He nodded. He pulled her to her feet and took hold of her hand. “Then let me give you a guided tour of the house before you have the best toad in the hole this side of the equator.”
8
After church the following day, with Pip headed off on a day trip, Jo walked slowly through the snowy streets to where John had parked. As nice as it was having Pip around, she liked it just being her and John. She felt complete with him. Seeing him again, just confirmed in her mind how much she cared about him.
She sat in the car as John drove her home the long way to give everyone else time to arrive first. At least, she guessed that was the reason. He said it was a scenic tour of Headley Cross. However, the countryside was really pretty, with its hedgerows and compartmentalized fields. The area was tidy compared with the sprawling cities and outback she was used to. Snow still lay everywhere. It’d be nice to see it in the spring, green and full of flowers. Maybe she’d get the chance someday.
She studied his profile. His strong jawline and the way his hair created a halo around his head. “So am I meeting all your family today?”
John shook his head, turning off the main road. “No. Just Dorrie, Fraser and their kids. The others are coming over on Christmas Day.”
“OK.” The butterflies grew and multiplied as John parked outside the house, until her whole being consisted of millions of tiny flapping wings.
John touched her hand. “It’ll be all right. They don’t bite.”
She smiled. “OK, so let’s do this before I get too scared and run for those really pretty hills we passed on the way home.”
“Another day.” He got out and scooted around the car to open the door for her.
“Such a gentleman.”
He grinned, taking her hand. “Just need you to convince Dorrie of that. She thinks I’m nowhere near a gentleman because I tease her too much.”
“You’re her brother. It’s your job to tease her mercilessly.”
“Cool, in that case I shall do that for the rest of the day. I think you’ll like her.”
“Hope so.”
John led her to the house. It smelled warm and inviting. She inhaled deeply. “Is that a roast I smell?”
He took her coat and hung it up. “Sure is. We always have a roast on Sunday.”
“I love roasts, just never have the time to cook one.”
Small feet pattered into the hall, and a child of about four or five attached himself to John’s legs. “Ki John. You’re back.”
John swung him into his arms. “Hello, Taylor. This is my friend. Jo, this is my nephew, Taylor.”
She smiled at him. “Hello.”
Taylor looked at her. “Are you and Ki John getting married?”
Jo blushed, and hoped no one else overheard that comment.
John laughed. “Not yet. Where’s mummy?”
“In the kitchen room with Gramma.”
“Kitchen room?” Jo asked, not familiar with the word.
“Bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen room. Makes perfect sense,” John winked at her. He put Taylor down and took Jo’s hand, walking with her into the kitchen.
“Ki John?” She wanted to get the child speak down before they went any further.
“Uncle John. Most words he can manage fine. It’s just the odd one or two. But then he’s only four.”
“Ah.” She smiled at him.
John led her over to the stove. “Hi, Mum.”
Liz glanced from where she stood stirring a pan. “Hello, you two. How did you find the service, Jo?”
Jo smiled. “A lot quieter than what I’m used to, but the preaching was amazing.”
A short, dark-haired, pregnant woman came in. “That’s the table laid.”
John chuckled. “Jo, this is my big, little sis, Dorrie.”
Dorrie smiled and held out a hand. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you at last.”
Jo shook her hand. “And you.”
“How are you finding the cold and snow?”
“Strange. It was forty degrees when I left home.”
“Wow. That’s hot.”
Jo smiled. “Sure is. Why does he call you his big little sister?”
“Because I’m older than him, but shorter. He’s my little, big brother for the same reason. Younger, yet taller.”
“Everyone’s taller than you,” John teased. “One day all your kids will be, too, and you’ll have to stand on a chair in order to ground them.”
“Probably.”
He grinned. “Let’s get out of the way so Dad can carve.”
Taylor slid his hand into hers and tugged. “Come in sertry. Come and see.”
Not sure what a sertry was, Jo smiled. “Sure, what do you want to show me?”
“Play peoples Gramma bought.”
He led Jo into the conservatory and pointed to the floor completely covered in play people, with an ambulance and several horses. A dark-haired girl sat playing with them.
