The middle and end of the week was in every conceivable way as perfect as the beginning. In fact, it was all so wonderful that if Richard Curtis happened to be looking to set a future romcom in the east of England – be it festive themed or otherwise – then I was in no doubt that Finn and I could have provided plenty of inspiration for the leading roles.
After that first exquisite night together, we knew we were going to struggle to keep our hands off each other and so settled on an agreement whereby we stayed apart during the day and kept after work and after dark strictly for each other. I still hadn’t told him I loved him, but given the passion and heat between us, I was pretty certain that he knew that his feelings were in every way reciprocated.
I hadn’t told any of my friends about the seismic shift in mine and Finn’s relationship, not even Chloe. Although, given my constantly happy demeanour and wide smile, along with the evidence of my former beard burn, I’m sure she must have had her suspicions.
‘Freya,’ Luke beamed, when he came into the garden after lunch on Thursday afternoon, ‘how on earth have you managed to do all this in just a day and a half?’
He was accompanied by Jacob and a few children from the school where he worked and who formed part of the new Bird and Wildlife Club they’d recently started. They had come to position some of the hedgehog homes Finn was so adept at making, as well as set up a few bird feeding stations. It was too late to get any hogs hibernating in the homes, but I had no doubt the feeders were going to be very much appreciated and there were plans to put up bird boxes in a few weeks’ time.
‘I’m capitalising on the weather,’ I told him. ‘It’s just over a week until the official opening and, as the ground has thawed, I’m making the most of it. And don’t forget, I’ve got Graham on the case, too. I might have taken a couple of days off this week, but he hasn’t. He’s been forging ahead.’
‘Making hay while the sun shines, hey?’ Jacob beamed.
‘Something like that,’ I agreed, my shoulders tensing a little as I remembered the last time I’d heard the expression. It was Jackson who had said it.
I couldn’t be sure if Jacob was talking about getting ahead in the garden or if he’d seen Finn popping in and out of the square. His house was only a couple of doors away from mine and he and Ryan often walked Gus together in the evenings, so it was a possibility.
‘Well, whatever the reason,’ Luke continued, ‘it all looks even better than I could have imagined. It’s amazing that we’re only a few weeks into the project and so much has happened.’
‘I’m truly delighted you feel that way,’ I smiled, before turning my attention to the children who had started to shiver. ‘Now, let’s work out where to put everything, shall we?’
With so many eager pairs of hands, the operation didn’t take all that long and Luke promised to get the special wildlife cameras, which the school had raised funds for, trained on to the feeders the following week. The livestream was to be beamed straight into the classroom so I would have to make sure Finn didn’t track me down for a clandestine kiss in full view of the local kids. That wasn’t the sort of wildlife they were hoping to see!
‘Are you coming to the carol concert tonight, Miss?’ asked one of the boys, as he helped carry the tools back to the shed.
‘Oh, I’d forgotten about that,’ I told him. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘I’m going to be singing a solo,’ he proudly told me.
‘In that case,’ I promised, ‘I’ll definitely be there.’
The church was packed, and I was pleased to see Harold in a pew just ahead of me. I would ask him after the service about how he used to decorate the house.
‘This isn’t quite what I thought you had in mind when you said we were going out,’ Finn, who was sitting tight up against me because there was such little space, said quietly. ‘I hope you aren’t expecting me to sing.’
‘Can’t you sing?’ I asked, pressing my thigh against his.
‘I can,’ he whispered back, ‘I just choose not to.’
We quietened as the lad I recognised from earlier walked down the aisle and then turned to face the congregation. There was total silence as he sang the first verse of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ without any musical accompaniment. His voice was confident, strong and pure, and when the congregation joined in with the second verse there were more than a few moist eyes being dabbed with crumpled tissues and neatly pressed hankies.
After the service, throughout which Finn had sung with gusto I was amused to note, everyone stayed on to drink tea and enjoy the mince pies supplied by the school kitchen and the local Women’s Institute.
‘Are you keen to get off?’ I asked Finn.
He’d sat down again once he’d collected his pie, because he took up so much space standing up.
