It’s early morning on Saturday, I've decided to head off early as it’s a really long drive to Bristol and I’m hoping to miss a lot of traffic. I head downstairs and into the living room to where I left the bag I packed last night. I’ve been very lucky to have this one-bed house in a quiet part of town. I even have my own little garden. It isn’t big, but it works for me. I haven’t found my perfect home yet, so I’m just renting until I found the right house for me to buy.
I check my bag to make sure I haven’t missed anything; I've packed a week’s worth of clothes but I’m thinking of staying longer which means I can go shopping when home. I love going shopping back home and it gives me a chance for a couple of girly trips with my mum and some friends.
I grab my keys from the dining room table and head out of the house to the car park where my car is. This drive isn’t going to be the nicest, especially driving it all on my own. It’s just under a five-hour drive; it will be so worth it just to see my mum. I haven’t since her in a year. I've been so busy working I've just not had the time to drive down and see anyone. A sharp pain tugs at my chest, pulling at the guilt of not being a better daughter. My best friend Lily has come up a couple of times with her fiancé, Danny. It’s always nice when they come up; they are always telling me to move back home, and if I didn’t love my job so much, I would. But a part of me knows that I need to make my own way in this world.
Nearly three hours into my journey and I stop for a break, I've tried to drive as much as I can but really starting to feel it now. So going to stop for half an hour for some food and drink to give me back some energy my body desperately craves.
I decide to give Mum a call to tell her I’ll be home in a couple of hours.
Phone rings and rings; knowing Mum, she can’t find her phone. She’s been getting a bit forgetful lately, and I’ve been really worried about her. A sharp click echoes down the phone, startling me, indicating that she’s picked up.
“Amber, I wasn’t expecting you to call, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, Mum, just thought I’d phone and tell you I’m over halfway and should be another couple of hours.”
“You’re not driving, are you?”
I laugh, “No, Mum, I’ve stopped for a break.”
“Oh good, I can’t wait to see you.”
“Can’t wait to see you too, see you soon.”
I go into the service station and grab some food and a coffee; I sat at a table and watched the world go by. I forgot how long this journey was; when you haven't done it in so long you forget how tiring it can be to drive it all.
The next part of the journey felt like the longest; it's probably because I couldn't wait to get home and cuddle my mum to just be home for Christmas and do all the Christmas traditions—putting up the tree, making mince pies, going to church services and carol singing. All the things I missed out on last year, but this year it feels so different. So much more magical. Maybe it's because Lily is getting married too which I know is going to be the most magical day ever. Which I’m so excited about and it’s only six days away.
I’m only ten minutes away from Mum’s house and can finally say I’m in Bristol.
All of a sudden, my car starts making funny noises, and the engine shuts off. So embarrassing that this has happened, but I managed to pull it over so the other cars can go around me. It's not what I wanted right now, and now it won't start again. I have no choice but to call someone to help; I call Lily and see if she's around to help me.
“Hi, Lily, my car has just broken down, can you help? I’m only ten minutes away from Mum’s.”
You can hear the excitement in her voice. “Yes, you’re in Bristol, I can't wait to see you. I haven’t got my car, though. Danny’s taken it to work.” I can practically hear her chewing her bottom lip while she thinks. “But I know a mechanic that will help, let me call him.”
“Thanks, Lil, you are the best, see you later.”
Not even five minutes later, a van pulls up in front of me.
He gets out of the van; he’s really tall and muscular. I couldn’t help but look at him. He has short brown hair with bright blue eyes wearing an oily overall which made him look even hotter.
“Amber, right?” He winks at me.
“Yes.”
“What seems to be the problem?”
I laugh like I’m supposed to know what the hell was wrong with it. The laugh slipped out easily between my lips. If I didn’t laugh at this point, I would cry. He cocked an eyebrow at me. “It started making funny noises and then just cut out and it wouldn’t start again,” I reply blushing furiously.
“Okay, let me take a look.”
I wait at the side of the road for him to have a look and hopefully find out what the problem is. I’m just hoping it isn’t something bad, but knowing my luck it will be. I groan inwardly. This had to happen when Christmas was just around the corner.
He walks towards me and smiles.
“So the car has just overheated, have you been driving far?”
“Yes, I've come from Newcastle.”
“That is a long drive, let me get a rope and I’ll tie the car to the back of my van and we can drop it when you need to go—give the car a couple of minutes. If it still doesn’t start, give me a call.” He smiles and hands me a card with his number on.
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you.”
“Anything to help a pretty lady.” I blush.
We finally get to my mum’s. I get out of the van and wait for him to take the car off and push the car just in front of my mum's house.
“Thank you so much, how much do I owe…”
“Anytime, beautiful, see you around.”
I roll my eyes at him and then just give him a half smile, grateful for his kind generosity.
As I’m walking up the drive, Mum comes out of the door.
“Amber, you’re here.”
