Tumgik
Visit Blog
Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.
Fun Fact
The Tumblr app for Google Glass was released on May 16, 2013.
#Modern Podark AUPoldark Ross Poldark Aidan Turner
anglophiletraveler · 2 years
Text
Chapter 16 of In My Life
Tumblr media
Wonderful Christmastime
By Paul McCartney and Wings
Once again, a big thanks to Karen Bockius for helping me out as beta.  Sorry that it’s taken a while to get this chapter out.  Between starting a new job and going away for a few days, I’ve been behind a little.  This chapter is about some Christmas fluff and sentimentality.  Things also get a little steamier between our favourite couple!   I’ve posted a link to the song at the end of the chapter.  I’ve also posted a video of Christmas at Selfridges from 2021.  
By the end of the week, Demelza and Ross had settled into a routine as much as they could with his home health appointments and Dem’s rehearsals.  Ross usually stayed in bed with his foot propped up after Demelza left for rehearsal.  His home health aide usually came around 11:00 and would help Ross get a shower and into some clothes.  He found it easier to wear shorts for now.  The aide helped Ross out to the living room, and work on exercises so that the muscles in his foot wouldn’t freeze in a bad position, then fix Ross something to eat before she left at 1:00.  He was trying to get as much work accomplished at home as he could.  He was now sitting in on a few zoom meetings about the acquisition that he was working on before his surgery.  Jenny was a big help and would come over with her laptop so that they could work on a few things together. It was just enough activity to keep Ross from going insane sitting around the house.   Demelza usually made it home by 5:00 after rehearsal.  They had put off their dinner date with Drake until the weekend since the week was busy enough as it was.  
It was Friday and Demelza was trying to get her cello through the door.  She brought it home to practice for her upcoming gigs.  Ross was pretty excited about this since he still hadn’t heard Demelza play just by herself.  
“Judas Ross, I’m not sure where the best place is for the cello.  I need to put it somewhere where it won’t be a hazard to you and your crutches.” 
Ross was looking around the living room.  It really wasn’t that big of a room.  “Umm what about the kitchen?  I don’t usually go in there, and I should still be able to hear you play from here.”
“Right.  I guess that is probably the safest bet.  I’ll just go sit this in there.  Do you need anything while I’m in there?”
“No, I’m fine, thank you.  All I need is you darlin.”
Demelza came back in with 2 bottles of water, gave Ross a hello kiss and sat down on the sofa next to him.  “Hiya Ross.”
“Hiya Demelza.  How was your day?”  He was holding Demelza and was caressing her fingers.
“It was fine I guess.  I’m a bit off on Christmas music already.”
“Already?  Babe it’s only week one!”  He was looking at the palm side of her hand.  “Dem…”
“Hmmm …”
“Are these calluses on your fingers?”
“Yeah, why?”
“How have I never noticed these?”  He started kissing each finger.  
“I don’t know.  Maybe you usually hold my other hand?  Aww you’re so sweet kissing my calluses!”
“I have some really good lotion that you could use to help heal these.”
“Oh I appreciate that Ross, but it’s good for me to have calluses on my fingers, so they don’t bleed or hurt while I play.”
“I didn’t realise that.  Do you have any on your right hand?”  Ross was inspecting her hands now.
“I just have the one on my thumb from when I have to pluck a string.”
Ross leaned over and kissed her temple, “Mmm what else do I need to learn about playing the cello?”
"Mmm I don’t know.  I guess I could always teach you the different parts of the cello.  Let’s see… there’s the neck, the scroll…”  Demelza’s voice seemed to get lower, “the tailpiece…”
“The tailpiece?  Now that sounds interesting.”  Ross kissed her again.  “Tell me, what are the other parts of the cello my dear?”
Demelza giggled, “the bridge of course, the fine tuners, the f-hole…”
That got Ross’s attention, “The f-hole?  Now that sounds interesting.”
“I thought that would get your attention!”  She was laughing now.  Ross went in for another kiss but Demelza’s phone buzzed.  “Oh it’s Drake.  He wants to know if we are still on for pizza tomorrow night?  We could postpone it, I’m sure he would understand.”
“No, I’m fine.  I don’t want to postpone it again.  It’ll be great getting together with him and hearing some cheeky stories about you growing up!”  
Demelza texted Drake back.  “Well, there won’t be many of those I can tell you that much.  Have you thought about what you want to do for Christmas?  Did you want to have Verity drive you to Nampara?  Or do you want to stay here and I can fix us a Christmas dinner, maybe have Drake over?”
“I like the idea of staying here.  I’m not sure if mum and da would want to join us or not.  Would it bother you if I asked them to come up here for Christmas?”
“No, of course not.  Is Dwight usually alone for Christmas?”
“If he’s not working he usually has Christmas with his da.  What about your flatmates?”
“Caroline usually goes home to her Uncle Ray’s, and James and Henry usually go home to their families, so most of the time it’s just Drake and I.  Every once in a while Sam comes home from whatever country he is in.”
“So, it would be Mum and da if they come up, and Drake, and you and I.  I think that sounds lovely.  Not an overwhelming amount of people.”  Ross leaned over and gave Demelza a kiss.
“I think that sounds nice Ross.  What about Verity?  Did you want to invite her and her boyfriend?”
“She usually goes home to her father’s for Christmas, but after the arguments that she’s had with Uncle Charles over dating Andrew, it’s hard to tell what she’ll be doing.  I’ll let her know that she and Andrew are welcome.”
“How is your foot Ross?  Has it been painful today?”
“Not as bad.  I’ve only taken pain medicine once.  Now enough of this chit chat.  Come here closer, my love.  I wish to take you in my arms and ravage your neck!”  He had a devilish grin on his voice and an evil laugh.
Demelza slowly crept up on Ross’s lap, her most favourite place to sit lately, “Oh you do, my lord!”
“Yes indeed!  Maybe learn some more parts of the cello!”  
“Ross you’re incorrigible.”
“Mmm but you still love me.”  And with that Ross began kissing her cheek, and then tucked his head to nibble on Demelza’s neck just behind her ear.  He heard a slight squeal from Demelza.  “Do you like it when I kiss you there, my love?  Or maybe here.”  Ross lowered his lips to just below her jawline.  Demelza closed her eyes and rolled her head back to expose more of the white skin of her neck, only now it was becoming pink with flush.  Ross gave a slight growl as he kept kissing her neck, nipping it along the way.  Demelza was feeling a growing heat in her core, but at the same time was feeling light headed.  Ross opened his eyes to look at the expression on this woman’s beautiful face.  Her neck and cheeks were rosy, her mouth slightly open with increased breathing.  She was a picture of love.  She opened her eyes to find him looking at her.  “How do you like to be kissed, Demelza?”
And with that her hands reached up to his face and surprisingly pulled a shocked Ross in for a passionate kiss.  Once he was over the surprise, Ross lightly brushed her lower lip with his tongue, prompting Demelza to open her mouth for him to enter her mouth.  Demelza was surprising herself at how much she was enjoying this and let a moan slip out.  “Ohh Ross.”  She was enjoying rubbing her cheek against the now four day beard growth on his face like a kitten.  She found herself nibbling on his strong jawline, taking in his scent.  Her breathing was speeding up and her chest heaving and it was starting to frighten her.  “Ross…”
“Yes, my love.”  Ross’s hands were now caressing the skin under her shirt.
Demelza could feel his hands on her bare skin and she thought for sure he was setting her skin on fire.  She tried to slow down her breathing but it wasn’t working.  “Ross… I, I, can’t breathe…”
It finally dawned on Ross that Demelza was in distress.  He pulled away from her and saw that she was having a hard time breathing.  “Demelza, calm down.  Try to slow your breathing.  Demelza!  Look at me!  Watch me and do what I do!   Breathe in through your nose… then let the air out slowly through your mouth.”  He was breathing in through his nose and letting it out with Demelza now doing the same as he was until she finally calmed down.  He was terrified at what just happened.  He finally realised how tight he was holding her arms when he let go.  “Demelza, my God, are you alright?  What just happened?”
“I don’t know.  That’s never happened to me before!”
“Did I hurt you?”
“No! No, it was nothing like that.  I, I think I was just feeling overwhelmed at how….”  she looked down feeling embarrassed now.  Her feelings for Ross have been growing ever since their talk when Ross told her about Claude and Elizabeth.  It seemed as though there was nothing that they couldn’t talk about now.  
“At how… much you were enjoying yourself and your feelings?” Ross asked.
Demelza was embarrassed and started to get up, “I should get up and fix us some supper.”  Ross grabbed her hand before she could escape him.
“No, no, no you don’t.  I don’t care if I eat cereal for supper.  You are not escaping me now, my love.  Please just sit down and relax, or better yet lay down and place your head in my lap so that I can look down and make sure that you’re alright.”
