Christmas is nigh... (3)

Following on from Christmas is nigh... (2):

Marie peeled open her eyelids, aware of the fact that she probably had remnants of mascara glued to her eyelashes. You didn’t take your make-up off. How strange; you don’t normally forget unless you really had too much to drink. Blinking furiously to try and recognise her surroundings, Marie tugged the blanket up to her chin. She squinted, and as she did so she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. Groan; what did I do? 

With a sharp intake of breath she held onto her forehead as if it were about to fall off. Half-awake she realised she still had clothes on and was not in her own bed but on a sofa. She blinked twice as the large giraffe in the corner of the room, beside a rather familiar television came into focus. That’s when she remembered where she was and suddenly felt caught off guard without the two angular presents tucked under her arm. Then she heard a voice she had so longed to hear for many years. Brian’s. 

“Hey. I’ve wrapped a bandage round your head. Sorry if it’s messed up your hair. I kind of tied it back with a hair bobble but I’m not really very good at doing hair.”Marie looked towards where the voice had come from and felt the nape of her neck crunch into life. 

“Ow” was all she could say. How stupid of you. After years of thinking and imagining this moment over and over and ‘ow’ is all you can think of? He must think you’re so stupid.
“What happened? It looks pretty nasty.” 

How come he hasn’t asked me what I’m doing here and why did he let me in and what does he mean with ‘What happened’? Marie was glad she didn’t have the strength to ask all these questions and before her eyes closed one last time before the morning sun woke her she mumbled;
“Merry Christmas Brian.” 

The glass of water on the little side table glistened in the morning light that came streaming through the gap in the curtains. Marie thrust her hand towards it, gasping with thirst. Yet due to a lack in coordination she managed only to knock it over the table. 

“Oh bugger!” she cursed as her body rolled off the couch onto the floor. 

“Oh dear, you’re a bit shaky aren’t you?!” Marie looked up to see Brian stood above her, reaching to lift her limp body onto the couch again. 

“Let me get you a cup of tea. We may want to get you into the hospital to have you checked out if it doesn’t get better till this evening.” 

“You’re here,” Marie whispered under her breath. 

Brian laughed. She’d missed the sound of his laughter. His laughter was so real and warm; filled with honesty and warmth. 

“This is my house. It’s normal that I’m here. What is a bit surreal right now is that you’re here and that last night my mum and I spent a while wrapping a wound on your head as the rest of my family unwrapped presents. It was quite strange really.” 

The last comment hummed in Marie’s head. She struggled to get to her feet; noticing only the strength in his warm hands. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here. I messed up. I messed up your Christmas and I shouldn’t have come. I’m so sorry. I’ll go.” As Marie lifted the blanket off her shaky legs she breathed heavily. It didn’t feel like she was about to get up and she was right. Her body slumped in fatigue and pain. 

“Don’t Marie. Please don’t.” Brian hurried to speak as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lowered her back into the couch. “You should recover first.” 

“But I…” she fought to get her thoughts straight. She wanted to be there. It was what she had wanted for so long and now she was fighting to leave. “I… Merry Christmas.” 

“I know Marie. You said that last night. I heard it. Merry Christmas to you too; from my family too. They thought it was quite a funny way of meeting you.” He chuckled widely. 

“Meeting? Oh god; I must have looked such a mess. I slipped, outside, it was icy and I slipped on the ice. Then my heel; after I slipped on the ice, my heel broke off and on the tissue; there was blood. It was my head… the blood on the tissue. I mean the blood was from my head, on the tissue. But my bag and the presents. I have presents; the two that I had…” It took Marie a while to realise the grin on Brian’s face as she talked complete and utter nonsense. 

“You looked beautiful Marie.” 

Marie froze. 

“I? I..?”