Love Drunk Christmas Special: Lainie's Gift!

Welcome to this special Christmas chapter of Love Drunk. Set between chapters five and six of Love Drunk 2.0, Lainie is decorating for the holidays as she awaits her daughter's return from university. But something is about to open her eyes and see members of her family all in a different light, a gift that she must make good use of before it is too late!

Lainie Maloney surveyed the large living room with pride. She had decorated for Christmas in time for her daughter's return from university. Her husband was of little help but he was there to test out the mistletoe she had put up for Ash and Erin. "Do you wanna build a snowman?" he sang to her playfully as she scowled mockingly back at him. "Oh come on freckles it's snowing out there!" he chuckled to himself.

"Dexy she's due back soon, help me clear up will you?"

"I don't know why you're fussing so much baby, she only wants to see us, who cares if the tree leans slightly to the left!" Lainie looked at him with panic etched on her pretty features.

"DOES IT???" she demanded shrilly.

Dexter took hold of her hands and smiled lovingly at her. "No freckles, it doesn't! Now are you going to humour me here?"

"Looky here!" he pointed to the mistletoe as Lainie gazed up at it.

"Yes! I put it there, so what?"

"I need a smooch! My lips are so lonely freckles! I...I can't breathe...quick! Gimme mouth to mouth!" Dexter pretended to cough and gasp for air as Lainie shook her head and laughed.

He pursed his lips and whispered, "Resuscitate me!" Lainie's laugh got louder and she could resist her husband no longer!

They kissed under the mistletoe briefly before Lainie attempted to finish her decorating.

But Dexter was having none of it. "Where do you think you're goin' huh?"

"Dexy! I have lots to do before Keira comes home!" Dexter leaned in and kissed her again, only this time it was more intense and more forceful.

Lainie was helpless in his arms, rather enjoying the kiss from her beautiful husband but at the same time worrying about having a presentable home for her daughter to return to.

"Mmmmmm freckles!!!" Dexter mumbled as he struggled to let her go. Lainie laughed and tickled his mouth, making him laugh too until he finally stopped kissing her and pulled her gently back to her feet.

"Can you allow me to get on now?" Lainie smiled at him despite her annoyance and anxiety.

"If you must!" he pouted. Lainie felt a little light headed but she put it down to Dexter's shenanigans.

"Freckles?" Dexter tried to make eye contact with her but she wouldn't allow it, if she did she knew she wouldn't get any more work done. "Freckles are we good?" They had been seeing a couples counsellor for the past couple of months and it seemed to be helping, but Dexter always felt like Lainie was holding back from him. He just wanted the old Lainie back!

After a long silence, Lainie finally spoke. "Yes pretty boy, we're good!" but Dexter wasn't convinced. If 19 years of marriage had taught him anything, it was that his wife hid her true feelings a lot. It was working out what those true feelings were that was the tricky part.

Suddenly Lainie pulled Dexter towards her and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Whoa!" he laughed in surprise as she squeezed hard against him. "Baby?"

Lainie refused to let the tears fall as she clung to her husband as if her life depended on it. Despite their progress she still felt insecure and always worried that Dexter had a roving eye. Especially when she went into one of her funny moods, she was scared he would wander off into the arms of another. As she held him with a vice-like grip in silence, the rhythm of his breathing seemed to calm her.

Eventually pulling back, Lainie whispered "I want you to know that I'm trying. This is hard for me to..." Dexter stopped her in her tracks and nodded.
"I know it is baby! And I'm a patient man when it comes to you!" he winked. "You're so worth waiting for!"

Dexter stood and gazed at her with puppy dog eyes as his phone began to ring. Lainie laughed a little at his goofy expression and asked,
"Aren't you going to answer that?"
"Huh?" he replied dreamily.
"Your phone pretty boy!" Lainie laughed harder as he shook himself and grabbed the phone out of his pocket.

"KEE BEEEEEE!!!" he yelled down the phone excitedly, "Where? Oh cool, see you in ten! Loveyouloveyouloveyou!"
"I take it that was Keira?" Lainie smirked as Dexter's grin grew almost as wide as his face.
"She's just got off the boat so she'll be here in about ten minutes!" Lainie began to panic again and flap about.

"I have to finish up! I'll light the fire and..." she looked around the room to make sure it was presentable for her beloved daughter and made her way to the fireplace.

A puff of smoke flew down the chimney and pinched her eyes, making her cough.

