For Christmas With Love

Copyright © November 2024 by CiaoSteve

CiaoSteve reserves the right to be identified as the author of this work. This story cannot be published, as a whole or in part, without the express agreement of the author other than the use of brief extracts as part of a story review.

This is a work of fiction. The events described here are imaginary; the settings and characters are fictitious and are not intended to represent specific places or living persons.

Author's Notes

This is an entry for the 2024 Winter Holiday Contest. I do hope you enjoy and would love to hear your thoughts. Oh, and if you fancied voting, that would be fantastic.

I will warn you in advance, but I guess the category is a giveaway anyway, the storyline is incestual in nature. And, if I've got the finer details of life in the Big Apple just a little wrong, I hope you can excuse me. Just like Martin, it was many years ago when I last paid a visit.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Prologue

Thursday Morning, 2

nd

January 2025 - There's no going back now

"Champagne," the flight attendant asked, glancing down at the brunette-haired young woman sitting in the aisle seat of the business class cabin.

Joanna glanced up.

"For me?" Joanna replied, smiling back at the flight attendant. "I don't mind if I do."

Everything was new for the twenty-four-year-old. She'd flown before, many times, but never like this. It had usually been short-haul discount airlines, the sort of no-thrills carriers which got you to your destination but offered little by way of added comfort.

This though... this was something else, and she could kind of get used to it.

Joanna shuffled in her seat, sitting upright from where she had previously been slumped back. At around five-foot four, she wasn't the tallest, and the bucket seat tended to drown her slight frame, not that she was complaining. She brushed her hair out of her eyes, pulling the shoulder-length locks together into a loose ponytail. Joanna quickly secured them in place with a black scrunchie.

The young brunette released the folding table and watched as the flight attendant placed first a paper drinks mat and then a glass of sparkling fizz down in front of her. For a moment, Joanna wondered if this was really happening. Tentatively she picked up the glass, still not quite believing it was hers. She took a sip, then a large gulp of the chilled fizz, finally placing down an almost empty glass on the table. She wasn't a nervous flyer, but this wasn't a normal flight, and somehow that glass of champagne was just what she needed.

"Mmmm... that was good," Joanna responded, smiling once more.

The flight attendant smiled back.

There was something reminiscent about this young woman, which took the flight attendant back a good thirty years, to when she first started travelling. She'd have been a similar age back then. She'd have been just as nervous as the young woman she was serving. She never forgot those days, the excitement of trotting around the world, never quite knowing what would be on the horizon. They were the best years, when the innocence of youth was still fresh, and adventure was what you yearned for.

"Business or pleasure?" the flight attendant asked.

"Pleasure," Joanna replied. "Been thinking about doing this for so long... and now I can't believe I'm here."

"Flying solo?" the flight attendant asked.

Joanna didn't answer immediately. She glanced over towards her companion. They hadn't even taken off, and he was already asleep. Joanna turned her attention back to the flight attendant.

"If he ever wakes up, he'll be showing me around the Big Apple," Joanna responded.

The flight attendant glanced over to the seat next door. Slumped back in his seat, diagonally opposite the young woman, was an older looking man, maybe in his late forties, with just a touch of silver showing within his almost-black hair. He was taller. He was fuller in frame, without being overweight. Putting hair colour to one side, there was more than a passing similarity between the two passengers. If she didn't know better, they could have been related, but it wasn't her place to be prying.

"Have a safe flight," the flight attendant responded, smiling. "And give me a call if you want another glass."

With that, the flight attendant was gone.

The business class flight was the icing on what Joanna hoped would be a most wondrous cake. She couldn't quite believe she was here, nor what she was about to do. How long had it been? By reckoning, it was a little over four months from being given the kick up the backside she needed, but, if truth be known, it was way longer than that.

"Boarding complete," came an announcement over the speakers.

Oh yes, now there was no turning back. In another eight hours of so, they would be touching down on what she hoped would be the next chapter of a still young life. Keeping the secret had been hard. When they saw in the New Year together, and even now, she couldn't let on to quite what she had in mind.

