Chapter Thirteen
Cullen
Christmas Day flies by much the same as Christmas Eve. When I arrive at the bach in the morning, Max has already opened his presents, and I’m touched when he throws his arms around my neck to say thank you for the jigsaw, plushie, and book.
Isla looks beautiful in a short summer dress with orange and yellow flowers. She gives me a bashful look when I first walk in, then laughs as I pull her into my arms and give her a big hug.
I intend to make sure I don’t keep kissing her in front of her son, but she lifts her arms around my neck and kisses me, and Max doesn’t bat an eyelash, so it doesn’t seem as if either of them are worried about it.
“I’ve got something for you,” she says, and turns to pick up a parcel from beneath the tree.
“Aw…” I take it from her. It’s about twelve inches square and an inch deep, and very light.
I unwrap it carefully to reveal an artist’s canvas.
I turn it over and discover that it’s a painting of Sunrise Bay, beautifully done, the sun just peeking over the horizon, so the whole picture is filled with the colors of the sunrise—oranges, purples, and golds. “Did you get this from the gallery?”
She shakes her head. “I did it.”
My jaw drops. “You painted this?”
“I dabble a bit, and I brought my paints with me. I took some photos at sunrise when I got here and painted from one of those. Do you like it?”
“Isla, it’s fantastic. I love it.” I hold it out at arm’s length, admiring the way she’s captured the beauty of the bay. “Wow, I didn’t know you painted.”
“I have many hidden talents.” She gives a girlish giggle.
I slide an arm around her and nuzzle her ear as I murmur, “I bet you do,” making her laugh again. Smiling, I kiss her, then out of my bag I withdraw a small gift bag. “And this is for you.”
“Oh!” She takes it from me. “Oh, you shouldn’t have.” Then she winks at me. She opens the bag, withdraws the box inside, and opens it.
“It’s just a small thing,” I saw awkwardly. “Ghost and I wanted to say thank you for… well, everything.”
She takes it out. It’s a simple silver pendant engraved with a dog’s pawprint. “Oh, Cullen, it’s beautiful.”
“Turn it over.”
She does, and reads the inscription on the back. It’s a small space, so it just says ‘C&Gx’.
“I love it,” she whispers. “Thank you so much.” Her eyes meet mine for a moment, and then she bends to show Max.
“Shall I help you put it on, Mum?” he asks.
She nods, and he fumbles at the catch, then places it around her neck and does it up. She rises, looking down at where it rests on her breastbone, then comes over to me and slides her arms around me.
I hug her, looking over her shoulder at Max. I wink at him, and he does his best to wink back, making me smile.
After that, we go for a walk along the beach. Max throws sticks for Ghost to retrieve, and I hold Isla’s hand as we splash in the shallows. The rain has cleared from last night, and although it’s a little cooler than the day before, it’s still a beautiful day.
When we get back, we start making our Christmas lunch together.
There’s no room for a turkey, and none of us fancies a big fancy meal anyway.
Yesterday, we bought some salmon fillets as Isla said that Max likes them, and we cook them with herb butter in the combi oven, and microwave some baby potatoes and toss them in olive oil and sea salt to accompany them.
Max loves corn on the cob, so we cook three of them and smear them with butter, too.
It’s a delicious meal, perfect for the hot day, and we eat it sitting out on the small deck.
For dessert we have a shop-bought pavlova with fresh berries and cream, and soon we’re all stuffed full.
In the afternoon, we play a couple of board games that Max’s grandparents bought him, and then go for a swim once our lunch has gone down.
Later, none of us is that hungry, so we just have grilled cheese toasties, and we sit and eat them while we watch How to Train Your Dragon, which Max loves because dragons are just like dinosaurs in his eyes.
Soon, his eyelids are drooping, and Isla says it’s time for bed. He has a quick shower to wash the sand from his hair, and then she brings him out to me and urges him, “Go on.”
I put down my phone and smile. “What’s up?”
“Would you read my new book to me in bed?” he asks shyly.
“Of course,” I say, touched that he asked. “But only if Ghost can come, because he loves A Christmas Carol.”
So Max climbs into the bed and Ghost jumps up next to him, and while Isla tidies up in the living room, I sit on the chair next to him, holding the book so he can see the pictures.
“Why are they wearing funny clothes?” he asks.
