Andy sighed and stood up. He tucked a curl behind my ear. I held my breath at his touch and my stomach flipped. ‘You’re anamazing woman, Sarah Peterson. Thank you for being so understanding.’
I smiled and nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak in case I let my alcohol-fuzzy head take control and suggest we relive the night of the Valentine’s Ball.
‘I’m confused.’ Fifteen minutes later I stared at my plate of beans on toast. ‘Don’t get me wrong, Andy. This looks delicious, but I was sure I could smell mince earlier. Am I going mad?’
‘Ah! Slight change of plan. I tried to impress you by making a chilli. You know how I was never great at cooking? If it’s possible, I’ve got worse. I burnt the chilli. I may owe you a new pan. I think I welded it to the bottom.’
I laughed. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
‘I didn’t think there’d be any takeaways open with it being Christmas Day so I had a bit of a panic. Then I realised making you a big meal was a stupid idea because you’ll have had a huge dinner and probably only want something light. So, voilà!’
‘I’d definitely have struggled with a big meal. This is spot on.’
‘Did you enjoy your bath?’ Andy asked, when we’d finished eating. ‘Was it the right thing to do?’
‘It was unexpected but perfect. I mean that. Thank you.’
‘It looked pretty good. I was tempted to join you.’
‘You should have.’Oh my God! Engage brain first.
Andy laughed. ‘You should see the look on your face. I take it you weren’t meant to say that aloud?’
‘No.’
‘Well, I’m glad you did. I know you’re not promising anything but for that thought to even cross your mind, it shows that you’re thinking of me as something other than a friend. If only for a brief moment.’
‘I…’ Maybe I should have stayed sober. My decisions when inebriated were frequently ill-advised. The phrase, ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time’ was invented for me after a few drinks.
‘Do you have any plans for tomorrow?’ Andy asked when we moved into the lounge.
It dawned on me that I’d been so busy that I hadn’t planned beyond Christmas Day. I wanted to see Elise but we hadn’t confirmed a day. ‘Not yet. Why?’
‘Would you do me the honour of spending the day with me?’
I smiled. ‘If you’re as good company as you’ve been the last couple of days, I might be able to cope with it.’
‘That’s a relief. I’ve organised a surprise for you.’ He looked very pleased with himself.
‘What is it?’
‘It won’t be a surprise if I tell you, will it? I’ll pick you up at half five.’
I spluttered on my wine. ‘In the morning?’
He nodded. ‘You should dress warmly. Lots of layers. And wear sensible shoes. Oh, and you’ll need a hat.’
‘What are we doing? Conquering Everest?’
‘Patience. You’ll find out tomorrow. I think you’ll like it. In fact, Iknowyou’ll like it.’
Andy insisted on doing the washing up and leaving by ten so I could get a good night’s sleep. He gave me a gentle kiss on the lips again as he left. It was slightly longer this time but the fact that he wasn’t pushing me earned him massive Brownie Points.
My head felt fuzzy from a steady flow of drink across the afternoon and evening and my whole body felt weary. I blew out the candles, spread the dying embers in the fire, and was about to switch the lamps off when I spotted my laptop on the coffee table. Maybe just a quick look on Facebook…
My newsfeed was full of Christmas best wishes and comments from friends and acquaintances about their Christmas Day, predominantly referencing too much food, too much drink, too many sweets, and too much money spent. Surely that was what Christmas was all about; too much of everything. One of the entries was from Nick.
Nick Derbyshire
