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They added the decorations and soon the tree was adorned with decorations old and new. Flora thought it was a perfect example of the old and new coming together, of the connecting of generations and love past and present.
‘Are we ready to turn on the lights?’ Leif asked.
‘Ready!’ Flora and Victor said.
‘One. Two. Three!’ Leif flicked the switch, and the lights came on, flickering all around the tree like tiny, golden stars.
‘Truly magical,’ Victor said, clasping his hands together. ‘I wasn’t even going to bother with a tree this year.’
Flora placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Well now you have one that I hope Mavis would be impressed with.’
‘Oh she would, dear, she most certainly would.’
Flora looked at Victor and saw that his eyes were shining, so she moved her hand from his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. He laughed softly and she rested her head on his shoulder, understanding that this man had lost his world this year, but she hoped that they could give him some comfort by being there. They couldn’t make his pain go away but they could carry some of the burden of it with him.
She looked over at Leif and found him gazing at her with something in his eyes that made her stomach flip over. In that moment, she didn’t think any man had ever looked at her that way before and something in her heart that had been locked up tight began to open.
Chapter 15
Flora
The rest of the week passed in a blur of work, commuting and popping in to see Victor for a cup of tea. Every time she’d gone there after work, he’d taken her through to the lounge where the fire had been lit and the lights on the Christmas tree twinkled. Victor seemed to be managing all right and he’d told her that he looked forward to her visits as well as Leif’s. The days didn’t seem so long now, he said, whereas after he’d lost Mavis, they could seem endlessly empty.
Saturday had arrived and Flora dressed up warmly to go for a walk. She decided to pop and see Victor first just in case he wanted to accompany her. On the way there, she spotted Leif and Magnus.
‘Good morning!’ She waved.
‘Hello!’ He crossed the road and beamed at her. ‘How’re you this morning?’
‘I’m good, thanks. I was just on my way to see Victor.’
‘I was going to pop in later. I have a job this morning so I’m walking Magnus first then I’ll head off. I should be able to get to Victor’s later this afternoon.’
‘Will you have eaten?’ she asked.
‘Probably not. What’re you thinking?’
‘How about fish and chips?’
‘That sounds like a plan. I wanted to speak to you anyway because I’ve had an idea about what Victor could do with all the stuff in the garage.’
‘Oh yeah?’
Leif nodded. ‘I thought he could either sell it on eBay or another site or… he could give it all away.’
‘Give it away? There must be thousands of pounds worth of things in that garage.’
‘I know. But I think, regardless of what he said, that Victor’s a bit attached to it because Mavis bought it. Perhaps doing a good deed would make it easier to part with.’
‘Perhaps.’
‘I was thinking… with the time of year and all… that some sort of Secret Santa could work.’
Flora nodded slowly, reaching down to rub Magnus’s soft ears. ‘I like that idea. Why don’t you suggest it to Victor later on and see what he says.’
‘OK, will do.’ He held her gaze and a delicious shiver ran up and down her spine like cold fingers dancing against her skin. If Leif could do this to her with a look, imagine what he could do if he actually touched her. She brushed the thought away.I’m sworn off men, remember!
But Leif was different. She didn’t know how she knew it, but she did and the knowledge was gradually breaking down the walls that she’d erected around her heart when Hunter had hurt her.
