He looked at the scroll and wrinkled his nose. ‘It’s part of your gift. You’ve probably spotted the other part under the tree. I’m no writer and I’m certainly no poet, but it popped into my head and, well, I’ve never written anything for anyone before so…’

‘You’ve written me a poem?’ Even the thought of it made me go misty-eyed, no matter how badly written or corny it might be. ‘Nobody’s ever written me a poem.’

‘And you’ll probably be glad of that when you see my effort.’

‘Can I read it now?’

Sam’s cheeks reddened. ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time…’

My fingers paused at the end of one of the ribbons. ‘I won’t untie it if it makes you uncomfortable. Although I’m dying to read it.’

‘Okay. You can read it, but please don’t read it aloud.’

I untied the ribbon and unfurled the paper, then started reading in my head:

Worth The Wait

I Thor-t the sky was black and dull and always filled with rain

I Thor-t that when I lost them, I would never live again

I Thor-t that it was too hard here. I turned and ran away

I Thor-t that life was painful as it limped from day to day

I Thor-t that it was my fault, that somehow I was bad

I Thor-t that I could block them out; the things that made me sad

But then I met you, Jemma. You burst onto the scene

Your passion for your family awoke me from my dream

But I was still being haunted by the memories from the past

I needed to get closure if my new love was to last

I knew that I would miss you from the day I left your side

I knew your kiss would linger; that could not be denied

I knew I’d hear your laughter in every single place

I knew I’d long to hold you, and take it at your pace

I knew I had to be there, handing you my heart

I knew I really loved you. I didn’t want to part

I Thor-t that I could write a poem. It’s harder than it seems!

You’re the one I think of, Jem. You’re always in my dreams

You didn’t want to take a chance with me so far away

I’m in the Bay right here and now and this is where I’ll stay

I’ll wait for you until you’re ready. I know we could be great

Take your time. I know you’re hurt. But I know you’re worth the wait

Yours always

Sam xx

I don’t know at what point in the poem the tears started – probably the first line where he’d expressed so much pain at his loss – but they kept rolling down my cheeks.