by Holly Martin
‘Can I see them?’
‘My photos? Oh, they aren’t anything special. I’ve been to so many beautiful places over the years, seen such incredible things and I don’t want to forget about them. These are just a way to capture my memories of the places I’ve been.’
‘You were always good at taking photos when we were younger. I’d love to see them.’
Pip hesitated for a moment or two before she clicked open a folder. ‘OK. I have folders for each country and then sub-folders for areas or states within that country. I also have beach folders, city folders, sunset folders. This one is just a mix of everything, all my best bits of the places I’ve been to.’
She shifted the laptop onto his lap and then curled up into his side, leaning her head on his shoulder. It was such a natural gesture and one that felt so completely right.
He clicked open the folder and then clicked on the slideshow icon at the top so the photos would scroll through automatically. The first photo was of a deserted beach, the sand flat and undisturbed and the waves reflecting the plum and gold tones of the sun-streaked sky above it. It had been taken at just the right angle so the sun was dead centre and the rays seemed to explode through the clouds like a spider’s web. It was beautiful. He pressed pause at the top of the screen and stared at it.
‘This is stunning.’
‘Oh, I got lucky with the clouds that day,’ Pip said, dismissing the compliment.
‘I doubt luck had anything to do with it; it’s about having an eye for what makes a good photo and being able to capture it in the best light and the best angle. Did you have lessons?’
Pip shook her head. ‘I always wanted to, but there never seemed to be any time.’
‘I don’t think you need any. This is beautiful.’
He clicked on the next photo and he saw row upon row of silver birch trees presiding over a carpet of bluebells. The tiniest glint of sun was peeping through the trees. It was simple and pure, and breathtakingly good.
‘You’re very good at this. Have you ever sold any?’
She shook her head. ‘No, they’re nothing special. They’re just for me.’
‘These are special. You have a real talent. People would pay good money for things like this.’
She smiled. ‘Thank you, that’s very sweet of you to say, but there are hundreds of photos out there just like this one.’
‘Hundreds of photos that somehow miss the mark. But this has a rare quality.’
She shook her head and clicked through to the next one.
This one was different because there were people in it. Three elderly nuns sitting on a bench, with the Vatican in the background. They were all enjoying an ice cream and they were laughing at some unknown joke. Pip had captured them perfectly at the exact moment when one of the nuns had thrown her head back with laughter and as another nearly lost her ice cream into her lap. He couldn’t help but smile at the picture.
‘I really like this one,’ Gabe said.
‘Sometimes the real beauty in the world is through the people, their day-to-day lives, what makes them tick. There was something so innocent and carefree about these ladies enjoying an ice cream. The best thing was they were laughing because some fit, gorgeous guy had just ridden past on his bike, no top, tight little shorts and probably a quarter of their age. They all watched him go with obvious appreciation. Then they all noticed each other watching him and they all just burst out laughing. They were speaking to each other in Italian and I had no idea what they were saying, but I didn’t need to. It was quite obvious they were talking about him and his cute little bum. This one kept making bum-pinching gestures and the others were howling at her. It made me laugh just watching them and I wanted to capture this perfect moment forever. I’m not sure I did it justice.’
‘You really did, you captured the very soul of them.’
The next photo was a close-up of a field mouse eating a dew-topped strawberry. Somehow the angle of the camera and the mouse mid-mouthful made it look like the mouse had the biggest smile on its face.
‘I was staying in a small hotel which had its own strawberry farm. I woke up really early one morning and decided to get some shots of the sun coming up over the strawberries. I went down to the middle of the field, set up my camera and then I noticed this little guy. That was the only photo I managed to take before he ran off. I’m not very good at close-ups, it’s not something I normally do, but this one just sort of worked.’
As Gabe clicked through photo after photo he found himself staggered with how incredibly talented she was.
‘You really need to think about selling these. I would buy these off you in a heartbeat and put them in my hotels. I’d hang them in each room. The guests would love them.’
She clicked on the next photo, ignoring him. She had no idea how much talent she had.
He found himself smiling at the huge towering redwood forest that grew hundreds of feet into the air, the roots so big you’d need ten or more people to encircle them. The ground was touched with the morning mist and staring right at the camera was a great stag.
‘That’s one of my favourites,’ Pip said.
‘Why? I mean apart from the fact that you have captured the deer and the giant scale of the redwoods so magnificently. Why is this one your favourite when they are all beautiful?’
‘I don’t know. These trees have been around for hundreds or thousands of years and long after we’ve left this earth they’ll still be there. Life gets on top of us sometimes and we have to remember that the paths we make, the choices, our problems are quite minor in the grand scheme of things. Life will continue as it always has, as it always will, until it stops and then we won’t be around to worry about it any more anyway. Life is precious and short and I think we have to do what makes us happy and stop worrying about what might happen.’
He stared at her and smiled. He loved her insight, the way she saw the world. And she was right. He had to stop worrying. He had done everything he could for the hotel. It would be a success or it wouldn’t and worrying wasn’t going to change that.
He clicked through to another one of a little thatched beach cabana next to a bright blue sea.
