Juliet sat in a cosy corner of The Mistletoe, nursing another glass of mulled wine. She was on her first glass when Dan told her all about Louis, the man he loved. She'd nearly finished her second, when he explained how difficult it had been to get his family together yesterday due to the fact that they all worked; his Dad and step Mum at the pub, his grandparents at the store, and his great-uncle at the church. She was about to start on her third when he finally told her how they had reacted to his news.

'I started off by telling them that it was never going to happen between you and me, because when I said I had two big announcements to make and needed them to let me finish before they said one word, Gran jumped in and said, “Finally, you and Juliet are dating, aren't you?”' Dan rolled his eyes. 'Well, I said, “Sorry, Gran. That dog won't hunt. Juliet is not my type, although I love her to bits. But I have found my soulmate and that's why we're having this conversation.”'

'Does that mean she'll never tease me about you and me again?'

Dan nodded. 'You can count on it, darling. So anyway, I began by telling them all about Louis. I told them how wonderful it'll be because he only lives thirty miles or so from here. I told them he's a pilot. That he's thirty-eight so only two years older than me, and that we have all the same interests in common. Then Noah says, “Shouldn't it be pronounced Louise, with an 'e' on the end?” And Dad says, “I'm confused. I thought we were talking about a man. Are we talking about a woman?” And Paula, who later said she and Dad had known all along that I was gay and that it really isn't an issue, says, “Dan's in love with his new boyfriend. And I'm sure none of us has a problem with that, do we, Noah?”' Dan shook his head and laughed. 'Because let's face it, darling, Noah would be the only one with any reservations, wouldn't he? But he didn't have any. Until I told him Louis is an atheist. Noah looked fit to burst, and said we'd have to do something about that. Can you imagine Gran's face?'

'Was she upset?'

Dan shook his head again. 'Only about the atheist bit. And that it had dawned on Paula before the rest of them, that I was gay. And then Paula piped up, “You can't force a person to believe in God if they don't want to. And if Dan's in love with an atheist, we're all going to have to get used to that, aren't we?” Oddly enough, Gran seems to like Paula more now. She asked her opinion on serving low-fat brandy butter with the Christmas pud this year instead of full fat. Thank God Paula said full fat, or she might've slid back down in Gran's estimation. It seems, my being gay and in love, has brought everyone closer together, in spite of Louis' beliefs. And when I said I hadn't told Mum or my step-dad about Louis yet, they were even more overjoyed. That was a little fib, of course. Mum was the first to know, but as she and Dad haven't spoken since I was about ten, no one here will ever find out I lied. Dad and Mum only exchange emails if they want to ask one another something about me, and my love-life is hardly a topic they'd ever discuss. Even now.'

Juliet smiled. 'All this time you've been worried about how everyone would react, and all it's done is improved Paula's relationship with your gran. You must be so happy.'

'I'm delirious, darling. In a good way of course.'

'Oh Dan!' She shrieked much louder than she'd intended. 'I'm so happy I could cry.'

Dan shrieked too. 'Oh darling, so am I.'

She threw her arms around him and they hugged for several minutes. It was only when she eased herself away to ask when she was going to be able to meet Louis, that she saw several of the customers looking at them, one of whom, was Harrison. He was standing directly opposite, by the bar, and he definitely wasn't happy.

'Does that man ever do anything other than scowl?' Dan asked, following the direction of her gaze. 'Would it kill him to smile? I'm sure he'd look gorgeous if he did.'

Harrison turned away, said something to Paula, and disappeared via the front door of the pub.

'He's gorgeous even when he's scowling,' Juliet said, sighing deeply.

'Oh dear, darling.' Dan pulled a face. 'You've really got it bad, haven't you? I know you've had the hots for the hunk since you were sixteen but I thought you were trying to get over it. Has his being here made things worse?'

'You have no idea, Dan.' Juliet slouched against the seat. 'I've tried really hard to fight it, but it seems there's nothing I can do. I may as well join a convent. Or perhaps I should be locked up. I mean, dear God, is it normal to fall so madly in love with someone you've just met, that you stay in love with them for twenty years? Even though you think you hate them? And the worst part is, I think I'm going to love that bloody man for my entire life.'

Dan sighed. 'I don't know, darling. This is the first time I've been in love.'

Paula appeared, bearing two more glasses of mulled wine.

'Thanks, Paula,' Juliet said, 'But I'm not sure I should have any more. This'll be my fourth.

'It's Christmas, love,' said Paula, handing Dan the other glass.

'Thanks, Mum,' Dan said, smiling and winking at her.

Paula beamed at him. 'You're very welcome, son.'

Juliet glanced from one to the other.

'Don't look so astonished, darling,' Dan said. 'It's time I also called wicked Paula, Mum and it's time she called me her son. We decided last night, over one or two Tequilas, didn't we, Mum?'

Paula nodded. 'We did indeed, son. But I'm not allowed to call him 'love' or 'darling'.' She winked at Juliet. 'You're the only one he ever calls darling.'

'Am I?'

Dan nodded. 'Yes, darling, you are. Or you were, before I met Louis. But I'll still call you darling even though I'm so deeply in love. You are my two darlings, and that will never change.'

'I'd never noticed that before,' Juliet said.

'Well, Harrison noticed,' Paula said. 'He came in here looking for you, but when I pointed in your direction, his face fell as if he had a lump of concrete attached to his chin. And what a handsome chin it is.'

Juliet blinked. 'He ... he was looking for me?''

'Yep. But he said it didn't matter because he'd already told your mum, and he left. Oh, but he did invite us all to drinks up at The Grange on Christmas Eve. He says he's inviting everyone who lives on Mistletoe Row. And even though that's tomorrow, and one of our busiest nights of the year, Kevin and I'll get the staff to cover for us for an hour or two. I'm not going to miss a chance to poke around The Grange. Not for all the beer in our barrels.'

'Wow!' Dan said. 'And if he's inviting everyone on the street, most of your punters will be up there at some stage during the evening. I'm definitely going. Although it would've been nice if he'd invited us in person, wouldn't it, darling.' He nudged Juliet's arm 'We were only a few metres away from the grump, for heaven's sake.'

'Drinks on Christmas Eve?' Juliet repeated, bemused. 'At The Grange?'

'Yep. Are you feeling okay, love? Perhaps you're right. Perhaps you have had enough mulled wine.'

'Not nearly enough, Paula,' Juliet said, grabbing the glass and knocking back the contents in one long gulp, even though it was warmer than she remembered and she burnt her tongue.