She hesitated, so he put a soft pillow on his lap and patted it for her to lay her head.  So she laid down and placed her head on the pillow, and smiled up at him while he played with her hair.  She felt herself relax while he was stroking her hair.  He was staring into her eyes, but slowly her eyelids became heavy and eventually closed.  He was smiling at her while she slept.  He felt bad that her feelings overwhelmed her, but he was wondering if it meant that she was getting close to taking the next step in their relationship.  He wanted her first time to be special and something that she would enjoy and not regret later.   Ross had felt the closeness between the two of them become stronger ever since the night he told her about his brother and Elizabeth.  He feared it would push her away from him, but instead it did the opposite.  And he loved her even more because of it.
************ 
An hour or so had passed and Demelza was still asleep on Ross’s lap.  He didn’t mind her taking a nap.  He was pleased that she was resting.  He knew how exhausting the week had been for her with his surgery, meeting his family, rehearsals and trying to take care of him.  He was enjoying the opportunity to just stare at her and think of their future.  But he was feeling an increasing need to get up to go to the bathroom, but he didn’t want to disturb her.  He was trying to lift her head gently while standing on one leg without waking her up, but it wasn’t working.  Demelza was starting to stir.  “Ross, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.  I was just trying to get up without waking you.  I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re fine.  Can I get you something?  I’m sorry I fell asleep on you.”  She was stretching trying to wake up.
“No, I’m fine.  I’m glad you got some rest.  I just need to go to the bathroom.  I’ll be right back.”
“Ok.  Let me know if you need help.”  She looked at her phone and saw that it was almost 7:00.  “Judas, I slept a long time.”
*******
Ross crutched his way back into the living room.
“Ross, are you hungry?  I can fix us something to eat.  I’ll go look and see what we have.”
Ross grabbed her arm, “Don’t trouble yourself.  I told you that I can eat cereal.  I’m fine with that.”
“You can’t have cereal for supper!”  
“Why not?  It wouldn’t be the first time.  I really don’t mind.  We’ve both had a long week and you don’t need to cook for me all of the time.  We’re having pizza tomorrow night with your brother.  Just break out the cereal bowls!”
Demelza was chuckling and shrugged her shoulders, “Alright if you insist!”
*******
Ross and Demelza were both comfy in bed watching TV after they ate their cereal.  They had decided on bingeing “Stranger Things” although Demelza wasn’t sure if this was the best choice.  “If I have nightmares Ross, it’s going to be your fault!”
“Don’t worry my love, I shall protect you from the mind slayer!”
Ross had been pondering another thought and gave Demelza a side glance.   “What?  Why are you looking at me like that?  Have you decided to feed me to the mind slayer?”
Ross smiled, “No, but I have been thinking about something else.  Is it not the Christmas season, full of yuletide cheer and all that?”
Demelza wasn’t sure of where he was going with this question, “yes?’
“We need a tree!  A Christmas tree!”  Ross had this excited five year old look on his face!
Demelza was giggling at him, “Well do you have one that we can put up?”
“What?  No, no we have to go to a lot somewhere and buy one! Or better yet, cut one down! We don’t use artificial trees in the Poldark family!!”
“But Ross, you’re on crutches!  You can’t cut a tree down, and I’m not cutting a tree down that’s for sure!”
Ross sounded defeated, “oh yeah.  Well, we have to figure it out this weekend, because you’re busy every weekend until Christmas!  Maybe Drake can help us, or Dwight.”
“Possibly.  I can text Drake and see if he’s busy.  He probably couldn’t do it tomorrow because the dry cleaners are open tomorrow, but maybe Sunday?  And Ross, do you even have any decorations, or any Christmas lights?”
Ross was getting excited again, “Yes!  I do!  Not a lot but some.  I think they are in the cabinet under the staircase.  And if they are old or damaged we can just go buy more!  I don’t have any of the old family ones, mum still uses those at Nampara.”  He noticed that Demelza wasn’t quite as excited as he was.  “Babe, are you alright?”
She smiled at him calling her ‘babe’.  “Yes, I’m fine.  I’ve just never seen anyone this excited about Christmas before.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed it.  “I’m sorry.  I’m guessing that your Christmases weren’t very happy while you were growing up?”
She smiled at him, “No they weren’t.  If we ever got a present, it was usually from a church or an organisation that would adopt a family at Christmas.  When mum was still alive she would try to save money back to buy something special  for a Christmas dinner, but that didn’t always work out.  And then after she died, da was usually drunk on Christmas day and we just fended for ourselves.  If he gave us money for food, we usually bought turkey TV dinners that had cranberry sauce in it.  But don’t worry about all of that.  If you want a tree, we can put up a tree!  It will be our first Christmas together!!”  
Ross grabbed Demelza up in his arms and gave her an enthusiastic kiss!  “That’s the spirit!  Now first things first.  We need to find me a wheelchair!!”
*********
Demelza was asleep for the night, but Ross was so excited about the thought of going shopping with Demelza in the morning that he couldn’t sleep.  And he wanted the day to go perfectly.  He wasn’t quite sure of where to take her shopping so he texted Verity. 
“🤗 Verity!  Are you still awake? ”
“I am now!  Are you alright?  How are you feeling? 🙋 ”
“I feel fine.  But I need some help from you.”
“Do you need me to come over?”
“No, no.  Nothing like that.  Demelza and I are going to get a Christmas tree this weekend.  I’m afraid that I don’t have many decorations.  And I don’t remember for sure where I’ve put them.  Where’s a good place to go for Christmas decorations?”
“Well that depends.  Do you want to go all out and get something fancy, or are typical Christmas decorations alright?”
“This is our first Christmas together so I think I want to go all out! 🎄  ”
“Well then go to Selfridges!💲🧑‍🎄 ”
“Selfridges!  Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re a man!  Would you like me to go with you?”
“I don’t think so.  But thanks anyway.  I think this is something Demelza would like to do just the two of us.”
“Have you figured out how you’re going to get around?  Demelza doesn’t drive and you would be miserable on the tube especially carrying packages.”
“I’ve hired a car.  I’ve got that all sorted.  I just wasn’t sure where to go.”
“Well let me know if you need any help.  Andrew can come along and help as well.  And Ross… be careful with your spending.”
“What do you mean?  I can afford to splurge a little.”
“Yes, but don’t overwhelm Demelza with it.  She’s not used to that kind of spending and you don’t want to scare her off.”
“Good thinking cuz.  I hadn’t thought of that.  Thanks.  I’ll keep that in mind.   Luv you! 😘”
“Luv you!  And be careful with those crutches! 😘 ”
*******
Ross woke up to ‘Silent Night’ playing somewhere.  He looked over at the other side of the bed to find it empty.  He smiled when he realised that Demelza was practising in the kitchen.  He thought What a lovely sound to wake up to!  He snuck out as well as he could on crutches so he could video her playing without her knowing.  She was a beautiful sight sitting in the corner with her cello, her red hair down and her curls wild.  She looked like an angel.  Her eyes were closed and the look on her face was pure joy.  She was obviously lost in the music.  What a beautiful creature.  Not only is she beautiful but she is a person of depth and strength who clawed her way out of poverty and followed her dreams.  Lord, I love her!  He would remember this vision forever.  He backed away so that he wouldn’t bother her haven.
******
Demelza and Ross were dressed and finishing breakfast when the doorbell rang.
“Are you expecting someone Ross?”
“Yes, could you go answer the door, please?”
Demelza opened the door, and Frank, the driver from Ross’s work, was standing there.  “Frank!  How are you?”
“Very well thank you Miss Carne.  And yourself?”
“I’m a little confused right now, but please come in.”
Ross was smiling at Frank and welcomed him in.  His plan was now in motion!  “Frank!  Thanks for coming and helping us out!  Were you able to find a wheelchair for me?”
“Yes I did Mr. Poldark, it’s in the boot.”
Demelza was looking at both of the men, “Ross, what is going on?”
“Demelza, I told you last night that we needed to go shopping today.  Remember I said that we needed to get a wheelchair?”
“I thought you were just joking!”
“Demelza, I never joke about Christmas shopping.  So Frank here is going to drive us around wherever we want to go to find Christmas decorations for the tree.”
“But we don’t have a tree…”
“Not yet we don’t!!  But that’s for tomorrow.  Now let’s get our coats on before Frank gets bored with our conversation!”
Demelza looked at the two men suspiciously.  “For some reason I don’t trust the two of you!”
Frank gave Demela a pseudo shocked face, “Why Miss Carne you’ve hurt my feelings!”  
*******
Demelza sat up in the front seat next to Frank so that Ross could prop his leg up in the backseat.  She was trying to figure out where they were going shopping because they had passed Wal-mart, so she really didn’t have a clue.  Finally she asked, “Where are we going, Ross?”
Ross mumbled something.
“What did you say?  I couldn’t understand you.”
He mumbled again.
“Ross!  Where are we going?”
“Selfridges!!  I wanted to surprise you!”
Demelza was gobsmacked.  “Did you say Selfridges?”
“Yes, my love.”  Ross was trying to butter her up now.
“But Ross everything is so expensive there.  We don’t need to spend that kind of money for Christmas decorations.”
“Baby just bear with me.  We’ll go in and take a look and if you don’t like anything they have, then we can go someplace else.”  Now he was giving her puppy dog eyes!  “Pretty please?”
