Number Neighbour H.S

Chapter 40

December 24th 2019 , 7.30 PM

On December 24, whatever which year it was, Allison had always loved that day and had always loved it since she was a child. When she was just a little girl, she spent Christmas Eve surrounded by her parents and like many children in the world, she never forgot to put her slippers under  the tree with a glass of milk and some cookies for Santa. Little did she know, it was actually her father who ate them. Her heart had been broken when she learned at her age that Santa Claus did not exist. However, she never lost the magic of Christmas, which she felt as soon as the month of December began and it ended at the beginning of January. Allison loved to put on her Christmas tree and decorate it as well her apartment as soon as possible.  On the contrary,  she does not remove the decorations as late as possible.

December 24 2019 was not an exception to the rule , Allison was happy. Happy because she was surrounded by her loved ones, happy to have came back to Manchester for a few days. She also felt excitement because not only was she eager to know if the gifts she had chosen for her loved ones would please them but she was eager to discover her gifts too. However, she could not help but have a thought for her beautiful brunette, Harry. The young singer also spends the holidays with his family and friends at Holmes Chapel whom he does not see very often, only for occasions such as Christmas, birthday parties or weddings.

The two lovebirds had only left each other since the previous day but each felt a huge lack in themselves when the other was not around. Besides, they had a hard time saying goodbye and letting go yesterday on departure, between hugs and kisses that never ended. Fortunately, they had planned to meet again after December 25 and celebrate the New Year together surrounded by their mutual friends. Allison had already met a few of Harry’s friends, on the other side, Harry had never met anyone but her best friend Mary at the private concert a few days ago.
Plus, Allison was eager for Harry to meet the people with whom she got along best, that is to say Niall, Jack and the whole gang. So they had a party planned in one of the trendiest bar-restaurants in London.

As in every family reunion, several generations are gathered at the same table. This is the perfect time to reconnect, to remember the good memories, to hear from everyone, both on the professional and personal sides. You all know what kinds of issues I want to talk about..The questions we grasp, the questions that make us roll our eyes, no longer want to be in the room or spit out our drink or sometimes food in surprise. In reality, there are many possible questions regardless of whether you are a couple or a single person. If you are in a relationship, probably you will  have to deal with  child-centred questions or commitment such as "When are you two having a baby?", "When do I become a grandfather or a grandmother?" , "What about the wedding?".

And whether it was Allison or Harry, none of them had escaped that question, especially that almost everyone had heard that there was something going on between these two but they had no idea of the reason behind it all. On Allison’s side, this topic had been brought by one of her cousins who is a fan of the British singer and had started the discussion with:

"So, Allison, when do you introduce me to Harry? ".

Of course, she had asked this question in a tone strong enough to attract the attention of the whole table, which did not fail because immediately all eyes were on the young woman. Most of the looks at Allison were questioning or filled with curiosity and malice. You could hear "Harry? ", "But who is this young man?", "Ohhh maybe a newcomer to the family? Why didn’t you bring him today?", "How long have you known each other?" , "How did you meet?", "How old is he?", "What does he do for a living ?" , "Do you plan to marry or have children?" ....

Allison had been overwhelmed with questions , she could not find words because she did not know which question to answer first. Allison could only pronounce onomatopoeias or the beginnings of  sentences such as : "Hum-I..". The words remained stuck at the bottom of her throat and it was her little cousin Lily, the one who "triggered" all of this that answered most of the questions about him.
Then, she began her  monologue about the young singer, about how and what he'd done to get there so far , his future projects etc. However, although Lily knew some details of Harry’s life, all the lyrics of his songs etc, She had no clue about the relationship between her cousin and one of her favorite singer.
Only Allison could answer some of the questions and still others were unanswered because it was simply too early to talk about these topics. Even though both wanted to start a family and commit in the future, they just did not know yet if they were really meant for each other.