‘For four of us?’ I looked around the table at the expectant eyes on me.
‘Yes, which I know isn’t ideal as there are five of you, but that’s all I could manage. At least those people would be home in the early hours on Christmas Day. They’d be home for Christmas. But I do need to know now if you want to take the seats, and those people will need to leave for the airport ASAP. What would you like to do?’
I wanted one of those seats. I wanted to go home and have the traditional family Christmas now that my parents and Lucy would be around. But one look at everyone’s expectant faces and I knew I couldn’t do it to them. I put down my fork. ‘Yes, we’ll take them.’
‘Great, under what names?’
I looked at each of my colleagues in turn as I said their names, and they all turned to each other, wondering what was going on.
‘All right,’ said Amanda. ‘That’s all confirmed for those four. I’ll call you if anything else opens up for you; otherwise you’re still on that flight on Boxing Day.’
I hung up.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Abigail.
‘The roads are back open, right?’ They nodded. ‘OK. I’m going to call an Uber and you four need to pack up your things right now; you’re going home for Christmas.’
‘Wait, what?’ said Jasmine. ‘We’re going home?’
‘Yes, but the flight is in less than three hours so you need to get to JFK super-quickly.’
Dee stopped mid-stand-up. ‘You’re not coming?’
I shook my head. ‘No, there’s no space on the flight for me. But that’s fine, don’t think about it, and don’t any of you even dare to try and swap with me; it’s all confirmed. Now, go.’
The four of them scuttled off, grabbing discarded socks, chargers, glasses, cables that they’d left around on the way. I turned back to Carl and Jon. ‘Tuck in, gents, looks like the three of us are sharing now.’
‘So what’s the story back in the UK?’ asked Carl, midway through a turkey leg.
‘Europe is open again, and flights are back on. I guess they’re staggering them because of airspace and the airlines are rushing to make sure everyone is as full as possible. So it’s just us for Christmas.’
‘I am such a third wheel,’ Carl sighed, and Jon and I locked eyes.
I checked my phone. ‘The Uber will be here in ten minutes, people.’
‘We haven’t done presents,’ said Abigail, hurrying back into the living room.
‘Let’s do them now,’ I said, hauling them out from under the tree. No time for dilly-dallying.
Everyone gathered together and tore into their gifts; small, token gifts, but ones they vowed to love and cherish. And then Jasmine brought out one for me. ‘We all chipped in. It was Jon’s idea.’
‘For me?’ I asked, and looked at Jon for a moment, before remembering we were in a huge rush. I ripped open the paper and what was inside made me laugh out loud. ‘A Christmas jumper, and some earmuffs!’ And then something else fell out– a tiny sprig of mistletoe.
Jon leaned over to kiss my cheek and I breathed him in. He whispered in my ear, ‘Just in case you need reminding of the miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street.’
I opened my mouth – now was the moment – but his phone rang.
‘Hello?’ he said, and listened, walking away from us for a moment and then beckoning me over.
‘You have about six minutes, people,’ I said before making my way to him. He held the phone from his ear and covered the mouthpiece.
‘It’s Virgin. They can take Carl and me this afternoon as well.’
No. But yes, for him, good for him. ‘You … you have to go for it.’
He looked pained. ‘I can’t leave you alone for Christmas.’
I didn’t have time to think about the weight of this, so I babbled, ‘No, it doesn’t matter about me; I’m the Grinch, I’m Harry and Marv, I’m Mr Potter, I’m Ebenezer Scrooge. I don’t have chestnuts roasting on open fires, or stockings hung by the chimney with care. I don’t have any presents waiting for me at home to be opened on Christmas Day, I don’t even have a whole family waiting for me at home. For Christmas Day. And that’s OK. It’s totally OK. But these people do, and they want to be home, and New York is, actually, way better than I could ever have dreamed of, but it isn’t home. And you need to go home. Your whole family is waiting, Jon. You should go.’
I could tell he was torn, and I couldn’t ask him to stay because he didn’t know how I felt. What were my words yesterday? I don’t know about us. Why would he stay when he thought I felt like that?
