I can’t help the little fizzle of warmth it sends through me. I don’t even know him, but I can tell he’s the kind of person who doesn’t stop unless they’re forced to. ‘You make it sound like you’re spending Christmas on the frontlines.’
‘Exactly. I thought I’d spend this season on the ground, so to speak. I thought if I could spend Christmas in the heart of it, surrounded by people who love Christmas, somewhere that I can’t hide in my office and ignore it, it might make me see what other people see. If I can understand why people love it, maybe it’ll help me understand why the business is so important to my parents, because right now I don’t. Christmas is a tough time of year for a lot of people. It’s not all candy canes and snowflakes.’
‘No one says it is,’ I say gently, wondering if he’s speaking from personal experience. ‘I know it’s the worst time of year for many.’ I sort of press my cheek against his hair in a weird attempt to let him know it’s okay if he’s talking about himself. ‘But it can also be the most magical. There’s something special about Christmas and those who love it should be allowed to enjoy it, and those who don’t should be allowed to ignore it in peace.’
‘And no one should be Grinched at by me, right?’
‘That’s the first time I’ve heard Grinch used as a verb,’ I say, trying not to laugh out loud.
‘Or maybe I’m just trying to grow my heart. That was the Grinch, right?’ He moves his head until he can tilt it upwards and catch my eyes. ‘His heart was two sizes too small?’
‘You know something Christmassy!’ I do a victory fist with the hand closest to him. ‘You’re not a complete lost cause after all!’
He laughs as he swallows the last of his tea and does an excellent job of disguising the shudder. ‘Go on then.’ He reaches across to put the empty mug down on his opposite side. ‘Now you know more about me than most people who have been in my life for years, how about you? What’s your story?’
‘I don’t have one … I’ve been coming to Nutcracker Lane every year since I was born. My grandma always used to tell me about pushing my pram up here when I was only a few months old and how much I liked looking up at the lights. I’ve wanted to work here forever, but this is the first year my application got accepted … and will probably be the last if Scrooge has his way.’
‘From what I’ve seen so far, he seems to be the only sensible one around here.’ His voice is jokey and I know he’s only trying to wind me up, but I still hold my palm out like I’m going to smack his leg. ‘If you weren’t already hurt, I’d hit you for that. No one praises that awful man in my presence.’
He laughs and I can feel his face heating up through my jumper. ‘What do you do the rest of the year?’
‘As many part-time jobs as will have me. Until last month, I was doing the night shift stacking shelves in the supermarket, but I handed in my notice when I got confirmation of having a shop here. For the past few weeks, Stacey and I have been working on our stock and setting the shop up.’
‘Wait, so you’ve actually quit your job to work here?’
I nod gently so he’ll feel it.
‘What happens in January?’
‘Blind panic. Followed by jobhunting. Me and Stace go to craft fairs up and down the country. We’ve got a van between us that we load up and go halves on petrol to get wherever we need to be, usually at weekends but sometimes we can get a spot for two or three days during the week as well. She’s lucky because she’s got a husband to support her, but I don’t earn enough from making decorations so I have to do whatever I can to support myself in the meantime. A full-time job would be the end of my craft work, so I do whatever job I can for a few days a week to pay the bills and spend the rest of my time working on my business.’
‘But … you’d …’ He shakes his head against my shoulder. ‘You’d actually give up a job, security in this unstable economy, solely to work here?’
Does he have to sound quite so incredulous? ‘I love this place. I love making Christmas decorations in my shed at home and I want to do that as much as I can. I don’t love stacking shelves, doing temp work, waitressing, or working at the drive thru of fast food restaurants, but I’ll do anything that allows me the time to do what I really love. And this is special. Nutcracker Lane is where I’ve dreamed about working my whole life. I’d have given up anything to get here this year. The last time I made a wish on the magical nutcracker it was that I’d get to work here one day.’
‘Hah!’ He laughs so hard that it turns into a groan and his right hand shoots up to hold his ribs again. ‘Why am I not surprised that you believe in wishes on the non-magical nutcracker?’
‘Serves you right,’ I mutter as he lets out a shaky breath. I leave out the fact that technically the last wish I made on the nutcracker was for Prince Charming. There’s no way someone who laughs that hard at the suggestion of magic is really him. I was so mistaken on that line of thinking. Magical nutcrackers are more realistic than the idea that someone so grouchy and dismissive could be the answer
