Page 134 of The Twelve Dates of Christmas
It was already dark but the meager light from the out-of-the-way houses lit some of the way, and where there was none, Kate used her phone’s torch.
She wondered what Matt was doing now. Regretting yesterday’s emotional outburst, probably. Kate had half expected to get a text asking her to forget it ever happened, or at least to keep it quiet. But she’d had nothing. She told herself that if he’d really meant it, he would have followed her, tried harder. But he was too proud for that. He’d probably have proposed to Sarah by now, spurred on by Kate’s rebuff.
She trudged on. It was freezing, her ears were aching, and Kate wished she’d worn a hat, but she stupidly hadn’t wanted to ruin her hair. She pulled her scarf up higher around her face.
She reached the town and was glad of the shelter lent by the buildings against the wind. It was markedly warmer here. She followed the road round until she reached the iron gates to the park.
Patches of dark green showed where the snow had been dug out to make snowmen. Fat white blobby figures, with carrot noses and twiggy arms, dotted the park. There were snow animals too, and snow women with big round snow-boobs—one wore a string bikini. A striking snow Mr. Tumnus stood beneath one of the lampposts that lit the many paths and wooded walks through the park.
The park was alive with people; it reminded Kate of a Lowry painting. She made her way to the Palace Royale and ordered a gingerbread latte. She took a seat by the window and looked out.
From here she could see the outdoor cinema screen ready for the final Lightning Strikes date night. Kate wondered how many people had actually found love on their Twelve Dates journey; Todd and Mandy for sure.
Stretched out in front of the screen were hundreds of striped double deck chairs, with tartan blankets on their seats and parasols stuck into the ground behind them. Kate’s book remained untouched as she people-watched from the warmth of the café.
To the sides of the cinema arena were rows of portable toilets—the swanky kind, like caravans, with vases of plastic flowers on each cistern and actual soap in the dispensers—and next to them were vans selling coffee, beer, chips, popcorn, and even curry. Kate’s stomach growled.
Kate ordered another coffee, not wanting to be one of those customers who make one latte last for two hours. After a while peoplestarted to gather near the edges of the arena and the reps took their places at strategic points around the park.
It was fully dark now and the families drifted home. The waitresses began to lift chairs onto tables in the café, and Kate took this as her cue to leave. As she stood up she heard a voice behind her:
“Hello, sexy. Come here often?”
It was Drew. Kate threw her arms around him and he hugged her back, lifting her off the floor. The waitresses looked on with lust in their eyes.Don’t waste your time, girls,thought Kate. He was wearing a long double-breasted tweed overcoat and a matching flat cap, with a plain teal scarf. He looked divine.
They left the café and the salivating waitresses and checked in with the reps. Kate bought herself and Drew a plastic tumbler of mulled cider each; she had decided she would probably need rather a lot of mulled cider this evening for medicinal purposes, as it was bitterly cold already. The deck chairs were beginning to fill up and Kate and Drew chose one toward the back, in the middle, where they had a good view and easy access to the food vans.
They settled themselves under the blankets and Drew reached into his rucksack and pulled out a large thermos and two hot-water bottles, which he filled, and handed one to Kate.
“Why did you have to be gay?” said Kate.
“Why did you have to be a woman?” he replied.
Kate hugged her hot-water bottle and Drew filled her in on his exciting new relationship with Archie. Kate told Drew about the abominable Richard, and he was suitably affronted on her behalf.
“I knew he was too good to be true,” said Drew.
“You could have told me,” said Kate.
“What kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t let you make your own mistakes?”
“That mistake has branded me a scarlet woman!”
“The scarlet women are always the most alluring,” he replied.
“Says the gay man.”
“Who better to know what a man wants than a man?” asked Drew, and Kate couldn’t argue with that.
The deck chairs were full now and the noise levels were high, until the floodlights slowly dimmed down to nothing and a low expectant hum vibrated through the audience.
As the opening credits appeared on the big screen, a cheer went up and Kate watched as the couples in front scooched up closer to one another.
“Do you want some chips?” whispered Drew.
“The film’s just started!”
“I’m hungry,” he said. “I can watch it from the van.”
