Ch. 04: Lunch & family

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"Of Magic & Mistletoe", Ch. 04: Lunch & family, by Gratiana Lovelace,  December 24, 2020 (Post #1352)
(All rights reserved; An original story copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace, 2020)
[(1) cover story]

Author's content note: My 2020 Christmas short story here is a gentle romance mostly rated G for all, with some dramatic moments. I will serialize my story here and on my Wattpad site. I'll continue with publishing new chapters almost every day through New Year's Eve. I hope that you enjoy my new story.

Illustrations: I cast my stories as I write them, with Richard Armitage as Luke Wharton, Erin Krakow as Diana Groves, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Benjy Groves, Helen Hayes as Martha Lesley, Anna Knyazeva as Heidi Wharton, and others as noted in the references.


"Of Magic & Mistletoe", Ch. 04: Lunch & family

Diana eagerly anticipates her and Benjy's lunch with Luke and his daughter Heidi on Wednesday, Dec. 22nd, 2010. The last time Diana saw Luke was Tuesday morning--after the previous night's snow blizzard forced Luke and his daughter to camp out in Martha's sitting room sofa bed. And before he left for his own home that morning, he ferried Diana back to the mall in his truck, so Diana could drive Martha's car back to their apartment complex. But Luke also called her again this Wednesday morning to confirm that he will pick up her and Benjy around 11:30am today.

Though Diana has only known Luke a handful of days, she has missed him and his little daughter Heidi. It is almost as if a tiny ache in her widow's broken heart is trying to mend it. Benjy is also all excitement this morning at getting to see Heidi and her tall Daddy again. It is odd how something or someone can so quickly take on importance in our lives. But then, it is the holidays, which seems to make meeting new people extra special.

Luke parks his sedan truck near the Hampton Heights apartment building entrance and he and his daughter Heidi walk into the building to collect Diana and her son Benjy for lunch. He pushes the security button for Diana's apartment—labeled D. Groves--while smiling down at his daughter Heidi, who grins from ear to ear up at her tall Daddy. Then Diana pushes the comparable door access button in her apartment that will let them in to the main area of her apartment building.

So Luke and Heidi ride the elevator to the 2nd floor and walk down the hall to Heidi's & Benjy's apartment, then he knocks on her door. Luke is wearing his less puffy and nicer long camel hair coat and a striped sweater and jeans [(2) below].

And Luke has Heidi's hair held back by a red headband and white earmuffs while wearing her warm pink puffy coat over her rufflely on the shoulders and at the wrists white sweater and red corduroy pants. Luke thinks that she looks adorable, like a candy cane.

Diana: Rushing to open her apartment door, she invites them in. "Oh! Hi Luke, and Heidi! Welcome!" Heidi leans in and hugs Diana's legs, and Diana hugs her back. "Benjy and I are just putting on our coats. I'm sorry that we weren't already waiting for you downstairs." Diana smiles warmly as much for seeing Luke and Heidi again, as for how handsome Luke looks—now that he isn't dressed up as a Santa helper.

Luke also smiles appreciatively at Diana wearing a warm but sweetly feminine looking sweater coat [(3) below] over a jeans skirt. While Benjy is wearing a cute little boy's red and black buffalo plaid flannel shirt and jeans. And Luke also notices that Diana seems a little skittish, like a colt--with her smiling one minute and looking shy the next. And he wonders if her clipboard is coming with her to lunch, or if she is just clasping it close for comfort. So he tries to make her feel at ease.

"Of Magic & Mistletoe", by Gratiana Lovelace (2020); (Completed)Where stories live. Discover now