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“Fuck,” said the other woman. “I haven't got anywhere else to go for Christmas; not at this late notice.” Her voice had the hint of a Cornish accent and Rubie would have asked about it if it wasn't for the fact that she also had nowhere else to go for Christmas.
“I'm Rubie,” she said, holding out her hand for the other woman to shake. “Whilst we're here, sorting this mix up out, we might as well know each other's names.”
“Anna,” said the other woman, “I'm Anna.”
“Hey Anna,” said Rubie. “It looks like we're in similar position here. And it's not like it's easy to find somewhere local.” The cottage was literally in the middle of nowhere. “Is there a spare bedroom...?” But even as she asked the question, Rubie realized that it was very unlikely. She might not be able to remember the details of the booking off the top of her head, but she was fairly certain that one of the qualities of the rental that she'd considered to be vital, was it was perfectly designed for one person. Which meant one bedroom.
They stared at each other, reality hitting them. “Well,” said Anna. “I guess this won't be getting a five star review.”
Rubie laughed then, the sound loud in the quiet of the cottage. “Ha! Look,” she said, resigning herself to the situation. “I don't really have anywhere else to go either, and,” she walked to the window and peered out, “it looks as if even if I did have somewhere to go, I wouldn't be able to.” It had started to snow outside and Rubie had checked the weather before leaving. Being snowed in over Christmas had seemed very pleasant when she had imagined it previously. Now it just seemed like an inconvenience.
Anna walked over to the window and stood beside Rubie. She didn't touch her; not even a finger grazed Rubie's hand, and yet Rubie could feel the other woman's presence as if she'd pressed herself up against Rubie.
“Oh,” said Anna. “I see.” She turned to look at Rubie, and Rubie was gratified to see that the other woman was just as tall as Rubie was. Most people weren't anywhere near as tall as Rubie, and it had made other cis women in the past wary of dating her, but Anna was tall and leggy, and met Rubie's eyes easily.
“I guess we're spending Christmas together, then.”
Chapter Two
It turned out that Anna was not as big a fan of Christmas as Rubie, although that wasn't exactly difficult, considering the fact that no one was ever as big a fan of Christmas as Rubie. But in this case, Anna actively disliked the holiday. Rubie stared at her when Anna shared this information.
“You don't like Christmas?” she asked, aghast.
“No,” said Anna, “I mean, who likes Christmas? The pressure to give the perfect present, having to spend time with family, the forced frivolity of it all… At the end of the year, I just want to curl up and sleep.” She took one look around the room, taking in all the decorations that Rubie had managed to put up earlier and added, “I guess you like Christmas then?”
Rubie nodded. “Just a little bit. I love how magical everything seems at Christmas.”
“If it's so magical,” said Anna, “do you mind me asking why you’re spending it up here alone?”
“I'm trans,” Rubie said. “Going home for Christmas isn't really an option for me.” She paused and waited, anxiously darting her eyes up to take in Anna's reaction. There wasn't much of one, or at least not a trace of the reaction that Rubie feared.
Instead, Anna said, “I think I understand how that must be frustrating. I don't really have a huge amount of experience with wanting to spend Christmas with my family, but I suppose if you wanted to and couldn't, then it must be quite difficult.”
“I don't think I want to actually spend Christmas with them,” said Rubie. “I don't think it would be particularly fun for any of us, but it has meant that rather than rejecting Christmas, I've made it my own.”
“You've certainly done that,” said Anna. “Where did all these decorations come from? I didn't see them when I arrived.”
For the first time since she’d arrived at the cottage, Rubie felt embarrassed. “I brought them with me?” she said, her voice raising in a question at the end of the sentence.
Anna looked at her. “You don't sound certain,” she said.
“No no,” said Rubie. “I am certain, I’m just embarrassed to admit it.”
“Well,” said Anna. “It's Christmas Eve, and it looks like we're going to be stuck here together. How would you like to do this?”
“Do this?”
“Christmas,” said Anna. “How would you like to do Christmas?”
Rubie looked at her curiously. “But I thought you said you didn't like Christmas?”
Anna's face flushed as she answered, “I don't, but I don't care about it enough to mind if you celebrate it. I guess we can do Christmas together. Just expect me to Grinch it up on occasion.”
“I can cope with that,” said Rubie with a grin. “And we can make it nice for you, too. What were you planning to eat tomorrow?”
“I've got everything I need for a really good curry,” said Anna.
“Oh that food in the fridge was yours,” said Rubie, suddenly understanding. “Well maybe we could make ourselves a Christmas dinner with a difference. Spice the turkey the way you would a good curry but roast it instead, and do a really lovely gravy with stuffing and maybe we make a dahl with the vegetables.”
