After three hours in the markets, Annie and I decided to take a break. We sat down at a little bistro and ordered sandwiches and water while we summarized our purchases and tried to think about what to get next.
“So I got my parents, and one of my brothers done, and my sister. I still want to find a cricket shirt for my other brother.”
“Well there’s got to be a mall around here that sells those, right?”
“Yeah, let’s go there next. How about you?”
“Well I got the designer shoes for my mom, I got you your present that you’re absolutely not allowed to peek a look at, and I got something for the staff at the house. I still need to find that gift for John Alcott. And I guess I should find something for my brother, too.”
“Yeah, do you know what he likes?”
I shrugged. “His car? Random girls? I don’t think brothels do gift cards.” I tried to make a joke, but after the moment I’d shared with Jack the thought of him with someone else made me feel a bit depressed. Still, I had no idea what to get him.
“Why not like, a nice tie or something?”
I giggled. “I think he’d strangle me with it if I tried. He’s more of the ‘jeans and a jacket’ type guy.”
“Well fine, maybe a nice bottle of scotch or something?”
“Yeah, good thinking. He won’t get me anything anyway, so I don’t want to get him something good, just something to show that I tried.”
“Then alcohol is the perfect gift!”
With that settled, Annie and I chatted about other things while eating our lunch before going out for the rest of an afternoon of shopping.
Towards the end of the day a light snow began to fall. Annie was super excited, but honestly all the snow did was make me feel homesick. Seeing “Happy Christmas” written everywhere, the little differences between here and New York made me pine for my old life just a little bit.
Not that we ever had big family dinners or anything like that, but Christmas was still supposed to be special.
*
I also had no idea how to do a big Christmas thing. Annie had warned me when we were shopping that I should buy some chocolates and things that could be given as gifts to arrivals I didn’t know, and when my mother told me three days out from Christmas that a number of John’s relatives were coming over, I knew I had to text Annie and thank her for the advice.
I was also nervous about seeing Jack again. I hadn’t seen him at all since our time in the library, I kind of suspected he’d been avoiding being home. On the bright side, I also hadn’t heard him banging random women since. I’m not sure how I would have reacted if he had. I knew we weren’t together or anything, but I still wouldn’t have liked to know I was just another notch on his belt.
A part of me wondered about what made him have sex with me that night. After all, I wasn’t his usual type. I was curvy, pretty but not gorgeous, average height, nothing extra-ordinary about me at all. In fact, I was pretty much just that: ordinary. Not in a bad way, I just accepted myself for who I was.
Finally, Christmas morning came along. Also at Annie’s suggestion, I’d made sure to buy myself a nice dress for the occasion: a princess neckline, black, 50s style retro dress. It showed off my curves, and with leggings underneath still allowed for modesty and class at the same time. Apparently now that I was a rich person I had to dress like it when family came by. I decided to save it for the Christmas lunch, and went down wearing jeans and a nice sweater.
Sure enough, early in the morning a whole crew came by: John’s sister who lived in the city and her family, consisting of a husband, three kids and two super energetic small dogs that I pretty quickly realized were more likeable than the rest of the family.
John’s sister Amy was basically exactly what everybody imagines when they think “typical stuck up British person”. In her mid-40s and obviously getting work done regularly, her dyed blonde hair coiffed perfectly, her classy and yet obviously expensive clothing screaming ‘I’m better than you’ and the way she looked down at Anita and the rest of the staff made me instantly dislike her. She even brought her own nanny along to take care of the kids so she didn’t have to look after them!
“John, brother dear, how are you?” Amy asked as he went over to greet her, kissing her lightly on both cheeks.
“I’ve never been happier Amy, how about you?”
“Well, you know. The kids are growing quickly, and Evan’s having trouble with the clods at council with regards to that new development, but other than that we’re fine.”
Her husband Evan looked, well, a lot like every single other middle aged while male businessman, really. Greying hair at the temples, impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, with an inscrutable expression, Evan Milton stood next to his wife, quietly listening as she went on about their lives.