‘Carl, call a second Uber and get packing, we’re going to go to the airport too,’ he shouted out, his voice strained. He searched my eyes one more time. ‘You think I should go?’
‘Yes.’ Of course he should. My feelings didn’t matter.
‘You’ll be OK on your own?’
‘It’s what I wanted this whole time.’ I plastered a smile on my face.
‘Yes, please, we’ll take the seats,’ he said into the receiver and hung up. We stood in silence for a moment.
He was leaving. This afternoon. Now. It felt like time had been ripped away from us, and I’d never been so annoyed at myself for not paying attention to my feelings earlier.
There were too many people around, watching us out of the corner of their eyes, interrupting us with questions, and so he placed a hand on my back and led me quickly outside and around the corner of the building, where suddenly, in the middle of Manhattan, we were completely alone. We stood on a patch of snow-frosted grass with my back against the cold wall and Jon standing in front of me. He was looking down at me, intensely, searching my face, and my right hand involuntarily reached out and fiddled with the arm of his jumper, all of me craving contact with him before it was too late.
‘I’m not asking you to stay,’ I whispered, my breath clouding in the air.
‘But is this what you want?’ he asked, moving closer still, and I wanted it so much. All of me wanted to kiss him, wanted him not to leave. My other hand touched the soft material of his other arm, and I gently pulled on his sleeves, pulling his arms towards me.
He put one hand on my waist, which made my breath catch in my throat, and his other hand pressed against the wall by my head. I was trapped, and yes, it was exactly what I wanted.
‘Do you?’ I whispered.
‘You know I do.’ His face was close to mine, his hair, damp and tousled in the cold air, hung over his forehead. His milk chocolate eyes were warm and familiar. I couldn’t believe I’d thought that wasn’t chemistry, that familiarity was a bad thing for so long, because when they looked at me now nothing had ever felt so right.
‘Kiss m—’ Before I could finish his lips were on mine and I felt everything at once: the warmth and hunger of his mouth, his body pressing against me, heavy and perfect, the crunchy snow beneath my feet as my legs wobbled with nerves and happiness. I felt his damp hair on my own forehead, I felt the material of his soft jumper cover me and brush against my neck as his hands moved upwards and cupped my face.
My own hands couldn’t move from his sides – I needed to steady myself somehow. He was everything I’d ever wanted and all of me was screaming ‘It’s about time!’ at my silly, stubborn mind.
His thumb brushed my forehead as the kisses slowed down and he pulled away slightly, at which point I arched my body away from the wall, desperate for this not to end.
He smiled, still stroking my cheek with his thumb. ‘Have a very Merry Christmas, George Bailey,’ he said.
‘What? Nope.’ I launched at him, wrapping my arms around his neck this time and kissing him, willing him not to leave me. This time his arms circled me completely and I was in a Jon cocoon that I didn’t want to climb out of.
‘Olivia?’ Ian’s voice called suddenly and we broke apart. ‘Jon? The cars are here.’
‘I’m not going without you,’ Jon said.
‘Yes you are.’ I pulled him out from behind the building. ‘Go and be
with your family, you have to have that proper Christmas for me, and you can tell them I’m your girlfriend and that I’ll be down to visit as soon as I can when I get back.’
The next sixty seconds were a blur as I watched my team exit the apartment block with suitcases and then run back in for forgotten coats and shoes. Jon left me and ran upstairs for his own holdall, and Ian was taking charge by yelling at everyone to make sure they had their passports.
‘I’ll bring back anything else you forget,’ I called to them as they piled in the cars.
Jon was the last to climb in, and I had to push him inside the car door. He grabbed my hand before the door closed and to the whoops of everyone else in the car, including the driver, he pulled me close and kissed me one last time.
The car pulled away and I stayed on the street for a few minutes until the cold began to set in. I was alone. I had Jon in my life now, which made me immeasurably happy, but right now I was alone, and it felt very quiet.
I missed them.
