How Green Becomes Wood

Dark took the phone from him and smiled a bit as he scrolled through them, "These are wonderful pictures. I am glad you were able to capture them."

"You'll have to share them with my family," Daizi said cheerfully.
 
"I will," Alec promised. "Now all that's left is to put presents under the tree!" He paused and looked at Ivy. "Or maybe not, considering crawling people with curious fingers.

Xander snickered. "What, you don't want all the gifts open as soon as we put them down?"

"No, I don't think so. How about we go make some hot chocolate while Ivy enjoys the tree with the adults?" Alec suggested.
 
"I definitely do not think we should put presents beneath the tree this year," Dark said, watching his very curious daughter explore.

Cooger turned towards the twins, "What, you haven't had enough hot chocolate already? Your parents are gonna think I don't know how to treat you!"
 
"Did you even feed them?" Dark asked, teasing slightly.

"I sure did," Cooger replied, telling them where they went."

"I suppose that does technically count as food," Dark said dryly, "I suppose Daizi and I will order something in, there is no sense cooking if it will only be two adults and Ivy eating dinner now."
 
"I think that's a lovely idea for you two," Alec agreed.

"And no more hot chocolate for you," Xander warned. "I don't need you sugar crashing."

Alec stuck his tongue out at Xander and then hugged Cooger. "Thank you, Uncle Cooger. This was an awesome afternoon!"
 
"I'm not. I'm just making certain I don't miss my opportunity to say thank you," Alec told him. "I want you to know that you are appreciated!"

"I hope he knows," Xander said, wandering over to see what Ivy was looking at. "But it doesn't hurt to mention it from time to time."
 
"Well thanks," Cooger said, squeezing Alec into his side before letting him free, "I'm real glad to get to do that sort of thing with you both. You're good kids."

He ended up staying until Dark and Daizi's dinner was delivered, at which point he made his goodbyes and headed home. As he walked to his car, he thought about walking next door to see Lex, but he decided against it. He didn't want his own Christmas tree to die, he needed to get it set up into water pretty soon. And he had a ton of kittens and cats to feed, so he sent Lex a quick text to explain--just in case she had seen his truck and was disappointed he didn't stop by--and then went home.
 
The tree was a new precious thing to Alec. He kept coming down and rearranging things, adjusting this or that, and sometimes showing Ivy a new favorite ornament, usually one of the ones Dark had carved. It distracted him from his room, but other than that, overall, his mood was better, and he was eating more easily. Still a little less than what he needed, but better.

Xander liked the tree, but after the first day, the novelty had already worn off. He didn't even really take note. He liked it well enough, but it was just more stuff. Pretty, shiny, well-made stuff, but stuff. He had his room to decompress in, and that made it easier, so he was able to look at and marvel at the tree now and then, but that was it.

A couple of days later, Xander was getting off of work helping Cooger with a handiman job shortly before Alec was scheduled to get off. He called Dark and told him he had time, so he was willing to go pick up Alec and bring him home. Then he headed for Tristan's store to do just that.

~~

Meanwhile, Cooger received a call from an unknown number. Likely not something unusual for him, but what might have been unusual was the fact that the caller was a teen girl. "Hello, is this Mr. Cooger the handiman?" she asked bluntly.
 
Ivy went through periods of being amazed with the tree and being completely unbothered with it. For Dark and Daizi, their biggest concern was trying to stop her from messing with it, because within just a few days of having it, she had discovered there was water in its base and tried to use the tree to pull up to stand. It was beautiful, but it activated all of Ivy's curious chaos.

~~

When he answered the phone, he greeted the caller with a friendly hello but the youth on the other end took him by surprise, "Yeah, this is him. Is there something I can help you with?"
 
Tristan looked up from taking a visual inspection of the store while it was empty and smiled. "Ah, hello, Xander! I hadn't expected to see you today."

Xander nodded. "Hey. I'm here to grab Alec if he's ready."

"He's counting tulips right now, but he should be done in just a minute," Tristan informed him.

Xander nodded. "Cool. Cool."