John smiled. “He never has been able to say conservatory, so it’s a sertry. And this is Beth.”
At her name, Beth looked up and smiled. “Hewwo,” she said, then went back to the toys.
Taylor tugged Jo again. “Sit and play.”
“I’d love to.” She sat with them. “I used to have something like this.”
John sat next to her. “Most of these were ours. The Lego was mine.”
“Spoilt kids.”
He laughed. “Isn’t that what children are for? At least other peoples’ children.”
She titled her head, fitting a rider onto a horse for Beth. “Well, you turned out OK.”
“House full of love. It makes all the difference.”
****
The rest of the day passed quickly. After the evening service, John got the Christmas tree and box of decorations down from the loft, and they started putting them up. He was surprised Jo agreed to help, but wasn’t going to complain.
Jo went through the box as John hung the lights on the tree. “This is the second tree I’ve done this year.”
“Yours is pretty.” He could visualize the tree in his mind, see her hands carefully adding things to the branches, the same way she was doing now.
“So’s this one. Ours was new, but yours has a history to it. Some of these baubles must go back years.”
He nodded. “Since we were kids.”
“They are part of who you are. They watched you grow up into the man you’ve become.”
He chuckled. “They wouldn’t have seen much. Only out of the box for two out of fifty-two weeks. A bit like one of those speeded up time lapse films, but I could do that with photos.”
“I’d love to see photos of you growing up.”
“Maybe Dad will get them later. OK, the lights are done. Now for the baubles.”
Jo started hanging them. “Your family is really nice. So friendly, they made me feel accepted and part of them, even though they don’t know me.”
“Good. I’m glad.” Warmth spread through him. It was important to him that she liked his family and that they liked her. He just hadn’t expected it so quickly.
“It’s strange it being so cold, with snow on the ground. Christmas is meant to be hot with the threat of bush fires and mozzies everywhere.” She grinned at his obvious confusion. “Mosquitoes.”
John winked. “Nah, that’s just wrong. What do you have for dinner?”
She twisted a bauble, watching his reflection spin. “Salad, sometimes grilled chicken on the beach. Growing up we’d have pumpkin soup, grilled Barramundi served with roasted Kipfler potatoes with garlic butter and green beans. For dessert we would have kiwifruit, strawberry and passion fruit Pavlova.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “Then you’re in for a treat. We have roast turkey with way more trimmings than you can imagine.”
“Such as?”
“Roast spuds, roast parsnips, sprouts, carrots, peas, swede, cauliflower cheese, pigs in blankets, stuffing, bread sauce, cranberry sauce. Both the latter homemade. Followed by Christmas pudding and mince pies, with custard or cream.”
“Wow. That does sound good.” She looked at the tree as they finished decorating. “Are you working tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “Though if I’d known you were coming, I’d have…”
“Baked a cake
?” she sang.
He laughed. “Oh, yeah, definitely. No, I’d have booked the day off. But it’s only tomorrow. They’re redecorating the labs over Christmas, so everything is shutting down and moving into storage. So we’ll have the rest of the time together until you go home.” He smiled at her. “That tree does look pretty.”
She sat back on her heels and admired it. “Yeah, it does.”
“Like you.” He grinned. “Especially when you blush. Want to go for a walk? Check out the lights on the surrounding houses?”
****
Coats on and her gloved hand in his, Jo was amazed at the variety of lights on the houses. “Your Dad doesn’t go in for this outdoor decoration?”
“No. Dorrie does, but lights around the glass door panel are as far as Dad’ll go and that’s relatively new. I was thinking. How would you like to go to Paris on Tuesday?”
Surprised she stopped walking and looked at him. “Paris? I’d love to, but how?”
“Train. We go from here to London, cross the city on the underground. Then we get another train, go via the tunnel and get off in Paris.” He winked. “It even goes to Disneyland.”
“Wow. I have always wanted to go there.”
“Then we’ll do Paris and Disneyland on Tuesday. I’ll check the times of the trains.”
