On the second day...

The second day of Christmas did not start off as dramatically as the first had, and Abby woke up to the sound of her alarm tinkling ‘Angels we have heard on high’ – carols first thing in the morning were a sure-fire way of getting her into the festive mood.

          Once again though, she noticed as she slung her dressing gown around her shoulders, there was a Christmas card sitting on the vanity. Frosty the partridge, in his new bird cage beside it, gave her a happy coo.

          Abby picked up the card, amused to note that it had a picture of an Angel on the cover, and flipped it open.

          On the second day of Christmas, your true love gives to thee: two turtle gloves and a partridge named Frosty – I know how you love turtles, especially Yoshi (Is he really a turtle, though?). You may also need them; baby, it’s cold outside – X

          She noticed a pair of two emerald green fingerless gloves pinned to Frosty’s cage then, and smiled at them. They were covered all over with tiny little turtles and she was instantly enamoured of them. She was definitely going to be wearing those around London. It really was cold outside, and she really did love turtles.

          What could she say? The green little things were oddly super cute to her.

          But she was starting to wonder if X was changing the carol to suit him, or if he simply heard the lyrics wrong.

          She glanced at the door, imagined Jess puttering about making another of her power breakfast smoothies. It was also probably safe to say that Jess knew who the admirer was and was in on the plot.

          That also meant that it was someone both she and Jess knew.

          But who?

          She got dressed in record time, she unconsciously threw on something green to match the gloves, and was out the door in less than half an hour determined to buckle down to work. After all, the way this was going she wasn’t going to find out – if ever – who X was at least until the Twelve days of Christmas were up.

          But she had plenty of time to try to guess, starting with all the people she and Jess had in common.

           It wasn’t easy for Abby to put together a list of possible suspects that she and Jess had in common, especially when it took her concentration from the romance she was currently red-markering and Damien kept prancing past her office.

          A part of her really wished that she could believe X was him, but his surprise the day before and genuine ignorance pretty much nipped that wonderful fantasy in the bud.

          But it didn’t stop him from dancing past her office window and making silly faces at her.

          “Damien, what are you doing?”

          The disapproving voice came from out in the hallway, and Abby was suddenly glad she wasn’t him. It did, however, stop his stupid dance in its tracks.

          Their editor-in-chief, Georgette Byers, a matronly iron lady that didn’t look too different from the late Maggie Thatcher, had just happened to come in whilst Damien was trying to make Abby laugh.

          “Er, sorry Ms Byers – I was just on my way to the coffee shop and was stopping by to see if Miss Leightley wanted anything.”

          Byers raised a silver brow and twisted her lips in a way that said she didn’t quite believe Damien’s excuse. But for whatever reason, maybe the iron woman was feeling Christmas goodwill or something, she waved him off with a warning.

          “Coffee, black. No sugar.”

          And then she strolled away.

          Abby stuck her tongue out at Damien when he turned back to shoot her a relieved grin.

          “You know what I like!”

          He chuckled, saluted her like she was his captain, and sauntered off in the direction of the exit. “White Chocolate Mocha, skim milk. I know.”

          Dammit Abby was so over the moon for that man and he didn’t even know it.

Merry Christmas!

Sam xox