Demelza rolled her eyes, “Bloody hell, you’re layin it on pretty thick aren’t you!”  She looked at him again and gave up.  “Alright, we can check it out.  Besides, what choice do I have!”
“Yes!  That’s my girl!”
Frank gave her a side glance, “You’re going to have to watch out for that one in the backseat Miss Carne!  He’ll have you wearing a tiara before you know it!”
“I’m starting to figure that out Frank!”
“I take it that you’ve never been to Selfridges, Miss Carne?”
“No I haven’t.  I’ve heard a lot about it and I know there have been a few shows about it on the tele, but I’ve never been there.”
“It has quite a rich history.  It started in the early 1900’s by an American chap by the name of Harry Gordon Selfridge and he built the store literally from the ground up.  He reinvented how the public shopped in department stores.  He used to plan these big grand events in the store to bring customers in.  He had quite the flair for the dramatic!  I’m sure it’s decorated for Christmas right now so you’re in for a treat!  And their window displays are absolutely brilliant!”
*******
Frank parked the car behind the store so that Ross could use the handicap entrance.  At first Frank was just going to wait for them in the car, but Ross asked him if he wouldn’t mind going along in case they needed some extra hands.  Between the wheelchair, the crutches, and the shopping bags, this could be like a Laurel and Hardy adventure!
Once they were inside a Selfridge associate offered to keep Ross’s crutches at the customer service desk.  Frank laughingly whispered to Ross ”they just don’t want you knocking things off the counter tops with them!”  
Ross was watching Demelza’s face as she walked around, clearly overwhelmed by everything.  Ross was even a little overwhelmed,  and he had been there before!  The store had definitely gone all out with the Christmas decorations.
“Oh Frank you were right!  This place is incredible!”  There were Christmas lights everywhere, and gigantic ornaments hanging from the ceiling!  Christmas trees were everywhere either for sale, or just for decoration.  There was every type of Nutcracker that you could ask for!  No surface was untouched by Christmas.  “Ross, I don’t know where to look first!  This is just…  beyond words!  How do we… where do we go first?”
A Selfridge associate could see that Demelza wasn’t sure where to go, “Hello, my name is Samantha.  May I help you?”
Demelza took a step back, “Oh.  Hello.  We need to look for Christmas tree decorations.”
“Great! Do you think you’ll be buying a few things, or for a whole tree?”
Ross stepped into the conversation, “Oh we’re buying for a whole tree.  This is our first Christmas!”  Ross had this big grin on his face, and Samantha was getting a kick out of Ross’s eagerness.
Demelza was trying to give Ross a look to tell him to slow down, but he just ignored her!  “Ross, we don’t have to buy everything today!”
He frowned like a scolded school boy.  “No we don’t.  We agreed that we would look and see what they have.”
Samantha guided them to the holiday section  that had all of the tree decorations, and if Demelza wasn’t overwhelmed before, she certainly was now.  Samantha looked at Demelza and said, “Now don’t panic!  Do you have a certain theme in mind?”
Demelza was looking all around.  Everywhere she looked there was a different tree decorated in a different theme.  She didn’t even know Christmas trees had themes!!  Ross could see this was really overwhelming her, so he grabbed his hand and held it for some reassurance.  
Finally Demelza spoke up, “No.  I didn’t know Christmas trees were supposed to have themes.”
Ross gave her hand a squeeze to let her know that he was there for her.
The Selfridge associate spoke up, “Oh you don’t have to have a theme.  Everyone is different.  I was just trying to get an idea of what you might like.  Some people like trees with all of the same coloured ornaments, like red or gold, or if there is something that they collect like Nutcrackers or ice skates.  We have a variety of colours of lights as well.  The trees that we have decorated in themes are to help our customers find an ornament if they are looking for something in particular that they are looking for, like a Father Christmas.  So don’t feel like you have to decorate your tree to look exactly like ours.  Oh and here’s a tip… don’t be afraid to put more than one ornament on a limb,  as long as it’s a strong limb or an artificial tree.  See, look at this one.  The heavier ornament is placed further back and then a second smaller one is placed closer to the end of the branch.  That way you can fit more ornaments on your tree.  Does that help?”
Ross and Demelza looked at each other.  He was hoping that she was feeling less shocked by everything.  She was still holding his hand when she told Samantha, “Yes, I think it does.  Thank you.  So if we see something that we like, is there a bag for us to put it in?”
Samantha walked over to the counter and came back with a wheeled canvas shopping cart for Demelza.  “You can use this to put your items in.  If you need more help, please don’t hesitate to ask me or any of our associates.  And please take your time.”  
Ross raised his hand to shake Samantha’s hand, “Thank you Samantha.  We appreciate your help.”  She walked away to leave the trio alone to look around.
Demelza let out a big sigh as she shook her head.  
“Darlin, if you’re not really into shopping here we can go wherever you want.  I only wanted to spoil you.”  Ross tried to say in his best understanding voice.    
She leaned down and gave him a quick peck on his nose.  “Well we’re here, we might as well buy something!”
Frank spoke up, “May I suggest that you start with what coloured lights you prefer?”
“Oi Frank!  I knew it was a good idea to bring you along!  What colour of lights do you like Demelza?  White, multi-colour, red, blue, green?”
“Oh goodness.  Do you have a favourite Ross?”
“Not at all.  My mum either used the white or clear lights and sometimes she would use the multi-coloured lights.  So it doesn’t matter to me.”  He was afraid to ask her what coloured lights they used on her family’s trees.  He didn’t want to bring up bad memories.  He decided to make a decision.  “How about the white lights?  That way whatever other decorations we purchase will go with the lights.”
“That’s a brilliant idea Ross!  Decision one has been made!”  Demelza smiled.  
Once Demelza realised that she didn’t have to decorate by a certain theme, and could just pick up this n that, she started to relax and have fun.  It made Ross so happy to watch her eyes as she looked at everything.  The inner child in her that never got to celebrate a real Christmas was starting to come out.  When she found the tree that was decorated in snowflakes she went wild!!  
“Oh Rosss!  Look at this tree!  It’s so beautiful!!  Look at all of the different snowflakes, and they’re different colours!   Look Ross!  Some of them are silver and blue, and even purple!!  Oh Ross, I love this tree!  What do you think?”  When she turned to face him, he saw that her eyes were watery.
“I think it’s the perfect tree for us.  Let’s get whatever we need!  And don’t forget a topper for the tree.” 
 She had a scared look on her face now.  “A topper?”
“Mmm hmmm.  Some people put a star on top, some people put an angel on top, some ….”
“An angel!  Can we get an angel Ross?”
“Of course we can!”  His heart squeezed by the way she asked.  
They didn’t even realise that Frank had wandered off until he came back again, “May I suggest this ornament?  Seems appropriate for the occasion.”  It was an ornament of a front door, and it said ‘Our First Christmas’ on it.  “I believe there’s someone around here that can put the date on it for you.”
Demelza took one look at it, and the weight of everything they were doing today hit her.  She could barely speak.  “Oh Frank!  Thank you!”  and she grabbed him for a big hug and let her tears fall.  Ross had a big lump in his throat watching the scene.  
Before they left the store they had found a few ornaments that they thought were special for them, like an ornament that looked like Seamus, and Ross found a cello ornament and some other musical instruments.  They even found a nativity scene that they both liked.  It wasn’t a grand ornate set, but more on the simple side.  They found three Christmas stockings to hang up, one for each of them and of course Seamus!  
Ross was looking at the time on his watch.  It was almost 2:00 and he had made surprise reservations for the Italian restaurant upstairs for 2:30.  “It’s 2:00.  Are either of you hungry?”  Demelza smiled at him because Ross was always hungry.  “We could eat upstairs in one of the restaurants before we go home?  What do you think, Frank?”  
Frank was in on Ross’s plan so of course he agreed with everything.  “Oh that sounds fine with me.  It has been a while since I’ve broken my fast.”
Ross looked at Demelza.  She was looking at her phone.  “Demelza?  Babe?”
“Hmmm, oh I’m sorry, I was checking to see when Drake would be over tonight.  He’s still at work so he said it would be a while, so I guess it would be alright.  What are we going to do with all of this stuff while we eat?”
“Let me go ask Miss Samantha.”  Frank walked over to the associate. 
“I’ll go with you Frank.”  Ross spoke up and wheeled himself to catch up with Frank.  
Demelza narrowed her eyes at him, “What are you up to Ross Poldark?”  She watched the conversation closely, but she couldn’t figure out what plan might be in the works.
Ross spoke softly to Samantha, “Is there a way that I can get this stuff paid for without my girlfriend knowing how much I spent?  Can I just give you my card while we go upstairs to eat?  We have 2:30 reservations at The Alto, which Demelza also doesn’t know about!”
“My, my aren’t you the sneaky one!  Well we don’t normally take a customer’s card as a rule in case something were to happen to it.”  She responded.
“How about I stay with the merchandise with your card Ross.  I’ll pay for it and have someone help me out to the car, and then I’ll meet you and Demelza upstairs at the restaurant?  Will that work to your satisfaction? Miss Samantha?”  Frank suggested.
