Now that Catherine had gone out for the evening and with Nico asleep upstairs, the house was blissfully quiet. With June not due to arrive for at least a couple of hours, they had resisted turning on the TV or indeed the radio and instead were chatting about anything and everything, as they made steady inroads into the present wrapping. What to buy for Nico had been the most difficult decision, but the every boy's dream train set which Harry had chosen and Ruth was now struggling to disguise, was something that he had always wanted but never had. The large box contained trains and carriages, buildings, bridges and a vast amount of track. Add to that, roads, fields, people and animals all neatly packed and there wasn't a cat in hells chance that Nico would get bored on Christmas Day.
'No I'm not getting it out of the box,' she told Harry for the second time, when he suggested that perhaps they should check it out.
By the time that June eventually arrived they had all but finished. Their joint presents for Catherine had been wrapped and Ruth's to Harry. What he had bought for her she had no idea and he certainly wasn't going to tell her. He still had contacts even now and a month ago when she had been out of the house to collect Nico from school, one of his long term associates had paid him a visit.
'I'll see you in the morning Harry,' said the ever smiley June, as she squeezed his hand and re arranged his pillows. Even on Christmas Day she assured him, she would be there to sort him out. This was such a happy household and she had liked Harry from the moment she had met him. He was her favourite patient, but she knew without a shadow of doubt that within a few weeks he wouldn't need her anymore. Walking her to the door, Ruth felt the same sense of gratitude that she did every day. June was worth her weight in gold and had made life so much easier and certainly more bearable for Harry.
'Come in for a coffee and I'll ask him,' said Catherine, hoping that she wasn't sounding too needy as she and Dimitri arrived at the front gate. She had really enjoyed her evening in fact she couldn't remember the last time, if ever, that someone had made her feel like this. Her preconceived idea that spies were tough, arrogant and heartless was already long gone, but had she not already known, she would never have guessed in a million years that this was what Dimitri did for a living. Whether or not her dad would agree to him coming over on Christmas Day was another question entirely, but the lights were still on which meant that he and Ruth were still awake so it was a case of now or never.
Rules were there to be broken as at six o'clock and dragging the pillow case that Santa, alias Catherine had left him, Nico opened the door to their room. Harry had been awake for some while but Ruth was still asleep, so with the ridiculous assumption that he could keep Nico quiet, he put his finger to his lips.
'Just give me five minutes while I make some tea,' she groaned, as brandishing a chocolate reindeer which was the latest thing to come out of his sack, Nico clambered over her and handed it to Harry. By the time she got back from the kitchen, the bed had been reduced to chaos although Nico with a face covered in chocolate had at least calmed down. She was tired but then when wasn't she these days, whereas Harry looking as bright as a button at this ungodly hour, was making up a story. He was describing Santa's route from Lapland which allowed him time to visit all the children in the world in the space of just one night. There were apparently special stop off points where the reindeer could rest and be fed, well lucky them she thought. The next part of the story involved explaining time zones which were way outside Nico's comprehension, but none the less he was enthralled and more importantly from her perspective, mercifully quiet.
Finishing her tea, she left them to it and headed into the bathroom for a shower. Since Harry's accident, moments on her own had been few and far between and the closer it had got to Christmas the more she had appreciated them. This morning though as the hot water cascaded over her, unplanned memories of her last Christmas in Cyprus flooded her consciousness and the tears came. These though were happy tears, brought on by a huge surge of love and the realisation that in the space of less than a year, her whole life had been turned around. She and Nico were safe and in the privacy of the moment she let the tears flow and her mind fill with Harry. She had never seen Nico so happy and it was all down to him.
It was only when Catherine hammered on the door to tell her that June was here and that she would take Nico upstairs that she finished her shower in double quick time, ready to face the day and the first job on the list which was breakfast round the fire.
'One present only until after lunch,' Harry told Nico, who had been scrabbling under the tree and reading the labels. There were no prizes for guessing which one he chose, as he dragged the box in front of them and then ripped the paper off at break neck speed. His reaction of pure joy as he turned towards them had Ruth filling up again and she felt compelled to get down on the floor next to Nico and to give him a cuddle. With Catherine gathering up the plates and cups, she hadn't reached the door before Harry and Nico were discussing a plan of action. Well she and Catherine had one of their own, which was how to cook a Christmas Dinner which was something that neither of them had done before.
Miraculously, at least as far as Ruth and Catherine were concerned, they got it right and dinner was served on time. The dining room table had been moved from their bedroom into the lounge and was adorned with candles and all the trimmings. With Christmas music playing gently in the background, they settled down to eat. Whatever Harry might have thought about his daughter going out with a spy, he kept to himself and as the time went on both he and Dimitri relaxed into an amicable truce. Catherine was besotted, Ruth could see that and she was more than ready to tackle Harry if he showed any sign of dissent. Catherine wasn't a child any more, in fact she was only eight years younger than she was and as far as Ruth was concerned, she thought Dimitri was lovely. Even more so when at the end of the meal, he thanked her for a wonderful dinner, and suggested that he and Catherine did the washing up.
By the time that Ruth woke up, a long discarded picnic set, or at least the plates and dishes, had been dragged from under the stairs and were being used for sorting. How long she had been asleep she didn't know, but her two boys had commandeered the now empty table as a base for Nicoville. They had chosen the town and country theme from the endless available to them and the track was now in place. The room was so quiet, no wonder that she had fallen asleep, that and the early morning and the excellent meal that they had all eaten. Harry was having the time of his life and sorting the small pieces into bowls whilst Nico was lining up the buildings and the rolling stock. Ruth smiled to herself, it did have the touch of a planning meeting on the grid.
'Hey,' said Harry, putting his arm round her waist as she bent down and planted a kiss on his head. 'They've taken Scarlet for a walk,' he added, when he saw the unspoken question about Catherine and Dimitri. It was dark, but then it got dark well before four at that time of year and she needed her customary cup of tea. Just before she left the room, she paused and looked back. Harry had stopped what he was doing and was watching her, his eyes smouldering with desire. With the curtains drawn, the flames from the fire flickering in the background and with Nico in a world of his own, she walked unbidden back to him. There was no need for words, everything implied later, they could read each other's minds.