Page 24 of Suddenly Mine
The elevator slowed to a halt, the doors sliding open on the tenth floor. Harvey wheeled his trolley out, stopping when she called out to him.
“Where is he going after that?”
“Back home,” said the man. “Back to the Philippines.”
He trundled away, leaving Merry feeling as if she had plummeted back down through the cold, dark elevator shaft. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, feeling echoes of the same dreadful hurt she’d felt so many times in her short life. But that was unfair to Christian — he didn’t owe her anything.
The elevator doors started to close, and she rushed through them. The staff area was relatively busy as people finished their day shifts and the evening clerks came in, and Merry weaved her way down the corridor into the locker rooms. She was too tired to change, so she grabbed her clothes and her coat. She was hoping that she’d bump into Christian on the way out. Part of her wanted to ask him out for hot chocolate again — especially so she could find out whether Harvey was right about him leaving soon — but part of her knew it would be better for everyone if she stayed out of his way. If she didn’t see him again, then it wouldn’t be so heartbreaking when he left the country.
Heartbreaking?Merry tutted at herself. How could she have her heart broken by a man she’d known for less than two days? It was ridiculous. It had to be the fact that it was Christmas, she thought. Even though Adrian had done his best to ruin it for her for ever, Merry still wanted to believe. All those Christmas romcoms where the couples fall in love, all those Hallmark cards, all those commercials showing people snuggling up infront of log fires, eating sugar cookies and opening presents together.
But none of that was real. Christmas was a lie used to sell people stuff they didn’t want or need. She could see that every single day, working here. She could see what it really meant.
Merry pushed through the door on to the shop floor, angry at herself for her cynicism, and sad too that she had lost a part of herself. Once upon a time she had loved Christmas so much, had revelled in the glorious sentimentality of it. Once upon a time she had thought that anything was possible at Christmas, that it was a time for love and joy and happiness and hope. Now, though . . .
Now it was just a time for disappointment.
As if to prove her point, Santa’s grotto was closed, the lights dimmed and a chain drawn over the entrance. Harvey was busy mopping the floor and he nodded to her as she walked past. Merry did her best to smile back, but then a familiar, snappy voice plunged her even deeper into despair.
“Miss Sinclair?”
Oh, no. Just keep walking, pretend you can’t hear her!she ordered herself.
Then Mrs Cradley called her name again and she turned to face her.
“Are you sure your shift has ended?” the Dragon Lady asked, checking her watch.
“Yes,” Merry said. “Like, forty minutes ago. I couldn’t get off the floor.”
“Well, if you would be so kind, I need you to do one last thing for me.”
Merry blew out a breath. All she really wanted to do was go home and draw a bath. But then she thought of her cold apartment, the empty rooms, the stack of unpaid bills.
“Fine. What do you need?”
“There are some items for lost property in the grotto,” said Mrs Cradley, smiling as if she was enjoying her role as chief tormentor. “Please collect them and take them to the information desk in the lobby.”
“Sure,” said Merry, wondering why the Dragon Lady hadn’t asked any one of the other three members of staff she could still see on duty.
Mrs Cradley nodded curtly, then spun on her heels and marched away.
Merry shuffled wearily back across the children’s department, ducking under the chain and opening the door of the little hut where Santa’s gifts were stocked. She had walked inside, muttering under her breath, before she noticed that she wasn’t alone.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said to the man dressed as Santa. He was sitting on a little stool in the corner of the hut, sipping tea from a mug. “I thought you’d already left.”
Santa lifted a hand to wave away her apology. He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling in the half-light. She’d caught glimpses of the man over the last few weeks, sitting on his chair and handing gifts to the children, but only now did she notice what a good Santa Claus he was. The Santas she remembered from her own childhood shopping trips were all skinny and tall, with obvious padding in their fading costumes and wisps of brown hair visible beneath their wiry white wigs. But this guy was almost the real deal. His beard was thick and full, a snow-coloured cloud of curls. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes were bright blue and perfectly clear behind the little round spectacles. He laughed kindly, and the ‘ho ho ho!’ of it was right out of a movie.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said in a deep, friendly voice. “I’m just enjoying a cup of tea before I head back to the North Pole.”
Merry’s laugh was surprisingly genuine. “That sounds like a long journey after a long day.”
“Oh, it’s not too long at all,” he replied, “when you have reindeer to carry you and a little magic to help you on your way.”
He winked, and she laughed again.
“I’m here for the lost property,” she said, and Santa pretended to be sad.
“Is that all? It seems to me that you might be looking for something else — a bit of Christmas spirit, perhaps?”