It was a very gray day, indeed. Rain beat against the roof in fits and starts, sending Edward into a reverie of a time when he’d once convinced his young children that the sound was the pattering hooves of Santa’s reindeer. Those very children would be bringing their own children to dinner, and his lovely wife, Margery, was downstairs now making the whole house shine and smell of good things. His life was good, if not a little dull. Since retirement, he’d found himself occasionally wishing for something new to spark his interest. A new hobby, a new friend…something to whittle away a few hours before his evening shows came…