Page 92 of Christmas at Hollybush Farm
I open the box and see a brand new pair of pink, flowered wellington boots, just like my old ones, but without the cracks.
‘I love them!’ I say, hugging him.
‘You’ll need them if you’re going to be a full-time farmer now. Got myself some too.’ I look down at his muddy boots.
‘I can take them back and get you plain ones, if you like,’ he says, suddenly serious.
‘Now, where would be the fun in being the same as everyone else? We’re all different. They’re perfect! Thank you!’
I smile, then lean in to kiss him. Finally, when we break apart, I say, ‘Happy New Year.’
‘Happy New Year.’
‘Come on, I think we deserve a drink. I’ll go with Myfanwy to take the tractor-ride customers back and you open a bottle. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.’
We walk back to the yard, hand in hand, looking up at the starry night.
‘I think Gramps would approve,’ I say.
And in the background I can hear a clock ticking … in my head, in my heart, in the pit of my stomach, as if something has woken up in me. Something a lot like feeling I’m where I belong, with the people, and one person in particular, I love. And maybe this isn’t the end of a mixed-up year but the beginning of a whole new one.
‘I wonder where we’ll be this time next year,’ I say.
‘Here, together, a family …’ he says, and kisses me all over again. Already I’m looking forward to the spring, summer and autumn, not from the inside of a hotel lobby, but from out here, where it all begins, where everything feels real.
We walk up towards the yard where the others are standing, smiling and clapping. Mae, Evie, Dad, Myfanwy and Owen. ‘Finally!’ they cheer.
And I blush.
‘What?’ I try to bluff my way through their enthusiasm.
‘You left your phone on live again!’
‘Everyone on your socials is wishing you all the best and can’t wait to see what happens to the pair of you and Hope Food Festival in the new year!’
‘We’ve got nearly a million likes!’
I look up at the stars, scattered across the clear dark night, each of them twinkling, but one in particular sparkles particularly brightly over Gramps’s field. I know who that is. He always said when I was away, starting my career, that if I was ever homesick I should look up at the sky, find the brightest star and know that he would be looking at the same one. And now we’re all together looking up at the same special star.
‘Hear that, Gramps? A million!’
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. But I know I’m happy. I’m at home and I may not know what this year will bring, but with Llew beside me, my family and friends, between us we have hope.
