One Hundred Christmas Proposals

by Holly Martin

  ‘I want to do this with you every day for the rest of my life.’

  ‘Even when I’m huge from carrying your child?’

  ‘Especially then.’

  Harry moved slowly round, pulling me gently with him. I looked up into his soft brown eyes, knowing this was where I was meant to be.

  ‘Oh god, this song Harry, this is what I want to walk down the aisle to.’

  ‘Really? No, “Here Comes The Bride?”’

  ‘Definitely not. This, these words, she’s singing about us.’

  ‘An eternal love?’

  I nodded. ‘I want everyone to know how much I love you, this song says it all.’

  The song ended but he carried on holding me, staring down at me.

  ‘When we get back from the party on New Year’s Eve, I want to make love to you in this dress.’

  ‘You can do that now if you want.’

  ‘No, New Year’s Eve will be a special night, I don’t want to spoil it. Maybe you should take it off.’

  ‘Pervert.’

  ‘It’s true, I can’t deny it – but knowing you, you’d probably spill turkey fat or chocolate or ice cream down it.’

  He was right, I wasn’t known for my elegance or grace. I changed back into his hoodie again, slightly annoyed that he wasn’t going to make love to me again, especially as he was holding out another present for me. I plonked myself down on his lap and shifted against him mischievously. He groaned.

  This box was smaller and when I opened it up I saw an azure blue crystal drop pendant embedded with a slash of diamonds.

  ‘This crystal is a special stone that’s only found on the island of Tangalooma.’

  I smiled at the significance of Harry buying a necklace from the place he proposed to me.

  ‘You can wear that on New Year’s Eve too. Here.’ He passed me another box.

  I opened it to see a set of pearl and marcasite earrings. They were stunning.

  ‘These are antique, they’re from the 1920s. I thought you could wear them with the dress.’

  ‘I love them, thank you. But at this rate I’m going to look more glamorous than the bride-to-be.’

  ‘Everyone will be dressing like this, including the future fiancée. You know Alexander has asked everyone to dress as if they are going to a winter ball. There will be some very extravagant dresses and jewellery going on. You can totally get away with it. Last present.’ He passed me another box which was quite heavy. I unwrapped it and opened it to see four framed photos of Jack – one of him as a child, grinning and covered in chocolate ice cream, one of him just after he had done a parachute jump, one with me on his wedding day and one of him holding Bella. I swallowed the lump in my throat, my tears blurring the images in front of me.

  ‘We need photos of him here. I don’t want to forget him.’

  I turned back to face him, ‘Thank you.’ I kissed him and as I turned round in his arms and he deepened the kiss, it was clear I was going to get what I wanted after all.

  *

  The sky was darkening outside by the time we finally ate our turkey sandwiches and we snuggled in front of the fire to watch Back to the Future.

  ‘Did you like your Christmas presents?’ Harry asked. I was sprawled out on the sofa and Harry was on top of me, his head resting on my stomach as he intermittently caressed my belly with his hands or his lips. How I could possibly doubt his love for me for one second was beyond me. Though I was blaming my emotional baby hormones over the last few days for that one.

  ‘They were wonderful and really thoughtful. Are you going to give me a clue about the big present?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘What if I withhold sex from you until you give me a clue?’

  ‘Jeez that’s mean. I didn’t take you for such a cruel and heartless bitch,’ Harry said, playfully, kissing my stomach. ‘But you know what, you would cave before I did. I barely get a moment’s peace without you begging me to make love to you.’

  ‘That’s so not true, you’re such a pervert. You can never keep your hands off me. You do realise that I got pregnant mere days after I was throwing my guts up, I don’t think it would have been me that instigated it.’

  ‘Ha, probably not. Ok. One clue. It’s something you really want.’

  ‘You wrapped in a big bow.’

  ‘You have me, baby.’

  ‘Well there’s nothing else I want?’

  ‘Nothing at all? What about… a white Christmas?’

  ‘That would be amazing. I would let you have as much hot sex as you want if you could arrange that.’

  ‘Brilliant, because it’s snowing outside.’

