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He fell into the bed and snuggled under the feather duvet. It was cosy and warm, and he felt more relaxed than he had in a long time.
***
Five minutes later, or that’s how it seemed, there was a knock on the door.
“Ashok? Are you awake?” For the first time in a very long time, Ashok had slept the whole night. No waking up for the toilet or to get a drink. He checked his phone, realising he’d slept for a solid seven hours. He felt refreshed and ready to face the day.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” he shouted.
Moving as quickly as he could, he found some clothes out of his bag and dressed, opening the door to see a very bleary-eyed Hayden.
“Rough night?” he asked, revelling in Hayden’s obvious discomfort.
“I’m fine. I might have had a few too many last night is all, but today will be a whirlwind. I hope you’re ready.”
Hayden wasn’t wrong when he said it’d be a whirlwind. Vic was excited, bouncing up and down on the sofa as she waited for them.
“Come on! It’s time to open the presents. Where have you been? Kissing and canoodling, were you?”
“Vic,” Hayden warned, but she just smiled that cheeky smile and started handing out gifts from under the tree.
It was huge and real and festooned in red and gold decorations. Ashok spied a few that were handmade and surmised they were from when Hayden and Vic, when they were small children. He made a note to look at them later.
They sat side by side on the sofa, both of them ending up with a pile of gifts before them. Ashok was surprised by the amount and looked over to Hayden, cocking an eyebrow.
“Don’t say a word. When I mentioned you were coming, I got bombarded with texts on what you liked. I have no idea what’s in any of these gifts.”
“I didn’t get them anything,” Ashok whispered. “I can’t take these.”
“I got them stuff, don’t worry about it. I told you I would. I put them under the tree.”
Ashok sighed, hoping it would all be OK.
He didn’t need to worry. There were plenty of gifts for all, and he sat smiling at the pile of new dance gear he’d received and a gift box full of his favourite skincare products. That was from Hayden, and he suddenly remembered the gift in his bag.
“I’ve another gift in my bag. For you,” he said quietly. By now, Dianne and Bill had gone into the kitchen to prepare breakfast and Vic was busy with the new tablet she’d received.
“I have one for you too. I didn’t want to give it to you in front of the others. If you want, we can go to your room and I’ll bring it in. Is that alright?”
“You didn’t need to buy me another. You’ve been far too generous already.”
“It’s nothing. See you in a minute.”
Ashok made his way back to his room and dug out the gifts from the bottom of his bag. Not knowing what to buy for him, he’d ordered a vegetarian cookbook and a new personalised copper scoop for his ground coffee. He debated getting him something coffee-related, considering it was his business, but he liked the look of it. It wasn’t much, but he wasn’t exactly flush with cash. It was more of a thank-you than anything else.
Hayden knocked before entering, coming to sit next to him on the bed. He had a small gift bag in his hand, and Ashok wondered what it was. It could wait, though; he wanted Hayden to open his first.
“It’s not much,” he said, handing them over. “I had no idea what to buy.”
“I’m sure it’s great,” Hayden said, carefully peeling back the tape. He opened the coffee scoop first, and Ashok waited, holding his breath.
Hayden turned it over in his hands. “This is fantastic, and you had it engraved too. You didn’t have to, but I do love it.”
He opened the book next and laughed.
“Are you trying to tell me something? My cooking isn’t that bad, is it?”
“No, I’m not saying that at all. I just thought, seeing how you’d said you liked vegetarian food…” Ashok shrugged, hoping he hadn’t insulted him.
