‘I’ll get it,’ Owen yelled towards the sitting room as he reached the bottom of the stairs just as the front doorbell rang. Balancing the small stack of presents he’d just been up to retrieve in one arm, he tugged open the front door with the other. ‘You’re just in time,’ he said, expecting it to be Beth, Sam and his folks come to join the gift unwrapping.
‘Hello, Owen, Merry Christmas.’ Looking like a candy cane in a red and white striped tunic-dress over bright green leggings tucked into a pair of scruffy-looking Ugg boots, the love of his absolute life gave him a sweet smile.
His heart turned over, and he might not have kept hold of the presents under his arm had Mick not reached past his daughter to steady them with a beefy hand. ‘All right, son? Do you need a hand with those?’
‘No, no, I’ve got them. When did you get back, Mick?’
‘A few days ago. Got sick of paella and sunshine, but I wasn’t expecting this to be waiting for me.’ He gestured over his shoulder at the white fields beyond. It had been snowing on and off for the past forty-eight hours, sending Noah into paroxysms of joy over his first white Christmas.
‘That wasn’t all you weren’t expecting, was it, Dad?’ Libby said with a chuckle as she laid a tender hand on the roundness beneath her dress.
‘Indeed.’ Mick shot Owen a gimlet stare which told him there was much more to be said on the subject at a later time.
‘Well, you’d better come in, then.’ He stepped back to let them in, and they’d just crossed the threshold when a car horn announced the arrival of the Barnes family together with Beth. Soon the hallway was a roiling chaos of hugs and kisses as Jack, Eliza and Sally came out to greet everyone.
Noah bounced from group to group, peering inside carrier bags, excitement growing to fever pitch as he received assurance after assurance that yes, there were presents for him, too. Making his escape, Owen headed for the sitting room to deposit his own stack beneath the already impressive pile beneath the tree.
Everyone filed in, the older members of the group finding seats on the sofa and chairs whilst the rest of them made do with any old space they could find on the floor. Sam and Jack positioned themselves beneath the tree and began to pass out gifts.
To no one’s surprise, and everyone’s delight, the majority of the presents were for Noah. Owen hadn’t been the only one conscious of it being the boy’s first Christmas without his dad and had gone out of their way to find him things to keep his mind on happier thoughts. The pile of discarded wrapping paper grew and grew until Eliza excused herself to return with a black rubbish bag.
Pleased with his own little stack of toiletries, a new laptop bag from Sam and Beth who’d noted the fraying strap on his old one, and—Hallelujah!—socks, Owen gave Eliza a smile as he shoved the wrapping paper from them into the bag as she held it out to him.
‘Not a bad haul,’ she said. ‘And thank you for the ribbons, I’ll be able to put them to good use.’ Uncertain what to get for her, he’d found a craft shop in town and purchased a selection of wide metallic ribbons in various shades of purple.
‘I thought they’d be handy for decorating your little bags of lavender, and whatnot.’
‘They’re perfect,’ she assured him, before moving on.
As she stepped to one side, his eyes caught a flash of red and white as Libby turned to laugh at something her dad had said. She was curled up at his feet, her knees tucked beneath her chin, the dress stretched over them and almost down to her ankles. He flicked his gaze to the pile of presents beside her. There were no gifts from him, as there were no gifts from her in the stack next to his knee. He hadn’t known to expect her, had assumed she was coming only for lunch as previously agreed so he’d left the things he’d bought for her upstairs. She’d known he would be here, though, so what did it mean that she’d missed him out? He rubbed at the sudden pain over his heart. Nothing good, he warranted.
‘How about coffee and mince pies?’ Sally announced as she stood.
‘What a good idea, I’ll lend you a hand.’ Annie jumped up next. ‘Come on, Paul.’
‘All right, love, I’m coming.’ Her husband heaved himself to his feet. ‘Pops, you want to stretch your legs for a bit?’
‘That’s a good idea, son. This cold weather does my joints no good at all.’
‘I’ll give you a hand, Pops.’ Sam was on his feet in an instant. ‘Hey, Noah, why don’t you bring your helicopter outside and we can give it a test flight without risking your Nanna’s china?’
‘Can we, Uncle Jack?’
‘Don’t see why not. But put your wellies and your coat on first.’
Before Owen’s eyes, the room emptied as one after another everyone left with seemingly plausible excuses for their departure. Soon the only people left were him and Libby. ‘Well, that was subtle,’ she said with a sigh.
‘You arranged that?’
She rolled her eyes heavenward. ‘I didn’t expect them all to tumble out on top of each other, though. I’d hoped they’d space it out a bit so it didn’t look quite so obvious.’ With a ruffle of her fingers through her thick fringe, she flicked her eyes towards the tree and then back to him. ‘There’s something left.’
Following where she’d looked, Owen spotted a large red envelope propped up beneath the lowest branches of the tree. His heart might have stopped beating for a moment or two. ‘For me?’ She nodded, and a hint of scarlet glowed on her cheeks.
On hands and knees, he scooted across and retrieved the envelope. With one more quick glance at Libby, he slit the flap open with a finger and pulled out a thick white card. Turning it over, he found his hands were shaking as he studied the riot of glittering teddy bears romping over the front of the Christmas card. The words Daddy’s First Christmas were inscribed across a winding ribbon held up in the bears’ paws.
Swallowing a lump the size of a rock, he flipped the card open and started to read.
Dear Daddy,
I know it’s not officially our first Christmas together, but I couldn’t wait to tell you how much Mummy and I love you. We’re so excited for all the lovely plans you’ve got in store for us. I’m especially excited about seeing all the pretty fairy lights with you, and to sleep in my new bedroom knowing you and Mummy will be next door to keep me safe.
I can’t wait to meet you, either. I just know you’ll be the best Daddy in the whole wide world.
Love,
K.B. x
‘Oh, shit,’ Owen croaked through the tears coursing down his face, before he clamped a hand over his mouth. ‘I shouldn’t swear anymore, should I?’
Laughing through her own tears, Libby crawled over to his side. ‘You’ve got a few months yet before you have to worry about tiny ears hearing you. And I’m sure getting all those conversion works done in time will make us both swear a time or two before we’re finished.’
He grabbed her shoulders, terrified he was dreaming, that he would wake up any second and find himself alone and staring at the ceiling as he had on far too many recent mornings. ‘Don’t say it unless you mean it, Libs. If this is some kind of joke, it’ll break my heart.’
Twining her arms around his neck, she crawled up into his lap. ‘No joke, Owen. Not about something as important as the rest of our lives together.’
‘Together?’ He could hardly bring himself to breathe the word against her lips.
‘Forever.’ She kissed him. ‘You.’ Kiss. ‘Me.’ Kiss. ‘And K.B.’ Kiss.
‘Oh, and me and all,’ came Mick’s deep voice from the doorway followed by roars of laughter.
Holding Libby firmly in place, Owen turned to look at the group of once strangers who’d first become friends and then his family beaming back. ‘There’s always a downside to everything,’ he said, to another round of hoots and hollers.