Christmas (2)

"That depends on whether the snow stops," Vivi said. "If it stops this afternoon, the snow in the backyard will start melting, and the ground might get slippery. If you open the door to air the place out, watch the area around the threshold."

She put the empty cup back on the table. "But if it's dry snow, it won't melt too quickly."

Anne set down her coffee cup. "As for the Confederation Technical Group, I can pull the latest status report on Node Seven from the Confederation Technical Group's intranet. But since it's the holidays, the intranet probably won't have any new updates. There'll only be previous archives to look through."

"No hurry. We can talk about it after the holidays," Vivi said.

Pabbie stood and went into the kitchen to check the oven.

"The turkey still needs a while. You can rest in the living room first, or go open your presents." She pointed at the wrapped boxes beneath the Christmas tree. "Those boxes have been sitting there all morning. If they stay there any longer, someone might not be able to resist."

Anne set down her coffee cup and stood.

"I'll go get them first."

She walked over to the Christmas tree, crouched down, picked up a box wrapped in dark-blue paper, and looked at the name on the tag. "Vivi's. I'll put it here."

"Then let's open mine first." Vivi came over as well and sat down on the carpet beside the Christmas tree. She took the box Anne handed her. "You can all open your own presents first. No need to wait for me."

She unwrapped the paper. Inside was a book with a dark-green cover, the title stamped in gilded letters: Ancient Ley Lines and Magical Changes.

"This is an internal publication from the