The Writer's Christmas

Jenny ploughed through the snow, clutching her latest manuscript - a six page romance short story about a princess and a thief. In her other hand, she carried a copy of the latest Top 100 Book Rankings, her novel He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not highlighted next to the number twenty six.
She continued through the snow, ignoring the colourful decorations displayed in shopfronts. She had long since given up admiring the Christmas decorations - almost every shop in New York seemed to stock tinsel, in a rainbow of colours, and mechanical toy Santa’s which sang Christmas Carrols in annoying tones.
Jenny glanced at her watch. It was 5:05PM. She was late. Every Monday, from 5:00 she would meet her close friends, Tim and Laura, at the New York State Library for a one hour critique session, where they would all give feedback to each others latest work.
Jenny was in such a hurry, she rushed past ‘ABC Books’, her local bookshop. Stopping, she rushed back, and hurried inside, shaking her curly brown hair free of snow.
“Hello, may I help you?” a middle aged man asked.
Jenny regarded the man. “Where’s Geoff?”
“Geoff is sick. I’m his new assistant,” the man replied. “Can I help you with anything?”
“No. Just looking.” Jenny replied, moving towards a display of books, the title, Love at Last Sight, standing out in gold lettering. Her books. She stopped to admire them.
“They’re good books, eh?” the assistant said, coming over to her. Jenny looked at his name tag, Josh.
“They are, aren’t they, Josh?” she asked.
“I’d ask if you wanted to buy one, but I see you already one,” Josh said.
“Yeah.” Several. “I’d best be off.” With that, Jenny hurried out of the store, and back into the snow-filled sidewalk.
She hurried down the road once more, crossing at a set of traffic lights. She rounded a corner, and quickly arrived at the New York public library, a large ancient looking building, which looked more suited to Ancient Greece.
“Afternoon, Jenny,” a librarian greeted, as Jenny entered the building. “The others are already here, waiting at the table.”
“I know, I hope I’m not too late.”
The librarian, an elderly lady with white hair glanced at the clock. 5:10PM. “I’m sure the others wont mind.

---

“You’re late.” Tim said curtly.
“I’m sorry.” Jenny apologised to the other two members of their small critique group. She looked at Tim, then Laura, both who were glaring at her. “I just popped in to see my book.”
“You always look at your books!” Laura complained. “It’s become a routine excuse. Look at the time! Only twenty minutes left.”
“You mean fifty.”
“You forgot, haven't you?” Tim said. “Today we’re only going for half an hour.”
“I’m sorry,” Jenny repeated. “We can go overtime, if you’d like.”
“We can’t.” Tim said. “I’ve got a meeting with my publisher at six, and Laura has a date.”
“Oh. Well, let’s get started,” Jenny said, sitting down. “This week, I’ve been working on your suggestions, Tim, for He Stole My Heart. If you like, you can take a look at it.” She passed the six-page manuscript to him. He looked through it, pushing his long, light brown hair out of his eyes, and stroking his small beard slightly.
“Jenny,” Laura said. “I wrote a new story, and I was wondering if you could look at it.”
“Sure,” Jenny replied, glad her lateness was off the subject. Laura passed her the short story, and Jenny leafed through it casually. “It’s a horror,” Laura explained.
Jenny looked up at Laura. “Laura, this main character, Lara, sounds a bit like you. Big brown eyes, blonde hair done up in a ponytail. Don’t you think?” Laura blushed. “I was having some trouble coming up with inspiration for the main character.”
“Ah.” Jenny nodded. “Why exactly did you choose horror this time? You usually write romance.”
Laura blushed again, going red with embarrassment. “Well, you told me to try experimenting with different genres.”
“Yes, but why horror? You’re so timid, you can’t even watch parodies of horror movies.”
“I thought, maybe Tim could read it. He’s a master of horror. That’s why he’s going to be published,” Laura explained.
“Anyway,” Tim said, looking up, “I thought we might get on with the time. From last Monday, we all read Laura’s romance, He Kissed Me, so, we’ll talk about it now. Better hurry though. We have fifteen minutes left.”
“It’ll be all the time we need. fifteen minutes is plenty.” Jenny said.

