The exercise:
Write about: the ringing of the bells.
The boys are having a sleepover with Kat's parents tonight. Max is old hat at it, but this is Miles' first one. Which means this is the first night we've been away from both of them since Miles was born.
We talked to them on the phone before their bedtime and all seemed well. Feeling pretty confident that there won't be any issues.
Kat and I took the opportunity to have dinner out and then watched a horrible cheese ball of a Christmas movie on Netflix. I can honestly say that I don't remember what it was called.
Anyway, it has not been a typical Monday night around here, to say the least.
2 comments:
I hope the boys have fun at their sleepover! And the dinner out sounds nice (I have to go out for dinner tonight but it's a work-thing, so while it will be fine, it's not anything I'm particularly looking forward to) while the Christmas movie sounds... well, I think you summed it up quite adequately :-D
The ringing of the bells
"What do you do with the presents you don't open then?" asked Bartlett. Sox rolled his eyes.
"Is this important? Right now?"
"Probably not."
"Right. Go get the present from the car; it's on the back-seat in the shopping bag. Nicely wrapped, little gold-foil reindeer and ringlets of ribbons and the works."
"Why didn't we bring it i--" Bartlett wilted under Sox's angry glare and she squeaked like a mouse caught in a downpour and scurried out.
"You just want her out of the room," said Santa. He seemed to stretch, but he took a step towards the purple-white light in the next room as well.
"Stay put," said Sox, pursing his lips. "We both know I will kill us both if that's what it takes."
Santa nodded. "You're a very strange young man," he said. "You've been on both lists every year for the last five years. It's hard to know what to do about you, but since you won't open presents it's not been that big a deal either. I just give you an empty box and leave you with Schrodinger's paradox."
It was Sox's turn to nod. "Makes sense," he said. "Thank-you for not going with something more... humorous."
Bartlett reappeared in the room, slightly out of breath as though she'd run to the car and back. Sox guessed that she probably had. In her hands was a small box, maybe the size of a table-lamp, wrapped as he'd described it. He reached into another pocket of his jacket and pulled out another device that looked like a mobile phone and tapped the screen. It illuminated and he selected an icon on it, and then held it over the top of the box. A moment later it beeped, and then a sound like a string of bells jangling came out of the device.
"What's that?" said Bartlett looking just a little startled. Her hands tightened on the box as though she'd been about to drop it.
"QQR code reader," said Sox. "Confirms that you've brought the right present, and determines where it's to be delivered to."
Bartlett's look of confusion was so pronounced that although Sox was starting to look disgusted Santa took pity on her.
"Quantum QR code reader," he said. "The present has been entangled with its recipient already -- it had to be for what we're going to do -- and the QQR reader just confirms that. Plus giving us the address."
"How is the ringing of bells an address? To a church maybe?"
"Maybe," said Santa, grinning. "Why don't do both come in here to the delivery room and we'll get the present underway. Then you can both get lost so I can get on with Christmas."
Greg - yeah, I think we could all stand to do that more often. Now that we know Miles is good with it I hope that we shall.
Hmm. What is the present, and who is it for... you've got me hanging from cliffs already!
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