‘Is this the sort of thing you were thinking of?’ said Nick jokingly.
‘Yes, that’s right,’ I replied. ‘I thought four or five Christmas trees and we could do away with the furniture for a few weeks. A small sacrifice to make.’
Laughing, we went inside the shop. Even I was momentarily overwhelmed; it was a Christmas explosion. Where to start? Part of me wanted to panic and run away, but I couldn’t let everybody down and besides, another part of me was thrilled by the prospect of this glittering emporium. I looked at Nick and he turned to me.
‘The five-year-old in melovesthis,’ he said. ‘The thirty-five-year-old is terrified.’
‘Well, it’s the five-year-old we’ve come to indulge,’ I said. ‘He deserves to make up for all those missed Christmases. Where would he start?’
‘Candy canes,’ said Nick decisively. ‘I’ve always liked them, they’re so cheerful. I’d like a few of those about the place.’
‘Candy canes it is,’ I said, and moved into the shop. ‘Look, there’s a whole area dedicated to them. You can have indoor or outdoor lights, tree decorations, giant versions, tinsel, even a candy cane front door cover to fit over your own. Pretty much anything you can think of, but with red and white stripes.’
‘I’m starting with this,’ he said, picking up a glittery foam cane that must have been three feet high. ‘In fact, I want two, one for either side of the fireplace in the sitting room.’ He picked up a second one and stood there grinning at me. ‘And now,’ he continued, ‘I want that candy cane Nutcracker figure, but I’ve already run out of arms.’
‘Can I help?’ asked a perky voice. I turned to see a young woman dressed as an elf, with a name badge that said ‘Twinkle’.
‘You can,’ I replied. ‘I think we’re going to need somewhere to put things while we shop.’
‘No problem at all,’ she said. ‘I’ll allocate you an area. And let me take these,’ she added, removing the candy canes from Nick and somehow managing to collect up the huge Nutcracker at the same time.
‘Back in a mo,’ she chirped.
‘With Twinkle on board, this is going to be even more dangerous,’ I told Nick. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to get out now, while you still can?’
‘Absolutely not. I’m beginning to enjoy myself. Now, tinsel.’
For the next hour, we capered around that shop like children, picking out everything we would need. We hadn’t planned on buying any tree decorations, given that we had Marilise’s, but they proved far too tempting, so Nick announced that we wouldsimply have two Christmas trees: Marilise’s in the hallway and the second in the living room. We paused for the occasional serious discussion over whether we needed a person-sized gingerbread man (regretfully, we decided not) or if there should be two or three deer (three, of course) and I thought how much I was enjoying myself. Had I been wrong to try and cut Christmas out of my life, or was this just good timing? Eventually, we were finished. Even Twinkle had to admit that it wasn’t necessary to choose anything else.
‘You two have done very well,’ she said, and we basked in her approval. ‘There isonetiny thing, though.’ We frowned. What could we have missed? She pointed upwards. ‘You’re standing under the mistletoe, and you know what that means.’
A tall, thin elf passed by at that moment, paused and said in a singsong tone:
‘Mistletoe kiss. Mistletoe kiss. Brings Christmastime magic and Christmastime bliss.’
Before we knew it, several other elves appeared and began chanting the same thing.
‘They want you to kiss,’ said Twinkle in a stage whisper.
‘Yes, I think we realised that,’ said Nick drily, and looked at me, then raised one eyebrow. ‘May I, Nurse Wilde?’
Swept away by the fun of the afternoon, my senses reeling as Christmas spirit flooded my heart again, I nodded. He bent his head and kissed me on the lips, a light kiss but long enough to set off fireworks and it was all I could do not to reach out and pull him closer, feel his body against mine, deepen the kiss and see where it took us on that heady, unreal December afternoon. But it was over as quickly as it had started and we were blushing and grinning for the clapping elves, who no doubt set people up twenty times a day and never wanted the scene to become any steamier than a festive peck.
‘We’d better pay and sort out how to get this lot home,’ said Nick, and we went with Twinkle to the till. The total was several hundred pounds, and I looked at Nick nervously. Did his newfound Santa status reach as far as his wallet? Apparently, it did, because he handed over his credit card without complaint or panic, merely asking about home delivery and once that was arranged for the next morning, we headed back to the car. There was a new energy between us, and when we passed the Salvation Army band playing ‘Sleigh Ride’, I didn’t cover my ears or rush away but smiled to remember happier times and to wonder what the future might hold.
FOURTEEN
We stopped off on the way back to Lyonscroft to order the Christmas trees, again for delivery in the morning, and got back as everyone was sitting down to supper.
‘Did you get everything?’ asked India. ‘Mum told us where you’ve been all afternoon.’
‘We may have picked up a few little trinkets,’ said Nick casually, reaching for the butter.
‘That’s right,’ I chimed in, adopting the same tone of voice. ‘Some small and tasteful lights – one string – and a bauble or two.’
‘I don’t believe you for one second!’ said Marilise, her voice full of delight. ‘I think you have bought out the shop.’
Nick and I glanced at each other and grinned, and the fireworks fizzed again.
