Page 41 of Yule Party on Sunflower Street

‘Right…’ Tara led him to the end of the aisle. ‘Look, they have gardening kits for children with gloves, trowels and seeds.’

‘Brilliant. That’s her done then,’ he said.

‘Next?’

‘I’ll pay for these then we can go and find a bookshop.’

After Seth had paid and had the gifts wrapped for a small extra charge, he hooked the bag over one arm and held Tara’s hand with the other. He liked how her small hand fitted neatly inside his and as they walked, a pang of sadness struck him that this was only temporary. He could imagine spending more time with Tara and holding her hand all the time. This closeness to another human being was nice, and even though he hadn’t known Tara for long, he was comfortable with her.

Outside a bookshop, they stopped and peered in the window. Book-shaped fairy lights illuminated the glass, and small, battery-operated lanterns glowed softly among the winter reads. Drifts of artificial snow dusted the corners of the windowpane and pinecones were scattered between the books along with sprigs of holly. Clear glass baubles hung from the top of the frame, filled with folded pages.

‘Do you know what genre Gertie likes?’ Tara asked.

‘Romantasy, I think.’

Tara giggled. ‘Isn’t that a bit old for her?’

Seth frowned. ‘Oh… Sorry. Not romantasy. I meant fantasy. Like… middle-grade fantasy.’

‘That makes more sense.’ Tara leant closer to him. ‘Romantasy books tend to be a bit spicy.’

‘Have you read any?’ he asked.

‘That’s for me to know.’ Tara tapped the side of her nose with a cryptic smile.

‘Tell me more,’ he said, liking the idea of Tara reading spicy literature. ‘What’s your favourite?’

‘I have far too many favourites to pick one, but if you’re good, I may just share some of the titles of ones I’ve read recently with you. In fact, I could lend you some of those I’ve read in paperback.’

‘I’d like that,’ he said, even though he wasn’t a big reader these days. ‘I used to read a lot when I was younger, but then life got busy and now… I don’t know, I just find it hard to settle into reading if I’m being completely honest.’

‘Because you like to be moving all the time? For the same reason that you don’t like having a massage or sitting still and just resting?’ she said, raising her eyebrows.

He sighed. ‘Today I’m learning a lot about myself under your tutelage. I need to slow down and smell the roses.’

‘You certainly do. I mean, work is important and I understand that, but life is short, so you need to find a balance.’

‘My work has been my life for a long time,’ he said.

‘Well perhaps now you can examine that. After all, you have two nieces who won’t be young for long and you could spend more time with them. Believe me, they’ll be teenagers soon enough and then they probably won’t want to spend time with you. It’s a case of making the most of it now or else you’ll miss out.’

‘I don’t want to miss out.’ The thought of his nieces growing up and becoming adults and him not being there to see them made his chest ache. How awful that would be, especially if they then turned around and wanted little to do with him.

‘Come on, let’s go and have a look inside for some romant—fantasy.’ Tara laughed as they went into the shop.

They browsed the children’s fantasy section, and he picked up three books he thought his niece would like then he followed Tara around the adult fiction sections. She picked up a few books then set them back on the shelves and he noted the titles. He’d like to come back at some point and get the books for her as a thank you for today. He was happy that she was helping him to realise a few things about how he was living his life. Spending time with his loved ones should be a priority and the last thing he wanted was to turn around in years to come and regret not being with his family while he had the chance.

Tara picked up a thriller and was reading the blurb when he said, ‘Have you ever thought about having children?’

Tara lowered the book and met his eyes. ‘Are you offering?’

‘W-what?’

She laughed. ‘Got you!’

‘Oh…’ He made a show of wiping his brow. ‘Phew.’

‘No, all joking aside, I haven’t really given it much thought. I guess when I was younger, I just assumed it would be something that would happen but I didn’t yearn to be a mum.’