He walked with her hand in his. Snow crunched under their feet, trees glistening in the moonlight. Christmas lights glowed on houses and trees. The scene was magical. “Is England in December anything like you imagined?”
“Better. It’s beautiful.”
John pulled off a glove and ran his hand down her face, setting her skin ablaze. His eyes reflected the multicolored Christmas lights. “Not as beautiful as you.” He moved closer, pulling her against his firm body. His lips brushed against hers.
Jo sighed, her fingers gripping his arms as she kissed him back, eager to take what he offered. Something almost electrical passed between them, and she knew from the way his eyes sprung open that he’d felt it too.
“Wow,” she whispered, her forehead touching his. “That was…”
“Incredible?”
“Yes.”
“Again?” His voice was barely a whisper as if he were afraid to shatter the crystal silence around them.
“Yeah.” She closed her eyes as John, being a perfect gentleman, obliged.
****
Disneyland Paris was everything and more than Jo expected. The Christmas lights and John’s hand in hers made it magical. She took hundreds of photos, wanting to cement the memories of him. Silly ones of him posing, self-portraits of the two of them together and even found someone willing to take one of the two of them with the pink castle in the background.
The parade was so much better in real life than on the TV. It didn’t matter that the temperature was below freezing, and their breath hung in the air. With her hand in his, she was as warm as she needed to be.
She screamed and clung to him on the more terrifying rides, amazed he wanted to go on them. He definitely had hidden depths, a wild streak, she longed to uncover. And not just his kisses either. Although they set her ablaze in a way she never dreamed possible. She was giddy in his presence and didn’t want this feeling to end. Ever.
Sitting in a boat going down the Seine that evening, she leaned into John, putting the whole situation in God’s hands.
Please, God, don’t let this be all there is. Just a few kisses, a few moments. I want more. I want forever. If anyone can do this, You can
.
She twisted so her back was against John’s firm chest. His arms circled her. She looked up at him. His black hat cradled his head, the same way her red one did. His blond hair peeked out, and she reached up to tuck the errant curl away. His breath brushed her cheek before he kissed her.
He winked at her. “You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips,” he sang.
The couple opposite laughed. “Good one, mate,” the teenage girl commented.
Jo blushed. “But that was my cheek not my lips. Makes a difference.”
“Give me your camera and I’ll take a photo of you both with the Statue of Liberty behind you.” The girl held out her hand.
“The Statue of Liberty?” Jo asked confused.
“The Parisian one,” John explained.
“Oh, right.” Jo handed over the camera and snuggled up with John. They both smiled. “Thank you.”
Jo took the camera back and scrolled through the pictures. She paused over one of John. The white light behind him encased his body, beaming like a halo, making him look like an angel. The verse from Hebrews sprung to mind. John was her angel, but could she keep him? Or were these precious moments all they could ever have?
9
“So, you’re telling me these guys aren’t even allowed to smile?” Jo looked in amazement at the tall red-coated solider with huge bearskin hat. The gold braid snug under his chin and rifle clasped tightly in his hand as he stood guard at Windsor Castle.
“Nope. He can get court-martialed for that. The same if he spoke to you.”
“Wow. That seems a little harsh.”
John slid his free hand into his pocket. “He’s paid to protect the Queen and her palace, not to smile at and interact with the tourists. Not even by the cute kid that was pulling faces at him a minute ago.”
“Even so. She isn’t here, is she?”
“No. The Royal Family travel to Sandringham for Christmas. But his duties still stand. He serves her even when her physical presence is elsewhere. Without allowing himself to be distracted, because you never know where the next threat is coming from. That cute kid may be accompanied by a terrorist.”
She tilted her head. “Like we always serve God? And keep an eye open for the attacks of the evil one?”
“That’s rather profound for this early in the day.”
Jo took a photo of the guard. “It’s eleven o’clock. Not that early. Take one of me with him.” John obliged as she posed. Then she looked at the soldier. He might not be allowed to respond but she should thank him anyway. “Thank you.”
John took her hand again. “Want to go and see Queen Mary’s dolls’ house?”