Christmas at the Edge of the World

“Aren’t we all, in one way or another?” For a second, Archie looked bleak, and Laurel remembered the sorrows he’d already faced in his life. Why, she wondered, had he never married, had children? Had he wanted to? Was there a woman whom he’d lost, or a relationship that hadn’t worked out?

“Yes, I suppose we are.” And one day, she hoped, she’d find it. For Zac, for Abby, for herself and the Mr Right she still believed was out there somewhere, wherever she might find him.

“Magic isn’t something you can force,” Archie said gently. “And the more you try, the less the chance there is of it happening.”

“So you think I should just relax and let things happen with Zac?” she surmised.

“Something like that, I suppose.”

The door to the kitchen opened, bringing in a gust of cold air. “They’re all fed,” Zac announced, and Archie filled the kettle and plonked it on top of the Aga.

“Time for a game of Monopoly, then.”

“Monopoly?” Zac looked dubious.

“I’ve never lost at it yet,” Archie announced as he retrieved a battered box from a cupboard. “But I bet you can give me a run for my money, lad.”

“What about me?” Laurel asked in mock indignation.

Archie winked at her. “You already are.”

If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought he was flirting. If she hadn’t known better, she almost wished he was.

They played an epic game of Monopoly over tea and the last of Laurel’s brownies, with Archie winning rather smugly.

“It’s the oranges,” he explained as they tidied away the pieces. “Always go for the oranges.”

“That’s your trick?” Laurel said with a laugh. “And you’ve just given it away?”

“I’ve got plenty more.” He tapped his forehead knowingly before turning to Zac. “Whole theories on railroads, when to build houses, the lot. See you tomorrow?”

“Wait, what?” Laurel looked at them both blankly.

“I could use another day of help,” Archie explained easily. “If Zac wants to pitch in. I told him I’d pay him this time. Not much, but a little.” He glanced at Laurel. “If that’s all right.”

What could she say but yes? “If Zac wants to…” She glanced at Zac, who shrugged his assent. He didn’t look thrilled, but he didn’t look put out, either. Laurel suspected he was simply playing it cool.

“Right, okay, then. I can drop him off…”

“I’ll walk,” Zac said unexpectedly. “I don’t mind.”

“All right.” Which left her with another day on her own, something that had been lovely today but felt the tiniest bit empty tomorrow. “Great.”

“You can come for dinner again, if you like,” Archie offered. “But this time I’ll cook.”

“Oh…”

“Or not,” he said with a shrug and a smile. “As you like.”

She didn’t know what she liked. Laurel tried to sift through her tangle of emotions—hope, surprise, that stupid little dart of jealousy, pleasure. “Okay,” she said after a moment. “That sounds lovely. Thank you.”

Archie smiled again, and Laurel thought how easy he was to be with. “Thank you,” she said again, and then they were heading out into the night, the sky dark and clear, scattered with a thousand stars.

Laurel took a deep breath of cold, crisp air, let it fill her lungs. It was only five days to Christmas now. She wondered how Abby was, if the rehab was working, if somehow this strange stint could bring everybody back together again, stronger than ever before. Above her, the stars glittered and twinkled, like bits of promise.

“Are we going?” Zac asked. Clearly he was not having a moment, the way she was.

“Yes,” Laurel said with both a sigh and a smile. “We’re going.”