Free The Elephant Tree by R. D. Ronald

up. But she felt the whole scenario could play out exactly the same with any other girl in her position; there was no depth of emotion or bond to really tie them together. On occasion when Angela would mention this, or try to discover a little more about his personal life, family or friends outside of work, Jack would withdraw a little, and the atmosphere between them would noticeably cool.
    ‘I love spending time with you, Jack,’ she’d said to him one night in a restaurant, as she took hold of his hand, ‘It’s just that you still feel like a stranger to me, and I want you to be so much more.’
    She looked away as she said that, afraid by coming on too strong she’d scare him off and be left with nothing, but as she released his hand he leaned forward and took hold of hers again.
    ‘I really like being with you too. Emotional closeness just isn’t something I’ve had a lot of practice with. After my parents died I tried to bury all of my feelings. The pain of that kind of loss is just so hard to bear it was easier to pretend it didn’t exist. I guess I’ve been locked up pretty tight ever since.’
    ‘I’m so sorry, Jack,’ She said, meeting his gaze again, ‘I had no idea. I don’t want to cause you any pain, but if that is how you’re feeling then I just want to be there for you and help you through it.’
    ‘OK,’ he said smiling at her, ‘so how do I start?’
    ‘Well just talking like this is good,’ she said with a grin. ‘You could tell me about your parents, and your apartment is beautiful but there are no photos or anything personal to make it feel like a home. Maybe it just needs a woman’s touch.’
    After the restaurant they drove back to Jack’s apartment and spent most of the night on the couch talking and sipping wine, before eventually heading to bed as the first fingers of dawn began to reach around and take hold on the city that lay below them. That was the first night that Angela slept in Jack’s bed.
    They awoke around lunchtime having slept for only a few hours. She showered while Jack cooked them both some eggs. The conversation while they ate was light, he even seemed a little coy at times, but smiled a lot.
    They travelled down to the foyer together where she kissed him goodbye as he set off for work. Angela went and bought a coffee nearby and sat alone with her thoughts as the city geared up for another day. Afterwards she wandered and, without even realising she was going to do it, ended up at a tattoo parlour where she had her earlobe pierced for a second time, and a small silver hoop slipped through it.
    * * *
    A clutch of huddled figures stood around at the bar in The Highlander waiting to be served, but the majority of Christmas refugees were gathered around the tables. Scott claimed a vacant bar stool in Angela’s area and waited for her to finish serving the others.
    ‘Always nice to see a smiling face at the bar,’ Angela said sarcastically, as Scott sat down and began to knead his temples with the tips of his fingers.
    ‘Glad you appreciate the effort,’ he replied back with a dismissive smile.
    ‘I didn’t think you’d make it down today with the weather being so nice outside and bearing in mind what you put away last night.’
    ‘Thanks but I’m a big boy, I can cope. Besides, you think I just hide away indoors during daylight like some kind of vampire?’
    ‘No dummy, I just mean when we get a day like this so close to Christmas its wall-to-wall with the credit card crew out there. You’d think the shops were giving their shiny shit away for free today there’s so many of them.’
    Scott couldn’t help but laugh at Angela’s seasonal cynicism. For someone who had such a positive attitude most of the time, the festive cheer always fell short of wrapping Angela up in its warm cocoon of merriment. Without being asked she went to fetch a beer for Scott. She’d changed into deep blue cargo pants that she wore with her scuffed black boots, a loose