Even though I refused to believe there was anything at all between Alec and me, I still couldn't shake the thought from my head.

Maybe it was Eva's insistence or Jonathan somewhat agreeing, even if he never said it, but the thought continued to linger long after I had recovered from the cold and we were knee-deep into December. I blamed Eva. She had a habit of saying things she knows will annoy me for weeks to come, it's one of the reasons why she said them in the first place.

I tried to ignore the comment that continued to swirl through my head and instead focused my attention on the Christmas presents I wanted to do for Jonathan and Barbara. Since I had only been with them since September, trying to figure out what to do ended up being a lot harder than I first thought. With the kitchen mended and redecorated, and the house now up to a decent standard, there were very few things I could do.

Back home, I would make something for Mum depending on what she needed or what she complained about never having. With the help of Dad, we built her a spice rack and even a rocking chair one year, but I didn't think I could do that for the Goodwin's. I needed to come up with something and I was running out of time to do so.

"Christmas is in two weeks and you've left it until now to figure out what to do?" Eva asked. She tapped a stack of postcards on the counter and then tucked them into the rack.

"I know, I'm a terrible person. I need your help."

"What can I do? I'm not as creative as you, you know that."

"So you have no ideas? None at all? Are you sure?"

"None. You're on your own with this one." Eva raised an eyebrow at me. "This is your own fault, you've had ages to think of something." She turned her attention to the front door where the bell above the door had just chimed.

"I'm going to drown myself in the lake."

"Excuse me?" A stunned voice said behind me.

I turned around and came face-to-face with Mr and Mrs Thompson and Alec who had hidden his face in his hand and had started shaking, though it was no doubt out of laughter than anything else. Heat travelled up my face at the embarrassment that had I had said it not just in front of other people, but in front of people I knew and had spoken to on countless occasions. Mum always said I needed to think before I spoke and this happened to be one of those occasions.

"Figure of speech," I said in an attempt to clarify my meaning. Alec emerged from behind his hands with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"If you say so," Mrs Thompson said.

"Thank you for being completely useless, Eva."

Eva smiled. "You're welcome."

I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes at her and instead shuffled past the Thompson's and stepped outside. The moment I walked through the door, I pulled my coat tighter around my arms to protect me from the bitter wind that had set in. Barbara had been reluctant to let me into the village on my own after I got ill last time, but with scattered clouds in the sky, Jonathan had allowed it. I suspected he only did it because I had started to get on his nerves; I never liked being cooped up inside.

Moving through the village, I took a seat on one of the benches and slumped back against it to stare at the leaves being wiped up into a mini-tornado by the wind. Two weeks to come up with a decent Christmas present did not feel like enough time and I had hoped Eva could help - how wrong I was. She did have a point, though. I had left it till the last minute and that was on me but she could have at least offered me an idea rather than mocking me for my own mistake.

Even sitting on the bench staring into oblivion didn't help prompt my mind into coming up with something that might work as a Christmas present for the Goodwin's. Eva probably had something planned for her host family before we even got on the train because that's the sort of person she is. I hadn't even considered the idea of us still being in the country come Christmas so the idea of having to get presents for my host family had never crossed my mind, but I wished it had. It would be better than being stuck with two weeks to go.

"Is that seat taken?" a voice said behind me. I looked up to see Alec standing beside the bench.

"Yes, my imaginary friend is sitting there."

"Ah, I see. Maybe I can just squeeze in." Alec pretended to wriggle between me and someone else. "Why did you call Eva useless?"

"I went to her to see if she could help me come up with a Christmas present for the Goodwin's, but she's just as clueless as me."

"Right. Two weeks to go and you have no idea?"

I nodded. "That's about the sum of it."

"I have an idea," he said, a slight glint in his eye.

"Please tell me you're being serious and not just having me on because if you are making fun of me, that's just rude."

"I'm not. Honest." He held up his hands. "Every farm around here has a sign that they put at the start of their land or on a fence so everyone knows they're at the right place. Mr and Mrs Goodwin don't have one. From what Dad said after Mr Goodwin's mum died three years ago, his dad became a bit of a recluse in the area and took the sign down, burning it as fuel for the fire. They haven't had it replaced."

"You're a genius!"

"It's been said before." I raised an eyebrow. "No, it hasn't."

I laughed and leant back against the bench, my mind spinning with all manner of possibilities. The sign made sense and I could complete it within the two-week time frame if I kept it simple which I had to do. Although it didn't feel all that personal, it made sense to do something that would help to complete the overall look of the farm. That, and I didn't think I knew enough about the Goodwin's to create something that would be considered overly personal but a sign made sense in the long run.