---

As it turned out, fifteen minutes wasn’t plenty. They were only half way through critiquing He Kissed Me when 5:30PM arrived.
“That’s all we have time for,” Tim announced. “It’s my turn now, so I thought you girls could read over Kiss and Kill for me for next week.” He handed out two copies of the twelve page story. “It’s a bit of a romance as well, you know, because you both prefer it.”
Laura looked through the pages. “Ew. Did you have to have bugs coming out of the corpse?”
Tim ignored the question, and continued, “And, uh, as you two know, Wednesday is the release date of my novel, Headless. I was wondering if you guys could come down to ‘ABC Books’ with me, on Wednesday at 9:00AM?”
“Of course,” Laura replied. “It’s so exciting, have two published authors in the critique group with me. I must be next!”
“How is your novel going, by the way?” Tim asked.
“Oh, it’s coming along. I finished the draft on Friday, so I’m beginning to edit it.”
“Cool,” Jenny said. “I could have a look over it, if you’d like?”
“Sure,” Laura squealed. “You’re going to love it!”

---

Wednesday rolled around quickly, and Tim soon found himself waiting outside of ‘ABC Books’, his local bookstore, 9:00AM, the opening time, to arrive. As he leaned by the store window, gloves and beanie on, he rubbed his hands together to keep warm, and admired the decorations across the road.
“Tim!”
Tim turned to the source, and spotted Laura jogging along the path towards him, waving wildly.
“Hey!” Tim waved back. Laura jogged up to him, panting slightly. “I’m so excited for you!” she said. “Your book is finally going to be published.”
“Thanks,” Tim said.
“Where’s Jenny?” Laura asked.
“Not sure. She should be here by now,” Tim said, glancing at his watch. As if on cue, a yellow taxi pulled up, and Jenny leapt out. She paid the driver her fare, and walked up to Tim, hugging him tight. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” Taim said, extracting himself from Jenny’s grip. Behind them the door to the bookstore opened. Tim looked at his watch. “Nine o’clock exactly.”
The trio trooped in, and hurried down to the back off the store. Tim ran his finger against all the books, searching. “V… V… VA… ah! Here it is!” They stepped back, admiring Tim’s book, the word Headless standing out in gold.
“It’s a nice cover,” Laura admired, looking at the green cover of one of the four books for sale. “I like how they used blood to write the H. What do you think, Jenny?” No answer. Tim and Laura turned, expecting to find Jenny behind them, but only saw another row of books.
Laura sighed. “Jenny’s gone to look at her book.” The two hurried over to the front of the shop, where Jenny stood, staring at a table of books. Walking up to her, they noticed a large frown etched on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Tim asked. Jenny could only point at the books. Tim turned, and looked the books.
“They’re not hers,” Laura whispered.
“Hi there,” a sales assistant greeted them. “Can I help you?”
“Yes!” Jenny snapped. “Where are the He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not books?”
“They were moved,” the shop assistant, Josh, replied. “They weren’t selling, so they were moved down to make way for good books.”
“They weren’t selling?” Jenny muttered angrily, and glaring at the young man.
“Uh, no,” Josh replied, giving her a strange look. “They were not as good as the first one. The author didn’t do very well.”
“Uh oh,” Laura said. She grabbed Jenny by the wrist. “We better go.” She walked Jenny outside, who seemed to be in shock and made no attempt to resist. “Well done Tim!” Laura called out as she left.

---

“Okay, I feel better,” Jenny said as Laura walked her down the street. “I was just a little shocked, that’s all.”
Laura nodded, “Come to my apartment, I’ll get you something to drink. It’s just around the corner.” They walked quickly through the cold air, and soon arrived at Laura’s apartment. Laura entered, Jenny following, and entered a waiting elevator. Laura pushed the button ‘14’, and the doors closed.
“I’m sure it was a mistake,” Laura said. “You’re book will be up at the front again in no time.”
“Yeah,” Jenny said thoughtfully. “What would the silly assistant know anyway? He isn’t a writer. He wouldn’t know a good book if it bit him in the bum.” The two fell silent, until the elevator arrived at Laura’s level, and the two girls exited. Laura unlocked her door, and showed Jenny in.
“Here, you sit on the couch, and I’ll get us something,” she said, walking to the kitchen. Jenny sat down on the small couch, looking around the room. Three couches were positioned in a horseshoe shape, around a coffee table. The horseshoe opened up to the front entrance, while on the left side of the horseshoe was the kitchen. To the right of the horseshoe, a large oak bookshelf sat stuffed with nearly 100 books.
“Would you like a hot chocolate?” Laura called out.
“Uh, yes, thanks!” Jenny replied. She turned her attention to the coffee table. In the centre, a large pile of paper sat. Jenny picked it up carefully. The top page was just about blank, only a few words were written on it. ‘I Love You, a novel.’ Laura’s name sat below it.
Jenny gasped. It was Laura’s manuscript. The one she let no one see. Checking to see that Laura wasn’t returning, Jenny flicked to the next page. The words ‘Plot Overview’ headed the page. Jenny scanned through it, suddenly growing angry as she read each sentence. She stole my idea! Bitch! She copied me! She copied my first novel! Jenny went through a mental checklist. A girl is attacked. Check, same as mine. The criminal is caught, and sent to jail. Again, check. Criminal is sentenced to death. Check! Girl falls in love with criminal. Check!
“What are you doing?” Laura asked, entering the lounge with a tray of hot chocolate. “Oh, you found my novel.”
Jenny glared at her. “It sounds a lot like my first novel, Love at Last Sight!”
Laura’s face went red. “Well, I did kind of have some inspiration. But just a little bit!”
Jenny shook her head. “You are so unbelievable! How could you? How could you?” Jenny stood up, and marched to the door. “You’re pathetic,” Jenny hissed, and slammed thee door closed.
Laura stood in shock, tears forming in her eyes. “But, I made hot chocolate,” she managed to mutter, before breaking down and crying.

