16/12/2020: This is a refreshed version of the story I originally uploaded a year ago.
Comments and feedback are appreciated.
Enjoy.
*
'Now remember,' Julie said as the car neared the airport, 'this is your Aunt Holly's first Christmas since her separation from Uncle Jim. She's taking it very hard, so be especially nice to her and Olivia, okay?'
'Don't see why,' said Liz without looking up from her phone. 'I'd be happy to get shot of my husband if he'd had an affair with his PA.'
'They were married for seventeen years, that's longer than your father and me. She loved him and he betrayed her, of course she's going to be upset.'
'I just hope she's not going to be crying about it all Christmas.'
Julie rolled her eyes, attributing her daughter's lack of empathy to a self-absorbed teenage phase she would hopefully grow out of.
'You're so anti-social, you know,' Tom said to his sister. 'Don't they teach people skills at school these days?'
'Leave me alone, dickhead.'
'Thus proving my point.'
'Enough,' ordered Julie. 'I don't want you two bickering all the way home. Liz: phone away.'
She tossed it into the door compartment with a disgruntled sigh.
Julie turned into the airport and parked outside arrivals. Holly and Oliva had flown in from Edinburgh, where they had moved eight years ago for Jim's new job. As well as more responsibilities and a bigger pay packet, it had come with another doe-eyed twenty-something perk that—sadly for his family—he had been unable to resist.
'There they are,' Julie said, pointing to her sister and niece beside a pair of suitcases. 'Tom, help them get their luggage in the boot.'
'Aye aye, captain,' he said, getting out of the car.
Holly extended her arms as he approached. 'You're not too old to give your aunt a hug, are you?'
'Of course not, Aunt Holly. How are you holding up?'
'Better for seeing you.' She gave him a squeeze. 'My, you've filled out. You were a rake last time I saw you.'
'Uni football. Don't tell mum, but I spend more time in the gym than studying,' he joked.
'Well, you look very handsome.'
Tom smiled, then turned his attention to his cousin. 'Alright, Liv?'
'Yeah, thanks. You?'
'Good, I'm looking forward to catching up.'
He gave her a hug—although she was only a year older than Liz, she lacked his sister's surly disposition—then loaded their luggage while Holly and Olivia squeezed into the car.
*
'Bill, we're back,' Julie called out.
'Coming.' He paused the game and made his way to the hall. 'Lovely to see you,' he said, giving Holly a cheek to cheek kiss and Olivia a smile. 'How was the flight?'
'Surprisingly painless,' Holly said. 'An improvement on last year.'
Bill chuckled. 'I remember. A two-hour delay and lost luggage.'
'Nightmare.'
'Right, I'll take your cases up. Guest room for you, Holly. Liv, you're in with Liz again if that's okay.'
'Sure, Uncle Bill.'
*
Tom sank down into the sofa. 'How are United doing?'
'They're shambolic,' Bill huffed. 'To go from beating City to losing to this lot at home. We've got no clue how to play against the lesser teams.'
'Been like that since the end of last season.'
'I know. Shocking. By the way, have you bought your mother and sister a present yet? I don't want you leaving it until the last minute like last year.'
'Don't worry, lesson learnt. I'm sorted for everyone except Aunt Holly. I'm going to go into town later and get her a bottle of that wine she likes.'
'Good idea.
Ohhhhh!
' Bill exclaimed as United put an easy chance wide.
After an embarrassing 2-0 defeat, Tom decided it was as good a time as any to go to town. He went to the kitchen to grab the car keys, but paused outside the door at what sounded like a heartfelt conversation.
'I just still can't believe he did it,' Holly said between sobs, 'I mean, twenty-two.
Twenty-two, for God's sake.
Only five years older than Olivia.'
'Oh, Holly... I had no idea she was that young. Why didn't you tell me before?'
'I guess I'm trying to be strong for Olivia's sake. Despite what he's done to me, he's still a great dad, and I want her to have a good relationship with him. But when I saw the pictures of her on his phone... She's gorgeous, Jules.'
Tom's heart went out to Holly as he heard fresh tears. He thought about announcing himself before going in for the keys, but something compelled him to keep listening.
'So are you,' Julie reassured.
'Pfft. I'm forty-four with all the lumps and bumps to show for it. I don't think that's most people's idea of gorgeous.'
'Hol...'
