Christmas in Miracle Valley: A Romantic Comedy by A.J. Marchant

Author:A.J. Marchant [Marchant, A.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

26

STEPPING INSIDE THE theatre was an instant relief. Cool air and the dim light of windows long in need of cleaning. It might have been over a decade since Belle had set foot in the theatre, but she still knew it like the back of her hand. She went straight to a couch, her favourite as a kid, she explained, in the perfect spot. Not too far from the stage, but not too close, with no visual obstructions. As they took the dust cover off, she told June about how she used to stretch out on it between her parents on movies nights. How they would have their arms along the back of the couch, holding hands in the middle, and that it was where she spent countless weekday afternoons and weekend mornings, doing homework or reading, while her mum ran play rehearsals or dance classes.

Dust cover off and folded, June could see why Belle loved the couch so much. The colour of the generous cushions a rich vibrant forest green, a thick corduroy with a pale oak frame, minimal and petite. Best of all, the armrests were the perfect height and the back was at just the right leaning angle. As comfy as promised after a morning up and down a ladder.

They sat at either end, cross-legged and facing each other, and laid out the contents of the basket on a red and white cloth between them. It was all either locally produced, home-grown or handmade. A creamy goat’s cheese. A bitey vintage cheddar. A jar of honey with a hexagon of honeycomb glistening in the middle. Sourdough bread, the proper stuff. Sun-dried capsicum. Cured meats. Wafer-thin crackers. A red-and-green themed fruit salad of strawberries, grapes, whole cherry guavas that tasted like apples and pears with a lemon-lime twist.

And, of course, Prue and Nina’s gingerbread cookies. It was hard not to be a little hesitant at the first bite, half expecting the taste of garlic or some other surprise. But their crunchy chews came with big grins and a rushing sugar high from the heavy-handed icing.

As they ate a piece of this or a bite of that, they talked. Or Belle talked, mostly, but June was all too happy and content to hear stories about Belle’s childhood, to see the world through her eyes. The giants in the forest—mountain-tall boulders with shadowy surfaces that scripted noses and mouths and eyes in the rock. The first time she took apart and rebuilt a go-kart engine all by herself, though looking back, she realised her dad had helped in his own secret way. Learning to swim in the rivers and creeks in the national park, slicing through clear, bubbling water with fish darting away beneath her and rocks that shone underwater. Birthday parties. School parties. Breakfast parties. Christmas parties. Belle’s eyes had lit up as she added that last one to the list, like she knew it would be the one June would enjoy hearing about the most.

‘They were big. Like the whole town big.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.