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I was aware that I was spending a lot on these decorations, but I felt it was worth it. Even though Drew was living with Aileen he still paid half of our mortgage, and the fact that he hadn’t made any noise about selling had nurtured my hope that our separation wasn’t final. In any case I hardly ever treated myself to anything, and this was my Christmas present to me. Next month I could just survive off ramen and Christmas sweets if I needed to.

On the way to the till I added a small desktop Christmas tree to my wares, for Anna. She liked to have a wander to look at the big tree in the foyer of the community hospital, and she had told me that she loved Christmas trees and lights. I had some decorations already up around the ward, but I thought a little tree in her bay might make her feel more at home.

I lugged the trolley containing Rudolph, Donner, and Blitzen out to my car, loaded one in the boot, one on the back seat, and placed the third on my passenger seat before depositing the trolley back in a bay. I climbed in and started the engine, glanced at Rudolph next to me, then pulled the seat belt over him. “Safety first, Rudolph.”

I headed for home, whistling and feeling rather pleased with myself. My intention was to display the reindeer in pride of place so that it would be the first thing that grumpy-​pants Kerr would see when he emerged from his house for work the next morning. Picturing the look of horror on his face made me giggle maniacally like a baddie in an animated movie as I made my way down the dark streets toward home.

8

Kerr

I LIKE TO think of myself as a man of precision. I thrive on order, not chaos. I never sleep in and I’ve never, ever been late for work.

This morning, I slept in and was late for work. Panicked in this unfamiliar scenario, I’d so far put on mismatched socks, spilled coffee all over the kitchen floor, and stubbed my toe while attempting to shove on my boots. The expletives that flew from my mouth during the past half hour hadn’t done anything to improve my mood.

It had been a night of tossing and turning that had done this to me. But what exactly kept me awake, I had no idea.

After pulling on my winter coat and grabbing my keys, I hurried out the door and down the driveway to de-ice my car. Typical that it was a wintery day I’d chosen to sleep in, when an extra five minutes was routinely required to prep my vehicle for the drive to work. And I needed to take the car in today because I had some equipment to return to the office.

I sat inside the car and turned on the engine, pressing the switch to heat the windshield. Then I climbed out to scrape the ice from all the windows. Once I’d finished, I jumped back inside and used the wipers to clear the loose ice from view. Nisa’s front garden became clear across the road, and for a moment, in the light of day, I couldn’t work out what was different. And then it registered in my sleep-​deprived, late-​for-​work, panic-​stricken brain.

She’d only gone and gotten the exact same reindeer that were displayed in prime position on my own front lawn.

“You underhanded little . . .” I muttered, pausing for a moment to stare at the display, my jaw tightening at her dirty tactics and also at the fact that she’d arranged hers in a more appealing way than mine. The three reindeer looked as though they were dashing through the snow, whereas I’d placed mine unimaginatively standing here and there.

Adrenaline shot through me as I recalled my lateness. Swiftly, I released the brake, accelerated down my drive, and turned toward work, one last glare thrown over at Nisa’s house as I went.

*

The chocolate Labrador puppy was giving my face the mother of all lickings. I couldn’t keep the smile from my lips as I completed my examination, despite my Nisa’s reindeer– induced bad mood.

“Aww,” Stacey murmured from her post across the room, updating the pup’s charts.

I hoped to God that aww was for the puppy rather than for me. However, I had a bad feeling it could be both.

I finished the examination without reacting, then asked Stacey to get the pup in his carrier and back to his owner as I escaped to find Ranjeeta in the back office behind the reception desk. Closing the door, I slumped into a chair next to where she was organizing some files.

Ranjeeta gave me a wry look. “Bad day?”

I stared up at the ceiling, arms hanging over the sides of the chair. “The worst.”

My receptionist swiveled her chair to face me. “Come on. Tell your Auntie Ranjeeta all about it.”

I groaned inwardly. I wasn’t normally one for offloading onto others, another trait that had irked Aileen. But somehow, she’d never created the kind of environment where I felt safe confiding my worries. She carried this air of expectation that men should be strong and silent, and when something was bothering me she would chat away about her own stories and issues without noticing that something was on my mind. But then she’d choose the most random moments to ask “What are you thinking?” and it was usually when I was pondering the inanest of thoughts, such as “Would I rather be in a zombie apocalypse or a robot apocalypse?” or “How did a T. rex scratch its arse with such tiny arms?” Then I’d have to say “Nothing” in response to her question so as not to sound like a complete idiot, and she’d get mad that I wasn’t “opening up” to her.

Anyway. Ranjeeta was actually asking me when there was something significant on my mind, and I really could do with talking to someone about it because I was riled up on very little sleep. “First of all, I slept in and was late for work.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You never sleep in.”

“I know, right?” I replied, sitting straighter. “I slept really badly all night. Then I was in a rush and spilled coffee, stubbed my toe, had all sorts of minor calamities. Then after I rushed around defrosting my car, I realized that Nisa had ripped off my Christmas reindeer. She’s deliberately gone out and bought the same ones as me so that she can sabotage my entry in the Christmas lights competition.”

I paused to allow Ranjeeta’s response. She was looking at me as if she wanted to call for a psychiatric evaluation. “What on earth are you talking about?” she asked after a moment’s silence.

I realized that I needed to start at the beginning. “My neighbor across the road, Nisa—”

“The one whose ex is living with Aileen now?”

“The very same. She’s always hated me because she’s convinced I ran over Izzy, her cat, a couple of years back.”