Just want to say a massive thank you for all your kind words on yesterday's chapter, it means a lot.
"Tell me then," Nick said as he placed both plates of dinner down on the table.
"Tell you what?" Carla asked as she sat down immediately crossing her legs on the dining room chair.
"Why you don't like Christmas," Nick said as he sat opposite her and began eating.
"I never said I didn't," Carla defended making Nick laugh, "What's funny?"
"On Monday I practically had to drag you to buy a tree," Nick said, "Carla, Sally often comes into 'The Bistro' moaning about the lack of festivity that is occurring at the factory."
"They don't go to work to sing Christmas carols," Carla said defiantly, "anyway why are you talking to Sally about me?"
"You tend to crop up in many of my conversations Mrs Connor," Nick teased before returning to his food.
"All I did was ban Christmas talk till the 23rd," Carla said, "hardly criminal," she muttered.
"You banned Christmas talk?" Nick half laughed, half sounded shocked, "I also heard Kate moaning about a tree or something the other day,"
"Yeah, no Christmas chats till the 23rd and no big un-attractive Christmas tree on my factory steps," Carla said not seeing the unusualness of the situation, she sat at the table eating her dinner in silence not wanting anymore Christmas talk.
"What else are they supposed to talk about this time of year? You need to let them have some fun no wonder they're always moaning about you," Nick muttered as he took his empty plate over to the sink.
"I'm their boss, not their best mate," Carla snapped.
"Haven't you thought that maybe if you were less snappy with them and allowed them to have fun they'd work and not be rude to you?" Nick said as he took Carla's plate from her; she remained on the chair and downed her red wine, "Maybe if you treated them more like people."
"Why don't you come and run 'Underworld' then? Oh yeah, you couldn't manage it," Carla said before standing from her chair and grabbing her bag.
"Carla, look I didn't mean it. I just meant-"
"No Nick I don't want to hear it! I'm trying my best okay but if it's not enough for you."
"Woah, where did that come from?" Nick asked shocked about what Carla had just said.
"I'm trying to have a successful business and not be a car crash of a fiancée but clearly-"
"Carla you're enough okay!" Nick shouted to make Carla stop, she was taken aback by this at first, "Carla you're allowed to let go and have fun, it's Christmas." Nick sighed as he walked closer to Carla, tears were brimming in her eyes and he was unsure why.
"I'm um going t'see Chelle at the pub for a bit," Carla muttered before opening the flat door.
"Carla please, let's talk about it."
"I don't want t'talk about it," Carla said bluntly before walking out causing Nick to sigh in frustration, frustration that was felt mostly at himself.
"Thought you had a date night with Nick," Michelle said as Carla entered the pub and chucked her bag onto the bar.
"We were," Carla sighed, "till he started saying I was crap."
"Now I'm sure he didn't say that," Michelle said with raised brows as she handed Carla a large glass of red.
"Well not quite," Carla mumbled, "He might as well have though," she commented before taking a large sip of her drink.
"Have you been over exaggerating?" Michelle asked placing a hand on top of Carla's, "Nick wouldn't say that y'know, he-"
"Michelle!" Kate practically shouted as she walked into the pub with Aidan. Michelle raised her eyebrow and made a gesture so suggest her and Carla were busy.
"Oh sorry," Kate said.
"We'll just go and sit elsewhere," Aidan said dragging Kate to a booth.
"No, no Aidan; it's fine. I need to be getting off," Carla said standing from her stool and picking up her bag.
"Are you sure?" Michelle said surprised by Carla's sudden change of heart.
"Um yeah, I need to sort everything."
Carla nervously re-entered the flat to find Nick sitting with a glass of wine watching the tele.
"Hey," Carla said quietly as she put her belongings away and took herself a glass from the cupboard.
"That was quick," Nick observed.
"Um, yeah. I wanted to come and apologise," Carla said as she sat on the very edge of the sofa. She didn't gain a response from Nick so carried on, "I shouldn't have walked out or reacted the way I did. I now you're only looking out for me."