---

Monday quickly came around, Jenny refusing to talk to Laura, and Laura was soon trudging slowly up the library steps for the critique group. In her mind, she replayed how her sorry speech would go. She would apologise, offer to destroy her novel, Jenny would forgive her, and they would both make up.
Laura entered the library, smiling briefly at the librarian. She hurried to her table, where Jenny both sat at alone at the small square table. Laura hurried up to her.
“Jenny can I talk to you?”
“Talk all you want, I doubt I’ll listen.”
“Look, Jenny, I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Humph.”
“I mean it. I guess I just didn’t realise how similar our stories are.”
“Apparently,” Jenny replied sarcastically.
“Can we be friends?”
Silence.
“I’ll… I’ll get rid of my manuscript! Start fresh on something completely different!”
“You’d have to do a lot more than that.”
Without warning, Tim arrived, sitting down between Jenny and Laura. “Afternoon ladies.” Jenny grunted in reply, and Laura smiled sadly at him.
“I’ve, uh, got something to tell you,” Tim continued quietly. “Now that I’m published, I’ve been thinking, and I’ve decided that my publisher wouldn’t like me meeting with you here. Because I’d be giving away my skills.”
Jenny snorted in reply. Tim ignored her, and went on, “therefore, and I’m sorry, but I wont, uh, be coming to these critique sessions and more.”
Laura looked up at him, eyes wide. “You mean you’re quitting?”
Tim swallowed. “Uh, yes, I’m afraid. Don’t worry, we can still meet during the week.”
Jenny stood up. “That’s fine with me. I don’t think I should come either. Little sneaks might take my ideas!” With that, she collected her belongings and stormed off.
“Uh, well, glad I got that over with,” Tim said. “See you round then.” Tim left also.
Laura was left sitting at the desk, alone. Her bottom lip trembled, her eyes watered. She tried to hold back tears, but no luck. They burst out, and with a loud sob, she started crying.

---

Jenny stormed out of the library, clutching her small bags. She walked quickly onto the footpath, and down the street.
Tears stung at her eyes, but she wiped them away, determined not to cry. Stupid Laura! How could she?! This is all her fault! He bag began to feel heavy, so she paused at a bin, and grabbed Kiss and Kill, Tim’s short story which she had read over the week. She chucked it angrily in the bin, before grabbing out two copies of her latest short story. Both had been for Laura and Tim, but now, they weren’t needed. She tossed them as well.
Bloody Tim. Who does he think he is? ‘Now that I’m published, I’ve been thinking, and I’ve decided that my publisher wouldn’t like me meeting with you here. Because I’d be giving away my skills’. Ridiculous!
She arrived at ‘ABC Books’, and entered. Warmth immediately enveloped her body, and she sighed with comfort. She went to look at her book, which was located halfway down the store, when her eye caught a familiar book cover. The green background depicted a hideous corpse, and the golden word Headless stood out at her. Tim’s name was printed below the title.
Jenny gasped, and involuntarily dropped her bag. Shock turned to rage, and letting out an angry yell, turned and fled the store, filled with anger.