  I sat up quickly and he rolled off me. ‘You’re kidding?’

  Sure enough, big fat snowflakes were drifting and twirling past the windows. I ran to the window and watched as it settled on the trees and on the green outside. The ground was thick with it and it had clearly been snowing for hours.

  Harry came up behind me, wrapping his arms round my waist and kissing my neck.

  ‘Oh god Harry, it’s beautiful. I can’t remember the last time it snowed in London.’

  ‘So I believe you owe me some hot sex.’

  I wriggled out of his arms. ‘Not a chance.’

  I ran upstairs and pulled on some warm clothes, a hat and a scarf. ‘Harry Forbes you have five seconds to get up here and get dressed or I really will withhold sex for a week,’ I yelled, with my head in the wardrobe as I tried to find my gloves.

  ‘Here,’ Harry passed me my gloves over my shoulder and I jumped at the sound of his voice. I turned to find he was already half dressed. I took the gloves and watched his muscly chest disappear beneath a shirt – he was taking his time to slowly do up the buttons, deliberately torturing me. A thick hoodie was pulled on next, hiding his wonderful abs from view. Curses on the snow.

  ‘Come on you big tease.’

  I ran down the stairs and out onto the green, smiling up at the dark sky as soft flakes of twinkling snow peppered my face.

  A sudden thud sounded on the back of my coat, with a big ice cold splat. I looked over at Harry in shock. ‘Hey, I’m pregnant. With your child none the less.’

  ‘Come on, you can’t pull that for the next eight months. Do you expect me to carry you everywhere and feed you peeled grapes?’

  ‘That’s pretty much a necessity for all pregnant ladies.’

  ‘How do I know you’re not pulling the pregnancy card just to get the good treatment?’ He ran his hand lovingly over my flat stomach. ‘You’re not very fat.’

  ‘Well that’s why you should carry me everywhere now, before I get too big.’

  ‘You pregnant women get all the good stuff, seats on trains, peeled grapes…’

  ‘And lots of ice cream.’

  ‘That too. We pregnant dads should get stuff too. I think you should carry me.’

  Harry made a show of trying to climb into my arms. Laughing, I pushed him off me, but with his arms round me, he toppled backwards into the snow taking me with him.

  ‘So you do want the hot sex after all. It’ll be a bit chilly, but ok,’ Harry slid his hands under my coat, playfully.

  ‘Stop it you big pervert. You’re going to build me a big snowman and I’m going to watch whilst I eat my peeled grapes.’

  ‘I’m fresh out of those so you’re going to have to help me with the snowman.’

  ‘Damn it.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m going to do all the heavy lifting, can’t have my pregnant fiancée over exerting herself. You can be in charge of carrots and buttons.’

  I kissed him. ‘I love my pregnant fiancé. Thank you for arranging all the snow.’

  ‘For you baby, I’d give you the world.’

  Chapter Four

  Proposer’s Blog

  Christmas Proposal 93: December 26th. Joseph and Gaby’s Proposal. Location: Their home.

  Joseph and Gaby have been together for eighteen months. They first met at the Harry Potter Studios. Joseph was
working there, Gaby was a visitor. Their eyes met over a butterbeer. They got chatting about their love for Harry Potter and didn’t stop chatting all day. They argued over who was the bigger fan and although Joseph loved all things Harry Potter, it was quite clear that Gaby was a bit obsessed. She had read all the books more than a hundred times over, simply finishing the series and then starting all over again. She would cry over Dobby and Dumbledore’s deaths every single time. She had all the books in every possible book cover. There are a lot of different book covers. She had Gryffindor pyjamas, hoodies, T-shirts, socks and underpants. She even possessed a cloak and a wand. And as much as Gaby loved Harry Potter, Joseph loved Gaby a hundred times more.

  Gaby often joked that her acceptance letter to Hogwarts had got lost in the post and one day it would come. Joseph decided he would make it happen for her.

  As a Christmas present he had already given her a trip to go to Alnwick Castle, the setting where many of the exterior shots of Hogwarts were filmed for the first two movies. But she was still missing the acceptance letter.