‘Excuse me,’ said a voice, interrupting my lonely thoughts. I looked up from staring at the snowy pavement and into the spectacled eyes of a young man, I’d say early twenties, with a wheelie duffel bag and rather grubby clothes. ‘Do you know which apartment belongs to Lara Green?’
I took a large breath, trying to focus on this boy with a British accent, and not everything that just happened. ‘Yes, but she’s not here at the moment,’ I answered. ‘Is there anything I can help you with?’
‘I’m here to see someone staying in her home over Christmas, a girl called Abigail. I’m Ross – her boyfriend.’
‘You’re “my boyfriend”?’
‘Pardon? No, Abi’s boyfriend.’
‘No, that’s what I mean – all I’ve heard about for days is “my boyfriend” this and “my boyfriend” that. So your name is Ross?’
He was obviously chuffed she’d been talking about him. ‘Yes! Are you one of her colleagues?’
‘I’m her boss … sort of … I’m Olivia.’
‘Oh, hello.’ He stuck out his hand. ‘Nice to meet you. Sorry I’m a bit of a mess, I had a hell of a trip getting over here, I can tell you.’
‘Wait a minute,’ I said, ignoring his hand and reaching for my phone. I called Abigail. ‘Abi, how far have you got?’
‘Not far, is everything OK?’
‘You’ve forgotten something really important; can you swing back around? I’ll have it here waiting for you.’
‘What is it—’
I hung up and beamed at Ross. ‘So how exactly did you get here, considering none of us can get home?’
‘It’s taken me two long days,’ he laughed, stifling a yawn. ‘On the twenty-second I heard the flights wouldn’t be running on the twenty-third as planned, and I knew Abi wouldn’t make it home for Christmas. So let’s see. First I took a Brittany Ferries to Santander, then I took a coach all the way to Madrid, that took a fair while, then I flew from Madrid to Dubai, from Dubai to Miami, took the train up as far as New Jersey, where I arrived yesterday evening, and then had to wait until the roads were back open before I could get on another coach to Manhattan. I’m a bit smelly now.’
I was stunned. ‘You did all that just to see her for Christmas?’
‘That, and to do this.’ He dug into his pocket and pulled out a ring box.
‘Oh my god. She is going to say yes on the spot. Though you should know that she’s pretty mad that she couldn’t get hold of you for two days.’
‘I know, I felt so bad. My phone battery died and the first place I could charge it was at the motel in New Jersey last night, but I didn’t want to give away the surprise so I kept that friend finder app off.’
At that moment, the Uber carrying Abigail, Dee and Ian swung back onto 74th Street, and before it had even come to a stop Abigail was jumping out and running at Ross, eyes streaming, shouting a strange garble of ‘How are you here? What’s going on? I love you so much!’
I allowed them ten seconds of smooch time before pushing them back towards the cab. ‘He’ll explain everything on the way to the airport, don’t miss your flight.’
‘We can’t leave now, he just got here,’ flustered Abigail. ‘I’m not leaving without you, Ross.’
‘Maybe we should stay, and have Christmas here.’
‘Decide what you’re doing in the car, go,’ I encouraged.
‘Olivia, we’ll stay, you take my place on the flight.’
‘There’s no time – I’m not at all packed, and I can’t leave the apartment like this, with half a turkey carcass sitting on Lara’s coffee table.’
‘But, but—’
‘Abi, go, and if you get to the airport and don’t want to get on the flight then give it to someone else; I’m sure there’ll be people there on standby who are hoping to go home.’
‘Are you sure?’ Abigail asked, between Ross kisses.
‘Yes, go, nice to meet you, Ross, Merry Christmas, everyone.’
And just like that, they were all gone again, and I was back to being alone. I went back up to the apartment and stood, surveying the modern city-equivalent to the Mary Celeste. Carl’s turkey leg sat half eaten on the counter, an untouched bowl of roast potatoes was becoming cold, a sock, fallen from someone’s bag during the dash, lay in the middle of the hall, and every single one of them had left their toothbrushes in the bathroom.
