The Perfect Present Page 5

  ‘I’m Holly,’ the stranger said quickly. She flashed a quick smile revealing a perfect set of teeth.

  Melody took in the unsure look on her heart shaped face. ‘Are you drunk?’ she asked.

  The red clad stranger, quickly bent down and picked up a brightly wrapped gift off the coffee table and held it out to her. ‘Why would I be drunk?’ Holly asked her curiously.

  ‘Well why the hell are you in my flat? And why are you giving me a present?’ Melody said. She tilted her head to the side. ‘Did Rae send you? Is this some kind of pathetic attempt at an apology?’

  ‘I don’t know who Rae is,’ Holly said and shook her head. ‘My dad sent me.’ She offered as a way of explanation.

  ‘Your “dad”?’ Melody asked and then she laughed.

  ‘Well yeah,’ Holly said. ‘He wanted me to give you this.’ Holly glanced down at the gift she held mid-air.

  Melody looked at the box and then back to Holly. ‘So your dad is what? Santa?’ she said in a mocking tone.

  ‘You’d never believe me if I told you,’ Holly said as she passed Melody the gift.

  Melody tentatively took the box while holding Holly’s gaze. The woman in the Santa suit standing in front of her looked like she was telling the truth; or at least she really believed what she was saying. Which made her either honest or a sociopath. Great!

  The gift was elegantly wrapped and the tag had a beautifully decorated Christmas tree on it. Melody turned the label over to read the inscription. Her pulse accelerated with every word she read.

  ‘Where are you really from?’ Melody asked Holly as she dropped the bat and unsteadily sat down, her legs suddenly too weak to hold her up.

  ‘I lived in the North Pole up until tonight,’ Holly said.

  Melody scanned She Santa’s face to see if she was having her on. She only found clear bright eyes and a soft smile.

  ‘You know if I believed you people would think that I was crazy,’ Melody said as she let her thoughts tumble out of her mouth.

  ‘Do you care what people think?’ Holly asked her with a concerned look on her face.

  ‘Not very often,’ Melody admitted.

  Melody looked at Holly again and tried to imagine her out of the Santa suit. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on. Her blue eyes held a slight mist behind them that gave them a depth she had never seen in another person before. Melody could tell from the way that Holly smiled that she had a good heart. Her smile reached all the way to her eyes and made them sparkle like ... well like a Christmas ornament.

  Really Melody? A Christmas ornament? What has come over you?

  ‘So if you lived in the North Pole, what are you doing here?’ Melody asked. ‘I mean if your dad really is Santa then surely your life is magical, right?’

  ‘Well maybe for some people it would be, just not for me,’ Holly said with a shrug. ‘I’m not really into Christmas.’

  ‘Right,’ Melody said and then she laughed. ‘So you’re the daughter of Santa, but you hate Christmas?’

  ‘Basically,’ Holly said with a smile. ‘I know it sounds ridiculous, and the elves treat me like I’m the Grinch, but I just don’t feel the spirit that a person is supposed to feel about Christmas. Which in my family is a bit of a problem.’ She laughed sardonically. ‘I can see that I’m not alone, though,’ Holly said as she gestured around the room at the lack of decorations.

  ‘No, you’re in good company,’ Melody said nodding.

  ‘May I ask you something?’

  ‘Sure,’ Melody said quickly as their eyes met and something ignited inside of her.

  ‘What did you wish for?’

  A warm flush infused Melody’s face. ‘How do you know I wished for something?’

  ‘Well your present says you did,’ Holly said as she pointed to the unopened box in Melody’s hand.

  ‘You’d laugh if I told you,’ Melody said and shook the box.

  It rattled at the motion and she stopped in case it was something that could be broken.

  ‘Are you going to open it?’ Holly asked.

  ‘I’m not sure that it’s really my present,’ Melody said with a smile on her face.

  Holly looked confused for a minute. ‘Well what did you wish for then if it isn’t in that box?’ she asked her curiously.

  Melody hesitated, but on looking into those crystal pools of blue, she knew she could tell this person the truth without fear of ridicule.

  ‘I wished for love,’ Melody said with a shrug of her shoulders. ‘I mean, I normally just kind of hope for a bit of happiness, but I figured if I found love then I’d always have a reason to be happy, you know?’

  Holly smiled and sat down beside her.

  ‘Go on, open it,’ Holly said.

  Melody glanced at her before slowly unwrapping the box. She gasped when she lifted the lid and saw a gold key nestled on a red velvet pillow. The bow of the key was heart-shaped and bore the engraving ‘Holly’.

  ‘But how?’ Melody stared at the key and then at Holly.

  Holly reached over and took Melody’s hand in her own. A tingling sensation coursed through Melody’s body like a growing fever. It took less than a nano second for Melody to realise that Santa had granted her wish.

  Holly’s touch was warm against her skin as she reached up with her other hand and gently stroked the outline of Melody’s jaw with the tip of her finger. ‘I feel as if I’ve known you for a lifetime, Melody. That me being here with you, was somehow pre-destined. It was always meant to be.’ Excitement shimmered in the depths of her eyes.

  Melody’s gaze dropped to Holly’s lips. She had a sudden urge to kiss her. ‘I know exactly what you mean.’

  They looked at each other as though they were strangers and then everything melted away. Melody leant over and brushed her lips against Holly’s and for a moment, everything made sense. All the pieces of Melody’s life fell into place. She felt as if her whole life had been leading her towards this woman. Her one true love. A smile crossed her face. Melody had finally been given the one thing that she needed and it had all happened because she dared to make a wish.