Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 121898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
It worked well for me and my waffle mission, though.
The line thinned out the way I’d hoped it would, and Thomas had nailed it. The stragglers left in front of us were largely men who were clearly holding a place in line for their female family members or those who were potentially going to get a blowie in exchange for a waffle.
Honestly, a blowjob was worth at least two waffles. With extra chocolate sauce.
I mean, you had to sell your dignity to do it in public, so waffles were the least the guy could do given he was having all the fun.
“Good call,” I said, happily moving into the space that had been left by the vacating queuers.
These people were amateurs. Who left a queue to see lights be turned on by a pig? Amateurs, I tell you.
Queueing was a national pastime. To leave a queue for anything less than an emergency was sacrilege.
Christmas lights being switched on was certainly not in the criteria for leaving a queue.
Not even a car alarm was.
You just leant in the general direction of your car, waving your keys in the air, and jabbed the button on your keys in the hope the signal reached the obscure corner you’d parked in to make sure some arsehole kid didn’t ding your door when they opened theirs.
I was projecting there a bit.
It was me. I was the one who parked in obscure corners.
“What do you want?” Thomas asked, looking at the menu board that hung at the side of the hut.
“What do I what?” I asked. “Oh, we’re almost at the front.”
“Are you daydreaming?”
“So what if I am?”
“What are you thinking about?”
Oh, no. I wasn’t giving him that ammunition. “What all women think about. The easiest way to commit murder and hide a man’s body.”
He held my gaze for a moment.
“I considered using the pig, but I’m not sure she could eat all of you.” I shrugged and stepped forwards. “Three waffles with Nutella and some whipped cream sounds like a good idea.”
“Are you sure you can eat three?”
“Of course I can eat three. What kind of weakling do you think I am?” I dug in my bag for my purse.
Thomas put his hand on my arm. “What are you doing?”
“Getting my purse out.”
He tugged on my wrist to pull my hand out. “No. I told you I’d get them.”
I frowned as he stepped up to the counter and ordered, starting with mine, then getting some for him, Beth, and Danny. He paid while I pouted, and then he turned to me with a smirk and handed me the first box.
“Peace offering.”
“A very festive peace offering,” I replied.
“You could just lead with ‘thank you,’ or is that too much for you?”
I fought a smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We moved to the side so others could get to the window of the hut to order.
“It is very festive though,” I said, opening my box. “Especially for someone who hates Christmas as much as you do. You must be dying here. I can practically see the Grinchy green fur sprouting from your skin.”
Thomas side-eyed me, clutching onto the other polystyrene containers. “I don’t hate Christmas itself, really. I just don’t like this time of year. It’s justified.”
“Beth did say about your dad.” Guilt gnawed at my stomach for bringing up something like that during what was really quite a nice conversation. “When we had lunch,” I added awkwardly, glancing up at him.
“Yeah, finding out your dad is dying does kill one’s Christmas spirit.” He peered over at me with a tiny smile on his face, and he didn’t look put out by my idiotic mouth bringing it up at all. “Was that all she told you?”
I paused, and right before I opened my mouth to speak, the roaring sound of Thomas’ mum’s voice crackled through the speakers with a booming, “Ten, nine, eight—” and I jolted, turning towards the tree to catch the very moment the lights switched on.
“Ooh, the lights!” I said right at the very moment the crowd erupted in a cheer.
The lights began at the bottom of the tree, switching on in a wave that swept the entirety of it until it culminated in the star blinking on. The moment of stillness that crept over the square felt a lot like everyone was holding their breath, and the star slowly pulsed, brightening and dimming for a solid ten seconds before it stilled again.
The distinct cash register sound that announced I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday rang through the air, and both the star and the tree lights flickered with the beat of the song. I vaguely caught Thomas sighing and dropping his chin to his chest out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face.
The string lights that went from the star to the shops in a canopy over the square were the next to be lit in a whooshing sweep before they joined the little lightshow that was in time with the music. One by shop, the shops around the square flooded to life. It was like a Mexican wave of lights going from one shop to another, and I turned my head back and forth, almost craning my neck to catch the rush of the lights coming to life.