A beautiful fire raged in the grate as she stood up and spun around too fast, that dizzy feeling returning. The soot in her eyes nipped and her lungs began to wheeze.

All of a sudden she did not feel at all well, she wondered if it was what she had inhaled by the fire, or something else.

Dexter called to her as she rubbed her eyes but the stinging only got worse as she wobbled from side to side, losing her balance.

"Freckles? Are you okay?"
"No...I..." she mumbled, and her lungs burned as she coughed.
"Freckles?"

The wobbling got worse and she tried to take a step back to steady herself...

...but instead she ended up on the floor with a thud!

"FRECKLES! AAAAAASSSHHHH!!!" Dexter yelled as Lainie lay on the wooden floor out cold!

Lainie's world descended into blackness as her head swirled, her ears began to ring shrilly, and what sounded like a hundred voices flooded her mind.

"Oh thank God! She's coming to, that was so f*cking scary right there!" she heard a male voice mutter as her ears continued to ring, it was Dexter. Along with his voice her daughter's was unmistakable, but why were they talking over each other?
"I should have come home earlier instead of stealing a few moments with Joshy! Oh mum, what have you been doing???"

"Kee?" Lainie mumbled as she slowly rose up from the couch. "What...happened?"
"You fainted, daddy couldn't catch you in time! Oh mum are you okay? We should really get you checked out at the hospital!"
"NO!" Lainie snapped, then looked away from her daughter with embarrassment.

"Freckles you scared me! Please let me call the doc?"
"No Dexter!" Lainie replied adamantly. "I just got a little soot in my throat and eyes and it caught me off balance, I'm fine don't fuss!" Slowly she stood up as her husband and daughter rushed to help her. "I just need to get moving!" she muttered as her head spun again but she managed to steady herself this time.

 "Are you sure you're okay? Because I will call Doctor Jackson if you're still feeling ill!!!" Dexter gave his wife a solemn look as she put on her most convincing smile.
"No Dexy...don't...look I just felt dizzy that's all. I haven't eaten much today as I was preparing for Keira coming home. I'll be fine sweetie I swear!" Dexter squeezed her hand and seemed to buy her explanation. But not before ordering Keira to take Lainie upstairs for a lie down and to stay with her too.

"No problem daddy, come on mum let's get you upstairs so you can rest your head!" Keira called to her mother as Dexter kept hold of her hand as if he was afraid she would fall again if he let go.
"Man that was scary!" she heard him mutter.
"Yes I know, but I'm fine!" Dexter looked up at her with a puzzled look on his pretty face.

"You...know what freckles?"
"That it must have been scary...but I'm really okay Dexy!" his confused expression remained as he eyed her face up and down. "Why are you looking at me funny? You said it was scary, and I know but..." Dexter interrupted her as his confusion changed to worry.
"Baby I didn't say a thing...I was thinking how scary it was but...I never opened my mouth!"
"Oh!" Lainie took a step back and shook her head, "Weird, I thought you...nevermind!" As she gave him a swift peck on the cheek and headed upstairs with Keira, her heart began to race.

She was sure she'd heard him speak! And as she got further away from him, his faint voice remarked,
"Wow, that was odd. Like she read my mind or...nah! She's amazing but she's not THAT amazing!" she heard him chuckle, as Keira took her hand and led her up to her room.

 Keira held her mother's arm the whole way to her room and Lainie just went with the flow. "Now you just get your PJ's on or something and daddy and I will cook something yummy for dinner!"
"But...I made your favourite, tuna pasta bake!" Just as the words left her mouth, Keira seemed to talk over her.
"I can't wait to see Joshy again, we don't have to hide for much longer! Then we can tell everyone about us and I can kiss him in public!" 

Lainie gasped a little and stared at her daughter. "Kee, you and Joshua???" Keira stared wide eyed at her and her mouth gaped open in shock.
"Mum! How...what...what did you just say?" Lainie frowned at her and looked her up and down, why were people always talking over her?
"Keira, are you in a relationship with Joshua Hayes?"

 Keira continued to stare at her mother in silence, unable to say anything at all, confirm or deny! "He's a little young for you honey, is he not?" Keira's expression changed and she scowled and stomped her foot.
"No! And who says we're...we're just friends mum!" she huffed. "How the hell did she know??? Has Joshy...has he told his mum? I'm going to kill that boy!!!" Although Keira had just spoken, Lainie did not see her lips move!

"Keira? Do you love him?" Keira stomped her foot again and growled.
"Mum!" she screeched, then hung her head, "Yes! Yes mum I love him so much!" Lainie smiled and nodded.

