Page 40 of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
“Tea is not in the least bit boring,” said Isaac, smiling. “English breakfast, Earl Grey, green, rose, or peppermint?”
“Gosh, I didn’t expect such a choice.”
“My mum was a big tea fan; she swore by its health benefits. It didn’t help her very much.”
“I don’t really remember seeing your mum often. Not as much as your dad anyway.”
“My mum had MS. By the time I was in my teens, she wasn’t getting out so much. She died when I was in my second year of uni.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Isaac shrugged.
“So, what’ll it be?” he asked.
“Um, peppermint, please. I think the chef is trying to induce gout in our party. I could do with something settling.”
“Peppermint it is,” he said, pulling out the box and filling the kettle.
They took their steaming mugs upstairs and into a room that was set up as a very comfortable study, with a large oak desk andchair, and a chaise longue pushed up against the far wall. The windows stretched from floor to ceiling, with two of them opening out like French windows onto a small balcony, where a rusting wrought iron chair was perfectly placed to admire the view.
The telescope—which was impressively larger than Nory had expected—was set up on a tripod, tilted up toward the sky in anticipation. Isaac took her mug and set it down on a coaster on the desk beside his own.
“You’ll need to refocus it for your eyes, but it’s in the right position,” he said. “It won’t take much; do it in tiny increments.”
Nory took up her position at the telescope, and Isaac lifted her hand and placed it on the focus knobs on the underside of the optical tube. For a moment, all she could think about was his fingers touching hers. But then her eyes began to adjust to what she was seeing, and with another scant adjustment to the focuser, suddenly the cosmos seemed to explode in front of her. She gasped. It was as though someone had taken a loaded brush and flicked silver paint across a dark blue canvas.
“Can I see the Milky Way through this?” she asked.
She could hear the smile in his voice when he answered. “I’m afraid you’ve missed Milky Way season.”
“There’s a Milky Way season? Are you teasing me?”
Isaac laughed. “No, I’m not teasing you. The best time to see it in the UK is usually April to July. You could probably see Uranus, though.”
“Oh, very funny!”
“No, I’m serious. It’s a good time of year; it’s a clear night, although it’s before the full moon, which can make it a bit trickier.”
Nory wasn’t sure she would be able to pick out one planet from another among the mass of twinkles.
“That moon looks pretty full to me.”
“Almost,” he said.
“It’s so beautiful.”
“It is.”
Nory kept watching the skies until her neck ached and she began to worry that Isaac might think her rude. When she finally stood back from the telescope, it took her eyes a moment or two to adjust; the room seemed darker than before, and she was literally seeing the imprints of stars before her eyes. She stumbled ever so slightly. Isaac was instantly by her side, steadying her.
“Whoops, sorry about that. Must have stood up too quickly,” she said, feeling embarrassed.
“It can be a bit disorienting. Especially when you’ve been bent over there for a while.”
Nory grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, I was being a bit of a telescope hog.”
“Not at all. It was nice to watch you.”
