Page 23 of The Night Before Christmas
And then there was a small moment of panic. She hadn’t really thought this through. Felicity jumped up and ran to the toilets to check her face. Her ears were sticking out of course, as per bloody usual, and she looked quite drawn, paler than normal if that was even possible. Less usual still were the red raw scratches all the way up her arms, some crusting over with blood, others raised and furious-looking despite the pink smears of hospital-corridor-smelling Germolene. She rearranged her hair and nodded at her reflection.It’s not perfect, she told herself,but he’s coming to see the kitten, remember. Not you.
When Felicity opened the door, though, yet again it was not her own appearance that was on her mind. It was his. Not just the tousled left-the-house-in-a-hurry hair – although that was very distracting – but the fact that he appeared to be wearing a uniform. Her uniform. A green T-shirt with the Animal Saviours red heart logo.
‘Erm, hi?’ she said, as he nodded in greeting and walked past her down the corridor.
‘Any news?’ he said over his shoulder, striding purposefully towards the cat nursery.
‘Not yet,’ said Felicity, following him into the room as he approached Bobby Charlton’s cage and took him out for a cuddle.
James didn’t reply. There was an awkward pause, punctuated by Bobby Charlton mewling with delight as James brought him up to his face for a kiss.It’s like one of those old Athena posters in here,thought Felicity, feeling a sudden need for some fresh air.
‘I know you like wearing my clothes and all, but how come you’re wearing my T-shirt?’ she said out loud.
‘It’s not your T-shirt. It’s mine,’ he replied while kitten wrangling like a pro. Bobby was purring noisily in his hands.
‘How…? What…?’
‘I’ve been taken on as a volunteer. Andrea was looking for someone, said things would be busy after New Year. And I… had some annual leave left over from last year that I needed to take. I thought this would be a worthy way to use it up. I’ll be here for a week or two from next Monday. Thought I’d run in the uniform today.’
Felicity was conscious that her mouth was moving open and closed, but no sound was coming out.
‘Is there a problem?’ James said, looking up at her for the first time.
Be cool.
‘No, no problem. Great news in fact. The cats will be delighted.’
She felt the opposite of cool. Whatever that was. Flustered? Flummoxed?
‘And you? Will you be delighted?’
‘Me? Oh sure, it’ll be great to have some extra help around here. We’re pretty busy,’ she said, trying to sound as casual as she could.
‘Good. That’s settled then.’
He looked at her for a second longer than was strictly appropriate, then turned his attention back to Bobby who was now casually lying along one of James’ lightly tanned forearms like a furry fashion accessory.
‘Cute,’ said Felicity with a smile, and – face burning – she turned and left the room before he could respond.
Make of that what you will,you sneaky handsome bastard.
Felicity’s heart pounded in her ears as she paced up and down in the break room.
James had properly thrown her off-guard. She had been expecting him to back away altogether to be honest, after Ringgate. He’d been so cross.So, what was this about, exactly? A genuine desire to volunteer? Bobby Charlton was a pretty compelling reason after all. Not to mention Holly and Gennie. Or… did he secretly want to see her again? Did she dare hope?
Her mind was working double time now. She was on the rota for the next five out of seven days. Whatever his reason, that was a lot of Penguin Man in prospect. A lot of Penguin Man plus cute baby animals. Not exactly unappealing, as workplaces go. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, interrupting that thought.
Andrea: Holly not good. Needs to stay in overnight. Back later. Sorry. Can you stay longer?
She texted straight back:
No problem x
Felicity felt a bit sick. She had been so busy focusing on the presence of Penguin Man she hadn’t really registered how poorly Holly was. What if she died? That tiny little dot deserved a chance at life. If anything happened to her… well, that was an unbearably scary thought. She sent up a quick prayer. Her phone buzzed again. This time it wasn’t Andrea.
Adam: Please let me take you out for dinner. I’d love to explain a few things. It would be great to see you again properly. I think you owe me that much. Ads x
A shiver ran down her spine and she took a deep breath. Did she owe him? That phrase rankled even though she knew he probably had a point.
