Chapter 33 #3
‘No, no,’ Grandad George insisted. ‘You go and find that fella of yours. We’ll no doubt see you in a while.’
I looked at my father.
‘You heard the man. Go on.’
I didn’t have to look for Erik because he was already walking towards the house.
Wearing a dark jacket and with a scarf wrapped around his neck he looked taller and broader than ever, and I was pleased that he was happy to be out among people and not worrying about any press photos that might materialise as a result.
‘Are you warm enough?’ he asked me. ‘It’s going to be chilly tonight.’
‘Plenty,’ I said and pulled him towards me for a kiss.
I could feel the comforting weight of the pendant against my skin as he held me close. The rose quartz had invited so much love into my life already.
‘That’s a shame,’ Erik tutted. ‘Because I was looking forward to warming you up again later.’
‘I’ll lose a layer before we go home. That way there’ll be some work for you to do.’
‘Hey, you two,’ Freya said as she and Finn bounded up. ‘Have you seen Harold? Beth said she dropped him here.’
‘He’s inside,’ I said with a nod back to the house. ‘They’ll be out in a minute.’
‘Good,’ Finn said, ‘because I’m starving and I want to treat Harold to one of those waffles he loved last year.’
Along with the chocolate and cream covered waffles, there were chestnuts and candied almonds, raclette and huge sausages from a local butcher served in Blossom’s baguettes, with Poppy’s pickles and chutney on the side.
‘Oh my god,’ I groaned as I later bit into a pickle covered sausage. ‘This is divine.’
‘So’s mine,’ Erik said after he’d swallowed a huge mouthful. ‘Poppy has got a stand here tonight. A last-minute addition. I’m going to stock up on her stuff. Kate was saying earlier that once it’s gone it’s gone and we don’t want to miss out.’
‘In that case, I’ll get some, too,’ I said and we went to look for Poppy’s stand.
‘Going forward, I’m going to have to think about what I serve up with these pickles,’ Erik said, once we’d each filled a bag. ‘I need to keep trim.’
‘You look perfect to me,’ I said as I looked him up and down.
‘Thanks,’ he grinned, ‘I need look the part.’
‘Who do you need to look the part for?’
‘Anyone who takes my exercise classes.’
I stopped walking and he halted, too.
‘What exercise classes?’
‘I’m going to do some training next year to teach seated aerobics and Pilates in care homes,’ he told me. ‘I didn’t want to drop the fitness training completely and with the knee situation, I thought this would be ideal.’
‘That’s brilliant!’ I said and put my bag down to give him a hug. ‘But why am I only hearing about it now?’
‘Because Beth has only just confirmed that I can work at Cavell Care,’ he explained.
‘I didn’t want to mention it in case it didn’t pan out, and I had to look for somewhere else.
The guy offering the training I want to take likes to see the classes in action, so I needed somewhere where he can assess me while I’m getting the hang of it.
Do you really think it’s a brilliant idea? ’
‘I think it’s amazing!’ I hugged him again. ‘Mabel has already got some leg warmers, so I bet she’ll be the first to sign up.’
Erik was delighted with my response. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘let’s take these bags to your place.’
Once we’d dropped them off, we realised the music had been turned down and that the crowd were looking towards the tree in the middle of the green.
I’d heard more than one person say how much they wished they lived in Nightingale Square and how it was a shame that the houses rarely came up for sale.
I felt even luckier to be there when I heard that.
‘Okay everyone,’ Luke said, standing on a small platform, ‘it’s time to turn the lights on! Are you ready?’
‘Yes!’ the crowd enthusiastically responded, Erik and I included.
‘Apparently not,’ Luke joked and scratched his head. ‘I said… are you ready?’
‘Yes!’ everyone bawled even louder.
‘That’s more like it!’ he laughed. ‘Right, here we go then! Ten, nine, eight…’
We all joined in and the moment we shouted ‘one’ the Christmas tree, the railings, in fact the whole of the square was lit up and everyone cheered as the music was turned up again and the speakers belted out the classic festive favourite Wizzard was famous for.
‘Do you wish it could be Christmas every day?’ Erik asked me.
I took a moment to look around. I could see Hugh and Rafe dancing together with Grandad George and the others and Beth and Eli laughing and watching on.
I could also see Freya and Finn, Mark and Neil and Lisa, John and their brood, too.
Kate was on the dais hugging Luke, and Carole and Graham were watching from chairs outside their front gate.
‘I don’t have to wish,’ I said, snuggling closer to Erik and relaxing into his embrace as I looked up at him, ‘because since I’ve fallen for you, that’s exactly what it’s felt like.’
We sealed the moment with the longest kiss, both of us excited to step into the future that our move to Nightingale Square had bestowed upon us and knowing that, best of all, we were doing it together.