“Yes, finally, can we go in, I’m knackered.”
She waves at the man and we walk into the house.
“Do you know him?”
“Yes, that’s Jasper, he’s the local mechanic and I go up to the pub with his mum on a Wednesday.”
“Ahhh I see.”
I enter the front room where Dad is sitting in his chair with a glass of whiskey in his hand, but he’s fast asleep. One day he’s going to drop it down himself.
I collapse on the sofa; I've never been so tired. Mum comes to join me with a sandwich and a cup of tea.
“Thanks, Mum.” I accept the offerings gratefully. What a day!!
Chapter 2
Being back home felt so good. You just don’t know how much you miss something until you come back home. Two weeks isn’t going to be long enough. I know I’m not going to want to go home. Well, that’s if my car will make it all the way back again.
Mum’s been in the kitchen for hours cooking. I join her, sitting at the dining room table just watching her.
“Are you cooking for five thousand?”
She laughs. “No, we are having a ‘welcome home’ party for you...surprise.”
“Mum, I don’t need that, I’m just home for Christmas. I just want to spend time with you and Dad.”
“I know, I know, but not my idea.”
“Lily.”
She laughs, and I knew by the laugh I was right; she always likes making a fuss when I’m home. She doesn't do the whole quiet night in. Don’t know how she finds time a week before her wedding. I would be stressing more on that than having a “welcome home” party for me.
“What time are they coming? Who’s coming?”
“Couple of hours, just the normal gang plus my new friend that you haven’t met yet, but her son is busy tonight so he can't make it.”
“Aww okay. Well, I’m going to nip to the mall and get a new outfit as I didn’t bring anything nice with me.”
“You don’t need to, just be you.”
“I know, but I need some new clothes anyway, so kill two birds with one ston
e, eh?”
I head into the front room and try to talk to Dad but he’s sound asleep.
I touch him on the arm. “Dad, Dad.”
He stirs looking confused and smiles. “Amber?”
“I’m just heading to the mall; do you need anything?”
“Nope, I’m all good, I've got everything I need here. Why don’t you take my car?”
“Thanks, Dad.”
It doesn't matter how long you have been away, it always feels so good to be back. It felt right; it felt like I needed to be back. I knew I wanted to move back and being here now has shown I need to be here. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I love my job but I know I could find a good one here too, there’s so much opportunity here. Maybe I need to look and see if they have teaching jobs. Something I was passionate about and wanted to do something I’m trained to do.
Getting to the mall, I forgot how beautiful and magical it is at Christmas. The beautiful lights, the big Christmas trees, Father Christmas and the ice rink. I didn't get to go ice-skating last year. I’ve been going every year at Christmas for as long as I can remember. This year I will be going and dragging Lily with me. She always comes with me and hates it every year, but still comes because she loves getting hot chocolate and marshmallows. So, every year it’s skating and hot chocolate; it became our tradition. One we always said we would keep, last year not being able to do it made us both sad, so this year we are going all out.
I’ve been in all the shops I needed to go in and bought more stuff I shouldn’t have. Walking down the mall, I see him out of the corner of my eye. He spots me and walks towards me.
“Amber, fancy seeing you here.”
I laugh. “Hi, Jasper.”
“Fancy grabbing a coffee if you’re not too busy?”
“Sure, why not?”
There was something about him, something I wanted to know more of. I know I've only just met him, but something felt right. I haven't felt like this in a long while.
I know i only just met him because he helped fix my car but i just wanted to know more about him
“Costa okay?”
“Yeah, that’s perfect.”
Walking in, it's busier than I thought it would be. I spot a table in the corner by the window. We walk towards it and I put all my bags down. I’m glad to have done that as they were killing my arms.
“What would you like? My treat.” He winks.
“Could I have a tea and a cookie?”
“Course. Won't be long.”
Ten minutes later he is back with our drinks.
“Sorry about that, it’s busier than it looks, and it’s quite busy in here,” he laughs.
“That’s okay.”
He sits in the seat opposite me.
“So, how long are you down for?”
“Two weeks, Christmas and a friend’s wedding.”
“Sounds great. Your mum is always talking about you; she’s so proud of you.”
“Aww, really? Bless her.”
“Do you fancy going out one night? Maybe drinks at the local?”
I look shocked. “Like a date?”
“Well, I wasn’t thinking like that, but yeah, why not?”
I don’t know why, but his answer was very cocky, like he’s not short of people to go out with.
“I’ll text you as I don’t know what my plans are over the next couple of days.”
“I’ll be waiting for the text.” He winks.
I half smile. “Thanks for the drink, I best be getting back.”
“Anytime, beautiful. I'll be waiting for the text.”
I get up from the chair. I laugh at his comment. “Bye, Jasper.”
Heading towards my car, looking back at jasper, just watching him walk away. I just don’t know if Jasper is the sort of person I go for. He’s so cocky and arrogant but something still draws me to him. Him asking me out for a drink, I knew the answer straight away but I didn't want to look too keen. So I’ll hold back for a couple of hours and make him wait a bit. I’m sure he’s not used to that.