‘You’ve been to some amazing places over the years. Will you miss seeing these sights when you’re on your sabbatical?’
‘I will. There’s still so much of the world that I haven’t seen and I want to see it all. But sometimes you need to step away from something to completely appreciate it. I feel I’ve been on holiday for the last ten years and I guess I need a break from that. I love my job, well at least the travelling part of it. I never want to stop discovering the little hidden gems of the world.’
He frowned slightly. There was nothing for her here that could compete with the beauty of the rest of the world.
She must have seen his frown because she kissed him on the cheek. ‘Sometimes it’s the people you meet along the way that make life special; having someone to share these wonderful things with is much better than discovering them on your own.’
He kissed her forehead and she looked up at him. ‘Let’s go to bed.’
She arched an eyebrow. ‘Together?’
‘Just to sleep, I promise.’
‘What about Wren?’
‘She’s already seen us in bed together, I don’t think it’ll be a great shock to her.’
A tiny smile spread over her face. ‘OK.’
She took the laptop off his lap, closed the lid, and left it on the table. She stood up.
‘I’m just going to brush my teeth.’
He nodded. ‘I’ll just get a glass of water and I’ll be up.’
He watched her go upstairs and disappear into her room. As soon as she was out of sight, he flipped open the lid on the laptop, firing the machine back into life. Luckily the folder was still on the screen. Quickly he made a zip file of all the photos in that folder and emailed it to himself, then he closed the laptop lid and ran upstairs.
He got changed and cli
mbed into bed, just as she appeared in his doorway dressed in her pyjamas and looking decidedly nervous. He peeled back the duvet and after a moment’s hesitation she climbed in by his side. He reached over her and switched the light off, plunging them into momentary darkness. He didn’t move off her though, pinning her to the bed with his weight.
She let out a little giggle. ‘Very smooth.’
‘I try.’
She ran her hands round his neck and as the moonlight outside slowly lit up the room, picking out the gold in her eyes perfectly, he kissed her.
* * *
Pip woke the next day wrapped tightly in Gabe’s arms. They had kissed for hours the night before until eventually neither could keep their eyes open any more. She hadn’t had any more nightmares, but she didn’t know whether that was because Gabe had held her all night or she was just too tired to dream properly.
She opened her eyes to see Wren standing next to the bed watching them curiously.
‘Hey sweetheart,’ Pip said as she tried to shift off Gabe’s chest but his arms were unrelenting.
Wren pulled back the duvet and climbed in next to them, reaching out to stroke Pip’s hair. ‘Did you have another bad dream?’
Thankfully Gabe stirred underneath her at that point because Pip didn’t want to lie to her.
‘Hey Princess,’ Gabe said, shifting one arm around Wren and pulling her against him without relinquishing his hold on Pip.
‘Wren wanted to know if the reason I was in your bed was that I had a bad dream.’
Gabe looked at Pip and back at Wren. ‘No, honey. Sometimes when adults really like each other they might sleep in the same bed so they can cuddle each other. Like Nanny and Pops, they sleep in the same bed.’
Pip decided that Gabe could handle this on his own.
‘And Boris and Mikael?’ Wren asked. ‘They sleep in the same bed.’
‘Yes.’
‘I asked Boris why he slept in the same bed as Mikael and he said it’s because they love each other very much.’
‘That’s right, they do,’ Gabe said.
‘And because they’re married and Boris said that’s what married people do, they sleep in the same bed.’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘And Nanny and Pops are married.’
‘Yes.’
‘But you and Pip aren’t married.’
‘No, we’re not.’
Pip suppressed a laugh.
‘Do you and Pip love each other very much?’
‘Sometimes adults might sleep in the same bed as each other before they get married to see if they like it,’ Gabe explained, patiently.
‘Oh. And if you like it, then you’ll get married?’
‘Yes, that’s normally how it works.’
‘So did you like it?’
‘Yes, very much.’
‘So you’re going to get married?’ Wren asked.
‘It’s too early to tell yet. Usually, adults might sleep in the same bed for quite a few months before they decide to get married.’
‘Why does it take so long to decide?’
‘Well, you know how Frozen is your favourite film now, you love it, don’t you?’
‘Yes, Daddy, it’s the best film in the world.’
‘Well, in a few months’ time, it might not be your favourite any more.’
‘It will always be my favourite film, Daddy, always. I love it with my whole heart.’
‘Right, well…’
‘I love it as much as Boris loves Mikael and Nanny loves Pops and Winston loves sausages.’
Winston gave a little bark from somewhere near the floor; obviously he had joined in the party too. Little ripples of laughter were shaking Pip’s body as she tried to hold them back.
‘Do you love Pip as much as I love Frozen?’ Wren asked.
Pip glanced up at Gabe and he smirked at her.
‘I don’t think anyone could love anybody or anything as much as you love Frozen,’ Gabe said. ‘But I do like Pip very much.’
‘I like Pip very much too, so can she sleep in my bed tonight with me?’
‘No. There’s not really enough room for her in your bed.’
‘You lie in my bed when you read me a story, there’s plenty of room for you.’