~~

"Cool, I'm Rumy - I mean, Ramona. I go by Rumy. I was wondering if you take on apprentices?"
 
"Hey, Tristan, I've been wondering something," Xander said, eying a display of succulent terrariums.

"Yes?" Tristan promped, counting vases.

"What's it like being a Buddhist?"

Tristan paused and glanced at him in amusement. "I wouldn't know. I'm not Buddhist."

"You aren't?" Xander asked, confused, turning from the terrariums. "I thought you were because of," he waved his hand to indicate his surroundings.

"The flowers?" Tristan asked.

"No, the aesthetics and stuff," Xander said. "It's very... zen."

Tristan chuckled. "You aren't the first one to assume that. I don't know why people think this aesthetic and zen mean Buddhist. Well, I can see the connection, but there are other schools of thought that focus on 'zen' things."

"Sorry," Xander said, chagrinned."

"That's alright. I'm actually Toaist."

"Oh." Xander paused and tried to remember if he had run across this before. "What's Dow... thing?"

~~

"I'm almost eighteen," she said quickly. "I'm not, like, a total minor. I can get my parents to sign forms and stuff, and I'm really good with my hands. I really want to learn more about how to fix and build stuff and, you know, be more handy and self-sufficient. You don't even have to pay me much. I think you're supposed to pay me something for laws and stuff, but I just really want to learn. I've heard a ton about you and your work, and I think you're, like, the best person to learn from."
 
"I appreciate the compliment, kid," Cooger told her, "but I really don't know. I've never even met you, and the only person I have help me is my nephew, and that's 'cause I know him and his folks real well."
 
"Taoism." He spelled it out for him. "It's the halfway point between Buddhism and Confucianism, or, at least, the mainstream versions. Buddhism is not what it used to be, and it is different depending on where you live. Anyway! Working off of generalisms, Buddhism focuses on the positive to the blinding of all else. Confucianism focuses on the negative to the blinding of all else. Taosim tries to find the balance in both negative and positive and the find peace in the center point. That would be the SparkNotes' version, I believe you'd say."

Xander contemplated that for a minute. "Huh. I guess that makes sense. So, is it a religion?"

"For some. For others, it's a school of thought, like a self-discipline, and there is nothing in Taoism that restricts a person from holding to a religion if they so desire. There are also a few people from rual communities where it is taught almost as a way of life. It's very interesting. "For me, I would say it has some religious leanings, but I primarily view it as a school of thought. A way to help myself find a center of calm."

"Then are you religious in some way?" Xander asked cautiously, not sure of what he might be getting into with that question.

"I would assign myself as... agnostic," Tristan told him. "I am fairly certain there is a deity, and I have opinions on the matter, but I do not follow a specific religious branch."

Xander nodded. "Oh. Okay. Thanks."

~~

"That's pretty easy to solve," Rumy told him. "I doubt you can get to know my parents because my dad's out of town and my mom's always busy, but we could meet. Somewhere public, of course. I could give you references. I bet you'd even know some of my references. Please, Mr. Cooger, I'm not trying to beg or nothing, but would you consider it?"
 
Cooger shook his head even though she couldn't see it and adamantly said, "No, look, if that's something I'm willing to take on, and that's a big if, I won't do it unless I can meet your folks. I'm serious on that one. I'm not meeting up with a teenage girl unless an adult is with her and I'm not taking her nowhere unless her parents are fully aware of who I am. It's just no good."
 
"You're welcome," Tristan said wih a smile.

Alec came bouncing out and lit up when he saw Xander. "Hi! You're picking me up today?"

"Yep. Got finished a little early, figured I'd play taxi for you," Xander told him. "Ready?"

Alec nodded. "Ready Freddy! Bye, Uncle Tristan! See you later!"

Tristan smiled and gave them both a wave. "Drive safe, you two!"

Alec and Xander got into Xander's van and headed home, telling each other about their days. Xander's took a good deal less time than Alec's.

~~

Rumy heaved a heavy sigh. "It's not like buger flippers gotta introduce their parents to the manager," she grumbled. "How about just my dad next week?"
 
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