A Merry Aussie Christmas by Stefanie London

Author:Stefanie London [London, Stefanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stefanie London

9

Jasper sat on a bench outside the first aid tent, his fake beard pulled down away from his face and hat crumbled into a ball beside him. His arm pulsed like he’d been stung by a thousand bees. Okay, maybe not a thousand. Probably more like six. Seven, tops. But still, it hurt. The nurse had cleaned up the skin, getting out all the little bits of dirt, and swiped the area with Betadine.

If that wasn’t the smell of his childhood, he didn’t know what was. Skinned knees and scraped elbows and that one time he got into a fight with a rosebush in his neighbour’s yard. His mum was always patching him up.

The memory struck him suddenly, powerfully, and his chest contracted so hard it was like someone was squeezing his heart in their fist. He missed her so much. Even before she’d gotten sick, they’d Skyped every week. She’d show him the progress on her garden, the small veggie patch out back, and that one apple tree that was always getting infested with bugs. The garden used to be her happy place. Now it was up to Jasper to keep it alive.

Big Ears whined from the floor, tethered to the table since he’d officially lost free-range privileges. The dog had been a spontaneous addition to his life five years ago, when Jasper went through a breakup. People never seemed to get him, so he’d decided that a dog might suit him better. He’d found Big Ears at a local shelter and the poor thing had looked so forlorn, staring at him balefully with those downturned eyes and droopy ears.

They’d been inseparable ever since.

“Glad to see you have that charming monster tied up,” Evie said as she walked toward the tent. She had a sausage in bread in each hand, one drizzled with mustard and the other with tomato sauce. She’d disappeared for a while after the parade incident and Jasper hadn’t been sure he’d see her again. “Here, I thought you might be hungry.”

“Thanks. I’m starving, actually.”

“I wasn’t sure which flavour you preferred, so I got one of each.”

The gesture was a balm to his soul. He’d heard what people were saying about him before—making parallels to the memorial incident—so having Evie do something kind meant a lot. “I’ll take the mustard.”

He knew for a fact that Evie didn’t like mustard—she never had. She probably would have eaten it, though, if he’d chosen the one with tomato sauce. But he wasn’t about to let that happen. She plopped down on the bench beside him and handed over one of the sausages. They ate in silence, filling their bellies and watching the hustle and bustle of the fete.

“Am I the first Santa to get fired on the job?” he asked eventually, trying to make it sound like he was joking even though he wasn’t.

“Of course not. It wasn’t your fault.” She shook her head. “Don’t worry about Amelia. She’s…”

“Part of your family and therefore thinks I’m trouble.” He popped the last bit of the sausage into his mouth and chewed.

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