Getting back to the house, as soon as I open the front room, I’m hit with the smells of all the food she's been cooking all morning.
I call out that I’m back, but no one hears me.
I walk into the kitchen where I knew I would find my mum.
“You were longer than I thought you would be.”
“Sorry, I had a drink with Jasper.”
She looks at me with confusion in her face.
“You know, Jasper the mechanic.”
“I knew who you meant, just surprised that’s all.”
“It was just a drink, Mum, chill.”
I grab a drink and head into the front room to join Dad watching telly. I miss all this; just being here around family makes me really know I want to be back here again.
My mum's face has lit up a lot since I told her I had a drink. I don’t know how she will react when I tell her he wants to go for a drink this week too. You would think I’ve just told her I’m marrying him. She will get her hopes up when I don’t see anything happening with him.
It was only a drink and just some Christmas fun. I hardly know him, but still I wanted to go out for a drink just to see what he’s like. I can't help but wanting to know more.
I’ve been sat with my dad for over an hour and I knew I needed to get ready soon, so I head upstairs for a shower. Everyone will be here soon. I was getting excited to see everyone. Just to have everyone around me in the same house for the first time in a year and to talk about what we are doing for Christmas. Lily’s wedding is two days before Christmas, then she's going away for two weeks for her honeymoon, so she won't be around. I have to make the most of spending time with her this week.
As I’m walking down the stairs, I hear a little scream and my name being shouted; I look and see Lily jumping up and down like she’s never seen me before. I laugh to myself because it’s her all over. We have been friends since the age of two and we are more like sisters than best friends. We’ve always been in each other’s lives. When I decided to attend university in Newcastle, it really affected her but we made it work and spoke nearly every day and she came up whenever she could.
I get to the bottom of the stairs, and before I could even say hello, she grabs me and pulls me in for a cuddle that I couldn’t breathe.
She laughs. “Sorry, I’ve missed you.”
“Really? I couldn’t tell.”
She gives me a funny look. “Come on, people want to see you.”
When she says it like that, I know this isn’t going to be a small “welcome home for Christmas” party.
As I enter the kitchen, I could hear all the chatter. All I could think is that it was going to be a long night. Lily’s never really done the whole girls' night in for pizza and a movie. She loves the whole party life, which is the only thing that’s different about us.
I’ve never cuddled so many people in my life. It’s got to the point where it feels like I have no cuddles left in me. But it’s been a lovely night seeing people having a laugh and having fun. I even met Jasper’s mum. Which she seems a lovely lady; she and Mum seem to get on like a house on fire. I love that Mum has someone like that to turn to.
Everyone started leaving, and the house got quieter. Then came a knock on the door. I open it to see Jasper standing there.
“Hey.”
“Hi, just came to pick my mum up.”
“Do you want to come in?”
“No, I’m good, can you just tell her I’m in the car when she’s ready.”
“Sure.”
As I’m just about to close the door…
“Amber?”
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t text,” he replies with a sad puppy dog face.
“Sorry, I’ve been busy; I’ll text you in a bit.”
He smiles and walks toward the gate and into his car. I giggle inwardly.
Mum is stood watching me. I roll my eyes and head back into the kitchen to join
with Lily and Danny.
An hour later and we are still drinking and having a good time, but we all knew it was definitely time to call it a night. I say bye to them and tell Lily I’ll call her tomorrow.
Just as I’m about to walk up the stairs to bed…
“Amber?
“Remember to text Jasper.”
I roll my eyes at her. “Night, Mum.”
Chapter 3
It’s morning, and I had a really sore head. I knew I shouldn’t have drunk so much last night, but it was an amazing night and I miss all the big family get-togethers.
I’m lying in bed and my phone beeps. It’s just Lily to tell me she will call me after her final dress fitting. I can’t believe she will be getting married in a couple of days, it’s gone too fast.
I knew I needed to text Jasper, but I kept putting it off. I find his number out of my bag that’s on the floor next to my bed; I put his number in my phone and give him a text.
A: Hey, it’s Amber here, this is my number. I’m free tonight if you wanted to meet for a drink x
My phone buzzes not even five minutes later.
J: I’ve been waiting all night for this. Yes, I’m free tonight for our date. Eight pm, okay?
I laugh at his text. Someone that’s so cocky like him wants to date someone like me. He will definitely see I’m not that interesting later.
A: Perfect, see you then.
Now I need something good to wear, nothing too tarty but something that makes him look.
I’m spending the day shopping and lunch out with Lily; I miss days like this. We were always together when I was home, so it’s nice just to spend time with her before her big day. I know she’s got some stuff to sort today too, so we will be doing that plus shopping sounds like that perfect day to me.
Christmas Wishes: A Christmas Romance Anthology Page 11
