“Look, you’ve already told me you can ‘take or leave’ Christmas dinner, so frankly your opinions are not to be trusted.” But I had learned something from what had happened with Woody, even if someone thought I wasn’t fun or exciting enough: I should still just be me. Which is why I didn’t mind Nick looking at me with confusion while I two-stepped to Bing Crosby.

“Yeeeesh.” Nick checked his phone. “Sorry to do this, but I need to go see Blake.” I nodded. Elle had told me he’d be like this. “Want to fit in a super-quick meeting with grumpy Dominic? He’s only a five-minute drive.”

I was intrigued, so we headed off.

“Holly, meet Dominic. Dom,” Nick held his hand out. “Meet Holly.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was surprised by two main things.

One, Dominic wasn’t grumpy. And two, he wasn’t a man.

“He’s a reindonkey.” Nick nodded. “A rare breed found only in somewhere as deranged as, well…here.” Maybe I should have guessed when we drove out of the town and parked up at Alpine Parks Community Farm.

There Dominic was. The other side of a fence. Eating some hay. Being a donkey. Dressed with a head collar that had antlers on it and a ball of white fluff on top of his tail. He ambled over, and I stroked his nose.

“Erm, so he’s amazing.” Wow, anti-Christmas Nick had come through with some surprise festive gold.

“You should see him with the full nose on.”

Dominic made a sort of fluttering hello through his nostrils as I rubbed his neck.

“But I don’t understand. He’s not grumpy at all?”

“It’s because he’s grumpy the rest of the year. When they don’t have him all dressed up as a reindonkey. Seriously, Holly, I’m not a donkey psychiatrist.” I saw him check the time on his phone. “I mean, is anyone? But when he gets those antlers on… He’s a whole new man. Donkey.”

And something about Nick saying donkey again, and Dominic loving the attention, made me burst into an impromptu rendition of “Little Donkey” but with the words changed to “Little Reindonkey.”

It was only when Nick laughed (I think with humor, not with fear?) that I realized what I was doing.

“Blame the jet lag. And the hot chocolate.” I left off the s.

But time was tight, so we said bye, and I promised Dominic to try to see him every day. See, Nick, I can be spontaneous too!

As Nick dropped me back, I tried to find out more about him and Elle, starting with his band, the Au Revoir Hairs—apparently his grandma used to try and go in the mosh pit before she got ill. She sounded unreal.

“So, did you not fancy going with your sister?”

Nick shrugged. “Nah, that whole scene is more her thing.”