“Let me ask one of my managers.  I’m not sure about the signature part.”  Samantha called a manager on her phone to find out what was acceptable.  This was taking too much time and Ross was starting to squirm when he saw Demelza giving him a raised eyebrow.  Now she crossed her arms.  He tried to give her a polite smile but he was sure that wasn’t working.  Finally Samantha hung up.  “Sorry, that took so long.  My manager said that it was okay as long as it was alright with you.  He suggested that you give your friend your driver’s licence in case there is an issue, and I will have to go with you to the cashier to make sure that everything goes smoothly.  How does that sound?”
Ross and Frank both sighed!  “That sounds perfect.  Frank, here's my licence and my card.  And I’ll have Demelza wheel me up in the lift. Supposedly that restaurant accommodates wheelchairs.”
“You’ve done your research!” Samantha said.  “Now Frank, let’s get those packages over to the cashier!”
Frank looked at Ross, “Ross do me a favour, if you ever try to pull a surprise proposal on Demelza, leave me out of it!”  All three laughed at Frank’s remark.  
“You never know Frank.  You never know.!”
*****
Ross wheeled himself over to Demelza.  She saw Frank and Samantha gathering up all of the decorations that they had chosen.  “Ross, what’s going on?  Where are they taking the decorations?  And what was all of that laughing about?”
Ross took her hand, “Nothing to worry about baby.  They’re going to get everything rung up and taken to the car, and you and I are going upstairs to the Italian restaurant to get a table.  Frank is going to meet us up there after everything’s in the car and then we don’t have to worry about hanging onto the packages at the table.”
“Oh.  Right.  I guess that makes sense.  Are you sure he doesn’t need me to help him?”
“No, it's fine.  Samantha is going to help him along with another associate. Now let’s find the lift.  I’m starved!”  He gave her hand a kiss. 
“Ross you’re always starving.  I suppose I’m getting hungry as well.  Let’s go find the lift!”
******
Demelza pushed Ross up to the Maitre d’.
“Good afternoon.  Welcome to The Alto by San Carlo.  How can I help you?”
Demelza timidly spoke up, “We would like a table for three please.”
“Do you have a reservation?”
This took Demelza by surprise, “Oh no, we…”
Ross looked at the Maitre d’ and cleared his throat, “Yes we do.  Reservations for Poldark.”
The Maitre d’ checked his notepad for the reservation and found it.  “Ah yes, we have it right here Mr. Poldark.  Table for three, wheelchair accessible.  Please follow me.”
Demelza flicked the back of one of Ross’s ears, “Ross Poldark what have you done!”
“Ow!  That hurt!”  Ross was rubbing his ear.  “I just wanted to make sure that we had a table so I called for reservations!”
The Maitre d’ helped Ross’s wheelchair get settled at the table and then pulled out a chair for Demelza.  “Will your third party be joining you shortly?”
“Yes, he’s just putting our packages in the car.  We would like a bottle of Proseco please.”  Ross said.
“Very well Mr. Poldark.”
“Ross!  Prosecco and reservations!  What are you up to?  You’re not going to propose are you?”
This made Ross choke on his water.  “Demelza please.  No, I’m not going to propose, at least not today.  Darlin, I just wanted to make today special for you, and I knew that if I told you my plan,  you would get upset and would object and say it’s too expensive!  You know that I don’t usually go all out like this.  And by the way my ear still hurts!”  He looked at her and put his hand on hers, “Still love me?”
Demelza looked down and shook her head and looked back into his eyes.  “Ross, I should crown you!”  Her eyes had a slight hint of tears in them now.  “Of course I do!”  He smiled at her and gave her hand another kiss.  
********
They were sipping on the Prosecco and looking at the menus when Frank arrived at the table out of breath, and sat down while Ross poured him a glass.  “Well that lot is all taken care of now.  Time to relax!”  He just about gulped the whole glass down at once which Ross thought was hysterical!!  
Ross patted him on the shoulder.  “Whoa there take it easy Frank we’ve got all day!!  And thank you, sincerely, for taking care of all of that for me, and for driving us out here and everything else that you’ve done to help make this a special day for Demelza.  To Frank!”  He and Demelza raised their glasses to their dear friend, “To Frank!!”  He had to pour more Proseco in Frank’s glass so that he could drink the toast!!
Demelza raised an eyebrow at Frank, “I had a feeling that you were in all of this tomfoolery!!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?  I’m just the bloody driver!”  He smirked at her.  “I guess that I better be paying attention to the menu before you fire me!”
“You two order anything you want, doctors orders!” Ross joked.
The server came by to see if they were ready to order.  Ross instructed, “No can you please give us some more time.  Oh and another bottle of Prosecco!”
“Judas Ross!”
******
“Lord, Ross, there are so many choices!  I don’t know what to get!  The pizza sounds good…”  she noticed that Frank and Ross were both giving her the stink eye.
“Demelza I will not allow you to get pizza.  Besides, we are having pizza tonight with Drake.  Have some pasta or beef.  I was looking at the fillet.  You could have chicken.  What about you Frank?  Anything whet your appetite?”
“Oh I’m looking at the fish selections.  It’s been a while since I’ve had any.  Do you like fish Demelza?”
“Mmm some of it.  I’m allergic to shrimp, so I tend to stay away from most of it.  But you go ahead and order it.  It won’t bother me.”
“Are you sure?  I would hate for you to have an allergic reaction on my account.”
“No!  Please, order whatever you wish.  I will let them know about my allergy so that they don’t cross contaminate the cooking utensils.”
The server came back with the second bottle of Prosecco.  “Are you ready to order?”
Ross looked up at him, “Yes, I believe so.  Could we start with the antipasto appetiser and some bread please, oh and some olives for all of us as well.   Demelza are you ready to order?”
“I can’t decide!  You go ahead Frank!”  Ross chuckled at her.  She tends to have a hard time ordering in restaurants.
“Alright, I’ll go first.  I would like the fillet of sea bass please.  And I’d like the roasted potatoes with onions on the side.”
“Thank you sir.  Ma’am have you decided?”
“Umm I think I’ll have the spaghetti carbonara please.”
“Would you care for any sides with that ma’am?”
“No, I think that will be all for me.”  Ross was giving her another stink eye.
“And for you sir?”
“I am going to have the fillet of beef with the truffle sauce, and I’ll have the roasted potatoes with onions as well.  And also the caprese salad.  And also, the beautiful woman to my side has an allergy to shrimp, so could you please advise the chef not to cross contaminate the cooking utensils for her meal please?  Thank you.”
“No problem at all sir.  And I will be back with your appetisers.”
Now Demelza was throwing the stink eye at Ross.  “I can’t believe all of that food you ordered?  Are you really going to eat all of that?��
“No my love, you are going to help me, because I know your appetite, and I know that you didn’t order enough to fill your big toe!”  
That really tickled Frank - or was it the Proseco?!  “Oh bloody hell that was funny!!”  Ross and Demelza laughed more at Frank, while Ross poured everyone more Prosecco!
Ross reached over for Demelza’s hand and kissed it.  “Now relax, please!  Enjoy the surroundings!  Enjoy the Christmas music and decorations!!”
She let out a big sigh, “Oh I suppose you’re right.  It is beautiful up here and the view is amazing!”
“And the Prosecco is amazing!” Frank said!  This made Ross laugh that way he laughs with his whole face and mouth wide open.  It was a good thing there weren’t many customers in the restaurant this time of day.  
The server came back with the appetisers that Ross had ordered and plates for everyone to share.   Ross started passing the bread around, “Here Frank, maybe some of this bread will soak up that Prosecco so that you can drive us home!”
“Oh this bread is amazing, and the olives as well.  I’m glad you ordered this Ross!”
Ross smiled at his love.  “See.  Do as the Italians do and enjoy life!”
*******
Demelza’s phone buzzed.  She picked it up and noticed that it was Drake.  “Ross, Drake wants to know about when he should come over tonight?  It’s already 3:30 and the main course hasn’t come out yet.  What should I tell him?”
Ross looked over at Frank enjoying himself.  He wasn’t sure if he would be in any condition to drive home by the time they were done, but he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.  He looked at Demela, “Let me text him back. Yeah?”
Demelza wasn’t sure what he was up to again, so she just nodded her head at him.
Hiya Drake this is Ross.  We r still at Selfridges.  Our friend who is supposed to b driving us is a touch intoxicated.  Could u take a cab and meet us here, I'll pay for it, and possibly drive us to mine.  Then I think Frank can drive himself home from there.  If you’d like, bring some extra clothes and spend the night, and then tomorrow we can go 🎄shopping?  
Demelza looked at the text and just shook her head and smiled.
Hiya Ross!  Sure I can do that!  What time shall I meet you at Selfridges?
Just then the server brought the main course.  “Does everything look satisfactory?”
Demelza spoke up for Ross, “Yes, thank you.  Everything looks delicious.  Could we maybe have some water refills?”
“Certainly ma’am.”
