‘I miss him.’
‘So do I.’ Quinn looked at her. ‘But he’s still with us. He’ll always be with us.’
Claire wiped Quinn’s tears before she wiped her own.
‘Now, open yours.’
He had only bought her one thing, small compared to all his stuff. But she didn’t seem to mind. She picked it up, underestimating the weight just like him, and opened a box.
Confused, she opened the box, then pulled out a statue.
This time, it was her go to burst into tears. They had shed so much water between them that if they went outside, they would freeze.
‘It’s perfect.’
Quinn had spent his money on a marble carving statue of his mother and his father. With perfect precision and detail, etched into marble forever, eternalised. Claire looked at the marble face of Gerald with a smile.
‘I’ll put this front and centre.’
‘Do you really like it?’
‘Come here.’
She kissed him on the cheek.
That was enough.
After dinner, where Claire made most of the conversation, they retreated to the cwtch, as Claire liked to call it, and put on a Christmas film. Quinn had a glass of wine, and for the first time in a long time, he relaxed. Now and then his phone would buzz, Noah texting him about Christmas with Hermione and his cat, Mr Lavender, and Quinn would smile.
He spent most of the day not meeting Harold’s eye, let alone engaging him in conversation. But as the credits rolled onElf, Harold made the first move.
‘What do you want me to do with the stock?’
Quinn watched the credits like they were the most riveting thing on earth. ‘I suppose it’s best to donate them to the rest of the bookshops.’
Short and to the point.
Maybe he would leave it at that.
But…
‘And the furniture?’
Quinn shrugged. ‘Some of the stuff is original, so you might want to keep that.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Harold laughed.
Quinn remained silent. What was the point? It was Harold’s space. He could do what he liked.
Claire sipped her drink, sat between them, ready to defuse the situation if need be.
‘You know, a couple of the other boys left after Gordon.’
‘Did they?’
‘Not happy with my attitude, they said.’
Quinn could only wonder why.