Alec hummed happily to himself, as though pleased that he had come up with such a good idea and had been regarded as a genius, a rare comment by his own admission. I suppose it made sense that he could come up with something when myself and Eva both failed. He knew the Goodwin's better than both of us and knew more about the world of farming and the overall community created in this small village. Despite Eva's comments the week before, I was glad to have Alec around since he offered a little more wisdom than she did. At least he offered a solution.

We sat together on the benches for a little while longer, Alec humming and me watching the leaves being collected up in a miniature tornado. At one point, the leaves ran towards a small child and almost knocked him over. I had to try not to laugh and the sight of him running and screaming from the leaves. After a little while, Alec looked at me.

"You have two weeks to get the sign done, is sitting here really the best option?" Alec said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Probably not. But where can I do it? I can't do it at the farm because they'll probably see me." I shrugged.

"Why don't you do it in our workshop? Dad won't mind and we have spare wood and paint, everything you might need. That way, they won't see you."

"Are you sure he won't mind?"

"Nah, maybe he'll give you a lift back to the farm when you're done. Since it's a Christmas present, he should be fine with it."

"I guess it can't hurt."

"You can make a start on it now, it's not even three yet. A good two hours and you could have the whole thing planned out."

"Sure, why not."

Alec smiled and stood up with me following and readjusting my coat so I didn't look dishevelled. The wind fought against us as we headed down an alleyway around the side of the village square and set off towards the Thompson farm. Despite knowing Alec and his family for four months, I had yet to step foot anywhere near their farm since most of my time was spent on either our farm or in the village. This would be a new adventure for me.

We walked up a slight slope and then down a much larger hill, both of us having to walk slowly and take tentative side steps to ensure that we didn't slip over. Barbara would kill me if I traipsed mud into the house, especially since we had spent so long cleaning the house to ensure it looked clean. She had finally warmed up to me a decent amount and I didn't want to blow that by turning up with mud clinging to my clothing.

Once we had tackled the hill without falling face-first into the mud, we followed a separate track up another hill before the ground levelled out. There were far too many hills in the country as far as I was concerned and I missed the constant flat ground of the city. Not only that but there was a lot less mud back home, something that pleased Mum a lot.

I followed Alec across the track until we came to a wooden gate that had the very sign he had been talking about. Before we walked through the gate, I looked at the sign so I could take inspiration from it, but it looked rather bland with nothing but their name on it. I didn't want to give the Goodwin's a Christmas present that looked too bland, I needed to make it special.

Alec led me to a large, wooden shed. When he opened the door, I took a step back in amazement. The shed was wall to wall tools and pieces of material, from wood to the same corrugated sheets we put on the roof of the stable.

"I think I just died and went to heaven," I said.

"Dad will be glad to hear that, this place is his pride and joy. It has everything a person could need or want when it comes to carpentry and he spends an awful lot of time in here."

"Are you sure he won't mind me using it?"

"Not at all, Sybil," Mr Thompson said from behind me. We both turned around to talk to him. "I saw you coming over the hill, what are you up to?"

"Sybil wants to create a new sign for the Goodwin farm, as a Christmas present. I said she could use the workshop so they don't find out."

"I think that's a great idea. You can use the workshop as much as you want, we'll see you coming so no need to make yourself known or ask when you want to use it. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't, thank you, Mr Thompson."

Mr Thompson smiled, tipped his hat towards us and then turned and walked up to the farmhouse just up the hill from the workshop. The fact that he said I could just walk in and use the workshop whenever I pleased startled me a little since no one had ever been that trustworthy back in London. Although everyone left their doors unlocked and welcomed visitors, they never allowed anyone to use anything they owned without at least asking. Yet another stark contrast between the country and the city.

Just before Alec and I could step foot into the workshop for me to at least start planning what I wanted to do for the sign, a loud rumble started nearby and the birds stopped singing. Both of us instinctively looked up just as a plane roared past us, no doubt heading towards the Continent. Planes flew over an awful lot these days and we had become used to them, but there was still that fear that one would crash close by.

"Hard to believe the war's going to continue on into next year."

"Maybe it'll end then, too."

"I don't think so. The Germans are putting up one hell of a fight and the Soviet Union has invaded Finland. We only joined the war because the Germans walked into Poland, it's not going to end until they're out and who knows how long that could take."

I looked at him. "Have you spoken to your older brothers? I remember you saying they joined the RAF."

"A few letters here and there, but I keep thinking it's them flying over. Mum worries that they will and then crash nearby, it's her biggest fear."

"I don't blame her."

The plane faded into the distance, the rubbing going with it and almost at once, the birds started to sing again. Sometimes, I found it hard to believe there was a war going on at all if it weren't for the planes. Alec was right there. Peace felt a long way off.

~~~

A/N - Chapter Twenty-One is here! This story is stretching out offline and I might hit fifty chapters, I don't know yet xD

Questions! What do you think of Sybil's idea about a Christmas present? Will she get it done in time?

Comment below!

First Published - August 8th, 2021