Seventeen
Luke didn’t want the evening to end, so when Rachel offered to make coffee for them, he didn’t hesitate. ‘That sounds like a good idea,’ he said. ‘They may have turned the coffee machine off here, anyway.’ He could see Rachel was embarrassed at having offered coffee but couldn’t see what the problem was. Surely the days had gone when coffee was a code word for more than the caffeine drink? And they weren’t kids anymore. Neither of them would see fifty again, and some days he felt like Methuselah. Not today, though. Rachel’s company was making him feel younger than he had in a long time.
On the drive back to Rachel’s, Luke kept up a steady stream of conversation, hoping to ease her embarrassment. It seemed he succeeded as at one point after he’d been describing some of Nelson’s antics, she laughed out loud. There was an awkward moment when he stopped the car, then it passed.
Once inside the house, Luke was impressed by how cosy it was. In the living room, the lights from a large Christmas tree twinkled in one corner of the room in front of a tall window. It was dark outside, but he could imagine the ocean view in daylight, not unlike the one from Bob’s place. It hadn’t occurred to him to do anything about a Christmas tree. Perhaps he should. Josh and Abby would like that. Ness had always insisted they put up the tree in early December, but since her passing, he hadn’t had the heart. Maybe this year he should make the effort. ‘Looks good,’ he said, gesturing to the tree.
‘Thanks. I always do it for the kids, and it cheers the room up too. I’ll just fetch coffee – or would you rather have tea?’
‘Coffee for me, please. And why don’t you let Molly join us?’
‘Good idea.’ Rachel visibly relaxed. Maybe she’d been worried he expected more than coffee and, while it had crossed his mind, he wasn’t crass enough to suggest it, to even imagine it was on offer.
Rachel had turned on a floor lamp and the light from it, plus the lights on the tree, gave the large room an intimate atmosphere. They sat together on the sofa drinking coffee, for all the world like an old married couple, Molly lying contentedly at their feet. Luke was surprised how comfortable he felt in Rachel’s company. She was different from her sister, different from Ness, but Luke had the strangest feeling he’d come home.
‘Tell me about yourself,’ he said, ‘You mentioned kids, and two granddaughters. How many do you have?’
Rachel leant back, her coffee mug clasped in both hands. ‘Three granddaughters, all belonging to my eldest daughter, Jess. Gemma and Indie, who I call the two terrors are four. Twins. I may have mentioned them to you. They turn five in January and start school next year. I’m really going to miss them. I often look after them,’ she explained. ‘Then there’s Emily who’s only one.’
‘So, one daughter.’
‘Two, and a son. Steph is in a same-sex relationship, hoping to become pregnant, and Alexander works in London. They’ll all be here for Christmas.’ She smiled, clearly looking forward to the festivities. ‘What about you?’
‘One son. He’s taken over my vet practice. Ness and I ran it together until… she was killed in a car accident. No one’s fault. One of those things.’ The memory of that dreadful day hit him, as it often did out of the blue. He’d been at the clinic. Ness had gone home early to prepare dinner. The police had come to the clinic. He didn’t believe them at first. It couldn’t be Ness. But it was, and his world had never been the same since. It was only now, since meeting Rachel, that he felt he might be able to develop feelings for a woman again.
‘I’m so sorry. And your son?’ Rachel’s voice came as a shock, and Luke realised he’d been lost in the past.
‘Sorry. Josh? He’s bounced from one relationship to the next, but I think this one might last. He and Abby are joining me for Christmas.’
‘That’s good. Christmas is for families.’
‘I guess.’ Luke hadn’t bothered too much about the holiday after Ness passed. She had been the one to make a fuss about it. For him, it had just been another day, one which he tried to make it through without letting his memories pull him down. Josh had often chosen to go overseas for the holiday, so there had been no one to celebrate with. This year it would be different. ‘You’ve given me an idea,’ he said. ‘I’ll put up a tree, try to get into the Christmas spirit.’ He should do it for Josh’s sake and somehow, he felt it would be for his sake too. It was time to let the past be the past and look towards the future.
Luke realised that, while they’d been talking, he’d finished his coffee, and Molly, clearly tired of their company, was snoring gently at their feet. ‘I should go,’ he said, putting his mug down on the coffee table and getting to his feet. ‘Thanks for the coffee, for your company. I’ve enjoyed this evening… a lot. In fact, I don’t know when I last enjoyed myself as much,’ he surprised himself saying. It was true. Rachel had proved to be restful company. An attractive woman who didn’t make things all about her. She hadn’t had an easy life, but had worked on making it positive, and look at what she had created for herself, for her family, for Christmas.
Stopping in the doorway, Luke gazed up at the clear sky. It was going to be another glorious day tomorrow, a time to rejoice, to be grateful for his blessings, for this woman who had come into his life so unexpectedly. ‘I have no idea how to go about selecting a tree,’ he said. ‘Would you be willing to help me? Maybe tomorrow?’
He saw Rachel hesitate. Perhaps he had been too pushy. After all, they had only met properly the previous evening. But he was only here for three months. He wanted to make the most of it… and he did need help in choosing a tree.
‘I suppose so,’ she said somewhat reluctantly, ‘but it will have to be late morning or afternoon. I’m having breakfast with Steph and Chloe, her partner.’
‘No problem. How about I pick you up around two?’
‘That should work.’ Rachel smiled, her smile tempting him to pull her into his arms and kiss her, but he resisted the temptation… for now.
‘Thanks, I appreciate it,’ he said, giving her arm a squeeze before walking away.