After he heated the pans he grabbed the eggs and began making the omelettes. When they went under the grill he grabbed a couple of plates. He leaned under a counter and pulled out a booklet.
Frowning, he turned it over. It looked like a scrapbook, something similar to what a child would make. He flipped it over and saw a family photo of their family. Wayne smiled. There were a few decorations on the front page. All of them were personal and to make it look pretty.
He opened the page and took a seat at the counter. It was a book of memories. Every point within her culinary life, Lily had documented. He chuckled when he saw one of the curries she’d made. Beside the picture of the curry was a warning about the horrid taste. There were several pictures of them and then a section on morning sickness.
It was part of their life in a large book. He saw where she’d glued another book underneath.
“Wow, please don’t feed me this,” Lily said, pulling the frying pans out of the grill. The omelettes on top were black. He’d been oblivious to the passing of time.
“Sorry,” he said.
“I found this.”
She stood next to him.
“I didn’t know you were doing something like this.” He closed the book running a hand over the cover.
“I’m a big believer in documenting every new part of our life.”
He reached for her pulling her close. Wayne inhaled her scent and knew their life was going to be okay.
Chapter Nine
Over the next week Wayne kept to his word. He refused to take any business calls. Anything that could be handled by someone else was passed along. Lily loved having him all to herself. When they were together the twelve years that had passed melted away. He took her to lunch to take time out of shopping. When they weren’t shopping or wrapping presents Lily was baking in the kitchen. Wayne spent a great deal of time on decorations. He purchased more lights, and at night she saw how awful he was at working on a straight line. She made mince pies and cookies. Several nights carol singers came ‘round to the house. They’d left the gate open to allow the freedom of festivities. Wayne warned about the dangers.
He took her to the jewellers to have her ring size tested. Lily refused. She didn’t need another ring. He’d promised to owe her a favour if she agreed to do this for him.
“A favour?” she asked.
“Yes, I’ll give you anything you want.”
She smiled recalling all the dirty thoughts that had rushed through her mind at the time. Lily topped the last of the mince tarts when she heard a curse come from the dining room table. Wiping her hands on the towel she moved into the dining room.
He glanced up when she chuckled. Wayne glared at her. He had cello tape wrapped around his whole hand. The doll he’d been trying to wrap looked nothing like a doll.
“You could help me,” he said.
“I will. I’ll get you a cup of tea.” She left him fighting with a toy to go and get the beverages. When the kettle finished boiling she poured them both a cup of tea. She glanced down at her finger and felt the loss of his rings. Lily wondered when he’d find the time to give them to her.
Their problems seemed so petty now. She would do anything to get the rings back on her finger. Over the last few days she’d hinted as much.
Shrugging her shoulders, she pulled out the tray of mince pies to let them sit on a cooling rack.
Lily took two then walked back into the dining room. When she’d put the cups and plate down, she helped Wayne with the toy. He really didn’t have a knack for wrapping.
“You used to do this?” he asked.
She nodded, smiling.
“I thought you got it gift wrapped.” He mumbled something else, which she didn’t quite catch.
“I may have come from money, but as you know my dad lost it. Spending money on gift-wrapping was a waste of time. I was told to make it look like it had been gift-wrapped.” She took the present from him, and in a few quick movements she wrapped the doll. Lily wrote on a label then added it to the other Santa bags she’d made over the years.
He grumbled some more. She tested the heat of the mince pie then pressed it to his mouth.
“Eat and stop moaning. At least you have me to wrap for you.” She moved all the paper and presents out of the way.
“How can I help? I thought wrapping presents would be easier. I can’t bake, and I certainly can’t wrap. What the hell do I have to offer?” he asked.
Lily chuckled. “Stop moaning. You’ve never spent Christmas by actually doing anything,” she said. “It’s not about all this. You care, and I know that. This will come in time.”
“You’re only being nice to me,” he said.
“No, I’m not. Wayne, I love you. You went to work, and I did all the homely stuff. I love doing this, and to be honest it makes me happy knowing you can’t do it.”
“Why?”
“Because it means I’m good at something.” She admitted the hard truth. No matter how long she’d been away from her sister and stepmother, the damage they caused still made her feel worthless at times.
He reached out to cup her cheek. “You’re good at everything you do, baby. Don’t let them keep hurting you.” He stroked her cheek making her smile. Her eyes watered at his sweet words.
“Thank you.”
“I mean it. I never knew how much went into this stuff. It makes me proud to know you handled this all by yourself.” Lily felt the blush rising up in her cheeks. “Anyway, there is something I wanted us to do.” He leaned down and pulled something off the chair.
She saw the book of memories she’d been storing away over their twelve years of marriage.
“You want to talk about my scrapbook?” she asked.
“Not exactly. I want to talk about us. This is our time to put it all on the table and for us to discuss our lives and our marriage.”
Lily took a sip of her tea thinking about what he was asking.
“You want us to sit and talk about certain memories of the past?” Lily asked.
“Yes, I think it will be good for us to get it all out in the open.”
She took another sip of her tea wondering where to start. Over the years there had been many instances where she’d wanted to say something to him but kept it all inside. Wayne could be very closed off when he wanted to be.
“Okay, you look worried. Let’s just talk and see where it goes. Our wedding day, what did you think?” he asked.
“It was so long ago, Wayne. These memories seem pointless now. We both know we didn’t have the most conventional day. Why delve into them?” Lily ran her fingers through her hair. Her finger felt empty without the engagement ring and wedding band.