Page 35 of It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
‘That makes sense. But you’ve come alone?’
I licked my lips and rubbed them together. ‘Yeah. I don’t think my parents will ever come back. And my brother – well, to be honest I never have any idea what’s going on in that head of his.’
‘You’re not close?’
‘Not any more, no.’
‘I’m sorry, Mally.’
If he knew about my brother’s online ‘fame’, he certainly wasn’t letting on. I had to presume he did, though.
‘Thanks.’
‘So, what do you do atThe Helix?’
‘Oh, nothing particularly exciting. I work in the comms team and spend most of my time sending emails and organising employee events and stuff. Although I’m just starting out doing some freelance writing bits on the side, too, and would love to be a children’s author in the future.’
My mouth was operating way faster than my brain. There was no way I wanted anyone in Scarnbrook to find out about the real article I was writing. But there was a part of me that wanted Tom to know that I hadn’t completely abandoned my creative writing ambitions, which had always been a big part of my identity when I’d been at school.
‘Wow, so you write forThe Helix? That’s amazing. I mean, I always knew you’d be successful so I don’t know why I’m acting all surprised.’
I filed away the knowledge that Tom Brinton had once had any thoughts about me at all for detailed analysis in the very near future.
‘Strictly speaking, I don’t write for them… yet. But I’ve been given my first commission. I’m hoping to write it here while I’ve got some extra time.’
Careful, Mally.
‘What’s it going to be about?’ he asked, pushing my internal alert system up to amber.
I tried to think of an explanation that, at the very least, orbited Planet Truth.
‘It’s about… spending Christmas alone and trying to rediscover small-town festive joy. What better place to do that than where I grew up?’
Was he buying this? I bloody well hoped so.
‘Hang on, you’re spending Christmas alone? How is this even possible?’
‘Oh, it’s no big deal. I was meant to go to my parents’ place like I do every year, but they’ve gone on this last-minute trip to Florida, and Josh has made other plans. So, yeah, it is what it is.’
‘I couldn’t do it. I’m so rubbish in my own company. My brain runs away with itself and I find it impossible to relax. I moved in with my mum when the pandemic kicked off. We drove each other batshit crazy, but it would’ve been so much worse by myself.’
‘No family of your own, then?’
‘It’s… complicated. Well, I guess it’s not actually that complicated since the divorce came through. But, no, it’s not worked out that way. Yet. Hopefully one day.’
Ooh. Single.
‘Sorry, Tom. Someone from school?’
‘Ha! No. Work. Don’t get married when you’re twenty is all I’ll say.’
‘Wow, twenty’s young.’
‘As my mum kept telling me at the time. Abbie was quite a few years older than me when we met at work, and Mum warned me not to jump in with both feet but I didn’t listen. Turns out she was right, as she likes to constantly remind me. Me and Abbie, we… well, we wanted different things at different times. We stuck with it for as long as we could. But it just got too hard. She’s with someone else now. How about you – any divorces up your sleeve?’
Divorces? No. Any truly meaningful romantic relationships? Nada. Endless hope that it was all leading to something? Sure, but it was getting harder and harder to conjure up an image of what the hell that ‘something’ might ever look like.
‘Not really anything up these sleeves other than arms, to be honest with you.’
