Page 39 of Just for the Season

‘Blue.’

Frankie nods and then says, ‘When do you think Christmas music should start on the radio? I heard some today, and Jack and I had a very heated debate about it.’

‘Today?’ I ask, shocked. ‘It’s the beginning of October! We haven’t even had Halloween yet. That is completely unacceptable.’

‘But it was “Feliz Navidad”. Better than so many non-Christmas songs. I think when you have a really good seasonal song you can play it all year round.’

‘No. All wrong,’ I state. ‘Christmas music should only ever be played between the first of December and the sixth of January. Especially ones that stick in your head like that.’

‘What would you say if someone played an amazing summer song in the middle of December?’

‘That’s different.’

‘I think that’s very discriminatory,’ Frankie says extremely seriously. ‘Why are summer songs allowed to be played all year round but not Christmas ones?’

I just shake my head, because that’s a ridiculous point.

‘Exactly,’ she says triumphantly. ‘You have no answer.’

‘Yes I do.’

‘What then?’

‘Erm.’ I might, in fact, have no answer.

‘Anyway,’ she continues, ignoring me. ‘Good to know that we now have Christmas song intel on each other.’

‘Yes, another highly useful piece of knowledge.’

Our main courses – prawn pad thai without peanuts and a green chicken curry – arrive, and we both take some time to agree that they look and smell stunning.

And then we kind of give up on artificially getting to know each other, and just chat, which turns out to be a much more effective way of… getting to know each other.

I find out, amongst other things, that Frankie has a good appetite, is up for trying anything as long as it isn’t in her red meat, peanut or mango food groups, has a really gorgeous smile (which she deploys to great effect on the server, who will not stop coming over to see if there’s anything else she needs), isn’t loving working in the café but is sure she’ll get used to it, and in her school days was a champion high jumper.

‘Yep,’ she confirms. ‘Actual school and district record holder aged twelve.’

‘Erm.’ I don’t know how to put this politely, because clearly one should never comment on anyone’s physical appearance, but I do also want to know. Because Frankie is – objectively – gorgeous in every way, but she is not tall, or even averagely heighted. ‘Are… most high jumpers usually quite… tall?’

She sniggers. ‘You look so uncomfortable right now trying to pose your question as delicately as possible. Yes, most high jumpers are quite tall. That is why I am no longer a champion one. I grew young. I was genuinely really tall for my age until I was twelve.’

All I can say is: ‘Wow.’

‘What are you thinking about dessert?’ she asks.

‘I’m thinking that if you want one so do I,’ I say promptly. She definitely does. She’s reading the menu very intently.

‘I’m thinking the banana sticky rice looks very tempting.’ She points at the menu.

‘You’re right. As does the passionfruit coconut cake.’

‘We’re going to have to get both and share.’

‘Rude not to,’ I confirm.

Our conversation ambles on, and I learn more small things but nothing big about Frankie, until she fails to suppress a giant yawn just after the server has placed a big pot of ginger and lemon tea between us.

‘Time to go?’ I ask.