‘We’ll grab something in a minute.’ She turned to Jamie for confirmation.
He nodded. ‘Burger sounds great.’
Benny went back to his group of friends, and Alice continued to watch Will sing, or mime, she couldn’t tell.
Jamie nudged her elbow. ‘I’ll just grab us some food now. Won’t be a sec.’
‘All right.’ She smiled his way, then stopped when Beth plopped herself into Jamie’s seat, grinning. ‘What?’
‘You two.’
‘What about us?’
‘Are you a couple now?’
Alice shook her head. ‘No.’
Beth raised her brow. ‘Looks that way.’
‘Oh, we’re just hanging out.’
Lottie nodded. ‘Best friends since childhood. Never could stay too far from each other for long.’
Alice snorted as she laughed. ‘Slight exaggeration.’
Lottie scoffed. ‘Please, you two always looked like a couple.’
Beth smiled. ‘As long as you’re happy, Alice. That’s all that matters.’
‘I am. Thank you, Beth.’
The Berry Buoys finished their last song, and everyone clapped and cheered, many popping money into their buckets.
Alice got on with her Christmas wreath, smiling widely when Jamie returned with burger and chips for them. She asked Lottie to keep their wreath to one side, then went for a walk with Jamie to eat their dinner.
‘I’ve never had a snow burger before,’ he said, grinning at the flakes falling on his food.
Alice had something else on her mind. ‘Hey, Jamie, has anyone ever asked you if I’m your girlfriend?’
He snaffled a chip as he nodded. ‘Loads of times. Why?’
‘Beth thought we were together, so it just made me wonder.’
‘Did it bother you?’
She shook her head. ‘No. But what if you wanted to have a girlfriend to go with your new life? Me hanging around won’t make you look available.’
He stopped chewing and stared at her. ‘I’m not looking for a girlfriend, and as far as I’m concerned, you and me, we’re like family. We are what we are, and I’m not about to change that. I don’t need anything else in my life anyway.’
It warmed her to hear him calling her his family, and they shared a look, an understanding of something only they knew, then went back to eating before heading to the Christmas tree as the lighting ceremony was about to begin.
Alice smiled on the inside as she glanced at Jamie. The public would see them and make assumptions. It didn’t matter. Over the years, they had shared so much, given each other parts of themselves they hadn’t to anyone else, and lived with a bond that couldn’t be broken.
She had tried once to forget him, move her life in a different direction, but all she got in return was nasty Alan. Was that her punishment for going against her heart? For trying to have a normal life? She owed Jamie nothing. It was right of her to live her own life, but what a mess it had been, the gaslighting Alan would do, all the blame he would place on her for anything going wrong that was his own doing.
Councillor Seabridge stepped up to a lectern and made a speech about Christmas, Port Berry, and how wonderful the community was, then he had the children join in with the countdown for the lights.
Everyone cheered as the tree twinkled with multicoloured bulbs. Music came from the church choir once more, and people started to hang wishes on the branches.
