening, unlike my surly older brother. Rik’s drinking was one of the reasons the poor nutcracker looked like he had been through the wars, from Rik’s bruising handling. My brother hadn’t outgrown his vindictive streak, it seemed—but I hadn’t been the target of it this time, the nutcracker had. Something tickled