This post is part of Teagan Geneviene’s Christmas In July blog hop. https://teagansbooks.com/ #Christmastime

During StoryADay May, Sundays are for Holly Jahangiri stories, so I’m going to use the Sundays of this blog hop to serialize one of the first Holly stories. This was published in an anthology still available on Amazon, and free on Kindle. LET IT SNOW! SEASON’S READINGS FOR A SUPER-COOL YULE!

Before the release of FORCE OF HABIT, my sf/cop/humor novel from Echelon Press, I ran a contest; one of the prizes was the right to name a character in a story set in the same universe. The winner was Holly Jahangiri, a blogger and online acquaintance. In the resulting story, “By the Book”, Holly became Assistant Librarian of the Old Earth Living Library of Council City on the planet Llannonn. I had so much fun writing Holly’s story, and she got such a kick out of it, we’ve become dear virtual friends because of it. She even interviewed herself once, but whether the real Holly was questioning the fictional one or the other way around is unclear. In this story, Holly has become Head Librarian.

The Pratty Who Saved Christmuss, Part the Second

Click here for part the first.

“I’m trying to hold ‘er steady, Boss!”

Plugugly had never been in the country before, so had no experience driving on irregular surfaces and didn’t even know all the things that a heavy snowfall can do to a hovercar’s sensors. All the automatic gizmos that make a hovercar hover now made it try to climb into the air sideways.

“Just catch up to ’em! If a librarian can drive in this, so can you!”

“A head librarian, Boss!”

O’Henry saw the justice in the correction, but said nothing. He strained forward against the force field that protected hovercar occupants from any impact, peering into the snow as if he had laser beams in his eyes. He didn’t, just so you know.

Visibility was so limited, the car was upon the snow-wagon with no warning. The car’s emergency brake-and-bank assembly kicked in, the heavy snowfall garbled the signals, and the car zoomed past the wagon and went nose-over-fuselage, ending with a plumpf in a drift.

* * * * *

“That idiot!” Holly tugged at the reins, easing the complacent pratty to a stop. “Only Nittleigh Witterr would try to drive a hovercar at high speed in weather like this.”

“The call of family is strong at this blessed time of the year,” said the book.

“Yeah, yeah.” The head librarian sighed deeply. “I suppose I’d better make sure the fool hasn’t killed himself.”

Before she had to leave the comfort of the primitive force field that encapsulated the wagon against the falling snow and the biting cold, two figures emerged from the hovercar and staggered toward the barely visible road.

“Neither one of them looks like Nittleigh,” she said.

“Still,” said the book, “the spirit of compassion which makes this time of year one of tender feelings and elevated goodness behooves us to aid them, even — perhaps especially — if they are unknown to us. For who knows when we may entertain angels unaware?”

By the time the book had finished this speech, the figures had reached the snow-wagon, and Holly opened the force field enough to allow them to crawl into the back. As she had judged, neither was her cousin.

When the men had shaken the snow off themselves, the smaller of the two looked from Holly, in her trademark purple feather boa, to the book, in his swallow-tail coat and top hat, and asked, “Head Librarian Holly Jahangiri?”

“Yes,” said Holly. “And this is Living Book A COMPENDIUM OF CHRISTMAS CLASSICS, from the Living Library of Books of Old Earth.”

“I’m Bar and Grill Owner Dickens O’Henry,” said the smaller man. “This is my assistant, Humbug Plugugly.”

They all hooked thumbs with one another in greeting.

“I’m looking for your cousin,” O’Henry said, while Plugugly rummaged about noisily.

“So am I,” said Holly. “He was supposed to come with us, but he never showed up.”

O’Henry cursed, then apologized. Librarians are allowed to curse, but must never be cursed in front of. That’s the rule.

A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Entertaining angels unaware.

MA