They just brought our main course, so maybe in about 45 minutes?  We are up in The Alto Restaurant on the top floor.  Text us when you get to Selfridges.  Hopefully we can just meet you downstairs.  Thanks mate!
Sounds good.  I’ll text you when the cab pulls up!  See ya!
“Oh my this all looks delicious!  Tuck in Frank!”  Ross said.
“This sea bass is mouth watering.   Absolutely delicious.  Thank you so much for inviting me along Ross!”
“My pleasure friend.  So, Demelza’s brother is just going to meet us here since we are still out and about.  So he can drive us home.  So we can enjoy more Prosecco!”
“Brilliant Ross!  You know, you really should teach Demelza how to drive!”  That caused Demelza to drop her fork!
“Umm maybe one day when we’re down in Cornwall and she doesn't have to worry about traffic!”  Ross felt a kick under the table that came from Demelza’s direction, “Ouch!  Bloody hell!”
She gave Ross a smile, “What’s wrong Ross?  You seem a little jumpy?”
“Oh nothing dear.  Just a cramp in my sore foot!  Can’t imagine where that came from?”
******
  Drake’s cab pulled up to the handicapped parking spaces just as Ross, Demelza and Frank arrived.  
“Thanks for bailing us drunkards out Drake!!  I did have Demelza order some take away for you.”  Ross noticed that Drake was carrying a large bag.  “ What’s in the bag?”  Ross said.  
“It’s the quilt from your bed.  I was able to get all of the blood removed from it.”
“Brilliant!  Well done mate!”
The wheelchair took up all of the room in the boot, so between all of their purchases and an extra package, Frank and Demelza fit in the back seat like sardines in a tin! 
Demelza tapped Ross on the shoulder, “Don’t forget to give Drake directions on how to get to yours.”
Drake and Ross smiled at each other.  “My love, your brother has been to mine many times.  I think he knows how to get there.  And by the way, how is it that your brother knows how to drive and you don’t?  I understand that you didn’t have a car when you were younger, but …”
“Ohhh I can explain that mate.  By the time Demelza moved out and went to uni, and my other brothers had moved out as well, da had a car finally, and paid for me drivin lessons.  I’ve offered to teach her, but she’s never wanted to.”
Now Ross felt like a wanker.  Of course there would be more money for things like driving lessons for the youngest of six, but not for the eldest of six.  He looked behind him for Demelza’s reaction.  She was looking out the window, but had this angry look on her face.  “Demelza…”  she wouldn’t look at him.  “Love, I’m really sorry.  I didn’t mean to…”
“Tis alright Ross.”  She just continued staring out the window.  Ross felt so bad.  He didn’t realise that Demelza never learning to drive was such a sore subject.  What a way to end the day on a bad note! He thought.  
********
Demelza, Ross and Drake were all relaxing after Frank had finally felt well enough to drive himself home.  The Selfridge bags were scattered all around the living room. 
“Drake, I’m really sorry that the day didn’t turn out exactly as we had planned.  We can have some pizza delivered later on.  Help yourself to whatever is in the fridge and the kitchen.  Did you bring extra clothes to spend the night?”
“Aye, I did!  And thanks for the lasagna from the restaurant.  It was delicious.”  He could tell that his sister was still feeling out of sorts.  “Sister, have you done much cooking for Ross?”  He looked at Ross.  “She’s really a good cook.  She knows how to create a feast from nothing!”
Demelza gave her brother a faint smile, “Yeah, I’ve cooked for him quite a bit lately.  He definitely loves my lemon tart!”  Demelza just couldn’t shake herself from this mood.  She looked at Ross.  “I think I’m going to go take a shower.  Can I get you anything before I go in?”
They hadn’t been living together long, but Ross was starting to be able to read some of the signs from Demelza when she’s feeling low or feeling overwhelmed.  He was learning to give her some space, time alone, something that she liked to do with a shower.  “No, love, I’m good.  Enjoy your shower.”  She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the way to the bedroom.
Ross let out a big sigh.  “Drake, how bout you get us some beers?”
“Ah that sounds good!”
******
Drake and Ross were  sipping on their beer, watching TV when  Ross decided to bring up the conversation from earlier.
“I had no idea that the driving thing was an issue for Demelza.  I mean, she had told me that she never learned to drive because the family didn’t have money for a car or driving lessons, and that she never had the need later on and just took public transit.  But she seemed really upset by it today.  I feel like such a wanker.”
Drake sighed and got up to sit on the sofa next to Ross so he could lower his voice.  “Sister suffered a lot for us boys.  She had a really terrible life growing up.  If it hadn’t been for her, we probably would’ve all been adopted out through social services.  Maybe it would’ve been better for her if that would’ve happened.  As I said earlier, I’ve offered lots of times to teach her, but she’s always said no.  I don’t know if she just doesn’t feel she needs it since she lives in the city now, or if the thought of it just brings up too many bad memories.  I’m really glad I can drive.  I wouldn’t have my job if I couldn’t.”
“So do you think I should just let the subject drop?’
“I would, mate.  If she wants to talk about it, she will.”
Ross was nodding his head in agreement.  “Thanks Drake.  Hey, Dem had told me a while back that you’ve been trying to get a loan to buy the business from your boss.  How’s that coming along?”
“It’s frustrating, but I keep saving up my money for a down payment.  My boss keeps saying that he will only sell it to me, but I get worried that one day he’s just going to want to leave and retire and close it up.  I’ve learned so much from him.  People think that it’s just about cleaning clothes, but there’s so much that I could do to expand the business.  Like what me and my buddy did here with cleaning up the blood.  We could get more equipment for home restoration from fires and floods.  Or go into a home after someone has died and do a thorough cleaning, stuff like that.  I really enjoy my job.  I know it sounds stupid, to love working at a drycleaners, but I enjoy helping people out.”
“No, it doesn’t sound stupid at all.  It’s great to love what you do.  You know, I might be able to help you get a loan.  I’ve been thinking about it.  Normally we work on huge business mergers and acquisitions, but maybe I can help you get a loan.  I’ve been wanting to talk with you about it before I did anything.”
“Really?  You really think you could help me?”
“I will definitely try, but I won’t make any promises.  If you could get me some information like what is the asking price, how long the business has been there at that location, what plans you have for the future.  Get all of that kind of stuff down in writing, it would help a lot.”
“That’s brilliant!!  Thank you so much Ross.”
Demelza walked in at the tail end of the conversation, “What’s brilliant?”
Drake jumped up, “Sister!  Ross wants to try and help me get a loan to buy the dry cleaners!”  He signalled for her to sit back down on the sofa next to Ross.
She looked at Ross, “Really?  You think you might be able to help?”
Ross shrugged his shoulders, “I think so, but like I told Drake, we deal with large corporations.  I don’t know if my bosses would be interested in financing a small business like this.  I can’t promise anything, but I’ll give it a try!”
“Judas Ross!  I would be that glad if you could help him!”  She leaned over to give him a big hug and kiss.  
He thought it was adorable the way she used the word ‘that’ in sentences sometimes.  “Just remember, they might not approve the loan.  The only thing I can do is try.  And I would be that glad to help Drake.”  He just looked at this beautiful woman.  He could tell that she was feeling better.  Her eyes were sparkling again and her smile was back. Ross thought, Fuck the driving!  I’ll drive her around the rest of my life if she stays this happy!
********
Demelza had finally given up at 1 am and went to bed, but the guys were still going strong eating pizza, drinking beer and watching Terminator movies.  She was happy to leave them to it.  She loved seeing the two of them sitting on the sofa bonding over stupid movies!  She snuggled under the blankets thinking about Christmas tree shopping the next day!
********
Demelza got up early the next morning while her guys were sleeping in from their night of cavemen activities.  She was enjoying some quiet tea time in the kitchen before she started on brekkie.  She turned on the small tele in the kitchen to enjoy some Sunday morning programs.  She didn’t normally listen to the news much, but she enjoyed the Sunday morning programs.  She began chopping onions for the breakfast she was going to make for Ross and Drake.  She didn’t have quite everything to make for a full English breakfast, but close enough.  It had been a long time since she had a chance to spoil Drake and make something special for him.  She was thinking back to Drake’s comment the night before about how she could make a feast out of very little food.  That had never been an issue at Ross’s house.  He always had plenty of food in the cupboards and fridge on hand for her to cook.  The oven dinged letting her know that the fresh scones she made were ready.  She pulled those out and covered them with a tea towel to keep them warmed.  She sliced up some tomatoes to grill later.  She soft boiled a few eggs because she remembered how Drake loved them as a boy, and she sliced some toast into ‘logs’ for him to dunk in them.  She started chopping potatoes to fry up with the chopped onion later on for Ross.  She had finally learned the tricks to Ross’s coffee maker, so that was brewing.  She turned on a pan to get hot for the potatoes and started setting the table.  She found herself humming and enjoying all of this domesticity.  It came naturally to her of course from all of her years taking care of her brothers.  But now she seemed to enjoy it.  In another pan she got the bacon and sausages going.  Everything was going perfectly!  She made sure that there was clotted cream and jam on the table along with glasses of orange juice.  By the time ‘her boys’ were up there were platters of food for them everywhere on the island.  She decided to set it up like a buffet so they could fill their plates with whatever they liked!  Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, soft boiled eggs, toast, scones, grilled tomatoes, fried potatoes, crispy bacon, sausages, and even a plate with sliced oranges and grapes! She took a picture of all of it to post later!  Soon the smell of everything brought the troops in!  
