Epilogue
The switching-on of the Little Hathering Christmas lights was not a sight to be missed. People from all the surrounding towns and villages flocked to the busy high street of Little Hathering for the lantern parade, and later for the grand switching-on of the lights, which began with the village Christmas tree and spread all the way down the street.
It was one of Dina’s favorite nights of the year. The spiced scent of mulled wine and mince pies in the air, the slightly out-of-tune carol singers, and the glee of the small children showing off the lanterns they’d made at school. England was so dark in the winter; they needed these twinkling lights to keep them from falling into the gloom of the colder months and shorter days. All around her, people walked up and down the high street, stopping at the bakery to buy freshly baked gingerbread or cheering as they won a teddy bear at the “hook a goldfish” stand.
But Dina was a woman on a mission. In each hand she was precariously carrying two paper cups of hot chocolate from Mrs.Bailey’s booth. It was the best in town—made from the good stuff: real shavings of dark chocolate with generous helpings of sugar.
She’d once recommended to Mrs. Bailey that she could try adding a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of orange oil to her festive hot chocolate blend, and now Dina was given free hot chocolates whenever Mrs. Bailey saw her, as a thank-you for the bump in business she’d had.
Dina didn’t really think she had done very much at all to be meriting free hot chocolates for life, but she also wasn’t about to complain about free hot chocolates for life either.
As she narrowly missed tipping a cup all over a child waving a sparkler in her face, Dina was relieved she’d cast a balancing spell on herself before she’d grabbed the cups. Scott had offered to help, but she’d told him to stay put, as he was securing them a spot near the large Christmas tree.
Her phone pinged in her pocket, and she wondered if that was Immy and Eric telling her that they’d arrived. Precariously pulling out her phone and resting the hot chocolates on a bench, she saw a message from Rosemary in the group chat with Immy and Dina.
Exciting news! They confirmed the start date to shoot the movie—I’ll be in London soon!
Dina replied with as many excited-face emojis as she could with one spare finger. In the year since Immy and Eric’s wedding, Rosemary had been over to visit a couple of times, but now with filming she’d be back in the UK for months. Dina couldn’t wait to see her friend.
She did her best to hurry back, since she knew Immy and Eric wouldn’t stay too late once they arrived: Immy was due in six weeks and no amount of spells could help her stay on her feet for too long. But then again, that wasn’t so surprising considering she was carrying twins.
Dina smiled as she recalled when Eric and Immy had told them. She had felt overjoyed for them and knew instantly that she was going to be happy being the fun, eccentric aunt. Having children wasn’t something either she or Scott wanted for themselves, though lately they’d been considering adopting a rescue dog. Of course, that all depended on whether Her Royal Highness Heebie was willing to share her love and affection, though she was growing more mellow in her old age.
Dina walked across the high street into the village square, the still-unlit Christmas tree standing more than nine feet tall at its center. She found Scott where she’d left him, now chatting with Eric and a very round Immy. Dina didn’t think she’d ever get used to the feeling of seeing Scott smile at her. It was like her heart grew a little larger each time. The last year had been the best one of her life, and she couldn’t wait for all the years to come.
“Four hot chocolates!” she announced, handing them around.
“I can’t believe this is our last child-free lights night,” Immy said, pulling Dina into a hug. “Do you think it’ll be weird?”
“Not weird—just a good kind of different maybe.”
“My kids are going to make the best fucking lanterns this village has ever seen though,” Immy said.
“And they’ll have the most competitive mother in the village too, by the sounds of it.” Dina grinned, sipping her hot chocolate. Scott’s arms wound around her and she rested her head against his chest, enjoying the warmth radiating from inside his coat.
“I have a surprise for you,” he whispered in her ear, quiet enough that no one else would be able to hear.
“Oh yeah?” she said knowingly. She’d seen the box earlier that evening, as she strongly suspected Scott had intended herto.
He knew she wasn’t a fan of big shocks or surprises, so that was his way of her finding out on her own terms. Inside the box was a ring—aperfect blue sapphire at its heart. She would have recognized it anywhere because it was her mother’s.
“All right, everyone, let’s count down from three!” the mayor of Little Hathering announced. The whole crowd chanted and the lights flicked on. A warm, colorful glow zipped up the tree, illuminating the square in buttery light. Dina heard the awed intakes of breath all around her and felt the joy of their wonder seeping into the air like magic.
“Would you rather have the surprise now or later?” Scott whispered, his beard grazing her ear, sending a ripple of anticipation down her spine.
“Later, when it’s just us,” she said, and she kissed him without a care in the world.