As the plane taxied back from the terminal, Joanna could finally say, it was really happening.

Still though, Joanna was a touch nervous.

What she had planned would change everything.

It was a risk, but a risk she needed to take.

Joanna downed the last of her champagne, put her headphones on, and closed her eyes. A head full of dreams hit her playlist.

'And you get a head... a head full of dreams... you can see the change you want to... be what you want to be.'

As she listened, a warm fuzzy feeling filled her mind. Every word seemed so perfect. She'd dreamed of this moment for such a long time, and now here she was, about to take off into the unknown, about to follow her own head full of dreams.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

One

Saturday Afternoon, 17

th

August 2024 - She who catches the bouquet

How time had flown. It was two years on from their graduation; two years during which those friendships had drifted further apart, but never to the point of breaking, and now they were back... and back with a purpose. When the invite from Ella had arrived, Joanna had responded the same day, getting the RSVP in the post without delay, and immediately turning her attention towards that more difficult of choices... what to wear.

It was progress, and Joanna knew it was bound to happen one day. There had been five of them back in their student days. Ella, and her soon to be betrothed groom Richard, made up the first two-fifths of the quintet. Jack and Amanda, the second. And... then there was Joanna, the only yet to be paired off member of the troop.

On graduation day they had promised each other never to lose touch, and to date they had been true to their promises. They all knew though that time would be the one thing which drove them apart. So far, it hadn't, but now... now, today was the biggest test so far.

Joanna stood there, towards the back of the church, on the side for the bride's family, but in an area reserved more for friends. To her left were Amanda and Jack, and up at the front, looking nervous in his charcoal-grey tails, was Richard. It was Ella's big day, and Joanna couldn't have been happier. They had been paired up as freshers, sharing an on-campus studio apartment, and the age-old adage that opposites attract couldn't have been truer.

They were like chalk and cheese.

Joanna had that shy, reserved, girl next door character, whereas Ella was full of herself, not in an obnoxious way, but... well... Ella loved to be present. If ever there was a party going on, you could guarantee that Ella would be front and centre.

Joanna would go for the understated conventional look, and Ella... well... to say she had a quirkier eclectic style might have been a bit of an understatement.

Despite the differences, something had clicked, and the rest was history, as they say.

When it came to what to wear, that had been easy. Joanna had already found the dress and was more like waiting for the excuse to buy it. A wedding invitation gave the perfect excuse to splash out, and from the looks she was getting, it had been a good choice. It was an off the shoulder number, in stretchy mauve fabric, the top fitting snuggly across her upper torso, before flaring out down to mid-shin. A slit up one side, accented by a large frill of soft folds, gave just a teasing glimpse of leg.

With her hair tied in a loose bun, finished off with the tiniest of accentuators, Joanna was elegance personified, and she was enjoying every minute of dressing up. Even the heels were planned, those four inches elevating her usually short five-foot four to a more average height. For all she tended towards that shy and reserved persona, Joanna loved an occasion, and this was an occasion and a half.

The church was overflowing with family, yet still retained a sense of serenity with its limewashed walls, simple stained-glass windows, and high-pitched wooden roof timbers. The flowers were exquisite, a mix of pinks and whites, framed off against dark green foliage. The way the organ resonated around the whole place gave that sense of celebration.

"Did I tell you... you look fantastic, Joanna."

Joanna turned around to the woman at her side.

"You too... Amanda," Joanna responded, smiling back at her. "Coral is so your colour... and what's more... your Jack has really scrubbed up well."

It was true. Back in their student days, Jack would normally have been seen in a rather shabby Chelsea shirt... his pride and joy... yet now he looked every part the gentleman, every part the companion for his gorgeous girlfriend.

"What do you think, Amanda?" Joanna repeated. "I was saying that your Jack really does scrub up well."

Any chance of a response from Amanda was drowned out as Wagner's Bridal Chorus rang out through the quaint little church. The conversation was forgotten. All heads turned towards the entrance, eager to be the first to see the bride, or in the case of Joanna, wondering just what the bride would be wearing. The one thing Joanna imagined was that Ella wouldn't exactly be going for the traditional. That just wasn't her ex-roomie's style.

