Joy was the
sole breadwinner in the Melbin family and her parents were very proud, but they
were a poor family, her mother Sarah had Terminal Cancer, and her father Liam
lost a hand the year before in a car accident.
It was a
terrible weight that she had to bear on her 20-year-old shoulders, and she
worked three jobs to pay the bills, and throughout December she picked up every
extra shift she could to pay for Christmas and have enough to treat herself to
a new laptop.
She had just
reached the point where she could order a laptop when the universe ganged up on
her and the boiler broke down.
They didn’t
have boiler cover, and because of her mother’s illness it was important to have
a working boiler.
She was able to
get the boiler repaired promptly and set up breakdown insurance for it, but it
meant the extra outgoings she wasn’t going to have enough to fund her new
laptop, and she burst into tears.
Joy had just
got her tears under control and was drying her eyes when there was a knock on
the door and when she opened the door and saw Sam Hoban standing there, she broke down again.
“What’s wrong?”
he asked with concern as he stepped towards her, but she couldn’t speak, so he
quickly closed the door, and she threw herself into his arms.
Sam was
literally the boy next door, and he worshipped Joy, though he had never told
her that.
He was two
years older and worked full time at the Beaumont Manor Hotel as a chef, he had
just finished his shift for the day and thought he would pop in and have a
chat, they were all getting together at his house that evening for Christmas
Drinks but he didn’t expect he would get to speak to her on her own, so he
figured it was best to do it when he knew she was alone in the house.
Her dad had
taken her mum to the hospital for an appointment, and with just the two of them
there was always the possibility that he might actually get around to asking
her out, it would be his last opportunity before Christmas.
He had
rehearsed at length what he was going to say, but he wasn’t prepared to find
her in floods of tears.
It was some
minutes before she had composed herself sufficiently to be able to speak, and
when she began, she couldn’t stop, and told him about the Boiler, and the
insurance and how her finances weren’t going to stretch to the new laptop.
“I’ll just have
to make do,” she sobbed and then the tears flowed again.
Sam knew how
hard she had worked, and how much she wanted the new laptop, and he also knew
how much she wanted a particular laptop, she had talked about it often enough,
and it almost broke his heart when she said she would just have to wait, and
even then, she would probably have to get something cheaper.
“That’s not
going to happen” he thought.
When he was
sure she was ok, he made his excuses and left on the pretext of having to run
an errand for his folks regarding that evenings get together, the real reason
was something much more important.
He was at the front door to greet the Melbin’s that evening and directed
Liam and Sarah towards the lounge, but he halted Joy’s progress.
“Come into the
dining room for a minute” he said.
“Oh ok” she
responded, she thought he probably just wanted to check to see if she was
alright after her embarrassing display earlier, but she wasn’t sure, after all
he’d made himself scarce as soon as he could, and she was a bit disappointed in
him for that if truth be told.
Once inside the
room he closed the door behind them and said.
“I just wanted
to talk to you for a few minutes.”
“It’s alright
I’m recovered now, there won’t be a repeat of my histrionics” she said flatly.
“No, it’s not
that” he said, “I just wanted to do this away from prying eyes.”
Suddenly her
heart started to flutter, and she had butterflies in her stomach as he spoke,
could it be that he was finally going to ask her out?
“Oh”
“Well, it’s
because you were so sad and disappointed this morning, so I got you a little
Christmas present” he said.
“Is that all?”
she screamed in her head but aloud she said.
“You shouldn’t
have.”
Sam went behind
the sofa and she braced herself for some cheesy gift but when he reappeared, he
was carrying a brown cardboard box tied with a bright red ribbon.
“What’s this?”
she said.
“Open it” he
said, “It’s not the exact one.”
“The exact one
what?” she asked confusedly.
“Open it and
find out” Sam urged.
So, she untied
the ribbon and lifted the flaps on the box and then she gasped, and her eyes
widened with delight, and she smiled broadly.
It was a
laptop, the same make and colour as the one she was going to buy, but the one
she was staring at had all the software she needed preinstalled, better
graphics and a bigger memory.
“Is it ok?” he
asked.
“It’s perfect”
she replied, “But is it for me?”
“Of course,
it’s for you” Sam said and laughed.
“But why?” she
asked, “Why would you spend so much on me?”
“Because you
deserve it” he replied and then he took a deep breath before adding.
“And because I
love you.”
Joy couldn’t
believe her ears; did he really just say he loved her or was it just wishful
thinking on her part?
“Can you say
that again?”
“Because you
deserve it” he said.
“No not that
bit, the other bit” she explained.
“Because I love
you” he said and smiled.
“You really
said it? And I’m not dreaming?” Joy asked.
“I really said
it and you’re not dreaming” he confirmed “Do you mind?”
“No, of course
not, because I love you too” she replied, “And now I want to kiss you.”
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