Page 118 of The Twelve Dates of Christmas
“I think you know why, Dad,” said Kate. “I think you knew before I did. I’m in love with Matt, and Matt is in love with Sarah, and it’s a big mess. How can I stay?”
“I’ll miss you,” he said.
“I’ll come and visit,” said Kate. “And you can come and see me anytime. I’ll book you into a nice hotel, and when I’ve found a place, you can stay with me.”
“Don’t you think this is a bit drastic?” asked Mac.
“It’s not going to get any better,” said Kate. “I love him, Dad. And he doesn’t love me back and that’s all there is to it.”
Her dad sighed.
“I’m only surprised it took you this long to realize,” said Mac. “You’ve loved that boy all your life. I could see it when you were twelve: the way you smiled when he called for you. And when you were sixteen; do you remember that bonfire night when you insisted on going to the fireworks with just that silly little denim jacket on and you ended up getting inside Matt’s parka with him?”
Kate smiled at the memory. She’d had to stand flat against him so they could do the zip up. They’d spent the evening lolloping around like conjoined twins, laughing hysterically.
“I thought to myself that night,” Mac went on, “I’ve lost my girl to that there lad. But I didn’t mind so much. He was a good boy.”
“Huh,” said Kate, smiling at her dad. “I wish someone would’ve letmeknow.”
“Like I said,” said Mac, “he brings out your sparkle.”
“Not anymore,” said Kate. “What I need is a total Matt detox. I need to de-sparkle.”
Mac rested his hand on Kate’s.
“Have you patched things up with Laura yet?” he asked.
“No,” said Kate.
“You know, as your father, I’d like to shake Laura’s hand for what she did.”
“Oh, thanks a lot, Judas!” said Kate.
Her dad shook his head and smiled.
“I’m serious,” he said. “I would say Laura is the finest friend you could hope for. If she hadn’t taken the decision not to tell you about Matt, you wouldn’t have traveled the world, you wouldn’t have been so driven in your work, you might not even be working for Liberty.”
“I could have done all those things with Matt.”
“Of course, you could have. But would you?” asked her dad. “Because sharing your life with someone will always mean compromise. You probably would have moved back to Blexford when Matt took over the shop. You might have taken a design job with a company closer to home. The things that define you would be different.”
“But not wrong,” said Kate.
“No,” Mac agreed. “But different. You’ve always been strong-minded, Kate. If you’re honest with yourself, I don’t think you would want to change a thing.”
Of course her dad was right. Dammit! In all probability, Kate would have dropped everything to be with Matt then. As much as she’d told herself—and everyone else—that their one-night stand was a meaningless mistake, deep inside, she’d wanted it to happen. How could she hold a friend in contempt whose decision had allowed her to flourish?
“Iamlucky to have Laura,” said Kate.
“Yep.”
“I’ve been an idiot, haven’t I?”
“Yep,” said Mac. “But you don’t have to stay one.”
•••••
Mac left. Kate made him promise he wouldn’t tell Matt about her decision to leave and he reluctantly agreed; left to his own devices he would almost certainly try to fix things between them, and this was something that couldn’t be fixed. Even if they made up after the argument, it would only solve half the problem.