---

Laura entered the jewellery store, a small bell above the door ringing as it opened. She glanced around at the items for sale, the golden rings studded with diamonds, the silver necklaces with rubies and sapphires.
“Can I help you?” a female shop assistant appeared by Laura.
“What? Oh, no thank you. I’m just looking.” Laura replied.
The assistant nodded. “Looking for a Christmas present?”
“Kind of,” Laura replied. “My friend and I had an argument, so I’m trying to find the perfect present for her.”
“Right,” the assistant said thoughtfully, brushing a strand of long black hair from her eyes. “Well, we’re having a sale at the moment, all items over there,” she said pointing over behind her, “are thirty percent off. Perhaps you could try there?”
“Thank you.” Laura headed to the area of the store the shop assistant had suggested. She browsed through the necklaces - gold ones, silver with emeralds, pearls - a huge variety. Laura studied each and everyone of them, looking for the perfect gift. But none were perfect. Too cheap. Jenny didn’t like gold. Jenny hated green - emeralds wouldn’t do.
Suddenly, she found it. It was perfect. Silver. Diamonds and sapphires. It wasn’t cheap. It was -
“Nine hundred dollars!” Laura yelped, looking at the price tag. The shop assistant and the other four customers looked in her direction. Blushing, Laura looked back at the necklace. It was still nine hundred dollars. With the discount. Laura groaned. “I don’t make that in a week,” she muttered to herself. She glanced around the rest of the area. Nothing was under one grand.
“It’s okay, Laura,” she mumbled to herself. “Keep looking. Something cheaper will show up…”

---

Tim hurried to his phone, the ringing growing louder and louder. He picked it up and brought it to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Tim? It’s Jenny.”
Tim groaned to himself. She probably wanted to complain about something, or beg for him to help him out.
“Hi Jenny.”
“I was at the bookstore today. I saw that you books are in the front of the store. Congratulations.” From the tone of her voice, Tim could tell she didn’t mean it.
“Yeah? Thanks. I guess we know now who the better writer is.”
“What?” Jenny snarled.
“I said, I guess I’m a better writer than you.”
“That is rubbish, Tim. You would be nowhere without me. All those critiques!”
“Really? If you’re better than me, then why aren’t your books at the front of the shop?”
“You got lucky! Beginners luck!”

Meanwhile, Laura stepped into the elevator, and pressed the button marked ‘14’. Tim’s level.
Tim will know what Jenny wants, Laura reassured herself. He’ll be able to tell me straight away.
The elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors opened. A few people entered, and pressed various buttons. Laura waited patiently, glancing at her watch. 5.30pm.
Laura had been shopping all day. After visiting the store with the overpriced items, Laura had tried all the other jewellery stores in the area. She even tried a few large department stores, looking through their jewellery and other items. But there was nothing. Nothing was good enough. Nothing was perfect for Jenny.
The elevator stopped again, and Laura exited. She hurried down the corridor to Tim’s apartment. A small heater blew warm air through the corridor, but it was too small to make much of a distance. A musty smell hung over the space.

Inside, Tim and Jenny were still arguing.
“Your books are still at the back!” Tim exclaimed, his voice rising.
“Well,” Jenny returned, “I don’t see anyone copying your manuscript!”
“No one’s copying yours either!”
“Laura is!”

Laura stopped outside Tim’s door. It was partially open, so she didn’t knock. She crept in. She could hear Tim in his lounge room, talking. No one replied, so she guessed correctly he was talking on the phone. She listened to what he was saying. It was wrong, but she couldn’t help it. He was speaking loudly.
“Laura? Why would Laura copy your book?!” Tim exclaimed. Laura swallowed. He was clearly talking to Jenny.
“That doesn’t mean anything!” Tim said. He paused, as Jenny said something in return.
“Ha!” Tim replied harshly. “Don’t worry about her. Her writing is without a doubt the worst I’ve ever seen!”
In the foyer, Laura’s jaw dropped open. Tears sprung to her eyes. He thinks it too. They hate my writing. They hate me! Laura spun, and ran from Tim’s apartment. Down the elevator, out of the building. Tears began pouring down, and Laura found a vacant park bench. The air was freezing, but Laura didn’t care. She let the sadness pour out.

---

Jenny sat on her sofa, and stared out at what she could see of the New York twilight sky. She couldn’t see much - a tall apartment block blocked whatever view she might have gotten. However, she could see the entrance to the apartment directly beside her.
She was bored. There was nothing on the television, and she had read and re-read all her books several times. Although there was a new romance movie out at the cinemas. Perhaps Laura would like to see it with her…
Jenny sighed. Although she hated to admit it, she did miss Laura.
Jenny looked back out at the skyline. She soon grew bored with watching the neighbours eat dinner, and her attention turned to Laura’s manuscript. Perhaps she could read that. Have a laugh…
Jenny picked up the bound manuscript, and turned to the first page.
“Argh,” Jenny muttered to herself. That’s not how you spell it.” She stood, searching for a red pen. Not finding one, she rushed to her study, quickly find one.
Jenny returned to the manuscript, and crossed out the incorrect word, before writing the correct spelling above it.
Jenny once again settled into the writing, until-
“Passive voice!” Jenny circled the entire passage, and indicated the problem.