‘But you like to have Winston in your room to keep you company. I have Pip in my room to keep me company.’
Wren clearly thought about this for a moment. ‘You can have Winston tonight and I can have Pip.’
Pip snorted into her hand and then turned it into a cough.
‘You have your sleepover tonight with Chester and Rebecca. It’s Chester’s birthday.’
Wren’s eyes grew wide with excitement. ‘That’s tonight.’
‘Yes, you’re going round there after lunch and then staying all night. So why don’t you go and get yourself dressed.’
Wren scrabbled out of bed and ran out of the room and Pip finally let out the laughter she had been holding in.
‘You think that’s funny, do you?’ Gabe said, though he was clearly laughing too. ‘You could have helped me out.’
‘You were doing fine on your own. Besides, I probably would have said something wrong. I certainly wouldn’t have told her we are trying each other out to see if we like each other enough to get married. It wouldn’t have occurred to me at all to answer her questions like that.’
‘Oh, and what would you have said?’
‘That you were helping to keep my nightmares away or that we were cuddling because we were cold.’
‘You didn’t have any nightmares last night, did you?’ he asked, concern clouding his eyes.
‘No, you must be my cure.’
‘I like that I’m your cure.’
She smiled. ‘I do too.’
‘So with Wren round at Chester’s tonight, we could have a sleepover of our own. How do you fancy sleeping in one of the glass igloos tonight? We might not see any Northern Lights, I’ll have to check the weather, but it’ll still be wonderful to sleep under the stars.’
‘I would love that.’
He bent his head down and kissed her softly, before pulling away.
‘We better get up too, there’s lots of work to be done today before we can go to the igloo.’
He got up and stretched, showing a tiny bit of his toned stomach in all its glory.
He smiled when he saw her checking him out. ‘Fancy taking a shower with me?’
Pip felt her eyebrows shoot up, not sure if Gabe was teasing or not.
‘I think Wren would definitely have something to say about that.’
Gabe nodded. ‘You’re probably right.’
‘Daddy, Boris and Chester are outside, can I go and play with them before breakfast?’ Wren called, running into the room, struggling to put on her snowsuit. Gabe knelt down to zip her up.
‘Do you want help putting your wellies on?’
‘No, I can do it.’
Wren ran out of the room and a second later Pip heard the thunder of feet as she ran down the stairs followed by a yapping Winston.
Gabe walked out of the bedroom and Pip watched as he moved to the front window to check on Wren as she ran outside. He laughed, then came running back to the bedroom.
‘Quick, get dressed, they’re having a snowball fight out there.’
Pip got out of bed and Gabe threw her one of his hoodies, which she pulled over her pyjamas, then she raced downstairs and pulled her snow boots on. Gabe was hot on her heels having also got dressed. Pip could see Boris and Chester throwing snowballs at Wren outside, though she could see that Boris was deliberately trying not to hit her but just aiming them very close. Chester, it seemed, didn’t have any such scruples.
Gabe managed to get his boots on before Pip and ran outside, gathering snow in his hands. Pip watched as he lobbed the snowball at Boris, much to Boris’s surprise.
Pip ran out and grabbed a snowball and threw it at Gabe. It exploded against the back of his head with a satisfying splat.
He turned round to look at her in shock. ‘You’re supposed to be on my side.’
‘Nope. I’m on Boris’s side. He saved me from the evil Shetland ponies the other day.’
Before Gabe could argue she threw another snowball at him and this one hit him square in the chest. He picked one up and threw one at her as she darted out of the way and joined Boris on his team. Wren quickly joined them, so Gabe was on his own. Chester and Wren were laughing helplessly as they joined Pip in throwing snowballs at Gabe. Boris clearly wasn’t sure about throwing snowballs at his boss until Gabe threw one that landed straight in Boris’s face. After that Boris joined in the fight with much more gusto.
Although Chester and Wren’s snowballs didn’t often make contact with Gabe, every single one of Boris and Pip’s snowballs hit him in the chest, legs, hair, face, until he was utterly dripping, whereas Pip had escaped relatively unscathed. Gabe started making a row of snowballs ready to attack as Boris continued to pelt him.
As Pip ran to the side to get more snow, Gabe started throwing a volley of snowballs at her back, some exploding in her hair, some on her legs. She turned around so she could see them coming and have a chance of avoiding them, but as another snowball came straight for her face she swerved and ducked, lost her balance and fell backwards into a six-foot drift of snow. The snow collapsed on top of her so she was completely buried, apart from her legs, which were sticking out the drift.
She laughed as she tried to get herself out but she was stuck fast. The snow had managed to get everywhere, down her pyjama top, in her pyjama bottoms.
A moment or two later she heard heavy footsteps approach and Gabe’s laughter as he grabbed her ankles and unceremoniously dragged her out of the pile of snow.
‘You alright?’ he said, grinning as he stood over her.
‘Bit wet.’
He offered her a hand to help her up and she took it. She brushed some of the snow off herself but she was soaking now.
Gabe turned round to Boris. ‘We’re just going to get changed before breakfast, you guys carry on out here. We’ll be out soon.’