"Yeah I am Carla. I am looking out for you. It would be nice if you'd just let me for a change," Nick scoffed.
"I didn't come back here to argue again," Carla said bluntly making Nick sigh.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said at dinner," Nick admitted offering Carla a weak smile which, eventually, she mirrored. "I just want you to be happy; I thought maybe Christmas would cheer you up a bit after the year you've had."
"Christmas has never been my thing."
"Yeah, you can say that again," Nick laughed.
"Christmas has never-"Carla began but got cut off by Nick playfully throwing a cushion.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Nick offered after both their laughter had died down.
"Talk about what?"
"Christmas; why you're not its biggest fan."
"Well Nicholas there has to be at least one Scrooge on the street," Carla said trying to take the deepness away from the topic.
"There's more to it that you just not liking it though, I can tell," Nick said gently. Carla ignored his comment but began to shift uncomfortably; "Come here," Nick said shuffling up so Carla could sit comfortably beside him. She tucked her legs beneath her a cuddled gently into Nick's side.
"I've just never really celebrated it, well not properly," Carla admitted sheepishly.
"What about when you were a kid? Did you not spend it with Michelle?" Nick asked, he knew little about Carla's past; it was an out of bounds topic most the time.
"When I got to about sixteen I spent most my time at Michelle's. But before then it were me Mam, me, Rob and whatever fella she'd dragged in," Carla said shocking Nick in a way; he hadn't expected Carla to open up.
"No other family?" Nick questioned.
"Every year we'd stay at home and do nothing. The only present I'd get would be a black eye from me Mam's latest fella," Carla sighed and Nick wrapped his arms around her.
"Carla," Nick whispered, "We don't have to talk about it," Nick comforted noticing that Carla was becoming upset.
"It's okay, I'll tell you about my Christmas day when I was ten and you do the same," Carla said shifting herself so she could face Nick.
"Okay, do you want to start?" Carla nodded in reply to Nick's question.
"I woke up, well Rob woke me up, and we could hear loud voices downstairs. Me mam and some fella were smoking god knows what in front of the fire place. I asked her if Santa had brought me anything and she told me I didn't deserve it. I was young and not aware that it was just my Mum being lazy.
I told her how hard I had tried at school all year round and how I always helped around the house and she told me I wasn't good enough.
Rob asked if he had anything under the tree to open and got the same response," Carla stopped for a while and took a deep breath in. Nick tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head softly.
"You don't have to carry on," Nick said in an almost whisper.
"No, it's fine. Me and Rob didn't understand why Santa wouldn't come. Every Christmas day morning I'd feel horrible knowing that he hadn't come. Year after year my Mam told me it was because I wasn't enough and I should be better. I grew up thinking I was never enough.
So for the rest of that particular day me and Rob sat in my room and played the only three board games we owned. We'd make up our own rules for them to entertain ourselves for hours on end.
Then I made us dinner, baked beans on toast. And that was my Christmas day when I was ten," Carla finished before wiping a stray tear.
"I'm proud of you for opening up like that," Nick said softly.
"I've never told anyone anything like that," Carla admitted, "you should feel privileged," she joked trying to lighten the mood.
"Hmm, I feel very privileged," Nick said kissing the top of her head lightly.
"Come on then, what was your Christmas day like when you were ten?" Carla said sitting up again to listen to Nick's story.
"Well it was one of the worst, a complete disaster" Nick began causing Carla's expression to show concern.
"Why? We don't have to talk about it," Carla panicked.
"No, no nothing too bad. Well depends how you look at it I suppose. On the Christmas day when I was ten little David popped out," Nick said, "ruined my whole Christmas," he said sarcastically making Carla laugh. Nick mirrored this, "See there's the smile I like seeing," Nick said as he held Carla tight.
The rest of the evening was spent reminiscing about the good times and the bad times of Christmases that had past.
I really hope you enjoyed this, make sure you leave a review!