‘Tis the Season to be Single: A feel-good festive romantic comedy for 2018 that will make you laugh-out-loud!. Laura Ziepe

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       Chapter 7

      ‘So any brothers or sisters?’ Rachel asked Jonathan in upbeat tones, filling the awkward silence again. He’d seemed so chatty and confident when he’d come to chat to her at Tidemans, but the truth was, she was finding this date hard work. Dates weren’t supposed to feel like job interviews. When they were good they were relaxing and exciting as you discovered things about each other. Jonathan was actually quite quiet, and when he wasn’t sitting in silence Rachel found his negativity quite draining and depressing. They were sitting in a beautiful cosy Italian, which was romantic with pretty white Christmas lights hung in the window, the room dimmed with candles on the tables. It could have been quite lovely with the right company.

      ‘A sister,’ he answered blankly, as though he was bored.

      Don’t worry about asking if I have siblings, Rachel thought caustically. Getting him to ask her a question was like trying to get blood out of a stone. ‘I have a brother,’ she said quickly.

      That was the end of that conversation, she thought frustratedly.

      ‘So Christmas is coming up,’ she attempted to sound excited, but sitting with Jonathan was making her feel anything but.

      ‘I hate Christmas,’ he replied matter-of-factly, wiping his hands on his napkin, making Rachel flinch.

      ‘You hate Christmas?’ she asked, incredulous. This was never going to work.

      He wrinkled his nose. ‘It’s too commercialized now. It’s all about buying presents with stores blasting out annoying Christmas music, Tidemans included. How many times a day can we listen to that snowman song, seriously? I just hate all the advertising and the special offers and deals rammed down people’s throats tricking them into feeling like they have to spend a fortune on their loved ones. I don’t like spending time with my family for an entire day either. I just look forward to January when it’s all over.’

      Rachel was horrified. ‘January?’ Everyone knew that January was the worst month of the year. When people had a birthday in January there was that look. That sympathetic look that said, ‘what a shame, you poor thing’. Everyone was too skint to celebrate in January. They were too fat to go to dinner, often dieting after they’d overloaded on Christmas cake the month before. It was wet and cold and the magic had just gone. The last of the Christmas lights were being turned off. How could anyone possibly look forward to it? ‘Right,’ she said, looking at the happy couple on the table next to them and changing the subject. ‘So, do you enjoy working at Tidemans?’ she asked, thinking it was a safe subject.

      He itched his nose. ‘Not particularly. It was hardly my dream job to work in a menswear department,’ he snorted like she’d asked a silly question. ‘I’m sure you feel the same working in a shop doing make-up. Hardly a successful career working in retail, is it? I don’t plan to stay there long.’

      Rachel was insulted and she knew the frown on her face was conveying this, but he didn’t seem to notice. ‘I actually really like working there,’ she announced defensively. ‘It’s not just about make-up, it’s about transforming women and making them feel better, more confident even…’ She tailed off. ‘I work freelance too, so it’s not the only job I do,’ she added hotly. This was true, but Rachel hadn’t been doing as much freelance work as she wanted to lately. She hadn’t done a wedding in months and it was a reminder she needed to update her make-up social media pages to get more work.