December 23rd 1996

A couple days later Linda was decorating the house for Christmas. Well, most of it was already put together but she was just putting icing on the cake. "Got to get all these cookies baked before Easter."

"Maybe make a second batch," I said.

"Why's that?" She turned around to see me eating cookie dough.

"I don't know, just a thought."

"Hey! No free cookies, you're gonna earn your keep."

"How?" She glanced around the room.

"I know." She took a bowl out of the cupboard and set it on the table. "Open these and put them in there." A bag of candy was placed next to the bowl.

"I have to unwrap all these?"

"No. If you want a cookie though..." I sighed. Better get started, I want those cookies. Malcolm came up seconds later.

"Hey babe, making cookies?" he asked taking some cookie dough. Linda sighed and stared at him. I smiled glancing between the two. "What?"

"No one's allowed to eat the cookie dough."

"You have to earn it," I said.

"Earn it? Why earn it when I can eat it right here?"

"Because I said so. Get over there and help Hannah unwrap those candies."

"Aw Linds-"

"I mean it. Go." Malcolm shook his head but joined me at the table.

"So what are we doing?"

"We are unwrapping this candy and putting it in the bowl."

"How does she know we won't just eat it?"

"She doesn't," I smiled.

"Okay. Okay." He walked to my other side and started splitting the candy into two piles. "Ready?" I saw a certain glint in his eyes, one of playfulness.

"Ready." We both started unwrapping the candy as fast as we could. I was winning at first and Malcolm noticed. He grabbed me and restricted my arms as he kept opening the ones in his pile. "Hey! No fair!"

He started laughing and that distracted him, especially when I struggled in his hold. He got the last one and let me go, arms up. "Done!"

"Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater," I mumbled. Then I thought of the nursery rhyme. The next line is 'had a wife and couldn't keep her'. I thought of Angus.

"It's called strategy. I've used it against Angus ever since we were kids." I put my hands in my pockets and went out the front door.

Linda and Malcolm watched Hannah leave. "Here, I'll talk to her." Linda took off her oven mits and gave them to her husband. "You can look after things can't you?"

"I-" But she was gone.

My reflection shone across the hood of the car. Pathetic. "You miss him huh?" I turned around to see Linda.

"It's my fault he's gone."

"Aw love, things will look up."

"I just potentially ruined a sixteen year marriage and a friendship. I don't want to ruin another one," I mumbled the last part.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"I've known Ellen a long time. I met her in August 1979, a month after the band did. A couple of months after, Angus said he was gonna marry her. But before that, he'd be going on and on about-you know, stories about you and him. Every chance he could he mentioned you. Now back when I first met Ellen I didn't know too much. I always thought he meant her. Mentioned it to Malcolm. 'He must really love her, if he's marryin' her so quick.' And Malcolm, being Malcolm says, 'Didn't you know? He's talkin' about Hannah.' I said 'Who's Hannah?' He looks at me and says, 'Have I got a lot to tell you!'"

"That's why she's so mad at me. She thinks I'm taking him away from her."

"You can't blame her for being protective of her husband."

"No I can't. I feel awful."

"While that anger might be part of it, I think she's also a tad jealous."

"Of what?"

"She'd never admit it, but those two have never had a large amount of chemistry. I've seen the attraction, but it hasn't really developed over the years." She looked around and leaned close. "If you ask me, they're not married 'cause they love each other. They love each other 'cause they're married."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," I said. Surely she must be wrong.

"Maybe not, but I want you to know. Doesn't mean what you did was morally correct but I want you to know."

"I can't imagine why Angus would like me so much that he would risk doing something like this."

"I know. Angus isn't that kind of guy at all."

"And I'm not that kind of girl."

"Just an unlucky circumstance I guess."

Later we came back inside to see Malcolm blowing an oven fire out with the extinguisher. "Don't worry love, I took the cookies out before I set them on fire," he called.