"He's unbearable."
"Oh come on, he's really not that bad."
"Oh, believe me, I have a new respect for Martin, having to work with him every day. He seems to think he's always right."
"Hmm...yes, I know the type." Kate shot a playful look at her friend, who was sat on the floor next to the Christmas tree, idly playing with a dangling bauble. "But please make sure to tell Martin about your admiration. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear it." She grinned.
Aggie gave her a friendly glare. "I mean it. He must be intolerable." She paused, turning her attention back to the tree, giving it the once over and changing the subject adruptly. "Is it just me or does the tree look a bit..."
"Yes, I know." Kate cut her off. "Martin decorated it." She finished more quietly, keeping her voice low so it couldn't be overheard. "Don't say anything. He's proud of it and I don't want to ruin it for him."
Aggie made a silent Oh with her mouth acknowledging Kate's request. "Well...I suppose it has a certain...lopsided charm?"
Kate couldn't help but chuckle along with her friend; the tree looked pretty terrible and she knew it. Martin had taken it upon himself to decorate it, and indeed the flat, during his day off as a surprise for her. He'd looked so proud of his efforts that Kate hadn't the heart to tell him that he really lacked any kind of artistic flare. The house decorations weren't so bad, but the tree was haphazard to say the least. She'd briefly considered rearranging things when Martin was away the following day, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She could just imagine Martin happily humming to himself as he hung the decorations on the Christmas tree, quite probably the first he'd had in years, and decided to leave it as it was. It was decorated in happiness and love and surely that was more important that looking like a tree from 'House and Gardens'.
Aggie looked at her wistfully, making her feel suddenly self-conscious. "What?...What?"
"You've changed." Aggie answered eventually.
"I have?" Kate was a little taken aback by Aggies statement.
"Yeah, you used to be such a perfectionist about things like this. Your Christmas tree always looked like it had come straight out of a magazine. And...well...now look at it."
Kate took a moment to consider what Aggie had said, knowing she was right. Kate had always been a bit of a perfectionist and not just in regard to a Christmas tree. She wasn't a stickler for the rules in the way Martin was, and she hoped she wasn't quite as highly strung either, but she knew how uncompromising she used to be about certain things. She hadn't really noticed how much that had been changing since she'd met Martin, but Aggie clearly had. Certainly Kate would never have let David near the Christmas tree. In fact, he had tried one year and she'd stopped him halfway though the decoration process and virtually thrown him out the living room!
Martin had brought this tree himself, hauling back from the garden centre in his van and dragging it up the stairs to their flat and fixing it up by himself. When she'd got home he had an expression like a excited child with a beaming smile, and had guided her, hands over her eyes, to the tree before revealing it with a 'Surprise!'. How could anyone's heart not melt at that? Knowing that he'd done it for her made this the most perfect tree she'd ever had.
"He really tried." She told Aggie eventually, unable to hide the affection in her voice as her gaze wandered back to the tree decorations. "And it made him happy to do it, so..."
"So...you're totally head over heels about him aren't you?"
Kate smacked her friend's shoulder playfully with the back of her hand. "We're living together!"
"That's not what I meant." Aggie seemed to consider her smiling, before her look turned more serious again. "It's different with Martin. You weren't like this with...with...'he-who-shall-not-be-named'..." Aggie had a look of distaste at the mere thought of David. "...you just seem so utterly...content." She paused. "If that's the right word."
Kate couldn't help but smile. "It's a perfect word."
"For a perfect man?" Aggie teased her. "Please...spare me!"
Kate laughed at that. "Oh, he isn't perfect!" She paused letting her laughter subside. "But that's really the point."
Aggie went to say something further but her words were taken away by Douglas and Martin coming back into the living room talking loudly about the best way to roast a turkey. Kate tried not to laugh at Aggie's eye-roll as Douglas loudly commented on his excellence in the kitchen.
Aggie leant towards her talking in a low voice. "There's just one thing..."
"What's that?" Kate whispered back, as Martin and Douglas continued to talk between themselves.
"You're so going to be decorating the tree yourself next year, aren't you?"
"Oh God, yes."
Sorry Martin, I just figured you'd be rubbish at tree decorating. If it's any help, Douglas hasn't commented so that leads me to think he'd be just as bad ;-) (Aren't all men bad at that?!)
Thanks again to my lovely beta, Catswhiskers.