Suddenly, a murmur spread through the church.

There Ella was, arm in arm with her father, gliding serenely into the church.

Joanna smiled, a grin becoming more of a beam as she caught Ella's eye.

"You look fantastic," Joanna mouthed towards her best friend, not really expecting a response, yet hoping the words of encouragement had been noticed.

It was true. Ella did look fantastic, in a long white dress. The colour was the one nod to tradition. The style though... well, if you swapped the words bride and goddess around, then that was Ella... a goddess of beauty, heading slowly down the aisle. It was a dress which wouldn't have been out of place in Ancient Greece, with a criss-crossed draped bodice, an overly high waist, and a light, breezy skirt which draped gracefully across the floor behind her, the latter a sort of homage to the expected train.

There was no response from the bride-to-be, and in seconds, Ella had moved further on down the aisle, getting ever closer to the altar. It was as Joanna's eyes fell on the back of the dress, that she smiled once more. Gone was the sumptuous chiffon, at least in the top half of the dress, replaced by a sheer lace panel, tapering down to a low-cut point just below the waistline. There was no hiding anything beneath that dress, especially not a bra strap or two.

Oh yes, this was Ella's big day, and that dress was Ella down to a tee.

As she watched her bestie reach the altar, Joanna couldn't help thinking about what was still to come. It would be Amanda and Jack next, no doubt. And then... well... that would just leave Joanna. She promised herself that, when her time came, not that it was anywhere on the horizon, the big day would be just like this. But... that was the problem.

Ella had Richard.

Jack had Amanda.

Joanna had... well... that was where it got difficult. She had somebody who meant more to her than anyone, yet she knew it could never be. He was older, not that age was really the issue. He had always been there for her, not that she told him that too often, but again that could be rectified. The problem though...

"Doesn't she look good," Amanda whispered, breaking Joanna out of her chain of thought. "Ella... doesn't she look good."

"She looks more than good Amanda... she looks like an... an angel... floating down the aisle... no wonder she swept young Richard off his feet," Joanna responded. "What about you and Jack? Are you two thinking of tying the knot?"

There was no response, but Joanna suspected it wouldn't be long before she needed a second dress. For now, though, she was just going to enjoy this one, celebrating in her one-time roommate's day of joy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The ceremony went without a hitch, and before long the wedding party, along with the many guests, had moved outside to the church grounds. Confetti had been thrown, and photos taken. That just left one tradition, before it would be off to the reception to celebrate in style.

Off to the reception? Oh yes, the transport was already waiting, and just like the dress, it was a little out of the ordinary. There was the traditional limo for the bride and groom, but what stood behind the wedding car was nothing more than an open-top vintage bus. Yes, it was dressed up with the expected ribbons, but it was a bus... it was their bus... it was their ride to what promised to be the party to end all parties.

"Ready?" Ella called out, turning her back on the gathering of friends and family.

What do they say? Whoever catches the bouquet is supposedly 'next' to get married. A cheer went up, and the bouquet was tossed high into the air. Imagine the surprise when, amidst a good deal of squealed excitement, it was Joanna who found herself clutching onto the discarded bunch of flowers. Immediately, Joanna tried to hand the bouquet of flowers off to Amanda, but Amanda was having nothing of it.

"Oh no you don't, my girl," Amanda whispered. "You caught them fair and square... and now... now... well, you know... now it's your turn to be walking down the aisle."

Joanna didn't get the chance to reply. Excitement seemed to have taken over once more, this time as family and friends rushed off in the direction of the bus, eager to get the best seats, even more eager for the glasses of champagne which were being handed out as each guest boarded.

In that moment, the bouquet tossing was forgotten.

Now it was all about the party, and yes, Ella had a reputation for partying hard and late.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The reception was nothing less than impressive, a local country hotel turned into the most wondrous of parties for one night only and, boy, did they party. A formal dinner seemed to last for ever, course after course of the most lavish fayre being served up on silver platters. With the tables cleared, Ella and Richard took to the floor for their first dance, before announcing that the night was still young, and the bar was now... open.

