‘Too late,’ said Marcia, ‘you already are. Now, have you thought any more about your list of past lovers, though of course, we may be barking up the wrong tree looking back in time. It may well be that you are yet to meet this special man, so keep your options open, be on the lookout. In the meantime, though, how’s the list? Have you started it? So far, we have Andrew Murphy, and the recent ones like Richard and before him, Michael O’Connor, Joe Wilding and Graham, of course, plus the odd one I can remember from our earlier days. Pete might be able to track them down, no problem, but it would help if you put them in some kind of order according to dates.’

‘Are you suggesting that I look them all up?’

‘Yes.’

I rolled my eyes.

Luckily Pete came to the rescue. ‘Fill your glasses everyone,’ he called from the sitting room, ‘The Snowman is about to commence.’

‘Oh come on, Marcia, we can’t miss this. Tradition and all that, and they’re playing your song.’ I pulled her towards the sitting room where people were already gathering and we could hear the familiar strains of ‘We’re Walking in the Air’.

*

I got home around midnight to find that there was a package and card on the steps up to my front door. I took them inside and opened them.

‘Happy Christmas and sorry about the car, looks OK but if you see any damage, let me know. In the meantime, I got you a new one. Jon. XX’

I opened the parcel to find a box containing a toy Volkswagen Golf. Hah. Funny. Well, you know where you can stick that, I thought as I put the car in the waste-paper bin.

10

Boxing Day was traditionally time to catch up with my family. Sadly it took place in cyberspace because, after living in New Zealand and returning to the UK for a decade, my parents now lived in Spain. My elder brother Matthew and his family were in South Africa, my younger brother Mark up north in Manchester.