Page 102 of The Night Before Christmas
‘Hi, there,’ said Felicity, hugging her as best she could manage with wings for arms. ‘Happy birthday, Harper.’
Harper extricated herself and gave her a huge beaming smile, and Felicity inwardly congratulated herself on her swift work winning over this particular relative.Only the rest of James’family to go.‘Why not just meet them all in one night?’he had said. ‘Get it over with?’Oh, sure. That was a great plan.
‘Um, Harper?’ said James. ‘Please tell me I didn’t get Easter and Christmas confused again?’
‘What?’
‘Your outfit?’
‘Oh, that.’ She pulled one bunny ear and giggled again, an infectious, tinkling sound. ‘I was bored of being an elf. I’m a Christmas Rabbit of Good Cheer.’
‘Fair play,’ said James. ‘Can we come in?’
Harper stepped back from the door, then abruptly turned and ran down the hall into the house, letting James and Felicity find their own way in.
In the distance they could hear her telling someone excitedly that Uncle James had brought agirl. As they approached the end of the corridor, where they could hear what sounded like roughly a million children having a rave in the living room, Felicity smiled up at her penguin man.
‘Okay, Harper is super cute but I’m still not going to forgive you for this.’
James looked down at her, his blue-grey eyes sparkling, and slipped his arm around her waist, which was rather unfair as Felicity had already been working hard at keeping her face free from he’s with me smugness. His arm was warm and even in these circumstances she felt a thrill of excitement at his presence.
‘You’ll love it when you get going. You’ll see.’
And she did.
The next day – Christmas Day, in fact – it was just them.
Rug on the floor? Check. M&S snacks? Check. Percy Pigs? Check. James and Felicity had decided to start their own Christmas traditions. Later there would beDie Hard, of course. James had even cracked out the John McClane outfit again for her edification. It was a good look. And there would be chess, played on a very fancy new chess set because although they had agreed no presents, they had both broken their own rule.
And tomorrow there would be dinner with Sophie and Bex, Andrea and Javier (newly divorced, surprisingly twinkly and handsome). Even Tristan and his boyfriend (‘Pete, enjoys dogs and baking but not both at the same time’) had promised to make an appearance, although she wasn’t holding her breath. They had all, in spite of themselves, agreed to attend a Christmas do hosted by Felicity, providing she promised not to swear too much or complain about the Christmas telly. Maybe it was just because of the copious amounts of Prosecco on offer.
Bex was not going to be bringing Adam, for obvious reasons, although she was still insisting on going ahead with the wedding. An event which loomed in all their futures like a giant question mark.
For now, there was James and Felicity consuming much beer, and the finest cheese and onion pasties money could buy. Eaten on a pile of Felicity’s beloved cushions, leaning against the comfiest sofa in the world, in their now shared house in Chelsea Gardens. Surrounded by three cats, of course. Yes, that was three. Because you can bet your life that Bobby Charlton was not about to be left behind.
Felicity had grudgingly given up her anti-Christmas playlist although she had insisted on curating the day’s music herself. Bublé, Carey, Richards, they were all banned. She would just about tolerate Wham!. Mainly it was Elvis’ ‘Blue Christmas’ on repeat until James pleaded with her to put on something more cheerful. Finally, they agreed on the Jackson 5 and anything byCrosby or Sinatra. The room filled with the comforting sound of smooth-voiced crooners, interspersed every so often by Michael Jackson’s high-pitched vigour.
Perfect, thought Felicity.
We’ll work on it, thought James.
They had even put up a tree, of sorts. It was more like a large branch, which James had spray painted white. It was wrapped in a solitary string of tinsel and some twinkly lights. It rather spoiled the minimalist look of the room but for some reason, however pathetic it looked, it brought Felicity joy in a way she couldn’t quite explain. She resolved from now on that she would do everything she could to disrupt the minimalist look whenever she could manage.
The tree was also proving fairly cat proof so far, despite the fact that Bobby and Holly had taken to launching themselves at it from the end of the sofa with increasing gusto while Gennie looked on with… what? Envy? Scorn? It was hard to tell with Gennie.
And dinner? Dinner was in the freezer. Two frozen pizzas and two tubs of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
Perfect, thought James.
We’ll work on it, thought Felicity.
James stroked a finger down Felicity’s neck, and a thrill crackled down her spine at his touch.
‘So, Crazy Cat Lady,’ he said, pulling her close until she was pressed up against him. ‘How do you feel about the C word now then?’
‘Dirty bastard,’ said Felicity, jabbing him with her elbow.
‘Not that kind of C word, you numpty.’ James laughed.
