Page 59 of Only for Christmas

Lucas had planned to stay in the house and entertain the boys, but both kids looked so traumatised he decided action was required.

‘Right, come on, buddies,’ he said, getting them kitted out in winter clothing. ‘It’s time for an adventure.’

With hats and scarves added to puffa jackets, they left the house hand in hand and headed for the Tube station.

‘Where are we going?’ Max asked as they crossed the road.

‘To visit a friend of mine.’ Lucas squeezed Max’s hand. ‘I thought you might like to meet her; she has a dog.’

‘A dog?’ Elliot’s face broke into a smile. ‘What kind of dog?’

‘A basset hound, I think.’ Lucas held their hands as they crossed the road. ‘He’s called Fred, and he has floppy ears and enjoys cuddles. I think you’ll like him.’

Max nodded. ‘I know I will.’

‘Me too,’ Elliot chipped in, the pair looking slightly less morose than half an hour earlier.

Forty minutes later, having played I spy on the train and eaten sticky jam doughnuts, they arrived at his apartment building and headed up the steps.

‘Wave to Mrs Kelsey,’ he said, spotting the woman peeking out from behind her net curtains. He half expected Diana to shout something grumpy, but she surprised him by waving and almost smiling before letting go of the curtain and disappearing from view.

He’d popped around to see her last night after his hospital shift and ended up staying for dinner. This had been followed by a game of Scrabble – a game in which she’d cheated, her words either being invented or extremely rude. He could only imagine how they’d react at the local church hall if she used that kind of language at their games afternoons. Maybe he should warn the liaison worker before she visited later this week. That was assuming Mrs Kelsey didn’t change her mind and cancel the appointment. He hoped not. They were finally making progress.

‘Here we are,’ he said to the boys, as they reached the top floor. ‘This is where my friend Sarah lives.’ He tapped on her door.

Sarah’s face was a picture when she opened the door and saw the three of them standing there. ‘And who do we have here?’ she said, beckoning them inside. ‘The three musketeers?’

The boys laughed.

‘This is Max,’ Lucas said, removing his older nephew’s hat to reveal his wavy blonde hair.

‘And I’m Elliot.’ His younger nephew held out his hand. ‘I’m seven. I’m pleased to meet you.’

Sarah laughed and shook his hand. ‘It’s very nice to meet you, Elliot. What a polite young gentleman you are. My name’s Sarah. And this is Fred.’ She gestured to the dog, who had appeared from the lounge, looking excited at the idea of more playmates.

The boys immediately dropped to the floor and started petting Fred. It was instant love on both sides. There was lots of laughter and cuddling, and appreciative noises – especially from Fred. Max was rewarded with a lick, which removed a smudge of strawberry jam from his cheek. It was a relief to see the boys smiling.

Lucas touched Sarah’s arm. ‘I ran out of time to check on you yesterday – you doing okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ she said, lifting her bangs to show her healing forehead. ‘My wrist is still painful, but the rest of me is okay. I had a quiet day; Fred and I watched the whole series of Wednesday on Netflix. He didn’t like the werewolves; he kept barking at the TV. How was your day? Did you manage to speak to Stephen?’

‘He wasn’t in work. I left the box on his desk with a note saying, Return to Sender. Address unknown.’ He shrugged. ‘I figured it worked for Elvis. Besides, I didn’t want to write anything inflammatory in case he used it against us. I’m not at the hospital again until Thursday, and I didn’t want him thinking you’d accepted the dress. Last thing we want is him turning up Friday night to pick you up.’

‘Heaven forbid.’ Sarah shivered. ‘You did the right thing. Thanks for doing that; I appreciate it.’ She turned to his nephews. ‘Do you want to take your coats off, boys?’

‘I thought we could head down to Wandsworth Park first,’ Lucas said, joining in with petting Fred. ‘I hear Santa Claus is visiting today.’

Elliot’s eyes grew wide. ‘The real one?’

‘Of course not the real one.’ Max was lying on the floor, stroking Fred’s belly. ‘He’s too busy making presents for Christmas Eve.’

Sarah smiled. ‘Ah, but Father Christmas is also a time traveller. He can be in several places at once, so I say we head down to the park and see for ourselves. What do you think?’

Max nodded. ‘Can Fred come too?’

‘Of course. I’ll get his lead. The bathroom’s just there if anyone needs the loo before we go.’

Elliot scrabbled to his feet and ran for the bathroom.

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