Chapter Ten Alex #2
As a general rule, I try not to bother Roland when he’s on leave. He’s spookily efficient at his job on a day-to-day basis and I know, better than anyone else, how much he deserves a true break. But this is an emergency.
Noelle is, quite literally, freezing to death here.
And so am I. Kind of.
A particularly loud gust of wind slams against my home and I can feel the cold seeping in with each passing second.
I glance back at my phone. Still no response from Roland.
I suppose I can’t blame him. It is the early evening in Australia, and I imagine he’s enjoying quality time with his boyfriend’s family.
The last thing he should be doing is looking at his work phone right now. A twinge of guilt pricks at me.
ALEX
Sorry. Ignore.
Reluctantly, once I’m sure I’ve exhausted every avenue the internet has available to me, and I haven’t missed something ridiculously simple, I pull up my chat history with Luca.
ALEX
Any idea how to fix a heater from this brand?
IMAGE SENT
Luca’s response, as always, comes in almost immediately. I swear, the man is glued to his phone.
LUCA
Not a clue. Why?
ALEX
Why do you think?
LUCA
Fair point. Have you checked the manual? Googled?
Or even tried Reddit?
ALEX
Yes. Yes. Yes. All three have been equally unhelpful.
LUCA
Got nothing for you then, man.
Sorry.
I roll my eyes and move to stuff my phone back into my pocket, but then it buzzes again with another message from Luca.
LUCA
You good, though?
Storm’s hitting pretty hard. Glad we all got out after the dinner when we did.
ALEX
Not everyone.
LUCA
Huh?
Don’t tell me… you’ve been snowed-in with Wilbur?
Wilbur actually might be an improvement right now. I can’t stand the man, but at least I wouldn’t be in danger of cuddling him. Besides, I’d happily let Wilbur freeze to death in my guest room.
LUCA
No. Can’t be Wilbur.
One of you would be dead by now.
It’s not Noelle, is it?
I don’t respond. It’s best not to engage Luca sometimes. Though, that hasn’t stopped him yet.
LUCA
It is!! She’s the only person from that night – excluding yours truly – you wouldn’t have thrown out into the blizzard by now.
ALEX
I would most certainly leave you out to freeze.
LUCA
Thank you for confirming it is Noelle.
Damn it.
LUCA
Poor girl.
Hope this storm breaks so she can have a real Christmas.
ALEX
A real Christmas?
December 25th doesn’t cease to exist because of the weather you know?
The day will still happen no matter where she is.
LUCA
As I said: Poor girl.
A few more messages come through from Luca, but I stuff my phone back into my pocket with a scowl and steadfastly refuse to open any of them. Everything just keeps on coming back to Christmas, and the infuriating obsession people have with it.
I’m tired of it.
My mood is, admittedly, dour as I return to my room where Noelle is still cocooned in the warmth of the bed. The temptation to dive back under the sheets with her hits me like a brick as soon as I step into the room. But, as I approach, she glances up and her features twist into a frown.
‘No luck?’
Should I be impressed at how easily she can read me?
I shake my head and drop down onto the edge of the bed. ‘No idea what’s wrong with it. It’s definitely on, but it’s not sending any heat our way.’
I brace myself for a joke or some light taunting, but it doesn’t come. Instead, Noelle bites her lip and I can almost see the cogs turning behind her eyes as she tries to come up with a solution.
‘I could check the loft,’ I say with a half-hearted shrug. ‘I may have a portable heater or two up there.’
‘What’s the likelihood of that?’ she asks.
‘Not high,’ I admit. It’s not like I’ve ever had an issue with the central heating before. ‘But if I do have one, that’s where it’ll be.’
Noelle slumps against the headboard. ‘It’ll also be really cold up there.
And if you open it up and that gets into the rest of the house…
’ She trails off and I nod. She’s right.
The loft will be an icebox right now, and we can’t risk letting out the little warmth we do currently have by rummaging around up there.
Damn it.
‘What about leaving?’ I suggest.
Noelle laughs. ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to do, in case you hadn’t noticed.’
I shake my head. ‘Your car might be a piece of junk—’
‘Hey!’ Noelle squawks and tosses a pillow in my direction. ‘She is not a piece of junk!’
