The Christmas Break – Chapter 2
-O-
DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV
-O-
"So, did you have a good time?" Paddy enquired, as Aaron and Jackson entered Smithy Cottage after their break away in the Lakes.
"Mint!" Aaron exclaimed, "We thought we were going to be snowed in! But, it mostly thawed this morning so we were able to come back!"
"Did you have a good journey home?" Paddy looked at Jackson, "I was a bit worried that the roads might be icy on the way back!"
"No worries!" Jackson smiled at Paddy, "The ice melted along with the snow. Anyway, it's no problem to a driver of my ability, anyway!"
"Oooh, get you!" Aaron looked at his boyfriend with a smirk as he dropped his bag on the floor, "Advanced driver of the year!"
"I'm just saying!" Jackson did not elaborate, "Anyway, you'll be glad of my superhuman driving skills at New Year!"
Aaron looked quizzically at Jackson, "What are you talking about?"
"It's a surprise!" Jackson smiled at his boyfriend, "We're going to see the New Year in at Trafalgar Square!"
"Trafalgar Square?" Aaron was stunned, "In London?"
Jackson was still grinning, "It's nice to know those geography lessons didn't go to waste!"
"Smartarse!" Aaron gave Jackson a look of disdain.
Paddy was amused by the banter between the boys; he knew that Jackson was just about the only person who could wind Aaron up and get away with it! "You're full of surprises!" Paddy addressed Jackson again, "It must be costing you a fortune in hotel bills, what with the Lake District and now London!"
"That's where you're wrong!" Jackson looked pleased with himself, "We're not going to a hotel! We're staying with my Auntie Josie!"
"Who the hell is Auntie Josie?" Aaron could not keep up with Jackson's motley collection of relatives!
"She's my mum's sister," Jackson answered, almost giving the impression that he expected Aaron to know the answer beforehand, "She's a widow; lives on her own since my Uncle Jim died."
"...and she lives in Trafalgar Square?" Aaron raised his eyebrows.
"NO!" Jackson shook his head, "Not IN Trafalgar Square; she's not shacked up with Nelson! She lives in Camden Town!"
"Is that near Trafalgar Square?"
"It's not a million miles away! It's easy enough to jump on a tube to travel around."
"I thought you were driving down to London in the van?"
Jackson looked exasperated, "I am! But I'm not driving into central London on New Year's Eve! We'll leave the van at my auntie's house and travel into the city by bus or tube."
"Did you say this auntie is your mum's sister?" Aaron looked apprehensive.
"Yeah!" Jackson looked Aaron in the eye, "She's quite a bit older than my mum."
"How long is it since you've seen her?" Paddy enquired.
"Let me see," Jackson looked pensive, "About two years, I think; in fact, I must have seen her last at my uncle's funeral."
"How come you've been invited now?" asked Aaron.
"Well, my mum had a Christmas card with a letter and Auntie Josie asked if she'd go down for a visit but, as you know, my mum's off on one of her jaunts, but she suggested I go. So, I got in touch and my auntie said she'd love to see me...and my boyfriend, of course!"
"Well, thanks for telling me!" Aaron wore his disdainful look again.
"I'm telling you now, aren't I?" Jackson said, matter-of-factly, "I thought you'd be pleased to have another little holiday!"
"Cain's going to love me taking more time off!" Aaron scowled.
"He'll be OK!" Paddy butted in, "He's got a bit of a soft spot for you, y'know!"
"He hides it well!" Aaron grimaced, which made Jackson and Paddy laugh!
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Jackson parked his van on the area of hard-standing in front of a terraced Victorian villa in Camden Town. Aaron, in the passenger seat, looked at the substantial, red-brick property in front of them.
"So, this is Auntie Josie's gaff, is it?" Aaron asked a rhetorical question.
"You'll like her," Jackson tried to put Aaron at ease; he knew how nervous his boyfriend was about meeting new people, despite his customary bravado!