‘No,’ he said, ‘I’m in no rush. I’ll wait for you and we’ll go back together, if you like.’
‘All right,’ I smiled. ‘That would be lovely.’
I ignored the knowing looks coming from certain neighbours and friends and waved to Harold.
‘Just the person,’ he said, as he made his way over and Finn shuffled up so he could sit down too. ‘I was hoping I’d see you, Freya.’
‘Likewise,’ I told him. ‘I have a question for you, Harold, but you go first.’
‘Age before beauty, hey,’ he chuckled, slapping Finn’s knee. ‘It’s about my Christmas decorations.’
Finn looked at me and smiled. He knew that was what I wanted to ask about and was clearly amused that Harold had got in first.
‘They’re all still in the loft,’ Harold explained. ‘They’re the only things up there, and in all the excitement of moving, I completely forgot about them.’
‘Don’t worry,’ I told him, ‘I can drop them round to you in my van. It’s no bother.’
Given that his family had lived in the house since it was built, I knew there were bound to be some vintage treasures among the tinsel and tree decorations. I wondered if he would mind if I had a peek in the boxes when I dropped them off.
‘Now, that would be grand,’ he said, ‘but to tell you the truth I only really want the wooden nativity set my father made and the angel for the tree. She’s even older than I am!’ he chuckled. ‘I was thinking that it might be nice if everything else stayed at the house.’
‘I see.’
‘But only if you don’t mind,’ he rushed on. ‘You don’t have to do anything with them, but if they’re taking up too much loft space—’
‘Actually,’ I quickly interrupted to stop him fretting, ‘I was wondering if you would mind if I carried on using them to decorate the house?’
‘They’re all a bit old-fashioned,’ he warned me.
‘That’s just what I like,’ I told him, as his eyes moistened with tears. ‘The house is still a bit old-fashioned, isn’t it? So, they definitely belong there.’
‘Well,’ he sniffed, ‘that would be wonderful.’
‘And when I’ve got them up, you can come and see them.’
‘Only if you’re sure. I wouldn’t want to intrude.’
‘We could have some of the cake I made at Carole’s Winterfest session,’ I told him, ‘and tea.’
‘Well I’d like that,’ he said, reaching for his handkerchief as Finn looked at me and smiled. ‘I’d like that very much indeed.’
‘That’s settled then,’ I said, bending to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
‘Hey now,’ he grinned, ‘don’t be doing that, not with your strapping great fella sitting right next to me. I don’t want him getting ideas that I’m trying to pinch his girl!’
Finn and I looked at each other and shook our heads. So much for keeping our relationship under wraps.
Even though I was keen to get ahead in the garden, Harold’s kind gift of his family’s festive decorations had me yearning to clock out on Friday. I was planning to get the decorations down and start going through them before buying a tree at some point over the weekend.
It was going to be a busy couple of days, what with helping my beloved with his Winterfest session on Saturday and saying a few words of horticultural wisdom before the start of Graham’s on Sunday, but I was determined to squeeze buying a tree into my already packed schedule.
‘Ta da!’
‘What on earth?’ I gasped.
‘It’s your tree,’ came Finn’s voice, from somewhere beyond the mass of beautiful pine branches, filling the porch when I opened the door to him that Friday evening.
‘But I haven’t ordered one.’
‘I know,’ he said, sounding more muffled than ever, ‘I did. It’s a present.’
‘Oh Finn,’ I laughed, clapping my hands. ‘It’s beautiful, thank you.’
‘It’s also heavy,’ he said, ‘so are you going to let me in, or what?’
‘How far have you carried it?’ I asked, opening the front door as far as I could in the hope that he could sidle in without knocking off too many needles.
‘Only across the road,’ he told me, carefully edging in. ‘I had it delivered to Prosperous Place so I could surprise you. And it’s container-grown, which is why it’s so heavy.’
He’d barely got it into the sitting room before I flung my arms around him and kissed him deeply.
‘I take it you like it then,’ he said between kisses.
‘I love it,’ I told him, ‘almost as much as I love—’
‘Come on then,’ he said, denying me the chance to say it again. ‘Let’s get it in position and then we’ll get Harold’s decs out of the loft.’
