Every Day in December by Kitty Wilson

Author:Kitty Wilson [Wilson, Kitty]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008405410
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.

* * *

December Seventeenth.

Rory.

The rain is hitting hard and fast, and the city’s lights – of which there are bloody hundreds – are all blurry and jagging as it hurtles down in the dark evening sky. Little stingy spikes of rain jabbing at you, targeting every part, making everyone hurry as fast as they can to their next destination. Back in Australia, people will be firing up barbecues right now, with hand-held fans and suntan lotion crammed into their overstuffed beach bags.

I watch Belle come out of the shop, laughing with her colleagues as they pull their coats and their scarfs tighter, their hats down on their heads, and all saying goodnight as the manager turns the key in the lock before they turn and speed walk to safety.

‘Hey,’ I call, and her head bobs up. When she spots me her mouth turns upwards. The smile polite but genuine all the same.

‘Hello. I was just about to walk to yours.’

‘Here, get under the umbrella.’ I wave it towards her, opening my own head up to the sharp, cold drops. ‘You can’t walk in this, and besides, you know what a warren this city is. It made way more sense to pick you up.’

She looks tired, and I’m not surprised. I remember back to the start of this month – hard to believe it was only a couple of weeks ago – when I thought that Belle had grown up to be an underachieving stoner. Now I know she is one of the hardest workers I have ever known. She has dark circles under her eyes and even the brightness of her smile is not enough to fool me now I know her. Running three jobs this week would be enough to kill anyone; it’s a miracle she’s still standing.

She ducks under the umbrella and sends me a little smile of gratitude and for a second, I wish we were walking home, the two of us in this small space protecting us from the elements as they attack, just me and her as I lead her to safety. God knows what that says about me. Ever needing to be the bloody hero. Instead I walk her around to the passenger side door, and open it for her.

Whilst the work ethic is all her own, I feel a little bit responsible for the crazy effort she is demonstrating at the moment. If Jamal had come through then she’d be doing the school stuff, working with app developers, and wouldn’t have to be killing herself to make the rent. I still haven’t got to the bottom of what had happened but I have scheduled in time to catch up with him over Christmas when he’ll be back in the city again for a few days.

‘I’m not used to this,’ she says.

‘What? Being treated like a human being?’

‘Nah, I’m fairly sure human beings just have to get on with stuff, you know, get wet in the rain, open their own car doors.

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