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It was an hour before the last of the floats passed by, the low over the darkening sky Ash watched as Fliss turned back, her whole bodyPossibly ever

She glanced at her e

‘The one?’

‘You finished it’ He chuckled softly ‘You don’t remember?’

She offered a rueful smile ‘I know I’lanced at the bottle of red wine ‘Ah, well, that isn’t why I’ so chilled out; it’s only half empty’

He didn’t have the heart to tell her it was their second bottle and she’d drank two-thirds of that one

They fell into an easy silence, the street scene still offering plenty of entertainment

‘So you enjoyed the parade?’ Ash asked, once the waiter had brought them a round of coffees

‘I loved it’ She nodded, her eyes sparkling happily ‘It was alical And now all the lanterns are so pretty; it’s like being in a fairy tale’

‘I’lad you had fun’ He was careful to keep his tone upbeat ‘I still can’t believe you’ve never been to a festival’

He watched Fliss’show best to respond But then the server chose that moment to clear the dishes froain Ash feared she h to brush him off He was surprised when she answered hesitantly

‘It wasn’t somewhere my uncle wanted to take me’

‘He didn’t want to, or you didn’t want to?’

She slowly stirred her coffee, her eyes trained on the mini-vortex

‘A bit of both, probably’