Ross meandered in and gave Demelza a kiss.  “Good morning Demelza.  Good Lord!  Who is coming for breakfast?” Ross was chuckling at the sight before him.  Drake soon followed Ross into the kitchen.  
“It’s just us Ross, nobody else is coming.”  She smiled at them both!
“Sister!  You’ve totally outdone yourself!  Wait - are those soft boiled eggies?!”
Demelza grinned at Drake calling them eggies like he always did when he was a kid.  “They sure are!  And look - I even made toast logs for you to dunk in them!”
Drake quickly went over and gave his sister a big, long hug.  Ross was thoroughly enjoying the scene because eggies and toast logs obviously meant something to them both.  
They all filled their plates and sat down to eat, Demelza helping Ross because of the crutches.  
“Wait!” Drake yelled out.
Ross wasn’t sure what was going on and looked at Demelza with a questioning look.
“A meal this fine deserves to be blessed.  Ross, would you mind if we gave thanks?”
Demelza smiled at Ross because she knew he wasn’t sure what to do.  “Uhhh you’re certainly right Drake.  A wonderful meal like this deserves to be blessed.  Aaand I will let you have the honour of doing so.”  Demelza smiled even bigger at how well Ross handled the situation.  
They all bowed their heads.  “Lord, we often go through life grumblin about what we don’t have or what we want instead of giving thanks for what we do have.  Thank you so much for bringing us together for this wonderful weekend of being together and having fun.  Thank you also Lord, for bringing this wonderful man into my sister’s life and loving her the way he does.  Finally Lord, we gave thanks for this bountiful meal set before us by my loving sister.  We are truly blessed, in your name.  Amen.  Let’s eat!!”
Demelza grabbed her brother’s hand, tears shimmering in those blue eyes.  “Thank you Drake, that was lovely.”
Ross was deeply touched by the prayer and laid a hand on Drake’s shoulder, “Thank you.  That was beautiful.”
*******
Drake insisted on cleaning up the dishes and the kitchen after breakfast, so Ross and Demelza were in the bedroom getting ready for the day.
“Now that we’re alone Ross, I just wanted to thank you for having Drake here this weekend.  It means a lot to me.  I know the prayer thing probably threw you for a loop, but I think you could see how sincere he was.  Some of the religion from Sam has rubbed off on Drake, though it’s not as powerful with Drake as it is with Sam.”
Ross sat down on the bed with her and held her hands, “Demelza my love, you don’t have to thank me for anything.  My family only did prayers at the table for Christmas and Easter, but my mum did drag us to church a couple of Sundays a month.  And I really like Drake and I love how he treats his sister!  It’s been fun having him around last night, and today is going to be even more fun looking for a tree and then decorating it.  I’m glad that he’s here to help because I sure can’t do much with my lame foot.”  He placed his hand on her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.  “I love you so very much.  And I am so excited for our first Christmas together.”
“Rrross!”
********
In order to save time, Ross decided to skip getting the van from the dry cleaners, and attempt to put whatever tree they buy in the boot of his BMW.  Drake found an old blanket and some rope in Ross’s garage to take with them. 
  They were all seated in the car when Ross spotted Drake staring at the dashboard inside the car.  “Is something wrong Drake?”
Drake shook his head.  “I’ve never driven a car this fancy before.”
Ross smiled at him.  “It’s just a car, Drake.  You’ll do fine.”
********
The first tree lot they went to didn’t have many trees to look at, so they decided to go try somewhere else.
The next tree lot was full of people and Ross was having trouble getting around on his crutches.  He was trying not to lose his temper, but people just didn’t seem to pay attention to the way they were walking in front of him.  Drake told them he knew of a better place for trees so they decided to get back in the car.
Ross noticed that they were driving further out of London, but he decided to let Drake just go where he thought they should go.  They were definitely now in the country passing sheep farms, cattle farms and pastures of horses along the way.   Finally after driving an hour and a half, Drake pulled into a driveway hidden by trees that wound its way back to a farm.  A Christmas tree farm!!  It looked like quite the set up with several rows of trees as far back as one could see.  There looked to be a typical farmhouse along with three or four barns on the property as well.  People were hauling their Christmas trees that they had picked out back to load on top of their vehicles.  
Demelza was getting excited now.  “Ross, look at all the trees!”  Drake parked the car as close as he could get to the barns.  He turned around and said  “You two wait here.  I’ll be right back.”  Drake got out of the car and disappeared into one of the barns.  Pretty soon an older man came out driving a four wheeled all terrain vehicle, with Drake sitting beside him, and two empty seats in the back, and was pulling a wagon behind it.    The older gentleman looked at Ross and Demelza sitting in the car and said  “You folks need a ride?!”  Ross and Demelza started laughing at this.  “We sure do!”
It turned out that Drake had known this gentleman through his work at the dry cleaners, and he had told Drake about his Christmas tree farm.  Ross and Demelza loaded up in the back seat, and away they went to go find a Christmas tree!
Ross couldn’t believe it.  He had never been to such a place.  There were families all over the farm in search of the perfect tree, carrying hand saws with them.  Demelza was amazed as well.  She could see children laying on the ground cutting down trees with their fathers!!  “Oh Ross, this place is so pretty!”
Drake’s friend finally stopped the vehicle in a clump of trees that he thought looked satisfactory.  Ross was able to see everything from the vehicle so he stayed put while Demelza and Drake picked out a tree.  Ross was taking pictures of the whole scene on his phone!!  They all were smiling and chuckling as they were trying to figure out how tall of a tree to get, and how wide the tree should be.  Finally, Demelza thought she found the perfect one.  “What do ya think Ross?”
“I think you just picked our first Christmas tree my love!”  Drake helped her cut it down and the gentleman gave it a good shake the loose needles out of it.  He threw it in the wagon and they drove back up to the barns.
The old man said, “I’ll get this tree shook up good and bind it up for you while you folks go check out the barns.”
Ross had no clue what they were going to see in the barns, but they all went in anyway.  
They had just barely set foot in the barn when Ross heard a loud squeal come from Demelza.  “Ross look!!!  Reindeer!!!!”
Ross hadn’t spotted them yet, so he was confused, “What??”
Demelza and Drake ran over like little kids to look at the reindeer.  They were both laughing hysterically!  “Have you ever seen reindeer Ross!?”
“No, I don’t believe I have!!”  He hobbled over on his crutches trying not to curse in front of the children that were wandering around.   By the time he got there Demelza was already feeding the reindeer in front of him.  He looked at Drake and said, “Thank you for bringing us here!”
Drake said, “You’re welcome!  I had no idea all of this was here!”
The whole barn was a petting zoo.  There were goats, lambs, ponies, chickens, kittens and puppies, and even a small calf.  Children were running from one animal to the next trying to get a chance to feed and pet them.  
Ross looked around.  “This place is amazing!  Drake what’s in that other barn?”
“I don’t know.  I’ll go have a look.”
Ross was enjoying watching Demelza with all of the animals.  He took pictures of her sitting on the ground with the baby lambs around her.  “Babe, are you having fun!?”  She just smiled at him.
Drake came back and told them the other barn was a little coffee shop with tables and chairs and one part was a little gift shop.  They decided to go in for some hot chocolate and to give Ross a break with his crutches.  As soon as they walked in, they were greeted with the aroma of chocolate and warm spices.  Demelza bought them all some hot chocolate and biscuits to enjoy.  Ross was looking around and noticed all of the hand made Christmas wreaths and pine roping that was for sale.  “Demelza, should we get a wreath and some of that garland?”  
“Oh that would be nice Ross!”  He started to reach for his wallet and she put her hand on his hand to stop him.  “Ross, please let me pay for it and the tree.”
“Demelza, you don’t have to.”
“I know I don’t.  You paid for everything yesterday.  Let me pay for this today.  Please?”
He saw how much it meant to her and obliged.  “Thank you Ross!”  She leaned over and kissed him before she picked out a wreath and some pine roping.  She proudly paid for that and the tree that was waiting for them outside.  
After the tree was wrapped up in the netting it actually fit in the BMW boot.  They were all three so happy on the way back home and were chattering on about the tree farm that Drake had found.  Demelza said, “Who knows Drake… maybe someday you’ll bring your girlfriend back there for a Christmas tree!  Which reminds me dear brother…  have you been dating anyone lately?”  Drake's eyes got big and wide which made Ross laugh hard.
*********
Before they reached Ross’s home, he received a text from Dwight wondering if he could bring Seamus back to his rightful owner.  Ross thought it would be alright so he told him to come on over.  
