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‘Thanks for the tree, guys,’ Nina says, nodding to Luke to get Gabe out of here asap.
‘Right, well, we’d better get a move on,’ Luke says.
Gabe’s eyes dart back to Faith, who’s now coming down the ladder, examining the result of her work.
He coughs. ‘Right. Yeah. Let’s go. Nice meeting you. See you soon, Nina.’
‘Great meeting you,’ I assure. ‘And thank you so much for the tree.’
‘Bye,’ Faith says without a trace of animosity, but I can tell that there’s something not quite right there.
‘You know that second chance I told you about?’ Nina says. ‘They don’t always come as often as we’d like, you know. And sometimes we don’t deserve them.’
Second chances. Sometimes we don’t deserve them.
‘Hey! Time to leave Emmie to rest,’ Rosie chimes from behind a pile of tinsel, waving everyone towards the door.
I take in the scene of easy friendship before me. It might be because of Christmas approaching, but I can’t help but wonder why my moments of levity and laughter have become so few and far between. Apart from Maisie, why have I not surrounded myself with good friends like these lovely people, instead of people like Audrey Stone? What am I doing wrong?
‘Thank you so much, guys,’ I call after them as they bustle out into the night, still chirping like happy little birds. Children. I miss my students. But I don’t miss work.
Later that evening, I sit alone in the darkened living room, sipping another cup of cocoa and absently munching on the last of the biscuits with only the Christmas tree lights to keep me company.
And trying not to let Gabe York’s sadness and sense of loneliness seep in too much. If Faith ignores him, he must have done something serious. Rosie has told me that Faith is the kindest person she knows. So maybe Gabe doesn’t deserve her. I think of Jago, who says he doesn’t deserve anyone, either. Is this because he blames himself for not saving my grandfather?
And then I think of Stephen and how many second chances I’ve given him.
