All I Want For Christmas by Willis Susan

Author:Willis, Susan [Willis, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Published: 2016-12-15T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Before Christmas Tom had submitted a letter to Take a Break magazine and on Monday morning, when he opened his email inbox, he read with incredulity a message from the editor announcing their intention to publish it within the month. The editor asked for a photograph to go with the star letter and said he was to expect a cheque for £75.

Tom bellowed loud enough for the entire street to hear, and jumped up and down on the spot. Flinging his arms in the air he laughed and shouted, ‘I’ve done it! I’ve only gone and bloody well done it!’

He heard Anne, who was in bed with flu, call from the bedroom and he ran in. She looked a sorry sight, with a streaming red nose and blotchy eyes. A large box of balm tissues sat on the quilt cover and she was propped up against three pillows.

‘What the hell’s going on?’ Anne grumped and blew her nose. She felt lousy for the third day in succession and hadn’t an ounce of energy to get up from the bed. Her mood wasn’t good, either. Usually she was fit and healthy and not used to feeling poorly so, as Tom had said yesterday, she didn’t make a very good patient.

He hurried over to her. ‘I’ve done it,’ he shouted. ‘I’m to be paid by a magazine for my ghostly letter. I’m actually going to get paid for the honour of seeing my name in print!’

Tom jumped on the bed next to her and clasped her hand tightly. With his other hand he waved the email in the air. ‘As soon as the money arrives I’m going to give it to you, Anne, so I can start to pay off the money for the course.’

Anne could feel her heart swell with pride and happiness for him and, although she was feeling wretched, she did her best to smile. ‘Oh, Tom. Well done, love,’ she muttered and then sneezed into a sodden tissue. ‘W…was it the story about my jewellery box?’

Tom sat cross-legged in front of her and grinned. ‘Yeah, I wrote the piece around us moving in here and how that night your jewellery box suddenly started to play the lullaby while we were asleep. And how spooked you were and wanted to move out.’

‘Hmm,’ Anne sighed, remembering the night and how scared she’d been. But wrapped in Tom’s strong arms over the next few nights she’d gradually calmed down and accepted his explanation that a draft of wind through the windows could have caused it.

She knew now that this reasoning was ridiculous. First, the windows were triple glazed, and second, there was no gust of wind strong enough to open the lid on the jewellery box. But, she mused, it was amazing what she could believe when she really wanted to. ‘Yes, it did take me a while to settle down in the house,’ she agreed, ‘but now I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.’

Tom hooted and let his imagination run away with him.

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