Keeping Busy

It's been a busy weekend. I spent most of Saturday putting up all the Christmas decorations, and mounting all the lights in the windows. (My fingers are still sore. Fixing 240 lights to the window-frames takes all afternoon, and it's cramped, finicky work. Plus it's summer here, and I was working in direct, hot sun. Have to admit that it looks quite nice when they're all on, though.) Then, today, my mother, and my little brother and his wife came over for a Sunday roast, it being my turn to cook for the family; so I spent the morning cooking—roast pork, yumm—and the afternoon entertaining.

Despite everything, I've managed to get some writing done. Chapter 14 now stands at 15,300 words. Suzue has just had an unpleasant shock. If you've paid attention to the previous chapters, you can probably guess what…