 "How long have you two been...an item?"
"Since the summer when he came back from Cambodia." Lainie nodded again,
"I see!"
"Oh mum it was just...I knew when we kissed that day Aunt Roxy brought him round and...mum he's perfect! He's my Dexy!" she beamed and Lainie couldn't help but smile.
"I'm...I'm very happy for you sweetheart! Really I am, he's a lovely young man!"
"Yes, yes he really is!" Keira gushed, then cocked her head to the side and asked "How did you know?" Lainie simply closed her eyes and grinned.
"A mother always knows her baby!"

 "I'm so relieved you know but...please don't tell daddy yet? We're going to tell everyone on Christmas day!" Lainie agreed to keep her secret.
"Okay honey, I'll keep quiet."

 Keira hugged Lainie gratefully. "Thank you mum! I appreciate it! And I'm so glad you approve of Joshy! Now rest!!!" Lainie tried to do as her daughter told her, but as she lay on her bed trying to rest her head, her eldest son's voice flooded her ears and she had to follow it...

"Need to prove I'm a man! Need to give her everything! So why can't I? Why does love have to be so hard???" Lainie listened to her son fretting, over Rosie obviously, but was unsure of what he was fretting about.

 "I'm not dad! I'm weak, I'm...I'm a wuss! I can't tell her how I truly feel, I can't tell her how scared I am...she'll never take me seriously! If I lose her...but I will if I don't give her what she wants...I..." Listening to Luke's thoughts, like Keira's, Lainie didn't understand how or why she could, but she was going to try and make use of this in any way she could.
"Hi honey!" Luke jumped at the sound of his mother's voice and let out a tiny yelp.

 "MUM! I...don't sneak up on people like that!"
"I'm sorry sweetie, are you okay? Do you want to talk or..." Luke blushed and shook his head violently.

"I was going to the studio with dad...well I was supposed to but Keira's back and...she said you had a funny turn downstairs and I wanted to make sure you were okay and...Rosie called, wants to see me and everyone wants a piece of me and it's too much!" he blurted out in one breath, finally able to breathe he looked pleadingly at his mother.
"Oh Luke!" she sighed.

"Are you and Rosie okay? Are you taking precautions?" Luke yelped again and jumped back.
"MUM!"

 "I can't...discuss that kind of thing with you. I...I'm not comfortable talking intercourse with my mother you do understand right? Because dad certainly does not!"
"Are you having intercourse honey?"
"MUM! She's been away for three months! And before that, no we were NOT!"
"Oh!" Lainie realised that her son was definitely not like her husband, and she was partly relieved. Dexter was like a dog in heat at Luke's age.

"Mum, she just called and she wants to...and I'm not ready! I'm not ready mum!" the panic in Luke's voice made her want to hold him, the way she did when he was a little boy.
"Lukey? Just explain to her, she will understand. Rosie is a lovely girl and she adores you! She wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable!"

Luke's shoulders relaxed and he let out a huge breath he had been holding in. "My mum is so cool. She's so beautiful too! My dad is so lucky I hope he knows that! If Rosie is like mum, maybe It'll be okay! I don't want her to think I'm a eunuch!" Lainie stopped herself from laughing out loud, listening to her children's thoughts had become strangely insightful.
"Rosie is a very intelligent young woman, she loves you very much, everything will be okay. And I'm your mum and I love you!" Luke smiled and pulled his mother in for a hug, almost knocking her over.

"I love you mum, you're the best!" Lainie gasped for a breath but was loving getting a hug from him.

Everyone's thoughts seemed to be invading Lainie's head as she passed through the house and her nephew's little cries were unmistakable. As she ascended the stairs into the twins' old bedroom, Liam stood in front of the vanity mirror. "Liam, baby?"

 Dressed in a fairy costume and plastered with make-up, Liam shot his head round to see her. "Auntie Lainie???" As she reached the top of the stairs, she simply stood and listened to what his mind was saying.

"Wonderful, now my Auntie will laugh at me. I just want to be me! All the kids at school laugh at me, so why won't she? Who am I? That's what I want to know! Girls like boys and boys like girls! I like boys...so am I a girl?"

Lainie knew she had to tread carefully so she simply remarked, "You look pretty, you do your own make-up?" Liam looked at her with surprise and replied,
"Y-yes!"

