Accidentally Married

Chapter Seven

The rest of December followed a similar pattern, but with added obsessing over what to get Tom and his family for Christmas. I felt as though, if I only could buy the perfect presents, Christmas wouldn't be as awkward as it promised to be.

I badgered Tom for details about his family, perused his family photos and generally got as much information as possible.

Then came the days wandering shops and browsing the internet, hoping to find something that matched with what I had learned.

I'd done the best I could, and Tom agreed that my presents were good, but I was still nervous.

Christmas was spent at his Mum's cottage in East Anglia, with me and Tom obviously, and Tom's sister and her fiancé. We were all supposed to stay with her but when I first saw the house, I was sure that would mean staying in cupboards and sleeping bags on the dining room floor, but the cottage was surprisingly TARDIS like and all three of its bedrooms were a decent size.

Tom and I had to share, obviously, but Tom told me he had explained that we were a couple, even if our marriage wasn't real.

Tom's sister hadn't arrived when we got there but his Mum was waiting on the front step as we grabbed out bags. She greeted Tom with a big hug and kiss to his cheek, then as Tom introduced us she gave me a huge smile and pulled me into a hug too.

I don't know what I'd expected, but it wasn't warmth and hugs.

"So nice to meet you," she said as she pulled away. "Well, you've had a long drive so I'll let Tom show you to your room while I put the kettle on. Just come down when you're ready."

Tom was looking expectantly at me as his mum made her way back inside, but I wasn't about to jinx anything by saying how lovely she seemed.

The room, while it had a fair square footage, was on the top floor of the cottage and being an old house, the roof was slanted, meaning poor Tom had to do a fair bit of ducking at the edges of the room. So did I, actually, but Tom was even worse. We both had a couple of new bumps by the time we had unpacked but nothing serious.

"So, what do you think?" Tom asked as he hung our clothes in the wardrobe.

By some unspoken agreement, we seemed to have decided that I would take the drawers while Tom did the wardrobe.

"The house is lovely," I told him, gazing out of the window into the walled garden at the rear.

"And about Mum?" he pressed.

Great, he was going to force me to jinx myself.

"She seems very nice."

Tom looked a little hurt by my lukewarm assessment so I rushed on.

"I mean, we've only exchanged one sentence but... I'm sure I'll love her."

He smiled, pleased with my assessment. I wasn't lying, I hoped that was the case, but I was far from certain it would be. Aside from Zach, Toms friend, no one else had been happy about our marriage.

We unpacked, which took quite a while as we were here for 10 days, then we headed downstairs to properly meet his mum. She must have heard us coming as she had a pot of tea ready and plate of cupcakes.

Of course she offered me one and I accepted with a gigantic faux smile plastered on my face. I would have liked to refuse but I wanted this woman to like me, so instead I peeled the paper wrapper off and broke off small pieces, eating them as slowly as I dared without being rude.

"These are bloody lovely," I said honestly, because they were.

It was just humanity's bad luck that the nicest tasting stuff was usually the most fattening.