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It was just him And her

It was difficult to ignore how he ainst a build-up of emotions in an enclosed space

She ruh the box and heard a little tinkle of bells It rerandmother She looked upwards and smiled It didn’t h her ‘Love you, Gran,’ she murmured

She pulled a strand of tinsel froht pink, and wrapped it around her neck Then, she flicked the switch on the radio The words of Let it Snow filled the room

She turned to face him and held up her hands ‘Think they knehere ere?’

‘Could be’ His voice seemed a little more serious than before; his eyes were fixed on the cardboard boxes

She moved over next to hi-sleeved black shirt, open at the neck, and well-cut black trousers It would be easy to spend ht backside ‘We don’t have to do this, Finlay’

He shook his head ‘No, we do I do’ She stood back and let hi out the decorations

They were all delicately wrapped in tissue paper He unwrapped one after the other She could see the expression on his face Each one brought back a different ht now, I’d be feeling exactly the saran and I have had for years Soether There were several I just couldn’t hang this year I get it I do’

His grateful blue eyeselse too A glimpse of relief

His hands see Occasionally he gave a little nod ‘That one was from Germany This one from New York’

Her sto visited by the ghost of Christmas past All of these meet about his dead wife But she needed to be sure that when he kissed her, when he touched her, he wasn’t thinking of someone else She wasn’t a replacement She wouldn’t ever want to be Lots of his actions made her think he was ready tohi, lifted so on instinct in the penthouse in London Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea after all

She looked in the box and gave hi purple yet Isn’t there anything that will match our decorations down in London?’