I stepped over and around the mess, the place seeming very quiet. I put the fireplace on the TV, took my ornament from my bedroom and hung it pride of place on Lara’s Christmas tree. Perhaps I should change into my pyjamas, like I’d been wanting to do all week. I could do what I wanted now. But … the sun was shining, it was Christmas Eve, and I was in one of the best places in the world to be in at this time of year. I wanted to go out and spend Christmas with New York City.
I was staring out of the window, formulating a plan, when I heard a song, softly at first, coming from the landing outside the door to the apartment. I strained my ears to listen … It was a carol singer!
‘Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen, when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.’ I opened the door without thinking, and there he was.
‘You came back,’ I breathed.
‘I forgot my toothbrush.’
‘Are you staying?’
‘I never left.’ Jon stepped inside the apartment. ‘I just went down the street to make a call to Virgin, and to buy this carton of eggnog. I bet you’ve never had eggnog, have you?’
I shook my head, bewildered. ‘But you took your bag?’
He dropped it on the hall floor. ‘That was for dramatic effect. Worked, didn’t it?’
‘But you have to go home, you’ll miss Christmas. You love Christmas, and your family want you there.’
He wrapped his big arms around me and wouldn’t stop smiling. ‘I have four brothers and sisters, and seven nieces and nephews – nobody in my house is going to be lonely this Christmas. But I only have one you, and spending Christmas with you means my Christmas wish is coming true.’
Jon kissed me, and I didn’t protest any more, not with any part of me. He pulled back, briefly. ‘And tomorrow, if this is OK with you, we’re booked into the Plaza for Christmas lunch—’
‘Like proper New Yorkers! How the hell did you get us in there?’
‘Well, we have to have “lunch” at three forty-five in the afternoon, because it was such a last-minute booking, and we could be seated in the housekeeping closet for all I know. Also, I bought you a present. I picked this up a few days ago, but I didn’t know if I’d get the chance to give it to you this year.’
He pulled out a box of pale turquoise wrapped in white ribbon. About the size of a ring box. Whoooooooooa, I didn’t know about this, this seemed like way too big a leap into the adult world. I opened it with shaking hands to reveal …
A tiny silver charm in the shape of a Christmas tree, covered in dots of Tiffany blue. It was perfect, and exactly what I never knew I wanted.<
br />
‘Did you think it was a ring?’ Jon asked, pulling me close and not letting me go. ‘Haha. No, crazy, we only just got together. But one day I’ll marry you, when you’re ready. A guy only gets one Christmas wish at a time.’
Christmas Day
Jon and I walked hand in hand through Central Park, the snow glittering under the bright sun and sky. It felt good. Not just to be with Jon, but to feel like me again. Not someone who was afraid of relationships, who’d grown apart from their family, who was always chasing a plan rather than listening to what I actually wanted, now, and who craved being alone. Not any more. I felt stronger now I was more exposed.
I looked at Jon, something I found myself doing every few minutes since he’d come back, like I was checking he was really there. This time he caught me.
‘What are you thinking?’ he asked, squeezing my hand.
That sometimes you might not get fire straight away, but actually that spark just needs a bit of stoking, but of course I didn’t say that. I’m not a total crazy. ‘That it turns out I’m not always right about everything, and Kim is not going to let me live this down. Thank you for making me believe.’
He shook his head. ‘This was all you. You said to me a week ago that you wished you’d had time to give Christmas a go. You wanted this. It’s not about me or anyone else “fixing” you, or telling you that you have to be in a relationship to be happy at Christmas. And you and I are a happy, unexpected outcome of a path you chose to follow to let people back in. Christmas was your catalyst, New York was your method, and connecting with people was your conclusion.’
‘And my new boyfriend is my very own wise man.’
‘That is true,’ he laughed, and pulled me into his coat with him.
My phone rang and I looked at the screen. ‘It’s Anne!’ This was a nice surprise. ‘Hi!’
‘Jack Frost it’s cold here!’ said Anne’s abrupt voice down the line.
‘In Miami?’
‘In New York. Brrrrrrrr, what the hell were you thinking getting stranded here, did Mum and Dad’s winter sun holidays teach you nothing about how warm Christmas should traditionally be?’
Mistletoe on 34th Street Page 25