The Reluctant Elf (Kindle Single) by Michele Gorman

another half hour or so?’
    I know I’m being ridiculous, playing the helpless female to draw out my time with Danny. My inner feminist is hanging her head in shame. I just don’t want to see him go yet.
    He wrestles the ladder in from outside and sets it up against the first window in the hall. ‘Do you want to climb up or hold the ladder?’
    ‘I’d better climb,’ I say. ‘I’m not sure I could catch you if you fell off.’
    ‘You’ve got a lot of faith in me.’
    I pluck the pine boughs from the top of the valance and drop them on the floor. ‘We got the rating you know.’
    ‘You are joking!’ he says. ‘What were his criteria? Missing persons and pyrotechnics?’
    I climb down and let him carry the ladder to the next window. Then I pull down more boughs, smiling as the pine scent washes over me.
    ‘He said he appreciated our efforts,’ I tell him. ‘Even though he didn’t buy the Victorian theme.’
    ‘That reminds me. I never did get my socks back.’
    ‘Sorry about that. I noticed Hugo packing them in the car and didn’t think that was the time to tell him his children’s Christmas stockings had come off your feet.’
    We move to the last window.
    ‘They were such a weird family,’ he says.
    He doesn’t know the half of it. ‘Rupert is going to Tanzania tomorrow, alone.’
    ‘I don’t blame him. I’d rather take my chances out in the bush with lions than spend any more time with Prunella.’
    The last of the boughs hits the floor. ‘That’s all of them.’
    I climb down.
    ‘What about the mistletoe?’
    It hangs there in the middle of the hall, an unwanted reminder of Hugo’s attentions.
    Danny positions the ladder beneath it, and puts his hands on either side of me so that I can climb up.
    ‘Lottie? Wait a minute. There’s something I-’
    As I turn to face him, his warm lips meet mine. They’re so perfectly soft but a little bit urgent that I know I want to stay in exactly this position for a very long time.
    ‘Well we must have done something right,’ he murmurs as we break off our kiss.
    ‘Maybe they just loved your food.’
    ‘Very funny.’
    ‘No really, it wasn’t bad. Although I wouldn’t bother buying you expensive ingredients again.’
    ‘Next time you can cook your own food.’
    ‘I think we’ve established that I can’t do that.’
    ‘Then for both our sakes, I’d better take you out to dinner.’
    We kiss again under the mistletoe.
     
    Danny drives us to the hospital that afternoon as usual. But instead of sitting in the back seat, I sit up front so I can hold his hand between gear changes. Every time I look in the rear view mirror I catch Mabel’s grin.
    ‘We’ll be two hours,’ I tell Danny.
    ‘Okay, I’ll run home quickly, but I’ll be here waiting when you get out.’
    ‘Just like you were the first day.’
    He smiles and kisses me again. ‘Some things are worth waiting for.’
    ‘Danny, there’ll be plenty of time for that later,’ Mabel says. ‘Right now we need to see Aunt Kate.’
    I shrug. ‘She’s seven going on seventeen.’
    ‘She’s her mother’s daughter. See you soon.’
    ‘Aunt Kate, you’re awake!’ Mabel says when we get to her room. ‘We’ve got so much to tell you!’
    ‘Hello, love.’ She pats the mattress beside her.
    ‘Careful, Mabel,’ I warn. ‘How are you feeling?’
    I take my aunt’s hand.
    ‘I feel like I’ve been run down by a lorry, but it’s better than the alternative. I gather I’ve been sleeping for a while.’
    ‘Five days. The doctor has been great.’
    She nods. ‘She must have figured there’s some life left in these old bones yet.’
    ‘Mummy has a boyfriend,’ Mabel says.
    Aunt Kate peers at me. ‘Does she now?’
    Mabel nods. ‘His name is Danny and he’s our cook but not really our cook. He’s also our taxi driver. But not really that, either. He’s really our friend. That’s right, isn’t it, Mummy?’
    ‘That’s right. There’s a lot to tell you, Aunt Kate, but