“Tomorrow.”
“Then why not leave them up? Let someone else enjoy them?”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. You and Tam can take them down on the twelfth night.”
“A little reminder of you,” said Rudy before pushing out a sigh. “This room is going to look sad and empty once they’re down.”
“Isn’t that the beauty of traditions? They’re short-lived and wonderful. And the space in between gives us something to look forward to. If you left the decorations up all year round, they would not only lose that element of surprise and delight, but they’d also lose their meaning.”
“I suppose so. I’m terrified that when good things aren’t there anymore, we might start to forget them.”
Trevor understood Rudy’s meaning and sought words to comfort him.
“Remember the night you showed me the snow falling?” asked Trevor.
Staring out to the scenery and without turning, Rudy nodded.
“The first time you kissed me?”
A small smile crept across his face. Trevor let out a soft sigh and followed Rudy’s gaze. Out across the loch, two birds flew together—his osprey friend?—towards an overhanging tree, where they both settled.
“I want to do that with you every Christmas. Whether or not there’s snow.”
With that, he pulled Rudy around, wrapped him in his arms and kissed him. Rudy didn’t fully return the embrace, letting Trevor hold his body but not hugging him back.
“Like I said already, I’ve found you now, Rudy, and I’m not letting you go.”
“Come on,” said Rudy, pulling away. “Let’s go and say our goodbyes.”
After the group brought their bags down and sat around the empty table, the last order of the day was to figure out how everyone would be getting home. Even though Cheryl talked about flying back to Glasgow with Helen and François—the latter also being a qualified pilot—she conceded that going with Trevor and her mum was the most sensible option, especially as she was a designated driver. Frank and Johnny had planned to drop off their hire car at the airport and catch a train back, but Antoni and Jessica offered to follow them to the airport then give them a lift back to London.
Once everyone had packed their respective cars, the farewells began. When Trevor went to shake the hand of Mrs Mortimer-King, she pulled him into a hug and whispered, “Come back and see us whenever you like. Rudy’s been happier than I’ve seen him in forever.”
“Not this morning.”
“Oh, Trevor. I told you. He’ll get past it, he always does. Poor boy takes things to heart. He’s always felt things more deeply than Ivan. Just promise you’ll keep in touch with him.”
“I have. And of course I will,” said Trevor. “But nothing I say seems to be helping right now.”
Finally, everyone but Trevor’s party had departed. After they’d packed everything into the back of the car, Trevor went over and gave Rudy a final hug. Once belted up in the back seat of the Volvo, he twisted his body around and watched through the rear window as the car hobbled slowly away from the solitary figure of Rudy in the driveway, framed by the beautiful wild scenery. Compared to the confident horseman he had met on that first day, the Rudy he stared at appeared defeated and broken.
Finally, Trevor’s heart could stand no more.
“Stop the car!”
“What’s the matter?” asked Cheryl, bringing the car to a halt. “Have you forgotten something?”
“Something like that,” said Trevor, unclipping his belt and opening the door before poking his head back in. “Keep the engine running. I promise I won’t be more than a moment.”
When Trevor trotted back down the lane, Rudy’s head came up, a look of quizzical surprise replacing the one of desolation. Trevor stopped in front of him and held out his hand.
“Give me your phone.”
Baffled, Rudy did as asked. Trevor peered down at the screen.
“Can you unlock it for me?”