Auntie Josie had seen them arrive and she came to the door as they climbed out of the van, "Jackson, how lovely to see you again!" Josie hugged Jackson to her. She was plump, medium height, with auburn hair that was starting to show signs of grey. Her blue eyes focussed on Aaron and she moved in for another hug, "...and this is Aaron! Come on in, I bet you're gasping for a cup of Rosie Lee!"
"Rosie Lee?" Aaron looked at Jackson with his trademark blank expression!
"Don't worry!" Jackson giggled, "You'll get a crash course in Cockney while you're here!"
As they sat in Josie's living room, drinking their tea, Aaron and Jackson were brought up to speed on Josie's life. She belonged to a local bingo club and a women's guild and, with looking after her house, seemed to have little spare time on her hands.
"Well, I'm glad you manage to keep busy, Auntie!" Jackson smiled, "Mind you, this is quite a big house to keep clean and tidy."
"Yeah," Josie looked a little sad, "...and I'm not getting any younger! With my legs, I don't know how much longer I can keep running up the old apples and pears!"
"Apples and pears?" Aaron mouthed to Jackson, with his usual quizzical look!
Josie saw Aaron's look and laughed, "You'll have to excuse me, love! I don't s'pose you've met anyone who was born in the East End, have ya?"
"No!" Aaron replied, "It's all a bit new to me!"
Josie laughed heartily, she almost had a 'cackle', "You'll soon get the hang of it! We talk in rhyming slang; apples and pears are stairs. I'm so used to it, I don't even think about it! Anyway, will this be the first time you've spent New Year's Eve in London?"
"Yeah!" Aaron looked a bit embarrassed and tried to attune himself to Josie's way of speaking, "Jackson has threatened to push me in the Trafalgar Square fountain if I don't behave!"
"What?" Josie looked surprised, "Good as gold, you are!" She turned to Jackson, "How could you threaten to do that to such a lovely boy?"
"Lovely boy?" Jackson chuckled, "Auntie...you don't know the half of it!"
"I know a good, decent lad when I see one!" Josie guffawed again and would not have a word said against Aaron, she looked at him with a twinkle in her eye, "He's a good-looking boy...fallen on your feet there, Jackson, my lad; and no mistake!"
Aaron was beginning to like Auntie Josie!
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The crowds were thronging around Trafalgar Square as Aaron and Jackson arrived from the nearest tube station. They could see Nelson's Column in the distance but Jackson reckoned that they would need a bulldozer to fight their way through to reach it!
"I know," Jackson said above the din from the crowd, "Let's go to the Embankment...we'll hear Big Ben chiming from there!"
"Big Ben, eh?" Aaron smirked, "Is he one of your previous boyfriends?"
"Come on, you div!" Jackson headed off down Northumberland Avenue towards Victoria Embankment, with Aaron in hot pursuit! He did not want to get left behind and become lost in London!
The crowds did not seem any less dense on the embankment, but Aaron and Jackson found themselves a nice spot, with a grandstand view of the river and the Westminster Bridge. The time was rapidly approaching midnight and they held hands as the chimes of Big Ben started to ring out. Jackson was amazed; Aaron was holding his hand, with masses of people surrounding them! Not that anyone was taking any notice; they were all too wrapped up in their own celebrations!
"Seven...six...five...four...three...two ...one...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" the crowd chanted; then clapped and cheered. Some were embracing and kissing; everyone was elated.
So was Jackson! He was kissing Aaron; and Aaron was kissing him back! Right there, in front of thousands of witnesses!
Aaron drew back to stare into his boyfriend's beautiful, big brown eyes, "Happy New Year, Jackson!"
Jackson was overcome with the emotion of the moment; the crowd, the atmosphere, the new dawn with the man he loved by his side, "Happy New Year, babe!" he said.
-O-
FOOTNOTE
To everyone who has read and reviewed in 2012: I wish you a happy 2013!
