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‘Well they’re fools together now so they can get on with it.’ Flora gave a small laugh. ‘I hope they are happy together because what they did had to be worth it. They lost me as a friend and I know I was a good friend to them both.’
‘It’s their loss for sure.’ Leif nodded gravely. He finished his non-alcoholic wine, savouring the spices and citrus zest then set the cup down on the barrel. He realised that poor Magnus was still staring at the sausage. ‘I’m sorry, boy,’ he said as he picked the sausage up and broke it into smaller pieces then fed them to Magnus one at a time. The dog sat there, his fluffy tail sweeping arcs over the grass and Leif smiled at him. Dogs were better than people in so many ways, he thought. They were loyal, easily pleased and lived in the moment. Magnus would never betray him. Well, perhaps for a jumbo sausage…
‘Shall we go and get a tree then?’ Flora said when she’d finished her wine.
‘Yes and we can take it back to Victor and have a lovely evening decorating it with him.’
They disposed of their wine cups then returned to the trees, walking in step with Magnus between them. Leif was not one to jump the gun but he liked Flora and found being with her so easy. They had come from different backgrounds and Flora had some sad times behind her but perhaps there was a way that Leif could help her to move on from the pain and to enjoy life again. She clearly loved her job but life was about more than work and Leif hoped he could be the one to show her that people could be trusted.
Chapter 14
Flora
Flora knocked on Victor’s door and waited for him to open it while Leif got the tree from the van. When Victor answered the door, he smiled broadly at her.
‘Good evening, Flora.’
‘Good evening, Victor. Something smells good,’ she said.
‘I’m glad you think so.’ He smiled. ‘I ordered in Mexican food and it’s in the oven keeping warm.’
‘Yum! I’ll look forward to that.’ The mulled wine she’d had at the Christmas tree farm had been strong and given her quite an appetite. But first they needed to get the tree inside and to decorate it.
‘Do you need help?’ Victor asked Leif and the Viking shook his head.
‘I’m fine, thanks.’
‘Not that I’d be much use with these old hands.’ Victor grimaced. ‘I’ll go and put the kettle on, shall I? Or… I did have a bottle of wine delivered with the food so shall I open that?’
‘Wine would be great, Victor, thanks,’ Leif replied.
Indoors, Leif settled the tree in the stand they’d bought for it while Victor went to get the wine and Flora set all the decorations on the table ready to show Victor. When he returnedto the room with a tray and three glasses of dark ruby wine, he gasped.
‘That’s a magnificent tree and where did all the decorations come from?’
‘Well we thought you might have some here that you want to use but also that it would be nice to have some new ones too. I picked these up in London because I couldn’t resist.’ Flora gestured at the decorations on the table. There were several snowmen wearing different coloured sparkly hats and scarves, two reindeer with bright red noses, some sparkly snowflakes, two Christmas puddings and some animal decorations including a large dog that resembled Magnus and some squirrels.
‘They’re very lovely,’ Victor said as he handed Flora a glass of wine then gave one to Leif. He picked up his own glass and raised it. ‘Here’s to Christmas with new friends.’
‘And to absent friends,’ Flora added, raising her glass and clinking it against Victor’s and then Leif’s.
‘Yes, to absent friends.’ Victor took a long slug of wine and nodded as he swallowed it.
‘Now… I think we should get some music on and decorate this tree,’ Leif said, holding up his phone.
‘I agree!’ Victor put his wine on the table and pushed up the sleeves of his cardigan.
Leif set his phone to play a Christmas collection and they gathered around the tree together. Leif wound the lights around it first and when he’d finished, they hung the decorations Flora had bought from the branches until they’d used them all.
‘Did you have any other decorations you wanted to add, Victor?’ Flora asked.
Victor nodded. ‘Back in a moment.’
He returned to the lounge carrying a shoebox that he put on the table. He lifted the lid and started removing items wrapped carefully in tissue paper. They were traditional decorationsincluding a manger scene and a large star for the top of the tree as well as a very jolly looking Santa Claus and a few photo baubles featuring Victor and Mavis over the years.
‘These are beautiful,’ Flora said. ‘Shall I help you to hang them?’
‘Yes please,’ Victor replied.
