The Last Train Home

Chapter Twenty-One

Even though I refused to believe there was anything at all between Alec and me, I still couldn't shake the thought from my head.

Maybe it was Eva's insistence or Jonathan somewhat agreeing, even if he never said it, but the thought continued to linger long after I had recovered from the cold and we were knee-deep into December. I blamed Eva. She had a habit of saying things she knows will annoy me for weeks to come, it's one of the reasons why she said them in the first place.

I tried to ignore the comment that continued to swirl through my head and instead focused my attention on the Christmas presents I wanted to do for Jonathan and Barbara. Since I had only been with them since September, trying to figure out what to do ended up being a lot harder than I first thought. With the kitchen mended and redecorated, and the house now up to a decent standard, there were very few things I could do.

Back home, I would make something for Mum depending on what she needed or what she complained about never having. With the help of Dad, we built her a spice rack and even a rocking chair one year, but I didn't think I could do that for the Goodwin's. I needed to come up with something and I was running out of time to do so.

"Christmas is in two weeks and you've left it until now to figure out what to do?" Eva asked. She tapped a stack of postcards on the counter and then tucked them into the rack.

"I know, I'm a terrible person. I need your help."

"What can I do? I'm not as creative as you, you know that."

"So you have no ideas? None at all? Are you sure?"

"None. You're on your own with this one." Eva raised an eyebrow at me. "This is your own fault, you've had ages to think of something." She turned her attention to the front door where the bell above the door had just chimed.

"I'm going to drown myself in the lake."

"Excuse me?" A stunned voice said behind me.

I turned around and came face-to-face with Mr and Mrs Thompson and Alec who had hidden his face in his hand and had started shaking, though it was no doubt out of laughter than anything else. Heat travelled up my face at the embarrassment that had I had said it not just in front of other people, but in front of people I knew and had spoken to on countless occasions. Mum always said I needed to think before I spoke and this happened to be one of those occasions.

"Figure of speech," I said in an attempt to clarify my meaning. Alec emerged from behind his hands with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"If you say so," Mrs Thompson said.

"Thank you for being completely useless, Eva."

Eva smiled. "You're welcome."

I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes at her and instead shuffled past the Thompson's and stepped outside. The moment I walked through the door, I pulled my coat tighter around my arms to protect me from the bitter wind that had set in. Barbara had been reluctant to let me into the village on my own after I got ill last time, but with scattered clouds in the sky, Jonathan had allowed it. I suspected he only did it because I had started to get on his nerves; I never liked being cooped up inside.

Moving through the village, I took a seat on one of the benches and slumped back against it to stare at the leaves being wiped up into a mini-tornado by the wind. Two weeks to come up with a decent Christmas present did not feel like enough time and I had hoped Eva could help - how wrong I was. She did have a point, though. I had left it till the last minute and that was on me but she could have at least offered me an idea rather than mocking me for my own mistake.