Demelza found Ross’s tree stand in the cupboard under the stairs.  There really was only one place to put the tree in the living room and that was in front of the large bay window.  Drake had given the tree another shake before he brought it inside the house.  He centred it in the tree stand and Demelza held onto it while he tightened the screws on it.  Ross thought it looked good and stable where he had it, so Demelza got some scissors and cut the netting off of the tree.  They all watched as all of the limbs fell down into place. They all three started clapping as if someone had just performed a magic trick!!  
“This is so exciting!”  Demelza said.  Ross loved watching her and Drake act like the little kids they weren’t allowed to be growing up.  It also brought back memories of the Christmases when Claude was still alive and they all decorated the tree together.  Lately he had found himself wishing that Claude was alive to meet Demelza.  They would get along so well.
Soon the front door opened and the boundless energy of Seamus charged through everyone!!  He actually knocked Ross over landing on top of him, licking his face!
Dwight said, “Bloody hell Ross, what are you doing on the floor!!  Seamus!  Get off him so he can get up!”  Dwight helped Ross stand up and sit down.  “How’s your foot doing?”
“Um, it’s alright, it’s fine.  Seamus come here boy!  Daddy missed you!!”  Dwight didn’t quite believe his friend but he let it go for now.
“Well, I can see by the looks of things, you’ve all been having a grand time!!  That tree is incredible by the way.  Where did you find it?”
Drake said, “A tree farm!  We found a tree farm outside of London.”
Dwight raised an eyebrow at Ross, “A tree farm?  You went to a tree farm?”
“It was fine Dwight.  I didn’t do much walking.  The farmer had a tractor thingy that I rode in, so it was all good.  We had a wonderful time, didn’t we, Demelza!”
“Oh Dwight, you have to take Caroline there.  They have all of these trees to pick from and reindeer, and goats and lambs and baby chicks.  And then they have another barn where you can have hot chocolate and biscuits!”
Dwight was smiling at the smile on Demelza’s face.  “Real reindeer??  I’m impressed.  Well it sounds lovely.  So Ross, when do you go back to the surgeon?”  Seamus finally left Ross and was smelling all around the tree. 
“I see him for the first time this Thursday.  I’m hoping that he puts me in a bloody boot so that I can walk on it.”
“Has it been bleeding at all?”
“Umm no.  Nothing yet today.”  Ross tried to mumble that statement away so that Demelza and Dwight wouldn’t catch it.
Dwight caught it.  “What do you mean nothing yet today?  So it has been bleeding.”
Ross gave his friend the doctor a dirty look.  “Just a little.”
Demelza looked at Ross.  “You didn’t tell me that it has been bleeding.  Ross, why didn’t you say something?”
“It hasn’t been bleeding a lot, just a little bit the other day.”
Dwight pulled out some rubber gloves.  “Go to the bedroom and let me have a look at it.”
*******
“Shut the door.”  Ross said and sat on the bed.
Dwight put his gloves on and started to unwrap the dressings when he spotted break through bleeding.  He raised an eyebrow, but continued unwrapping to find that there was definitely some bleeding from today and obvious signs of infection.  “Ross, this looks like fuck.  What the hell have you been doing?”
“Calm down.  I’ve been behaving, I’ve been nonweightbearing most of the week.”
“Most of the week.  What the hell does that mean?”
“Don’t tell Demelza, but I fell the other night while she was at a concert.  I tripped over something with my crutches and went down.  I could feel the stitches pull.  Yesterday when we went shopping I was in a wheelchair the whole time so don’t bitch at me about that.  I was probably up a little more than I should have today at the farm, but other than that I’ve been really good.  Do you think it’s infected?”
“You wanker, you know that it’s infected!!  Let me take some pictures of it to send to your surgeon.  Do you feel like you have a temp?”
“No, I feel fine.  And don’t say anything to Demelza.  She’s been working really hard to make sure that I don’t get up and she takes really good care of me.”
“I don’t see any red streaking yet, so  maybe your doctor will let me bring a shot home to stick in your arse.  I just hope he doesn’t make you go back in hospital for IV antibiotics!”
“I’m not fucking going back in the hospital!!”
Demelza had come through the door, “What’s going on?  Dwight, do you think he needs to go back in hospital?”
Dwight ignored the face that Ross was pulling on him.
“I don’t know Demelza.  His foot is obviously infected, and it has been bleeding.  I’m sorry, I know you’ve been taking really good care of this wanker.  It’s nothing that you’ve done wrong.  I’ve taken some pictures of it and I’m going to redress it before I leave.  Maybe the doctor will just put him on some stronger antibiotics or give him a shot.”
“Oh no.  Is there something else that I should be doing, Dwight?”
“I don’t think so, Demelza.  I’ll let you know what I find out from his surgeon.  But if he starts running a temp or if he gets red streaks running up his foot or leg, let me know.”
Ross looked at Dwight.  “Well you’ve put a damper on the Christmas spirit!”
“Sorry my friend.  But I am definitely glad that I stopped by to look at it. It’s best to stay ahead of these things.  Just sit your arse in a chair with your foot propped up while they decorate the tree.  I’m on my way now for my shift, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow. ”
Demelza gave Dwight a hug.  “Thank you Dwight.”
*******
Demelza made sure that Ross was stationary on the sofa with his leg propped up with Seamus by his side.  She gave him some anti-inflammatories as a precaution.  
“Okay, you’re situated for a while, so Drake and I can start on the tree!”  Drake had pulled everything out of all of the Selfridge bags and tried to organise them into some fashion.  “What do we start with first….”
Ross could tell the sister and brother weren’t really sure where to start.  “How about the lights.  Start with one strand and plug it in the outlet behind the tree.  Start at the bottom of the tree and wind it around the tree steadily as you go up, and then plug the next strand into the end of the first strand and wind that one around.  Every once in a while step back and look at the spacing and make sure that there aren’t any holes or blank spots without lights.”
“Sounds easy enough.  I think when we were little and had a tree, mum always put the lights on, and then she would let us put the ornaments on.”  She handed Drake the end of the first strand of lights to plug in and he started wrapping around the tree with lights.  They seemed a bit awkward with the task at first, but eventually caught on.  Ross made sure that he kept taking pictures, and started playing Christmas music on his phone.  Every once in a while Demelza would do as Ross suggested and look for any spots that didn’t have as many lights, and then rearrange them to fill in the spots.  Ross said, “Looks good!  You guys are doing great!”
“What’s next, sister?  Should we put the ornaments on next or the garland?”
“Let's go with the garland, brother.  It might be easier to put the ornaments on last.  Ross, maybe you can start putting hooks on the ornaments?”
“Whatever you wish, milady!”  
“Well I wish for you to be off crutches so you could join us, but I don’t think we have a genie in a bottle laying around!”  She handed him the packages of hooks and a couple boxes of ornaments to get started on while she and Drake worked on the garland.
“Sister, this reminds me of the silver tinsel that we used to put on our tree when we were little!  I remember father hated it because every time he walked by the tree, a few pieces would seem to grab hold of him!”
“Oh Drake, you should have seen all of the Christmas decorations at Selfridges!!  I was so nervous just walking around them!   They had all of these trees decorated in different themes, so you could look at each one and decide what you might want!  I found this one tree that all had all sorts of beautiful snowflake decorations!  All different colours!  So that’s how I decided on the ornaments that I - that we liked!  Ross suggested that we go with the white lights so that they would match all of the different colour ornaments that we picked.”
Ross smiled remembering how much Demelza loved snow!  So of course they were going to have a snowflake Christmas tree!!!   He wouldn’t have it any other way for her.
“Oh Ross, why don’t you put on a Christmas movie!!” Demelza suggested.
“I can do that.  Do you have a favourite?”
“Umm, how about White Christmas!!  Have you seen that one Drake?”
“No, I haven’t.  Is it good?”
“Yes!!  I love it!  Bing Crosby is in it, all of the music and dancing are dreamy!”
Ross had found the movie right away on one of his streaming services.  It had been a favourite of his family’s as well.  They had watched it at least once a year, if not more.  Ross had a thought.  “Demelza, if Drake hasn’t seen it before, maybe we should wait until you’re done decorating the tree so that he can really watch it.”
“Ohhh yes, that would be better.  Put on the Grinch then!”  She was smiling away, getting lost in what she was doing.  They had put the garland on to satisfaction and started on the ornaments.  
Some of them were shiny, round balls of colour, and then there were long clear icicles, and of course the snowflakes.  She added the special ornaments that Frank had picked out.  She loved the musical instrument ones.  She showed Seamus his new Christmas ornament before placing it on the tree which tickled Ross.  She held back the one that said ‘Our First Christmas’ on it so that she and Ross could put it on together after Drake went home.  
Everything seemed done with the tree.  “What do ye think, Ross?”
He stood up with his crutches and handed her the last thing to put on the tree - the angel topper!  “Demelza, how about you do the honours of placing the angel on top!”  He couldn’t get enough of her smile and her sparkling blue eyes.  
“I’m not sure if I can reach the top.  Do you…”  Demelza yelled as Drake picked her up to place the angel on top of the tree.  “Brother put me down!!  Judas!”
