Christmas Spirit by Annabelle Jacobs

Author:Annabelle Jacobs [Jacobs, Annabelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-21T16:00:00+00:00

The photos Gareth had sent me of The Red Lion really didn’t do it justice. He’d driven down and parked in the car park behind the pub. The streets throughout this part of the village were decorated with strings of lights in shop windows, and similar LED holly and bells to those back in Bristol adorned the lampposts, but it wasn’t until we approached the pub from the front that I got a good look at it.

“Wow.” I stopped and stared, feeling a little festive spirit creep into my bones. Even though the Christmas lights had been put up back home, up until this point, I’d felt decidedly unfestive. But whether it was the quaint country pub lit up with a beautiful array of fairy lights and a huge stunning wreath on the door, the Christmas tree standing proudly in front of it, or the sharp breeze coming off the sea, or maybe a combination of all three, I couldn’t pinpoint. But something made it feel more like winter here than back in Bristol.

For the first time this year, I got that familiar tingle of excitement that always happened around Christmas.

“Told you they went all out,” Gareth said, amusement clear in his tone. “Looks good though, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” I looked over at him. He had a beanie pulled over his ears, eyes bright and smile wide as he watched me. My stomach fluttered with the force of a hundred butterflies.

Oh dear.

Harley took that moment to nudge my leg and I glanced down to find him looking up at me, big brown eyes used to their full effect.

I needed to be careful, or I could get used to this.

All of it.

“Let’s go in. My toes are freezing.” My voice came out rougher than usual and I turned away quickly, hoping Gareth wouldn’t call me on it.

“Here, let me.” Gareth stepped around me to open the heavy wooden door of the pub.

Warmth and noise greeted us, and like one of those awkward moments in movies, the chatter seemed to come to an abrupt halt as virtually the whole pub stopped and turned to look our way.

Christ.

“Gareth, Dylan. Over here!” Kitty stood and waved from the corner of the pub, next to an empty table. Then she turned a withering stare on everyone else. “For god’s sake, you lot. Stop staring like that or you’ll send them right back out that door.” She gestured to a couple of tables where I noticed dominoes set out. “Go on, get back to your games.”

Like her word was law, the noise level rose again as everyone turned back to their games and conversations.

I could’ve kissed her.

“Thank fuck for Kitty,” Gareth muttered, and I wholeheartedly agreed.

Don’t get me wrong, I was pretty sure me and Gareth were still being watched by more than half the patrons, but at least they were attempting to be more subtle about it now.

And whether Kitty had worked her magic beforehand, I wasn’t sure, but the route to our table was surprisingly easy for me to navigate, even on crutches.

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