  On Boxing Day morning a special letter with a red wax stamp was delivered to the house, addressed to Gaby Potter, The Cupboard Under The Stairs. Joseph handed it to Gaby and she shrieked for joy. When Joseph asked what it was and Gaby explained, Joseph snatched it off her and ripped it up. He told her that she wasn’t leaving him to go to some poxy magic school. I’m glad I wasn’t there at that point because apparently the atmosphere turned a bit frosty. Swear words were uttered, very unPotterlike.

  Another letter was delivered an hour later, again Joseph ripped it up in true Uncle Vernon style.

  Using Joseph’s contacts with the film studio, we arranged for a highly trained owl to land on their windowsill with a letter in its mouth. Joseph chased the owl away.

  Gaby had started to cotton on by this point that they were re-enacting the scene from the first Harry Potter film where the acceptance letters from Hogwarts comes but Uncle Vernon destroys them before Harry can open them.

  The next bit was tricky, but we had arranged for an adapted snow blowing machine to blow letters through the letterbox and a discreetly placed fan, hidden by a plant, to disperse the letters in the air like confetti. As letter after letter flew through the letterbox, Gaby played the part well and jumped up to try to catch one, which she did. She tore it open and inside were the words ‘Marry Me’.

  She stared at the words as the other letters whizzed around her. She grabbed another one and another and tore them open too, only to see that they all said the same thing. Then she shrieked and threw herself into his arms.

  Apparently she said that getting a proposal from him was almost as good as getting a real Hogwarts acceptance letter.

  *

  Lots of couples had sent emails in with details and photos of their Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day proposals. We couldn’t get round to all of them and so we were relying on people sending us the details. Of course the offer of free champagne, chocolates and flowers if people sent us information about the proposals they had booked with us helped to encourage the onslaught of emails.

  Harry had been blogging upstairs for a little while but it was nice that he hadn’t had to go out to view or arrange any proposals and we’d had Boxing Day to ourselves. I was quite enjoying the solitude.

  ‘Badger is coming round tonight,’ Harry called as he ran downstairs. Solitude, it seemed, was over.

  ‘Badger and Jules?’ I said, as he walked into the front room and curled up on the sofa next to me.

  ‘No, just Badger.’

  ‘Right. Man time. I can go round and see Jules while you two bond over beer.’

  ‘No stay here, you always get on well with Badger. I like having my two favourite people in the same room. Besides Jules and Bella are out with her family.’

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want man time. Watch half naked women in some dodgy vampire porn film? Drink beer and talk about boobs?’

  ‘Wow, your definition of man time is hugely stereotypical and I’m quite offended by it. I’ll have you know that we only watch the very best vampire porn and Badger is definitely an arse and leg man.’

  ‘My apologies for my inaccurate assumptions.’

  ‘Apology accepted. I’m going to make us a curry.’

  I snuggled into his chest, narrowing my eyes with suspicion. Harry’s curry was my all-time favourite meal in the world. It took ages for him to make and he only ever cooked it for me when he wanted to butter me up for something or to apologise. He often said he could get me to agree to anything if I’d eaten a plate of his curry.

  ‘I bought that bath bomb thing you like so much and I thought you might want to have a bath before he comes,’ Harry’s voice was forced casual. Something was definitely up.

  I leaned up to look at him. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘So you’re being extra nice to me for no reason?’

  ‘I’m always nice to you. Plus let’s not forget you’re carrying my child.’

  ‘But curry is your secret weapon.’

  ‘I don’t have to want something to make you curry.’

  ‘That’s always been the rule before, and a bath bomb too?’

  ‘Look, I’ll run you a bath and you can have a long soak while I make the curry.’

  He slipped out of my arms and disappeared from the room.

  ‘Harry Forbes, I’m on to you.’

  I heard the bath running and I guessed I wasn’t going to find out just yet. I might as well indulge in the pampering whilst I had the chance.

  *

  I knew straight away that the something had to do with Badger – when I opened the door to him a few hours later, he looked genuinely terrified.