 "Do you like wearing make-up Liam?" Liam blinked at her and struggled to find any words. "Because it's okay if you do. You should always do what you like, do what makes you happy. Maybe some time I could do your hair and make-up for you, would you like that?"

 Lainie sat with her adorable nephew in silence for a very long time. As he snuggled into her, she noticed a graze on his knee. "Liam sweetheart what happened to your leg?" Liam shrugged and answered,
"Someone pushed me, no biggie!" Lainie found it a biggie, she found it an enormous biggie!
"Who pushed you and why? Do I have to break someone's fingers?"

"Your tummy is rounder than my mummy's. But she keeps holding it when daddy isn't looking!" Lainie sighed at his subject change, very like his father.
"Does she? I wonder why!"
"She had this weird pen the other day, she was looking at it and she was crying." Liam squeezed in a little firmer, "I don't like it when she cries!"

Liam began to think again, and Lainie didn't like what she heard. "I wish Cormy would love me! Love me the way Auntie Lainie does, she's my favourite Auntie! Evie might be named after her but she's nothing like her, she's mean and she shoved me for talking about her brother! Why does she have to be so mean???" Lainie held him tighter and kissed the top of his head.
"You do whatever you want my darling, whatever makes you happy! If you're comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt then that's fine. If you like skirts and dresses and lip gloss, that is fine too! Okay?" Liam nodded and cuddled in even more.
"Is it okay to like who I like too?" Lainie smiled and kissed his head once more.
"Always honey, no matter who she is...or he!"

 Finding herself outside Ash and Erin's door, Lainie listened to her sister-in-law thinking and Liam's words now made more sense. As she stood outside the room Erin shared with her husband, Lainie felt like she was intruding.

"I don't know how to tell him. He'll be so happy but then...what if I'm not? What if the test was wrong??? He so wants a little girl, what if it's another boy???"

Lainie knocked and let herself in as Erin wiped her eyes and tried to act natural. "Hi sis! Got a minute?"
"Sure!" Erin called, trying to sound cheery. "How are you feeling? Dex said you weren't feeling that great earlier!"

 "Oh I'm fine, he fusses too much. It's in his genes, him and Ash!"
"Yes!" Erin smiled faintly, but her mind was elsewhere.

 "Liam was telling me he sees you holding your stomach a lot, are you okay? He mentioned a pen and you were crying and..." Erin let out a little sob and shook her head slowly.

 "That boy, I swear he hears and sees way too much!"
"Are you pregnant Erin?" Erin whimpered and shook her head again.
"No, I mean...I don't know, I took a test but...you remember over the years before James? I took a lot of tests that turned out positive only they weren't right?"
"Yes, but you have him and Liam now, things are different!"
"No Lain, I haven't had a child in thirteen years!"

 Lainie tilted her head to the side and gave her sister-in-law a sympathetic smile, "You have to discuss this with Ash, you know that right?"

 "I know, I just don't want him to get all excited only to have his dreams shatter again. But you're right, I know you are."

Ashton's thoughts were heartbreaking to hear, as Lainie found him looking out of the kitchen doors at the snow that was falling outside.

"Another Christmas, she's still here. But she's so far away! I think this is it, I think she's leaving me! Finally she's found the courage to do it. I've been expecting it, I don't want her to go, I never want her to go! Oh God give me the strength to let her leave without feeling bad about it!"

"I love her, she's my world! Her and the boys! But I'm not good enough for her, too old, too useless! Nobody loves the drummer! It's all about Dex, always has been! How did I get so lucky with Erin for so long?"
"Because she loves you!" Lainie replied and made him jump!

"Lain!" he muttered, "You gave me a fright, cough or clear your throat next time?"
"I'm sorry, but Ashton you have to realise that Erin loves you!" Ash looked at her with surprise.

"And where did this little nugget come from?" he half smiled but Lainie could see the heartbreak behind it.
"Ashton, you are married to your best friend, you have two wonderful boys, you're madly in love with each other. It doesn't get any better than that!"

"I don't know about that, we make do...or she does at least! I see all the guys in her age bracket at our shows and I think maybe she'd rather..." Lainie butted in.
"No she really wouldn't, do you honestly not realise what an amazing human being you are? Not only are you handsome, kind, sweet and caring...you're sexy and bright and so so talented! The best drummer in the world!" Ash chuckled a little at the last part and his smile became genuine.

But then his smile transformed into a frown, "Evelyn Maloney you..."
"What?" she smirked at him and he was smiling again.
"You're a piece of work little sister!"

"I learned from the best big brother!"

