Nowhere Girl ~ John Lennon/The Beatles

Chapter Nineteen: Boxing Day

The Christmas holidays seemed to fly by in a blur. Without the stress of college and coursework Robin took on more shifts and spent most of her nights out either with her work friends at the pub or with John, Stu and the band at their gigs. It was the most fun she'd ever had, not that she wanted to admit it to anyone in fear that they'd realise just how boring her life used to be.

Even if she saw John every night, neither of them spoke of the kiss. When John had said it was their little secret, it was almost as if it had become a secret from even themselves. Neither of them mentioned it, or even referenced it, and Robin had begun to wonder if John had started to pretend it hadn't happened. She soon realised that it wasn't the case. Whenever they saw each other they were with other people, and it wouldn't be right to go sneaking off just to see if their previous passion still existed. Occasionally John would glance over at her if they were in a room full of people and Robin would blush, but they made no other move than that. They both acted as if it was forgotten, neither of them knowing just how badly the other was dying to bring it up and explore whether it could happen again.

Both of them were, however, too busy to make the kiss their sole priority. John had gigs with the Quarrymen, and Robin took on more and more shifts since she didn't have college to worry about. She went to whatever gigs she could, they were mad fun and she more often than not woke up the morning after with a hangover. Her alcohol tolerance was certainly improving, but it was not up to the standards of everyone else in the group. It was a little embarrassing, especially since George was three years younger than her and could drink her under the table quite easily, but the others found it funny, and she was grateful that John always made sure she never got in too much of a state and always got home safe.

Christmas Eve was spent at the restaurant on a long shift with Ana and Susie before meeting Kay and her boyfriend Frank down at the pub. The three of them then went down to a few clubs and met John and the others, meaning Christmas morning Robin woke up with a hangover. Not that it mattered, since her mother and uncle were both hungover too. Rita had been out with her work friends and Albert had met up with old school friends for a festive pub crawl. As a Christmas treat Robin's mother put aside all her bitterness so the three Knight's enjoyed a calm Christmas Day.

It was different to the sort of celebrations she was used to at home, considering all Robin usually cared about was the food. Back in Sheffield her Dad always did the cooking, food being something that ran in the family since he was just as good a chef as his restauranteur brother, but other than Albert preparing an impressive feast, she also had considerably more presents than usual, most of them being art supplies or records.

"My mate Brian runs a record shop," Albert had told her as he gifted her the box full of records ranging from blues and jazz to skiffle and rock. "He told me what all the best ones are,"

"They're brilliant, you're brilliant," she told him gratefully, meaning it with her whole heart.

Together they sat and watched the Queen's Speech and the many different carol services that were televised before Top Hat starring Fred and Ginger came on, one of Robin's favourite films. Everything was calm and peaceful, and it was probably the most content Robin had felt in the house since moving in. That night as she went to bed, trying not to glance over at John's house as she closed her curtains, she hoped that maybe this was the start of something new. Maybe she and her family were turning over a new leaf and she and her mother could start to build a normal relationship.

Of course, that was wishful thinking, as the very next morning things were back to normal. With Albert going out to meet his friends, Robin was home alone with her mother. Part of her wished she could see her friends too, she wanted to go round to John's or get the bus to Stuart's bedsit, maybe even visit Kay and her sister, but she had a Boxing Day tradition she hated to ignore, the very thought of missing it making her stomach clench in nerves.