I nod towards the window where the storm continues to rage on. ‘Right now, she might as well be. But presumably my car is fine. We could try our luck at a hotel? I know there’s one about a twenty-minute drive from here.’
Noelle bites her bottom lip, clearly considering the offer. After a beat or two, she shakes her head. ‘What if they’re closed or full? It is Christmas, after all.’
‘It’s December 23rd,’ I mutter.
Noelle stubbornly ignores me. ‘It’s too dangerous out there to risk it only to get turned back.
Eve will never forgive me if I freeze to death on the side of the road.
’ She fumbles around for her phone, taps something onto it, and then turns the screen so I can see it.
‘See? We’re still in a Red Alert and they’re recommending we stay put. ’
I exhale a deep breath. ‘Back to the drawing board it is.’
I don’t like this. I don’t like not feeling in control of something that should be easily controllable.
‘Oh!’ Noelle suddenly sits upright and claps her hands together. ‘We should be in the kitchen!’
‘The kitchen?’
She nods enthusiastically, eyes brightening with each passing second. ‘Your oven… You’ve got an Aga which is always on. We can hang out in the kitchen during the day to keep warm, and at night…’ She trails off and suddenly looks bashful.
‘We can cuddle?’ It’s a genuine question but I think she misinterprets the tone of voice for something else entirely because she visibly bristles.
‘I get that it’s not ideal,’ she says stiffly. ‘But it’s better than freezing in our rooms.’
I quickly hold up my hands in surrender, not wanting to give her the wrong impression. The idea of spending another night with her in my arms is anything but something I’m not looking forward to. ‘No, no, it’s a great idea. It’s not like I’ve got anything better. The Aga it is.’
Relief washes over her features, and she offers me a small smile that, thankfully, reaches her eyes. ‘Great.’
We both get up from the bed, the chill in the room palpable as our feet touch the floor again.
I notice she’s wearing a pair of my socks now, and I can’t quite account for the warmth in my chest. Noelle wraps the duvet tighter around herself, and I grab an extra blanket from the wardrobe before we make our way to the kitchen.
The moment we step into the kitchen, I can see Noelle visibly relax.
This is her domain, after all. She lets out a contented sigh as she goes over to inspect the Aga.
I watch as she expertly adjusts the dials and knobs – ones I haven’t so much as glanced at since the day I hired her – getting the temperature just right.
It’s fascinating to see her in her element, taking charge with such ease.
I could watch her all day.
As the kitchen fills with warmth, I can’t help but admire how Noelle’s face softens in the cool light. Her eyes are sparkling with a mixture of determination and relief, and there’s a fire in her that I haven’t seen in a while.
She turns to me with a grin. ‘There we go. That’ll heat up nicely as long as we keep the door closed.’
I return the smile, feeling a warmth that has nothing to do with the Aga blooming in my chest.
I’m not a religious man, but I say a silent prayer of thanks to the owners of this home who installed, and left, the Aga before I moved in.
I’d been half-heartedly considering replacing it with something more my style when I bought the property, but Roland had been aghast at the suggestion and ultimately convinced me to keep it.
The warmth of the Aga has become a silent companion in the kitchen, its steady hum a backdrop to the clattering of keys on my laptop.
I’ve commandeered one end of the table, my laptop open in front of me with a seemingly endless stream of spreadsheets up on the screen.
I’d rather be in my office, with both of my large screens, but this will have to do.
After showering and getting dressed in another pair of my sweats and a hoodie, Noelle comes back downstairs into the kitchen and spends most of the day peering through my cupboards and taking notes on her phone.
‘Might as well get started on restock,’ she said with a shrug when I asked her what she was doing. ‘Nothing else to do.’
And that’s how we spend our day. Noelle methodically going through my groceries, taking notes on her phone, and writing down recipe ideas as they come to mind.
And me, hunched over my laptop, trying to make sense of the numbers swirling on my screen.
It’s strange how fast the time passes and how normal it feels to have Noelle in such close proximity while I work.
‘You look like you’re about to put a fist through your screen.’
Her voice cuts through the click-clack of my dismal dance with numbers. I look up, finding her leaning against the counter, wooden spoon in hand, her expressive eyes fixed on me with what I think is genuine curiosity.
They’re the first few words we’ve shared in at least an hour.
‘I just might.’
She gives me a small smile and tilts her head. ‘Trouble in tech paradise?’