After managing to make her brother-in-law smile and have faith in his wife, Lainie could hear the mutterings of two teenage boys inside the home cinema! "What's he got to smile about? I'll bet he got to cop a feel of Mandy at the Christmas party, touched her boob! Oh she has magnificent boobs!" Lainie's youngest child was so like his father, where Luke lacked Dexter's naughty side, Damon made up for it in spades.
"Mandy is so beautiful. She said I was brilliant at the concert! She digs me, in your face Damo!" And her nephew was very much like his father too, but in a good way. Discovering that the cousins were rivals to Mandy Mitchell's affections was rather troubling though. She'd always known that James was infatuated with her but Damon's attraction was new to her.

As they watched some sort of horror movie on the big screen, their thoughts were of Mandy and how they were going to fight for her. "He's good lookin' like Uncle Dex, there's no denying that...but Mandy doesn't go for pretty boys! She said so!"

"It's not my problem if Jimbo doesn't make a move, all is fair and all that! It's either Mandy or Kelly Dawson, and she has braces! I don't fancy getting stuck in those!" Lainie was disappointed to discover that Damon was only interested in his own personal needs and gratification, much like Dex was as a teen.

Hoping that her presence would stop these lustful thoughts, she joined the boys much to their embarrassment. "Hey kiddos what are you watching? Is it fun?" Damon groaned and screwed his eyes shut.
"Aw man, mum go away please? This is a man's movie!"
"Damo don't be a jerk!" James muttered and shook his head disapprovingly at his cousin.

"Well seen it's not your mum that's watching it with us eh Jimbo!!!" Damon retorted as his face grew hotter.
"Well she's your mum! Show her some respect, or your dad will have you castrated! And believe me that would be preferable if my dad gets there first!" Damon gulped, it was true that his father didn't like any of his children disrespecting their mother. It was also true that his Uncle Ash was even more strict about the way the womenfolk were treated in the Maloney household.

"It's Die Hard Auntie Lain! Bruce Willis is a cop who..." Lainie nodded.
"Yes I know this one, Alan Rickman is a bad guy. He's very sexy!"

"Oh my god!" Damon yelled, "Please go mum? I am very, very uncomfortable with you here!"
"Damo!" James elbowed him but it didn't change his mind.
"Mum? I'm begging you!" Lainie stood up and sighed.
"Okay, I'm going! Enjoy your movie!" she would much rather find her husband and take advantage of this weird gift she had acquired than listen to a pair of hormonal teenage boys fight over a girl.

 Lainie found Dexter by the fire being immature. He would never grow up, and she loved him that way! She decided to wait and see if she could pick up on anything he was thinking, even if that seemed like a bad idea, she might not like what she heard.

 Dexter gazed into the fire and smiled. "Man I am so happy! I think this couples counselling thing might work, I might just get my freckles back! She gave me a real scare when she collapsed like that! She's so god damn stubborn she won't let me call the doc!"

 "If anything happened to her I...come on Dex don't think like that! She's fine, she's more than fine...she's amazing! Every morning I have to pinch myself, check I'm not dreaming. I never thought I'd ever win her over! Oh Evelyn! There's only you, there's only ever been you! Nineteen years, you've been my one and only!"

 "I should go up and check on her she could be...I'll go check on her before my mother arrives!" Avril was coming, Lainie almost forgot!
"Dexy?" Dexter's face lit up with the sound of her voice.

"Freckles, what are you doing up? You should be resting!" Lainie grabbed his arm and clasped his hand with her own.
"I couldn't stay away from you for long my Dexy!" she mumbled and rubbed noses with him playfully.

Dexter laughed softly and kissed the tip of her nose in response, "Evelyn, are you really okay?"
"Yes my darling boy, I'm fine!" There was a ringing in her ears for a moment, it made her feel faint, but then it was gone. And so were the voices.

 "My mum's due to arrive in about an hour or so...I kept the dinner warm in the oven I wasn't sure..."
"You're a good boy Dexy!" she teased him, so he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her off the ground, smothering her lips.

 "Oh Dexy, my pretty boy!" she mumbled lazily.
"Oh Evelyn, my freckly girl!" he retorted and squeezed her rear end with both hands as she squeaked in response, a little shocked but pleasantly so.

"I'll go and check that you haven't burned down the kitchen!" Lainie joked, she never did let him live down an incident with a tea towel a few years ago.