Jenny read through the next few chapters with interest, finding few problems. “This isn’t bad.” Jenny said thoughtfully as she turned the page. It was so good, she was actually jealous…
Dong!
Jenny leapt in her seat. It was the clock. Jenny glanced at it in shock. 1AM! Suddenly, Jenny felt tiredness wash over her, and she stifled a yawn. Where had the time gone?
She realised she had been editing for over six hours, and was nearly finished editing the novel.
With another yawn, Jenny decided it was time for sleep.

---

Laura hit the shops early, a determined glint in her eyes. She didn’t care about the price, Jenny deserved that necklace.
Almost running, Laura entered the jewellery store, panting slightly. She walked up to the back of the store where the necklace was held. Once again, she admired it for a second, the diamonds glinting in the store lights.
“Can I help you?” a male store assistant asked. He was elderly, about 70, and spoke with a slight tinge of a British accent. Or was it French?
“I’d like to buy that,” Laura replied, pressing her finger against the glass case.
“A nice choice,” the assistant commented, admiring the necklace as well. He grabbed a key from his coat, and unlocked the case. “Would you like to wear it out of the store?”
“Oh, no thank you,” Laura replied. “It’s for a friend.”
“Oh? Such a lucky friend,” the shop assistant replied. He carefully took the piece out of the case, and took it over to a counter. Laura followed.
“It is one of our finest pieces,” he said, placing the diamond studded necklace carefully in a black velvet case. “22 carat gold, and perfect diamonds and sapphires. And, it’s on sale. Thirty percent off.”
Lastly placing the velvet case in a bag, he said, “that’s eight-ninety-nine, and ninety-nine cents. Cash or credit?”
“Cash,” Laura answered, taking out a wad of one-hundred dollar notes, which the clerk quickly counted. Satisfied she had handed over the correct amount, he smiled and handed her the bag. “Have a nice day.”
Laura smiled, a warm feeling bubbling up inside her. It feels nice to give, Laura decided. Giving is better than receiving.

---

Tim sat at his computer, grimacing. He had just received an email from his agent. What it was about, Tim had no idea. Something about withholding royalties until the advances is paid out…
With a soft groan, Tim put his head in his hands. Being published was so confusing, a lot more work than being a mere writer. Perhaps he could call his agent. Ask what the email meant. But then his agent would know he was a novice. If only there was someone else he could ask…
Jenny! Tim leapt up excitedly. Jenny would know in an instant. Except that she wasn’t talking to him. Crap.
The excitement died away, as Tim realised he still had no solution except Jenny. He would simply have to ask her. He grabbed his phone, and, hands shaking, dialled her number. It rang.
Tim swallowed, and licked his dry lips. What if Jenny wouldn’t help him? This was a stupid idea. He should hang up. She wouldn’t know it was him-
“Hello?” Jenny answered.
Shit! Tim thought. He couldn’t hang up. He swallowed again, and tried to speak. But he couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come out.
“Hello?” Jenny said again. “Is anyone there?”
“J-Jenny!” Tim replied. “It, it’s Tim.”
“Oh. Hi, Tim.” Jenny didn’t seem enthusiastic. “What do you want?”
“I, uh, wanted to meet you. I need some help. With royalties and stuff. I got an email. From Mr Matthews, my agent.”
“I see.”
“So, will you see me?”
On the other end of the line, Jenny sighed. “Okay. At the coffee shop? The one near the bookstore.”
“Alright.” Tim said excitedly. “In an hour?”
“How about in twenty minutes?” Jenny suggested.
“Alright.”
Jenny hung up, and Tim leapt out of his seat. He hurriedly printed out a copy of the email from his agent, and grabbed his coat.

