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‘It isn’t?’ I whispered as a vague memory started to dawn. ‘It can’t be.’
‘It is,’ Manny pulled a cushion out of its cover and slid the red velvet slipcover over his head like a sack. ‘It totally bloody is.’
Two tiny reindeers trotted onto the 55-inch screen, holding hands and bobbing up and down, staring directlyinto the camera. One looked extremely nervous while the other appeared extremely confident. Both of them looked ridiculous.
‘Is that … is that you two?’ Dev asked without taking his eyes off the TV.
‘Please don’t watch it,’ I begged, collapsing onto the floor beside him and trying to cover his eyes with my hands.
‘We’re never having sex again,’ Manny groaned from inside his cushion cover while Drew sat forward on the edge of the settee, his mouth hanging open with delight.
With my dad giggling behind the camera, Reindeer Manny and Reindeer Gwen took centre stage and burst into a spirited rendition of ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’, complete with choreographed dance routine.
‘This is incredible,’ Dev grinned as Artemis howled with laughter. ‘Do you still have that outfit by any chance?’
‘I bet they still know the moves,’ Drew said. ‘Come on, why don’t you show us?’
‘Yes, Auntie Gwen, yes!’ Arthur said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up to my feet. ‘Show me the dance!’
In an instant, the room was full of music. Artemis seamlessly connected her iPad to the stereo and everyone was on their feet, Drew leading cushion-headed Manny into the middle of the room, while our tiny counterparts continued to wiggle and hop on the television.
‘I love this song,’ Artemis yelled as she turned up the volume to ‘Last Christmas’, shouting along and bouncing around in a silly dance I suspected she’d be far too grown up to entertain this time next year. She grabbed hold of Dev’s hands and pulled him into the middle of the living room, arms flailing wildly. Mumand Dad joined in with a gentle jive while Gerald twisted his hips in front of Nan’s chair, giving her the world’s most polite lap dance. We all danced around the room, Manny singing at the top of his voice and bouncing Artemis up onto his shoulders, Arthur hurling himself from left to right, stopping occasionally to swivel his hips like a baby Elvis, while Drew danced with Cerys, lifting her up off her feet as she cried with laughter. So much joy. So much love.
‘I think this should be our song,’ Dev said, pulling me into his arms as George Michael warbled through the chorus. ‘Last Christmas, I gave you my heart.’
‘It’s not actually a very nice song when you listen to the lyrics,’ I replied as he spun me around. ‘You snogged her once and she doesn’t remember you a year later? It was a Christmas party, George, she was clearly drunk, she doesn’t owe you anything and you need to get over it. Don’t be that man.’
‘You pick one then,’ he said, laughing. We laughed a lot. It was nice. ‘There are plenty to choose from. “All I Want for Christmas is You”, “Christmas Wrapping”, “I Wish It Could be Christmas Every Day”—’
‘Any of them except for that one,’ I interrupted, reflexively reaching for my sixpence necklace. ‘One Christmas is quite enough.’
Sliding my arms around his neck, I kissed him squarely on the lips.
‘What was that for?’ Dev pulled me in closer and the rest of the room seemed to slip away.
‘Just for being here, for being you,’ I answered. ‘This is all I want for Christmas.’
‘Wow, really?’ He grinned, swooping me low to the ground and holding me there, suspended over the soft blue carpet. ‘Maybe I should return all your presents then?’
‘Well, no, that’s silly, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you,’ I replied quickly. ‘Since you’ve already picked them and bought them and wrapped them and—’
He cut me off with a kiss and the whole world vanished. This was it. I had everything I could ever want, my family, my love and to top it all off, I had me. The happiest, truest version of myself, something I didn’t even know was missing until a year ago.
I opened my eyes to see them all, laughing and smiling and dancing, and I marvelled at the wonder of it. I was so, so lucky. Whether we had a hundred years together or only today, it didn’t matter. It was perfect.
And I wouldn’t have wished for one day more.
