Page 32 of Every Christmas Eve
‘Oh my goodness, how adorable,’ I say, before pulling myself together. ‘Sorry, I – I beg your pardon. These are for you.’
The man does his best to juggle the small dog under one arm and the flowers in the other hand, while I do my best to focus on the job at hand.
‘For me?’ he asks. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure,’ I reply. ‘YouareDanny Sullivan? Gosh, sorry, I was so distracted by the dog I didn’t even think to check your name first. Beth’s husband? Danny?’
For the record I couldn’t see anything wrong with his dress sense – a suit which was a little formal, but then again, he was probably still in his work attire. Maybe he’d some weird fashion preferences on weekends.
‘I have a card to read out to you,’ I said, clearing my throat for my big moment.
‘Is this normal?’ he asks.
‘No, no, it’s not normal at all,’ I reply. ‘It’s not usually part of the service, but Beth and I agreed you deserved something a little bit extra, so here goes.I love the way you…’
He looks genuinely confused.
‘Thisisfrom Beth, right? Not you?’
‘Yes, yes, of course it’s from Beth,’ I reply. This isn’t going as well as I’d imagined. ‘It’s just a few words we put together to go along with the roses. It won’t take long.’
Remembering this telegram style of delivery was all my idea isn’t something I care to admit to him considering his reaction so far.
‘Great! It’s just I’m kind of letting all the heat out,’ he says, glancing around him. ‘Do you mind reading it in the hallway if I shut the front door?’
I look behind me, though I don’t know why. I make aguess that it’s about twenty-five minutes past five, so I should be safe enough to step inside knowing Beth can’t be far away, unless this is a plot to kidnap me.
‘Of course, thank you,’ I tell him. ‘OK, I’ll start again. Ahem.’
He is all ears at last, so I read out my and Beth’s attempt of salvaging their weekend ahead, and maybe their first Christmas too.
‘I love the way you share your food, even when I said I didn’t want any in the first place,’ I read aloud. He softens immediately. ‘I love the way you dance at weddings like no one’s watching, not that you’d care if they were because you are lost in your own carefree world. I love the way you always make others feel like they’re seen and heard, even strangers in your workplace or the little people that you teach in school. You make everyone feel special and unique. I love your generosity, your big heart and yes, even your big feet. Danny, let’s never mention that silly game again. I love how you love red roses and aren’t afraid to admit it, so I’ll keep sending them to you every birthday and Christmas we share. I’m sending them on this, our first Christmas, and I will do so on every single Christmas in future. I love you more than I love anyone else in the world, even Justin Timberlake and that’s saying something because he came first. I love you and Crumb, our little family. Now, what’s your Vinted password so I can take that lovely shirt off the market? Only joking. Keep being you. I don’t want to change a thing. Not even your ancient jeans that need to go in the bin. True love is forever, not just for Christmas. Beth.’
I’m very proud of that last line, which was all mine, andwhen I look up, Danny has his eyes closed. Maybe this hasn’t been a disaster after all? It seems he has been taking in every word as he holds their gorgeous puppy close to his face.
‘Are you OK?’ I ask.
‘Yes,’ he says quietly. ‘That was – that was a lot better than I expected. Thank you.’
I hear a car in the driveway, so I carefully set the card down on the hall table and go to walk towards the front door.
‘Don’t thank me, thank your wife,’ I say.
He calls me back. ‘Do you often do this type of thing?’ he asks me.
‘Sorry?’
‘What I mean to say is,’ he continues, ‘if I called your shop tomorrow to go over it, could you send Beth something similar in return to her workplace on Monday? I’d like to do that.’
I feel a tingle of excitement. This could be the start of something.
‘Yes, I can do that,’ I reply. My whole insides glow. ‘But you’re going to have to give me some steer on the content, because I know don’t know nearly enough about your lovely wife.’
‘I’ve lots of nice things to say about her.’
‘That’s a great start, then.’
Beth comes through the door in that very moment, just as I’ve slipped my business card his way.