Tim entered the coffee shop. The store was toasty and warm, especially compared to the snow outside. Tim took of his coat, and scanned for Jenny. He quickly spotted her, sitting at an empty booth, drumming her fingers. She hadn’t spotted him - her eyes were cast downwards a stack papers.
Tim approached her, and sat down opposite. She looked up at him. “Alright, what do you need?”
“What ‘ya doing?”
“Editing a manuscript.”
“Yours?”
“Laura’s.”
“I thought you hated her?”
Jenny stared at him, ignoring his comment. “What is it that you needed?”
Tim handed her the copy of the email. “What does this mean? It came from my agent.”
Jenny sighed, and read the email, murmuring it as she read. “Dear Tim… I am writing to inform you that as part of your royalties scheme, you are due to receive payments at every quarter of the year, being March, June, September and December. Your book Headless has currently sold over 1300 copies, and is expected to have paid out your advance by late January. If the book continues to sell at its current rate, you can expect your first payment of royalties by March 31... Yours sincerely… P Matthews.”
Jenny looked up at Tim. “Basically, it means your book is selling well and you’ll be getting royalties in March, June, September and December.”
“What are royalties?” Tim asked, a blank expression on his face.
Jenny sighed. “Tim, royalties is the money you get from your book selling. Every March, June, September and December, you’ll get money from your publisher.”
“So I’ll be getting money soon? This month? It said December.” Tim asked, still confused.
Jenny sighed again, and hit her forehead. “No. You advancement hasn’t been brought out yet.”
“Advancement?”
“Didn’t you pay any attention to what I told you about this stuff?”
“Well, yeah. But I forgot,” Tim said sheepishly.
“Right. Well, you remember when the publishers paid you for your novel? Well, when your book earns you more than that, your publishers will send you the extra every three months. The email simply says that your book should earn you more than your advance but the end of January, and you’ll be paid in March.”
“Ah.”
Jenny was about to continue, when the door to the coffee shop opened, Laura entered.
“Laura!” Jenny called. Laura turned to look at Jenny and Tim together, and turned to leave.
“Laura!” Jenny called again. She stood up, grabbing the manuscript. Tim turned around, seeing Laura hurry from the shop.
Jenny dashed from the store. She spun around, searching vainly for Laura. Finally, she spotted the mousy blonde hurrying away.
“Laura! Wait up!” Jenny ran after Laura, quickly catching up. She stopped in front of Laura.
“Leave me alone!” Laura snapped. “I heard what you said about me!”
“What?”
“To Tim. On the phone.” Laura pushed past Jenny.
Jenny blushed with embarrassment. “I was wrong!” she called out, but Laura ignored her. “Look! I even edited your manuscript.”
Laura came to a stop. Slowly, she turned around.
“You… edited my manuscript?” she said slowly, and Jenny nodded.
“It was great!”
Laura paused, digesting the information. Then, she dashed up to Jenny and wrapped her arms around her in a tight bear hug.
“Let’s never fight again,” she whispered.

---

There was a knock on the door, and Tim hurried to answer it. He swung open the door, revealing Laura and Jenny, both in festive outfits.
“Merry Christmas!” Laura cried, giving Tim a kiss on the cheek.
Tim chuckled. “Merry Christmas, Laura. You too, Jenny.”
The girls entered Tim’s apartment, which was decorated extensively in tinsel. In his lounge room was a small Christmas tree, covered in bulbuls, tinsel and other decorations.
“I wanted a bigger tree, but I couldn’t get anything bigger through the lift,” Tim said, seeing Jenny eyes the tree. Jenny nodded in response. Laura went to the tree, and deposited two gifts, wrapped in colourful wrapping.
“You know,” Tim said to Jenny, “you never died say how I could repay you for helping me with the publishing jargon.
Jenny smiled. “You don’t have to. Christmas isn’t about the gifts.”
Tim smiled. “If you’re sure.”
Laura joined the pair, and Tim placed his arm around her shoulders, then did the same for Jenny.
“I really am so lucky to have you two as friends,” he admitted.
Jenny and Laura smiled. “I think we’re all lucky to have each other as friends,” Jenny said.
“We all help each learn things,” Laura said. “I learnt that giving is better than receiving.”
“Well,” Jenny replied, I learnt that Christmas isn’t about the gifts.”
“Does that mean you don’t want your present?” Laura said, deadpan at first, but then a huge smiled cracked up her face.
“I do want my present!” Jenny said quickly.
“What did you learn, Tim?” Laura asked.
“Me? I learnt that it’s okay to ask for help. And that Christmas is for friends and family.” Tim replied.
“Let’s open the presents now!” Laura cried.
“Do you want to open them right now because you saw the big one with your name on it?” Tim asked with a laugh.
Laura went red. “No…well, maybe.”
Jenny laughed. “Okay, but we’ll open one of mine first!”
“Ooh! Open mine!” Laura replied. “You’ll love what I got you…”