**Diary Entry:**
*Monday, 31st December*
Bloody typical. Just my luck.
“Laura, you still home?” I peeked into the bathroom where my older sister was fixing her hair before work.
“Course I am! Not all of us start at the crack of dawn like you telecom lot. Civilised office workers keep decent hourseight to five, thank you very much.”
I snorted. “Oh, come off it! Youre just another factory girl, only you sit in R&D in your little white coats, thinking youre geniuses.”
Laura huffed. “Well, nobody stopped *you* from becoming an engineer, did they? But noyou had to chase after that *lovely* Darren at the comms college, didnt you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, give it a rest. Darrens ancient historygone and married some girl from his course.”
Ugh. I hated when she brought *that* up. Darren had been the heartthrob of our yearwildly handsome, the sort of bloke who belonged on telly. And yet, for some reason, hed gone to comms college. So, like an idiot, I followed. Not that he noticed. The moment we graduated, off he went and married a girl from his class.
I rinsed off in the shower, pulled on my comfiest pyjamas, and shuffled into the kitchen.
“What can I nibble on so I dont wake up starving?”
“Theres half an omelette left under the lidI made enough for both of us,” Laura offered.
“Ugh, omelette *again*? How can you eat eggs every day? I need something lighter.”
I grabbed instant porridge, poured boiling water over it, and stirred lazily.
“Youll fall asleep mid-bite,” Laura smirked.
I forced down a couple of spoonfuls of the tasteless mush and shoved the bowl away.
“Right. Sleep it is.”
I trudged off to my room, and soon enough, the steady rhythm of my snoring filled the flat. Laura checked the clock. “Why did I even get up this early? Couldve stayed in bed another half-hour.” She curled up in the armchair by the radiator and scrolled through her phone.
Thena knock at the door. Laura answered it, signed for a New Years telegram from distant relatives who still refused to embrace modern technology. *Wishing you health and happiness in the coming year…* She sighed, tucked the telegram aside, and settled back into her chair.
A sudden noiseme shuffling to the loo, then stopping dead in the hall with a sharp “*Blimey!*” Laura listened as I rustled about, zipped up my coat, and*slam*the front door crashed shut.
“Lucy? Where the hell are you going?” Laura jumped up, but I was already gone, my phone still on the bedside table.
“Madwoman. Mustve forgotten something at work.” Shaking her head, she retreated to the warmth of the kitchen.
***
I sprinted down the icy pavement, squinting at the shadowy figures ahead. Still dark, but I *had* to catch upwhere was Lauras coat? When the telegram arrived, Id been half-asleep, but the door slamming woke me. The flat was silent. I assumed shed left for work.
After tossing awhile, I got up for the loo. Passing the hallway, I spotted Lauras work pass on the side table. “*Blimey!*” I blurtedshed forgotten it! I yanked on my coat over my pyjamas, shoved my feet into boots, grabbed the pass, and bolted after her.
But no sign of Laura among the workers shuffling toward the factory. It was only ten minutes from our flat, so I reached the gates quickly. No Laura. The security guard frowned when I asked if hed seen her.
“Not yet. Its only half-sevenshe usually rocks up at five to.”
“Half-*what*?” I gaped. “*Oh, for crying out loud!*”
He adjusted his glasses like I was smuggling contraband.
“Im going!” I yelped, spinning on my heel. Laura was probably tearing the place apart for that pass!
Gasping for air, I was nearly home when*wham*my feet shot out from under me on a slick patch of ice. I hit the pavement hard.
“Mum!” I whimpered as a stranger rushed over.
“Can you stand?” he asked gently.
“II dont think so.” I blinked up at hima bloke in a smart overcoat, a white lab coat peeking underneath. Tired eyes, but kind.
“Whats the hurry on ice like this?”
“Long story. II need to get home, or my sisterll murder me!” I tried to stand, yelped, and collapsed again.
He sighed. “Right, grab hold. Tight now.”
He scooped me up, carried me inside.
“What floor?” he asked in the lift.
“Third,” I muttered, face burning. Never in my life had I been this close to a manlet alone such a fit one. He smelled faintly of cologne and something medicinal.
At the door, Laura gaped. “Lucy? What on earth?”
“Evening. Your sisters taken a bad falllikely a sprain or dislocation,” the man explained, stepping inside.
“Laura, Ill explain laterhere!” I thrust the pass at her.
“Oh, *there* it is!” She stuffed it into her bag, dashed out, then doubled back. “Lucy, you know this bloke, yeah? Safe to leave you alone?”
“Perfectly safe,” he assured her. “Im a doctor. Mind the ice out there.”
Laura nodded and vanished.
“Right, Lucy,” the doctor said briskly, “lets have a look.”
He eased off my boot and whistledmy ankle was swollen, the joint jutting sideways.
“That bad, huh?” I groaned.
“Yep. Hospital trip, Im afraid.”
“Ugh, noIm knackered from night shift! Theyll drag me through X-rays and whatnot.”
“Ah, youre on nights too? Colleagues, then?”
“Hardly!” I laughed weakly. “Im just a switchboard operator. Factory runs round the clocksomeones got to mind the phones.”
“Right. Well… still need an ambulance. Dislocations need proper pain relief first, and Ive no anaesthetics on me.” He pulled out his phone. “Mark? Got a dodgy ankle here. Yep, ice sprinting gone wrong.” He grinned at me. “Address?” He handed me the phone, and I rattled off our details to this *Mark* bloke.
*Oh God. What have I done? What if theyre burglars?*
“Relax,” the doctorMax, he said his name waspat my shoulder. “Marks brilliant with trauma. Youll be sorted in no time.”
“He *is* good?” I blurted, then cringed.
“Mark? Absolute pro. Trust me.”
I shook his handhis fingers swallowed mine whole. Part of me wished hed never let go. Or better yet, scoop me up again and…
***
That New Years Eve, we all celebrated togetherme, Laura, Max, and Mark. We toasted to black ice, to forgotten passes, and to the magic of the seasonthe night that sparked *two* love stories at once.
