Page 10 of I’m Dreaming of a New York Christmas

‘We couldn’t let them go to waste!’ Mum had tried to reason with the customs official, but he wouldn’t budge. I swear she’d been more distraught about the loss of those apricots than when she’d found out about the collapse of my relationship with Will.

Anneka tapped her pierced nose and winked at Marcie.

‘Ha, you really don’t know anything at all?’ Marcie looked at me wide-eyed and clapped her hand to her mouth. She seemed to be enjoying my torment as much as Anneka was.

I sighed. ‘Put it this way, twenty minutes ago I was snoozing under a heated blanket and having the time of my life.’

‘And that’s exactly why you need to get away, Flo! You deserve so much more than a heated blanket for company. Especially this year.’

‘Until you and Mum arrived, I had Jason for company, too.’

‘Jason?!’ Marcie looked confused.

I sighed, opting to concede for the sake of an easier life. ‘Tabbi.’

‘Oooookay.’

‘So, what do you reckon? If we give you a set of keys for the top-floor flat, could you keep an eye on him while Flo’s away?’

‘I thought she was a “she”?’

‘Shall we just say “the cat” for ease?’ I proposed.

‘Top thinking, Flo-yo. So then, Ms Marcie: can you do us a solid for the next week or so and look after “The Cat”?’

‘I guess that depends on how you plan to make it worth my while.’

Anneka hummed. ‘We’ll bring you back something very special from our travels.’

‘If you promise you’ll deliver it to me in person, you’ve got yourself a deal.’

If this were me and me alone making this ridiculous request – which, of course, it wouldn’t be in a million years because everything about this situation was absurd and unreasonable – the conversation would have ended the moment I corrected Jason’s name. But Anneka had a way of convincing people, just like Mum did.

‘And I could leave the cat for the odd night or two if I put out some food, right?’

Anneka stepped aside, suggesting it was my duty to respond.

‘Umm, I’m really not sure if—’

‘Yes! Of course!’ Anneka interrupted, shooting me a look before I could finish raising my legitimate concern about leaving Jason to his own devices.

‘Then you’ve got yourself a deal. When do I need to feed him next?’

‘I’ll leave some food out for him before I go, so first thing tomorrow? I’ll leave all the stuff out on the breakfast bar.’

‘Great, thanks. Give me your phone, then,’ Marcie said, but to Anneka rather than me. Anneka unlocked her device and handed it over so Marcie could add her number to her contacts.

‘We’ll check in with you every day,’ Anneka said.

‘Oh, you’d better.’

I’m pretty sure they’d be snogging by now were it not for me. I nudged Anneka out of her trance-like state and she cleared her throat while giving herself a little shake.

‘Okay then! This has been… enlightening! So, we’ll drop off the keys in about an hour on our way out. And here’s my number in case of any cat emergencies.’

Anneka handed Marcie one of her business cards, which bore her contact details, a fifteen-year-old headshot from her Holby City days and the name of her so-called ‘agent’, who moonlighted as a hypnotherapist.

‘I’ll be waiting.’