Page 78 of Last Christmas in London

‘All things we can discuss together, but not with our clients,’ I said, a light-hearted warning in my tone, though she was definitely accurate.

‘Oh, of course,’ she agreed, tapping my wrist lightly. ‘I would never.’

We both took a moment to review the menu, my eyes glazed over the flavours I preferred for the ones Pim would usually request, unable to switch off from putting her needs first. Though this meeting was partly for me, a chance to turn off my Pim mode and focus on myself and my wants.

My phone buzzed on the table, an email alert flashing.

‘Excuse me,’ I said, putting down the menu and reviewing the message.

It was from Elijah.

‘Hey, Evelyn,’ it began. ‘I just wanted to check if you received the treatments we sent over for the new shows. Any feedback or ideas? Eager to hear your thoughts. E.’

Well, that was a chase if ever I read one. And on 22 December!

I put my phone face-down on the table without replying.

Leaning on my elbows, I decided to focus on Alison.

‘How are things with you? Have you finished your notice period?’

She nodded happily. ‘Yes, last week. I can’t believe I get a break this Christmas, that’s the first in a while.’

‘I’m glad. I’ll be honest, you won’t get much of a break with Pim next Christmas.’

She shrugged. ‘It’s not all it’s made out to be. It’s nice to do something different as, for the last however many years, I’ve just been stuck in the same office over the festive period and getting Christmas and Boxing Day off to spend with my partner’s siblings and their family. My family are all spread out. If I get to spend Christmas in Nepal one year and then Christmas in Sydney the next, it will be brilliant. I just want something different.’

I smiled. ‘It certainly is that. We don’t realise how pigeonholed we are in the UK, we forget how amazing Christmases can be in different cultures, and sometimes not even Christmas, just winter.’

Alison grinned, her eyes glazing over with imaginings about her future. A future I used to find so exciting but now find draining.

‘Be sure to find time for you, though. Have a break and enjoy what each location has to offer. Pim’s pretty good at allocating time for me, I mean you, to experience the culture. It gives her a chance to enjoy herself with friends or just on her own.’

‘She doesn’t want you to live in her pocket.’

‘Maybe on occasion, but mostly she wants you to get her from A to B without her needing to think about any of it.’

Alison nodded, taking it all in.

It felt stranger than I’d expected, talking through the role – my life – like this. My stomach felt knotted but as if it were unravelling, even if it was a little painful. I didn’t realise how much of my life was reading the room and staying one step ahead at all times until I was passing the baton and sitting still for the first time in years.

I wasn’t walking away from something important; I was choosing to stop and reflect. It was nostalgic to realise how much I was the person who others relied on before they even knew it. But that pressure was gone.

It was Alison’s turn to hold the baton now.

She reached for her bag and pulled out a brand-new notebook and stylish fountain pen. She waved it between her fingers.

‘A leaving gift,’ she sniggered. ‘You’d think after twelve years they would have monogrammed it. But I think that would mean remembering how to spell my surname.’

I tutted on her behalf. ‘I doubt I’ll get anything as fine from Pim,’ I said, but Alison shook her head.

‘Yes, you will. I’ll probably be buying it.’ She winked.

Suddenly, from behind us, I heard the yapping of a familiar dog and the clicking of two high heels on the black-and-white marble floors.

‘Would you mind?’ Pim’s voice rang out grandly, not for the sake of the person she was talking to but so everyone else in the Savoy restaurant heard her coming. ‘He prefers bottled water. Thank you.’

‘Here she comes,’ I muttered to Alison as I rose from my seat, butterflies fluttering in my stomach as I moved to head Pim off before she spotted Alison and me together. Alison didn’t even shuffle in her seat, she was so calm and confident. I fed off her energy.