Page 81 of Under the Mistletoe with You

‘Oh yeah?’

‘Not the reindeer ones for me, though you know I’m always gagging for some more.Why don’t you make the house?You always talk about how you love doing that, and if you don’t make time to do it, you won’t.’

‘Maybe.I think I need to just have an early night and apologise when he comes back.How was your day?’

‘Oh, you know, grand.’Shaz begins listing things off on her fingers, but as she’s still wearing her mittens it looks as if she’s giving herself a very slow clap.‘Kathy threatened to lock the kids in the cupboard, whereas Gar loves to gentle-parent, so they had a massive argument.Ursula kept interrupting Tamara when she was speaking to people, as though she had the authority.A man whose door I knocked on asked me for a sexy sponge bath.You know, a mixed bag.’

‘Christ, I’m sorry.’

‘Not his fault, or yours either I hope, unless you put Dick up to it.’

‘Is that really his name?’

‘Really.Right, I’m going to go, but just do me a favour?’

‘What?’

‘Chill out a bit, will you?Not everything is riding on you, and everyone can see how much you’re doing.Stop putting so much pressure on the both of youse.’

She’s gone before he can reply, but she’s not wrong.

Still, after the last few days, he feels as if he is being tested by the universe, he’s pretty sure of it.Clearly some deity or higher power has decided that his patience and goodness need to be examined, and so has sent all the most annoying people into this tiny town just for the holidays when he needed a rest more than anything.

Christopher:Has something planetary turned retrograde?

Ambrose:your ass x

Helpful as always.Though, this does add further weight to that ‘the universe is testing him’ theory.

Not sure what to do with himself, he crosses back over the street to the community centre to update Tamara on their progress.It’s quiet when he gets inside, everyone who’s been helping throughout the day getting ready to swap with anyone there for the evening.

Tamara is, as ever, at her control centre, and barely looks up as she accepts their very folded and crumpled version of the map.‘Any issues?’

‘None.Well, Nash swore extremely loudly in front of an old couple who were not impressed.’

Tamara shrugs wearily.‘Eh, they’ll get over it.’

Well, maybe he really should go easier on Nash then, if their elected representative doesn’t care.

‘Do you need anything?’

She shakes her head.‘No, can you just update the spreadsheet while I go get a disgusting cup of coffee?’

‘It’s getting pretty late?’

‘I told you already.I haven’t slept since 1996.Now you know why.’

‘You know, I could bring you a proper one from the café?’

Her eyes flash with hope, and he nips back across the street with a list of orders from the community centre.Luckily, for once, the Hot Drinks Lady is not there to offer up herhorrifying concoctions, so he doesn’t have to worry about hurting her feelings.

It takes him a while to walk back over the slippy road with a tray of hot drinks, but he manages it, along with some of the Biscoff biscuits he’d been saving.It seems to boost morale so intensely that he’s half tempted to suggest they camp out in his bakery instead, but the space is so much smaller.

While everyone sips at their actually nice drinks, he takes his time filling in a spreadsheet of who needs what, along with their addresses from the notes he’d saved on his phone.

When he crosses back over the street, he sees Nash at the bakery door.Maybe he should give him a spare key, not that he can remember if there even is one.

‘Hi,’ Christopher offers, figuring he should be the one to break the figurative ice.