Christmas for Commitmentphobes by Rhoda Baxter

Author:Rhoda Baxter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: christmas, holiday, novella, lgbtq
Publisher: Rhoda Baxter
Published: 2019-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

The pub was bustling by the time Lara came back downstairs that evening, wearing a borrowed Christmas jumper that made her look like a Christmas pudding. There were already a number of people there, mostly clustered around the bar or the pool table. The lights that Tilly had so artfully arranged, twinkled. With the snow coming down gently in the night outside, it felt like they were in a cocoon of light and warmth.

Later in the night, there would be a disco at the very small dance floor at one end of the pub, but it hadn’t been switched on yet and with Christmas music playing, the pub looked timeless, as though it had been like this at Christmas time every year since it was built. She recognised a few of the faces already, because so many of them had dropped in to do various things in preparation for the party. This may be the pub Christmas event, but the whole village was involved in it. She waved to the girl from the bakery, who was there with a tall blonde young man and waved back. Lara spotted her friends standing around a high table. She stopped at the bar and got herself a glass of wine before she made her way towards them. As she got near, Tilly noticed her and waved. Vinnie and Tracey too, looked happy to see her. Her friends. She had known them for only twenty four hours, but she felt part of the small team. Tilly was... well, Tilly knew more about her than a lot of the people she worked with and saw every day. It was odd to know that. Odder still that she felt okay with it.

“We’re trying to guess the weight of the Christmas pudding,” Tilly said, pointing to the enormous pudding in a box, sitting on a table by the bar. “Tracey knows, but she’s not telling.”

“It would be unfair,” said Tracey. “What would you do with it, if you won?”

“Eat it, obviously,” said Vinnie. “Over several days.”

Lara laughed and settled in next to Tilly to peer over her shoulder. Brother and sister returned to their earnest discussion.

“Is it always like this at Christmas?” Lara asked Tracey, partly just to make conversation.

Tracey smiled. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s very ... Trewton.” They both looked round at the cosy space that was rapidly filling up.

“It’s certainly a bit different to the parties in London, right?” said Tracey. “I wasn’t really comfortable with them. Too bright, too many people. I felt always ‘on’, if you know what I mean.”

Lara knew exactly what she meant. All the parties she normally went to were also networking opportunities. She was constantly on the lookout for potential new customers or allies. It was impossible to relax. “I guess you’re never off duty when you’re running a start-up.”

Tracey nodded. “I think,” she said, thoughtfully. “That we, especially us women in tech and other male dominated fields, we have to fight so hard for every inch of ground we gain, that sometimes it’s hard to stop fighting.

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