Read The Christmas Spirit for Free Online Page B

pastries, and came
up with, ‘A slice of that chocolate fudge cake. Does it come with cream?’
    ‘I can put some cream on it,’ Jacob said.
    ‘That would be great, thanks.’
    Jacob signalled that he would bring it over and the girl
went to grab a seat.
    As she sat down, she spied a woman sitting at the table next
to her, wearing a fabulous pair of black patent riding boots.
    I must get a new pair , thought
Rebecca. Wonder who’ll buy them for me now; certainly not
Ethan . She removed a newspaper from her bag, flipped to the Lettings
page and began to read.
    ‘Loch Rd. Modern luxury 2 bedroom
unfurnished flat in the popular Winstanton area. Station ten minutes walk away.
£500pcm.’
    ‘Grange Avenue. Set in a lovely, quiet,
residential and family area of Winstanton, this 2 bedroom unfurnished cottage
apartment offers fantastic living accommodation. Unfurnished. Available now. 
£500pcm.’
    ‘Knap Lane. Spacious first floor
apartment, available unfurnished and comprising of spacious and bright lounge
with balcony, newly fitted kitchen, 3 double bedrooms...’ Rebecca
stopped reading that one. She didn’t need three bedrooms, there would only be
her. Possibly there would always only be her. Sighing, she picked up a pen and
tapped it against her lips as she read on,
    ‘Barn Crescent. Offered to the market in
good internal condition, this particularly spacious two bedroom ex local
authority flat located in the Winstanton area...’ Rebecca peered at the
photo - ugh! She couldn’t bring herself to live there. And why was everything
at the top end of her budget? Five hundred pounds a month. She flicked through
a few pages, glancing solely at prices before finally noticing a couple which
were a little cheaper.
    ‘Unfurnished, modern second floor flat in
popular residential area, close to local amenities and transport routes.
Internally this property is in walk-in condition throughout and comprises
lounge with dining area, modern kitchen, 2 double bedrooms and bathroom with
shower. Further benefits include electric storage heating, double glazing,
secure door entry system and parking. £395 pcm. Viewing is recommended.’
    Now that sounds more like it ,
Rebecca thought, although she pulled a face at the prospect of storage heaters.
She and Ethan had replaced the storage heaters in their flat with gas ones and
a new boiler, at considerable expense, as the storage heaters practically ate
money. At least the double glazing would help keep the heating bills down. With
energy costs constantly on the increase and some of the big six having just raised
their prices by eight percent, it was important to make savings where possible.
Listen to her, she sounded as if she was about eighty. That’s what this split
with Ethan had reduced her to; someone who talked, or thought, about the price
of gas and electricity. £395. What was wrong with the flat? she wondered. It hadn’t even occurred to her that in the twenty-first century a
rented flat could come without a shower; it didn’t bear thinking about. She
liked a bath as much as the next person, for a good long soak, in a cloud of
foamy bubbles, but not for the ten minutes she had in her rush to get out the
door every morning.
    The secure door entry system was a big plus, as Rebecca was
terrified of being burgled; it had happened to her years ago when she had lived
in a ground floor flat and an intruder had broken in during the night. She had
disturbed him by getting up to go to the toilet. Fortunately they hadn’t come
face to face and the next morning it had become clear that he had escaped
through the living room window. When Ethan and she had been together, she had
felt so much safer in the knowledge he would be there every night and gradually
the fear had left her, but now it had returned. She had still insisted on an
alarm when she moved in with him. Rental properties, at least flats, were
unlikely to have burglar alarms.
    Unbeknownst to Rebecca, as she perused the