'I know I'm no supermodel—I never have been. But am I
so
undesirable that he had to look elsewhere? Have I deteriorated that much?'
Tom shook his head at Holly's harsh self-appraisal. While he conceded she probably couldn't compete with a hot twenty-two-year-old, he'd always thought she possessed a certain yummy mummy allure. Although things were slightly lower and less firm than they used to be, she had wide, childbearing hips and a luscious set of curves that would still get a lot of guys hot and bothered.
The thing Tom had never told a soul was that he was one of those guys. He had idolized his aunt for as long as he could remember, her being the fun, laid back counterpart to his stricter mother. Similar personalities had kept them close as he got older, and after he hit puberty, innocent affection had developed into something more.
'I was so naïve, Jules,' Holly continued. 'The signs he was cheating were there, but I didn't want to admit it.'
'What do you mean?'
'He used to have such a high libido. Throughout our marriage, he'd try it on most nights. Then he lost interest. He was less enthusiastic during sex at first, then eventually he wouldn't touch me. I tried everything: sexy lingerie, roleplaying, toys... but nothing worked. I should've known.'
Holly burst into tears, and Julie offered more consoling words that Tom couldn't make out. Listening to her distress, an idea formed in his head. It was risky, and it had the potential to compound his aunt's distress, but given how close they were, he was confident it wouldn't. He entered the kitchen, feigning surprise upon seeing Holly in tears. She gave him an embarrassed smile, which he returned before taking the keys from the hook.
*
When he arrived at the shopping centre, his first port of call was Selfridges, where he paid a premium for Holly's favourite merlot. It came lavishly packaged in a wooden box, a key part of what he had planned. For the final item, he made his way to Ann Summers. Browsing the options, he considered which of them Holly would prefer, although he had nothing to go on. He decided against anything fancy or overly large, and felt happy with his choice as he left the shop, certain she would appreciate it.
Upon returning home, he switched out the wine for Holly's real gift, then wrapped the wooden box and placed it under the tree with the rest of the presents.
With no going back, he couldn't wait for the big day to arrive.
*
Tom woke on Christmas Day with trepidation. Family tradition was to open presents first thing in the morning before getting dressed, and as they gathered in the living room, the prospect of Holly opening the box in front of everyone heightened his nerves. She wouldn't have to, as the wine's branding was on the outside, but there was always the possibility of things not going to plan.
They went around the room, opening one present each until Holly pulled out Tom's gift from the back of the tree. She smiled at him, already suspecting what it was, then ripped off the paper.
'Aw, Tom, I love this. Thank you so much.'
'You're welcome, Aunt Holly.'
'I'm surprised you remembered.' She lifted the box with a puzzled look, testing its heft. 'It feels lighter than usual.'
'You haven't drunk it have you, son?' Bill said from his chair. 'I know you uni lads put it away like no one else.'
'Ironic, since you're the one with the beer belly,' Tom teased, earning laughs from around the room.
'Just you wait, one day you'll be like your old man.'
To Tom's horror, Holly slid the lid off the box. Cursing himself for not considering the disparity in weight, he clenched every muscle as Holly laid her eyes on the hyper-realistic, seven-inch dildo, veins and all.
'What's wrong, Aunt Holly?' Liz said. 'You look like you've seen a ghost.'
She slid the box shut with surprising equanimity. 'Nothing. I think they made the bottle smaller, that's all. Thank you, Tom, that was very thoughtful.'
Her words were formal and distant, and Tom wasn't sure how to take them. He tried to glean something from her body language, but that too seemed forced.
When all gifts had been exchanged, everyone went upstairs to get showered and dressed. Holly took her "wine" to her room and slid it under the bed, glad to get it out of sight. What possessed him to do it? she thought. Is he making fun of me, or has he turned into some sort of pervert? Either way, she would confront him later. Although how she'd go about it, she had no idea.
*
Holly still hadn't spoken to Tom by the time everyone sat down for Christmas dinner. The table was piled high with a myriad of delights, and after Bill carved the turkey, the Jamieson family tucked in, pulling crackers and laughing at the bad jokes inside. Even Bill's sizeable appetite couldn't prevent leftovers, and he was the last to give up after a third helping.
'That was phenomenal, Jules,' he said.
'I just wish it lasted longer. Hours to cook, minutes to eat.'