 When she pulled away from him and attempted to go to the kitchen, he grabbed her by the waist and wrapped his arms around her. "No no no, you're not going anywhere!" he traced kisses down her neck and his warm breath made her shiver excitedly. His touch still drove her crazy after all those years.

 "Dexy, the dinner..."
"Is being seen to by Kee Bee as we speak!" he reassured her and buried his head in her hair, breathing in her scent.

Dexter sat on the floor in the arms of the woman he adored. Lainie kissed his hair and stroked his growing beard, thinking it really needed a trim right about now. "So, are you feeling better now?" he asked her.
"Yes, very much!" she replied, as she strained to hear the voices but nothing came through.

"In fact I learned a lot today!"
"What? From fainting?" Dexter guffawed and she kneed him in the back in return.
"Well, sort of! I know things now that I never knew before and...I love you Dexy! I just wanted you to know that! Dexter smiled up at her and replied,
"I know freckles, I know!"

A stranger's voice suddenly startled her. "Did you like my gift?"

 Lainie leapt up from the couch as Dexter was pushed aside. "Freckles!!!"
"Who the heck are you?" Lainie demanded as a man stood in front of her tree, a man who looked familiar somehow.
"Evelyn who are you talking to???" Dexter asked her as he shook his head in confusion.

The man smiled and looked at Dexter, "He can't see me, and you never answered me! Did you like your gift?"
"And you never answered ME! WHO ARE YOU???"
"It's not a question of who am I. It's more a question of who is he?" the man's smile was loving, and directed now at Dexter.
"Who Dexy? He's my husband!!!"
"Freckles I'm calling the doctor!" Dexter muttered from behind her.

"He is my son!" the man's voice cracked when he said the word son. "I am your father-in-law, Jim! I was so lucky to find a wonderful woman in Avril, I just wanted my boys to find a woman as fine as their mother. And they did, but somehow you've lost your way! I just needed to give you a little nudge in the right direction, you see Dexter loves you with all of his heart...not just half of it, all of it! I needed you to see that!"

Lainie's eyes stung with tears as she nodded, "I do! I see it, I see his heart and it's all for me!" Dexter called to her once again, unaware that his long dead father was standing right in front of them.
"Evelyn what...who are you talking to???"

"I'm glad you put my gift to good use. Now I really have to go, take care of my boy and my grandkids will you? I'm so very proud of them all! But just keep an eye out with Damon, that boy is too much like his father! He'll get into a scrape or two just like Dexter and he'll regret it believe me!"

"Will I...ever see you again? Do you have to go right now?" Lainie could see that Ashton was the mirror image of his father, as James was of Ash.
"I don't want to..." Jim looked down and sighed.

 "...too late! I can't see her, it hurts too much! Would you do me a favour? Will you tell her she's loved to the moon and back? She'll know what it means!"
"Sure!" Lainie replied as she glanced behind her to see Avril being greeted by her youngest son.

 But when she turned back Jim Maloney was gone. "Mum Evelyn is losing it!" Dexter told his mother in a panic.
"Oh shush you! Lainie? Come here and gimme a hug!"

 "Hi mum!" Lainie hugged Avril tightly, thinking about what Jim had said.

 "Girl you get prettier and prettier!" Avril chuckled, "Now where are my grandbabies???"
"Around somewhere." Lainie mumbled and gave her a small squeeze.

 "Are you feeling better now? Dexter says you had a little turn earlier. Are you eating enough???"
"Yes mum I...listen I have something to tell you!"
"Oh yes?" Avril tried to catch her eye but Lainie stared at the floor.
"I've to tell you that you're loved to the moon and back?" Avril stood up straight, her body was stiff and she clenched her fists.

 "Who...who told you to say that???" she demanded.
"Well..." Lainie began, "...I had the weirdest dream and I just...I felt I had to tell you that for some reason so...when I fell I hit my head on the way down!" Avril's body relaxed and she looked Lainie in the eyes.
"My husband used to tell me that when we went to bed at night, he told me to always remember I was loved to the moon and back...he said it the night before he died and...well I don't know how you knew!" Lainie gulped and thought of a perfect excuse.
"Maybe Dexy told me. I dunno, I just felt I needed you to know, Christmas makes everyone sentimental I guess!"

 Avril smiled slightly and nodded in agreement, "Yes it does. Merry Christmas Lainie! I hope you get what you wish for!" A huge grin appeared on Lainie's face as she replied,
"Merry Christmas mum! I think I already have!"

The End!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my friends and readers! May the new year bring you all that you wish for and more! xxx