Christmas with Billy and Me: A Short Story by Giovanna Fletcher

Author:Giovanna Fletcher
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Holiday, Short Stories, Christmas, Chick Lit
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2014-10-17T23:00:00+00:00

5.

The following Saturday night Colin arrives at the house with Aaron and Charlotte, clearly having driven to the nearest Hobbycraft before heading over. They were each carrying a plastic bag of creative fun, filled with pencils, felt-tips, glitter, tissue paper, sequins, tinselly bits and pieces, as well as dried rose petals, little paper birds and twigs to go along with the theme. Colin blushes as he spots me looking down at the bags.

‘Charlotte wouldn’t leave until we had all the right tools …’ he shrugs.

I can’t help but laugh as I look at Charlotte and see a gleeful look on her face at getting her own way.

‘It was all so pretty,’ she smiles with a shrug as Aaron silently takes the bag from her and carries it himself – unburdening his little sister from the heavy load and leaving her with just her tattered Minnie Mouse.

Colin and Aaron walk past me to join Mum and Billy in the living room (they’re already busy sticking bits and pieces together), but Charlotte holds back and lingers – her big brown eyes looking up at me imploringly.

‘You OK?’ I ask, twiddling one of the long brown plaits that hang in front of each of her shoulders.

She nods, sheepishly.

‘You sure?’ It’s not like her to be shy around me – maybe in the beginning she was, but not anymore.

‘Am I allowed to make an angel to go on top of your Christmas tree?’ she asks quietly.

‘Of course!’ I beam, cupping her face in my hands and giving her a hug as she giggles.

Happy with my answer, she proceeds into the room of chaos – the momentary meekness behind her.

We’d decided a night in front of the TV watching Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor with an Indian takeaway would be the perfect conditions for working on our secret project that evening – we were quite excited to get cracking and barely spoke as we silently went about our individual tasks.

Charlotte took the most care over her angel. She is after perfection from her masterpiece, something I admire in someone so young. I watched as she delicately glued sequins and beads onto the cardboard figure Colin had assembled, her tongue sticking out in concentration as she did so.

And, two hours after starting on her creation, she presents me with the finished piece – sitting down next to me and placing her head on my shoulder as I inspect her work.

‘It’s gorgeous, Charlotte,’ I say, leaning my head over to one side so that it touches hers.

‘Do you think so?’ she asks, concern in her voice – unsure of her own success or perhaps longing to be praised some more.

‘Definitely. I’ve never seen an angel as pretty as this one.’

‘Can we give her a name?’ she asks, stroking the feathers she’d patiently stuck on to her angel’s wings.

‘Yes, why not. What would you like to call her?’

‘Pauline …’ she almost whispers, not taking her eyes away from the angel in my hands.

It wasn’t what I was expecting.

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