As the music pumped out across the dancefloor, and drinks started to flow, the bride and groom slipped away to change into something more suitable for a party. Suitable? Oh yeah, once more Ella was in her element. She looked gorgeous in a light ivory, off the shoulder mini dress, with matching strappy heels. She looked even better as she strutted her stuff across the dance floor before mingling with the many guests.

It was much later in the evening when Joanna managed to grab some private time with Ella. By now the dancefloor was empty, and what noise was left came from the idle chatter of just a handful of hangers on, as they finished off their drinks for the night.

"You looked wonderful, Ella," Joanna said. "That dress... it was like... it had been made for you."

"It had," Ella replied, laughing.

"What?" came a most bemused reaction from Joanna.

"I mean... well, I took a photo of what I wanted, and they designed the dress... then I had it made... a one-off... just for me," Ella clarified. "Did you really like it?"

"Like it?" Joanna replied. "It was fucking gorgeous if you excuse my French. A gorgeous dress for a gorgeous friend. I was so happy for you. Such a wonderful day, and thank you so much for—"

Joanna never finished off her sentence. As she waxed lyrical about the day, Ella took her by surprise, leaned forwards and placed her lips against Joanna's.

"Wh... what... what was that for?" Joanna exclaimed.

"For coming... for being there to share it all with me... for being the best friend I could ever have," Ella replied.

Joanna didn't know what to do or say. Was her bestie coming on to her on what was meant to be Ella and Richard's big day? Surely not. Still though, Joanna had a look of confusion etched across her face.

"But what about Richard?" Joanna asked. "Won't he be getting jealous if he catches you kissing another woman? I wouldn't want to be the one to come between—"

"Oh, my darling Joanna," Ella interrupted. "I'm drunk, you're wonderful, and I just couldn't resist. But... you're really not my type, if you get what I mean."

Joanna started to relax. Maybe she had read too much into the situation.

"And... and... what's more..." Ella continued, "that darling husband of mine will be getting his, just as soon as we make it upstairs... oh yeah, I'm gonna take good care of him... you can mark my words... bedrooms aren't just for sleeping, my girl... oh no..."

Ella leaned forward and whispered her final words to make sure they weren't overheard.

"There's fucking to be done too... lots of fucking! Morning, noon, and night... here there and everywhere... he's not gonna know what's hit him!"

Ella burst into laughter.

A short time later, Joanna followed suit.

"Now, what about you?" Ella asked.

"What? No! I'm not going to be doing that tonight," Joanna responded, shocked by the suggestion she was going to get it off.

"No... no... I'm sorry... I wasn't meaning about you and... well... tonight," Ella tried to explain. "What I meant was... what about you... is there somebody in your life... you know, somebody so special you'd be tying your own knot? I saw how you caught the bouquet, and you know what that means."

For a moment there was silence. It was always the same. Every time anyone asked that question, Joanna clammed up. She was already twenty-four and by now she should have had her plus one in tow. Here she was though, alone at her bestie's wedding. What did that say?

It wasn't for the want of longing. Already she had her heart set on somebody, yet to this day, she hadn't even told him. Joanna knew she should be putting some effort into seeing if there was chemistry. That was the problem, though. She was nowhere near building any sort of chemistry.

"It's... complicated," Joanna responded.

"Complicated?" Ella asked. "So... at least that means there is someone."

Joanna doubted whether this was a conversation she should be having, but Ella was her best friend and, after the bucket loads of champagne she had drunk, the idea of self-control was somewhat drowned.

"Yeah... there's somebody," Joanna admitted. "But... as I said... it's complicated... so, please don't ask."

"I won't," Ella responded. "You know what's best... but I have a piece of advice from one friend to another."

"Advice?" Joanna asked.

"Well... more common sense than advice," Ella responded. "They're not mind readers you know, so if you want him, or her, then make sure to let them know. What's the worst that could happen?"