Chapter 21 JOHN #2
‘Admittedly, that would be pretty hilarious. But wait, what do the Hs stand for?’ Mia asks. ‘John Hackett, of course, but what’s your middle name?’
‘John Horatio Hackett,’ John responds with a touch of embarrassment.
‘Horatio was my great-grandfather’s name, and I’ve always liked sharing that connection with my family history.
But it definitely earned me more than my fair share of bullying when I was younger.
Horatio Mustachio is what all the girls called me, which frankly was ridiculous, because I definitely didn’t have any facial hair at eight years old. ’
‘That’s a super cool name,’ Mia assures him. ‘Very distinguished.’
‘Thanks. But what about your other presents? Aunt Gertie gave you a scarf. What else did you get?’
‘Mm, books from Dad. A rolling pin from Mum. Some nice coffee to take back home from Charlie. And Molly, supposedly? Lovely gifts all round.’
‘And from Sam? What did he give you?’
Mia frowns. ‘Nothing. Why?’
John is surprised to hear this. Surely Sam didn’t get cold feet. John’s been trying to give the family space to celebrate without him looking on, but maybe this warrants a trip up to the big house to investigate the status of that present he saw Sam wrapping for Mia.
‘I wasn’t expecting to get anything from him. It’s not like I got him a gift. I didn’t know he was going to be here! Besides, the man can’t even answer a text like a gentleman would. I’d be shocked to find out he has a gift for me.’
‘Wait, what do you mean, he can’t answer texts? When did you text him?’
‘Last night,’ Mia admits dejectedly. ‘After all that talk from you about giving him another chance, I decided to invite him down to the cottage to see me. We could have talked, or … you know … done other things. But he didn’t come. Didn’t even read the text.’
John raises his eyebrows, touched that Mia listened to him. ‘Well, the message probably never went through! You’ve mentioned time and again there’s no signal down here.’
Mia shakes her head. ‘No, I sent it before I came down from the big house. It was definitely delivered. Sam just didn’t bother to respond. Just swiped it away, unread.’
Oh, how hurtful. For Mia to take a little step towards vulnerability, and be met with this. ‘I can go up with you to the big house. Do some ghostly eavesdropping and see if I can figure out what happened.’
Mia sniffs and waves a hand. ‘It’s fine. I’d rather just drop it. It’s too much trouble to unearth all of this again.’
John tilts his head, studying her. ‘You know, I’m starting to think you were really spot on the other day.
When you said how similar you and I are?
We’d both prefer to just suffer alone than have the hard emotional conversations.
We were both so sure of our decision to cut the other person off – and yet it has caused us both so much anguish.
’ John leans back in his chair, ignoring the telltale creak of stressed wood.
‘Imagine what might have happened if I’d been man enough to talk to Alastair.
There are so many possibilities, and I missed out on them all.
Just like you’re missing out on what could be between you and Sam.
I think you need to actually talk to Sam and hear him out.
Ask him about the text, and about the whole debacle years ago. ’
‘Easy for you to say,’ Mia pouts. ‘You don’t have to have any hard conversations.’
John snorts. ‘Yeah, I’ve just been stuck in limbo for thirty years instead. It’s been a real picnic.’
This makes Mia laugh. ‘You may have a point there.’ She lets out a long sigh. ‘Fine. I’ll find Sam and see how he withstands interrogation. I have to get back up there anyway. I need to start prepping lunch; I’ve got mounds of vegetables to chop before Charlie gets back.’
John groans. ‘Stop. Please stop. I can’t stomach hearing another word about food I can’t taste.’
‘Sorry. Would it make you feel better if I promise to burn everything a little?’ Mia offers.
‘Ack! No! Don’t ruin them on my account!’
‘Fine. No burnt Christmas lunch. You know, you’re very opinionated for someone who prefers not to even open a door for himself.
’ Mia stands and forces her feet back into the cute boots.
‘Ouch. Ouch! OK, it’s only a few steps up to the house.
I will survive. And John, I hope, if you ever get to cross over to the afterlife, it’s filled with creamy mac ’n’ cheese, perfectly seasoned venison stew and luscious panna cotta.
You deserve it after all this suffering through Aunt Gertie’s biscuits. ’
John chuckles. ‘Thanks, Mia. I’ll see you later. Have a nice time with your family.’
‘Are you not coming up now?’
He shakes his head. ‘Your family deserves their privacy today. Although you’ll have to let me know if our suspicions about Molly are real.’
Mia giggles as she gathers up her fluffy slippers from the table.
She waves goodbye over her shoulder and heads out into the snow, pulling the door shut behind her.
John moves to the window to make sure she returns safely to the big house, and then sits back down in the wingback.
If he’s not mistaken, Mia was listening when he urged her to hear Sam out.
And Sam seems like a decent chap – hopefully he has a solid explanation for what happened, or at the very least a sincere apology.
John’s certain he hasn’t been misreading the chemistry between those two.
He barely wants to let himself think about it, but he still can’t shake the feeling that if Mia can find her true love at last, then maybe, just maybe, he’ll finally be able to pass over.
A thrill of excitement shivers through John. It’s immediately followed by a touch of melancholy. Passing over also means no more chats with Mia. He’ll miss that, for sure. She’s a singular girl, and he’s enjoyed every minute he’s had with her this year.