“Because this story is set a few hundred years ago, in England, on the other side of the world. There, Christmas takes place in winter. And back then, most people didn’t have much money, and they had very hard lives.”
I begin reading, trying to do a few voices for the ghosts and Jacob Marley to stop him getting bored.
Max seems captivated, though, both by the tale and the pictures on each page.
It’s a condensed version for children, written in slightly simpler language, but it still manages to capture the magic of the original story.
Toward the end, I glance up to see Isla leaning against the doorpost with a smile. I finish the story, then close the book. “What do you think?” I ask Max.
“It was really good,” he says. “The last ghost was a bit scary. But I liked how Scrooge was nice at the end.”
“Me too. Do you know what a moral is?” He shakes his head. “It means a lesson that you learn from something. What do you think the moral of this story is?”
“Um… That you should help other people?”
“That’s right. It means that being kind and helping others is more important than being rich.”
“It’s like at the Ark, where everyone is trying to help the animals who’ve been hurt.”
“Exactly. See, you only needed to be visited by one Ghost to learn that.” He giggles, and I pat the dog and smile at him. “Goodnight.”
“’Night.”
I get up and leave Isla to kiss him, and go out into the living room. I pour us both a glass of wine, then take mine over to the window and look out at the ocean. The sun is setting, and tonight everything looks as if it’s coated with a thick layer of honey, a beautiful warm gold.
“Thank you for that.” Isla comes up behind me and slides her arms around me. “I appreciate you taking the time to read to him.”
“It was a pleasure.” I put my arm around her as she moves to my side. When I arrived this morning, I asked her if Rob had rung to wish Max Merry Christmas. She shook her head and didn’t elaborate, but I’m conscious that he hasn’t rung today. “Did Max ask after his dad?”
She shakes her head again and rests her cheek on my shoulder. “I feel a bit guilty now, that maybe I should have told Max to ring him. But I don’t think he would have wanted to anyway, and I was also worried that Rob was drunk.”
“In the end, it’s just one day. They can always talk tomorrow.”
It’s true, but I understand why it stings that, even though she told him not to come up, Rob didn’t bother to call.
She looks out at the view, then turns and buries her face in my neck.
“You make me feel so much better,” she whispers.
“It’s so easy, being with you. Rob was such a difficult guy.
I had to read between the lines all the time to figure out what he was thinking.
It was as if the air was full of smog when he was around.
But you’re crystal clear. I feel as if I can breathe when I’m with you. ”
“That’s a lovely thing to say, thank you.” I kiss the top of her head. I’m aware that she’s on the rebound, and she’s vulnerable right now. I don’t want to take advantage of that. But equally, we’re both lonely, and this feels so right. Why should either of us fight it?
She lifts her face, and I lower my lips to hers.
She accepts the kiss willingly, and opens her mouth to accept my tongue as I brush her lip.
Mmm… there’s nothing like an unrushed kiss, taking your time just to enjoy the sensation of touching and being touched, and showing someone else how much you like them.
She moves back, and her eyes sparkle with the light of the setting sun. “I’ll go get the duvet,” she whispers.
My heart leaps as she goes into her bedroom. I’d told myself not to expect sex. I was grateful for yesterday, and I was determined not to assume it would happen again today.
But she comes out with the duvet, checks on Max and gives me a thumbs up to show he’s already asleep.
Then we go over to the sofa, and we cover ourselves up, and before I can take a breath, she’s kissing me again.
Aaahhh… she wants me, and that’s the best Christmas present a guy could ever have.
To be desired… to be needed… it’s more of a turn-on than anything else.
I slide my arms around her and lean back, so this time she’s on top of me.
She stretches out along me, and we lie there like that for ages, kissing, stroking, and just enjoying being close.
I slide my hands down her back, then lift the hem of her tee and stroke up her ribs, enjoying her soft skin and the way she shivers at my touch.
She releases her hair from its clip, and it tumbles around her shoulders and falls like a curtain around me.
After a while, I unclip her bra, and she sits up and removes it, tossing it onto the floor before pulling the duvet over us and lying back on top of me. This time, when I slip my hands back up, I fill my palms with her breasts, and feel her give an answering shudder as I tease her nipples.
She rocks her hips, arousing herself on me, and it’s not long before she pushes herself up and says, “I’m taking off my shorts.”