"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Merlin asked. Honey smiled reassuringly, "No way, don't worry," he said. After all, he had no intention of having one of the two sides of the coin executed... let alone the one that was probably the most important. The silver chalice was cold against her lips, and the wine inside had a strong and sour taste that she didn't mind. Her sister was clearly of a completely different opinion because after briefly smelling it she gave her an alarmed glance as if to ask her if it was polite or not to ask for simple water since she did not drink...

My sister and I have an annual tradition—every year we go shopping on Christmas Eve. I love the swarming madness and sharp elbows of holiday shoppers. The irony delights me. One of my sister’s gifts, each year, is to go with me. She’s always done with her shopping. After long anxious hours pushing through a packed mall, we were now alone, rolling along southern Jersey streets, warm in her family-sized SUV. She was driving us to Target, to enjoy the last bits of our harried Christmas shopping ritual...