Ross was laughing at the two of them.  He noticed that Drake never called Demelza by her name, but always called her ‘sister’.  But this was the first time that he noticed Demelza calling him ‘brother’.  He had never heard a brother and sister address each other in that way and he wondered how it came to be.  He had a small twinge thinking of Claude Anthony.  At times he wondered how life would have been had he lived.  He knew that they would still be close.  Maybe even living together, living in a flat somewhere.  He felt Demelza’s hand on his arm.
“Ross, are you alright?  Where did you go just then?”
He cleared his throat and gave her a kiss, “Nowhere.  I’m fine.  I just love watching the two of you together.”   She caressed his arm and gave him a knowing smile.  “Here, you two stand next to the tree and I’ll take a picture of you together.”  He pulled out his phone while Drake and Demelza posed next to the tree.  They gave him several funny shots with their tongues sticking out and their eyes, and then some more traditional ones.  And of course there were comical ones with Seamus!
Drake told Ross to stand next to Demelza while he took pictures of the couple.  Ross snuck a kiss on Demelza in a couple of them.  Then Drake joined them for some selfies with the tree.  
*******
Demelza had started picking up the rubbish to throw away and the ornament boxes to stow away until they needed them.  They had been munching off and on all day on snacks and a meat and cheese tray, but Demelza thought they might need something more substantial.  “I’m going to go find us something for supper.  It’s been a long time since breakfast.”
“Oh nothing for me sister, I think I’m going to call an uber and head out.  It’s gettin late.”
“But Drake you haven’t had supper yet?”  Demelza said.
“Really, I’m fine.  I've had a ton of snacks and I really don’t need to eat anythin else.  I have an early day tomorrow - bright and early Monday mornin and all!  But I’ve had a wonderful weekend.”  He gave his sister a big hug.  
Ross started to get up to give him a hug, but Drake stopped him.  “Don’t get up!  Take care of that foot.  If there’s anythin else around here that you need help with just let me know.  It’s been a fun weekend!”
“Thank you Drake!  I appreciate it.  And next time bring your girlfriend around!”  Ross teased Drake.
“I don’t have a girlfriend!  Judas!  See what you started sister!”
Ross said, “I’ll call an uber for you.”
Drake ran upstairs to gather his things.  Ross saw out of the corner of his eye that Demelza was holding back tears.  “Hey you, come here.”  Ross held out his arm for Demelza.
She sat down next to Ross and let her tears out.  “Aw baby he’s just a half hour away.  Don’t cry.”
“I just worry about him.  Do you really think that you can get him a loan?”
“I told you, nothing is guaranteed.  But I’ll try.”
Demelza jumped up and ran into the kitchen.  Ross was so confused about what she was doing now.  Nothing was cooking.  He heard her in there going through cupboards and the fridge.  
Drake came down the stairs with his stuff and Demelza came out of the kitchen with three bags of food.   Here, take this with you.”
“Sister, you don’t need to do this.  I have food at home.”
“If you won’t have supper here, then at least take this with you.”
Drake looked at Ross and shook his head as if to say ‘what should I do?’
Ross smiled up at him.  “You better take it Drake.  Your sister can be scary when she wants to be!!”  He glanced at his phone, “Looks like your uber is here.  I already paid for it and tipped him, so don’t tip him again.”  He held out his hand to shake Drake’s
“Thanks Ross.  Thank you sister.  Take care.”
“Oh just go already!!” his sister pushed him to go out the door.
*****
Ross knew that she was bummed that ‘brother’ had gone home.  “Demeza, do me a favour and turn out the living room lights.”
“Why?”  She did as he asked and sat down next to him.  He pulled her into a snuggle in his chest.  They had moved the sofa around so that they had a better view of the tree.  Now she understood why he wanted the lights turned off.  
In his lowest voice, “I happen to think that Christmas tree lights glowing in the dark are pretty romantic.  How ‘bout you?”  He started kissing her temple and cheek with soft kisses.  
His low voice gave her goosebumps and she closed her eyes.  “I would have to agree with you, umm…”
He took a quick look at her face and chuckled softly.  “Baby, you don’t even have your eyes open.  Is there something wrong?”
“Mmmm no, not at all.  I’m having a ……oh …..a lovely time.”  She tried to open her eyes to look at the lights, but was way too distracted by Ross now nibbling on her ear.
Ross pulled Demelza up on his lap and started nibbling on her other ear.  “Mmm so glad that you’re having a lovely time Demelza.”  Ross’s low voice was starting to send vibrations through Demelza.  Against her better judgement, she tilted her head back to allow Ross more access to her neck.  She was starting to feel like she was floating with Ross’s tongue licking at her pulse point.  She felt one of Ross’s hands gently caress one of her breasts through her shirt and bra.  That’s a new feeling she thought.  But it didn’t matter how many layers there were, the effect was causing Demelza to moan.  Ross captured her moans with his mouth, causing redness to rise up from her chest into her neck.  “Ohh my Demelza.  My sweet Demelzzza.  I love you so.”  She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t do anything but fall into his arms.   She pulled on his shoulders wanting him.  Wanting to be with him more and more.   Ross could feel himself getting lost in the moment.  The bulge in his pants was feeling tighter and tighter.  He lifted her shirt up so that he could feel her skin.  Before he knew it he was kissing the top of Demelza’s breasts and rubbing his beard over her chest.  He couldn’t help but sigh and moan at the beautiful, creamy skin of her breasts.  She was obviously enjoying the sensation the way she kept repeating his name.  Her shy nipples were now hardened and trying to poke through the material of her bra.   Ross made sure to keep his eyes opened to admire the woman before him.  He wanted her so much, to take her into the bedroom and make love to her.  “Ohh Mmelza.  I want to …. Melza … no, I …. Can’t.”  He finally pulled himself from her and stopped everything.
“Ross what’s wrong?”
He couldn’t keep his hands off her, so he put them back on her face and chuckled slightly.  “What’s wrong my love, is that I want to make love to you so much.  But we can’t, we shouldn’t.”
Demelza was still feeling dizzy from all of their amorous activity.  “Wha … I don’t understand?  Ross, I know now that I want you.  I want to be with you.”
That made Ross take notice, his eyes widened, and then he smiled so lovingly at her.  “You don’t know how amazing it is to hear you say that.  But I want your first time and our first time together, to be so much better than on a sofa. Trust me, it would be so easy to take you into that bedroom right now.  But I want it to be special for you with no regrets.  Do you understand?”  He pulled down her shirt while he was talking.
She threw her head back and let out a small scream.  Then she gave him a smile and a kiss.  “Of course I understand.  And you’re right … I guess!”  She was running her hands through his hair.  “What did I ever do to deserve you.  I’m a very lucky woman.”  She looked down a little embarrassed at what she was about to say.  “I suppose I should tell you that I went to the doctor, and I’ve been on the pill now for a few days.  But the doctor said that I should be on it a full two weeks before I can trust it.”  She looked up at his furrowed eyebrows which often said that he had something on his mind.  “What?  Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Your face Ross, your eyebrows are all scrunched up!  Are you upset with me that I didn’t tell you sooner?”
“No I’m not upset, it’s just my face!  I am a little surprised that you went to the doctor.  I didn’t realise that you were quite that ready for us to be intimate.  But I’m glad that you are because that tells me that you are ready for our relationship to go to the next step, as am I.  I’ve really enjoyed having you here with me this past week even though it has been to help take care of me.  I’ve been wondering if you were wanting to go back to your flat when I’m better.  And, if that’s what you want then I’ll be supportive of the decision.  The last thing I want to do is rush you into doing something that you’re not ready for.”  Just then they heard a sad whine coming from Seamus which made them both laugh.  Without missing a beat, Ross said,  “However, Seamus would be sad to see you go!”
“Oh Ross, I’ve been thinking about that too.  I don’t know what I want to do at this point.  Can we just take things a day at a time, and let me think about it?”
“Of course baby.”
“I forgot something…I held back our ornament to put on the tree when we were alone.”  She got up and dug out the last ornament.  “It’s the ‘Our First Christmas ornament’.  Do you want to put it on the tree with me Ross?”
“I’d love to.”  She helped him get up from the sofa and over to the tree.  And they both placed the ornament on the tree together.  
“Let's go to bed Ross.”
He leaned down to kiss her.  “Sounds good, baby.”  
***********
  Wonderful Christmastime Video:  https://youtu.be/94Ye-3C1FC8
Selfridge Christmas Video:  https://youtu.be/EnABrLxP1JU
#Poldark#Modern Podark AUPoldark Ross Poldark Aidan Turner#demelza poldark#Eleanor Tomlinson Six Sentence Sunday WIP Wednesday
10 notes · View notes
Last Seen Blogs
zephyr0yx
zephyr ₊˚✩ ₊˚⊹
fashion-nude-model-boys
FASHION-NUDE-MODEL-BOYS
yellowmagbrasil
yellowmag__
akel-hair-transplant
İsimsiz
mr-ticklesneezer
Hello my name is Mr.Ticklesneezer