  ‘Badger!’ Harry greeted him with overly exuberant cheerfulness. ‘Do come in, we’re both so glad to see you.’

  I looked at Harry in confusion. I half expected him to say something like, ‘Jolly good show,’ or ‘spiffing’ as he heartily shook Badger’s hand. Even Badger looked confused by the odd greeting. Harry was nervous.

  Badger followed us down the hall into the front room, dragging his feet as if he was being led to the gallows.

  ‘I’ll get us all a drink and then we can eat and chat over dinner,’ Harry said, his face stuck in a rictus grin as Badger stood anxiously by the fireplace, looking like a very odd Santa in his red and white hoodie and with his ginger beard looking a bit long and tatty.

  Harry turned to go out the room but before he’d even taken a step, Badger blurted out the reason for his visit.

  ‘I’m going to ask Jules to marry me.’

  I felt the air leave my lungs in a sudden whoosh and I sat down heavily on the sofa.

  ‘Or maybe I’ll leave the drinks till later,’ Harry said, sitting next to me and taking my hand.

  I had no words. It had been a year and half since my brother Jack had died but Badger and Jules had got together just four months after his funeral. It broke my heart to see Jules moving on so quickly, to see my niece Bella being raised by another man. I didn’t want to see her grieve for ever, and the more noble part of me was pleased that she was happy now – but there was still a part of me that found it really difficult to deal with, although largely I kept that part buried.

  I forced a smile onto my face. ‘That’s great, I’m really happy for you.’

  My throat was raw with supressed emotion.

  ‘You are?’ Badger stared at me with wide eyes.

  ‘Yes of course.’ I stood up. ‘There’s a great vampire film on tonight. You guys will love it. I’ve got some things I need to take care of so why don’t I leave you boys to it.’

  ‘What about the curry?’ Harry asked.

  ‘I’m not really that hungry. I had a big lunch so…’ I trailed off and not really knowing what else I could say to Badger with his happy news, I left the room.

  I went upstairs and lay in the darkness on our bed.

  Jules marrying Badger would wipe
away Jack’s name from her life, the last claim that she was once his. What was worse was that Bella would probably take Badger’s last name as well, completing the perfect little family unit. Jack was slowly but surely being eradicated from both of their lives. I wiped away a solitary tear.

  I heard the front door close downstairs and a moment later, light flooded the room as Harry came in. He didn’t say anything. He just lay down behind me, wrapping himself around me, his arms round my stomach, his leg over the top of mine, his face against my neck as he pulled me tightly against his chest. We lay like that for ages until I eventually fell asleep.

  *

  As I stepped out the shower the next day, Harry was waiting for me with a towel. He wrapped it round me and kissed my head.

  ‘You doing ok?’

  ‘Yes, I’m fine.’ I sighed, snuggling into the towel. ‘I guess I knew it was coming, they’re so in love and Badger makes her so happy, I can’t be angry about that.’

  Harry waited, knowing there was more coming.

  ‘I just don’t want to forget about Jack just yet. I know I’m moving on with my life, getting engaged, having a baby but… I don’t know, it just feels different, weird somehow that Jules is moving on with hers.’ I reached up to stroke his face. ‘Am I being hypocritical?’

  ‘No. It all happened a lot sooner than most of us expected, but to tell the truth Badger has been in love with her for years, even before Jack got leukaemia. But he never thought he would get with her. Even when Jack died and Badger was coming round to see Jules, it wasn’t with the hope that she would fall in love with him, as far as he was concerned that was never going to happen. He just wanted to make sure she was ok. And now they’re together and they’re happy, who are we to argue with the way that fate has brought them together. It sucks, it really does that your brother died, but we can’t change that. “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”’

  ‘Did you seriously just quote Gandalf?’

  ‘He’s a very wise man.’

  I laughed, despite everything. ‘I love you.’

  ‘Look, my one regret in life is I never told you I loved you sooner, we wasted two years when we could have been together. Did you read the blog posts from Christmas Eve? Simon and Dawn?’