The tree fitted the space in the bay window beautifully. It was a little on the tall side, but I didn’t mind that. I’d never had such a beautiful tree and the fact that it was going to be returned to the grower to be re-used again next year, by me if I wanted it, made it sustainable too, which was even better.
‘Look at this,’ said Finn, diving into another box and pulling out a bag of old-fashioned crêpe streamers.
‘Harold’s saved everything, hasn’t he?’ I laughed, looking at the eclectic collection we’d unearthed so far.
There were seasonal treasures of all styles, spanning many decades, contained within the cardboard boxes we had lifted down. Even some of the carrier bags that the foil ceiling decorations and streamers were stashed in were historical artefacts. It had been a while since Woolworths and C&A had graced the high streets, but in the loft their names lived on.
‘And this,’ Finn rushed on.
He sounded as excited as a child diving into their Christmas stocking.
‘This must be the nativity set Harold’s father made.’
We set that carefully to one side along with the fragile angel which, according to a quick online search, must have been at her best in the 1930s.
‘There’s far too much here to put up, isn’t there?’ I said, looking again at the lengths of tinsel, bright glass baubles, garlands and lights.
Most of the lights weren’t wired up to current standards so they were easy to set aside, but as for the rest, it was going to take forever to choose.
‘Why don’t you pick a theme or decade?’ Finn suggested, kneeling next to me. ‘That’ll narrow it down a bit. Or even a colour. There’s enough here to fill the house, just using red decorations alone.’
He was right; I needed a plan. I wondered which things Harold favoured. Probably those pieces he remembered from childhood which, I guessed, most likely narrowed it down to the thirties and forties. There were plenty of glass baubles and even some small crêpe crackers which I reckoned originated from then. Another online search would help.
‘That’s a good idea,’ I said, ‘I just wish I had more time to get stuck into it.’
Nell had finally shuffled into the room. She hadn’t been sure about the tree, but now it was in place and not moving, she’d made her peace with it. She laid her head on my lap and I bent to kiss the top of it.
‘Oh, I meant to say,’ said Finn, reaching to fuss her too. ‘If you don’t want to help with my session tomorrow, you don’t have to.’
‘I wasn’t angling to bunk off,’ I told him. ‘I can finish decorating next week.’
‘Well, it’s entirely up to you,’ he said, ‘but I’ve got some extra help lined up now, so if you change your mind I won’t struggle.’
‘Are you just saying that because you know I can’t hammer a nail in straight?’ I pouted, giving him a nudge and making him almost topple over.
‘No,’ he grinned, ‘and it was almost straight…’
‘If you looked at it with your head bent at a right angle,’ I giggled, nudging him even harder.
He took hold of my hand and we fell together while Nell skittered about.
‘I wasn’t going to mention that,’ he laughed.
‘You’re only saying that because I’ve got you in compromising position,’ I said, as I sat astride him and pinned his arms either side of his head.
‘No, I’m not,’ he said, looking deep into my eyes. ‘I really have got someone else to help.’
‘Who?’
‘Zak.’
‘Zak!’
He took advantage of my surprise to flip me on to my back so he was then on top.
‘Yep,’ he grinned. ‘He said my session fitted his skillset and that it would be a good opportunity for us to bond. Brothers in arms and all that. He reckons if we keep putting up a united front then Dad will have to get off my case.’
Considering what a chip off the old block Zak had been when I arrived in the square, he really had gone all out to stick to the new side of the leaf he had turned over. I might have had my doubts at first, but there was no evidence to suggest that his efforts weren’t in earnest and I was as thrilled about that as Finn clearly was.
‘In that case,’ I said, ‘I think I will leave you to it.’
‘You can spend the whole day decorating the house,’ he said, lowering his lips to mine as I wrapped my legs around his waist. ‘Assuming you aren’t too tired to get up in the morning.’
‘Why would I be too tired to do that?’ I asked, kissing him back.
‘Because you’re in for a very late night,’ he smiled, punctuating each word with another kiss.