Cold COMFORT

The warmth of a stranger's Christmas prediction melted Tracy's heart

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It was easier to get across the road than normal after work. The snow was falling so thickly that the cars were crawling along while their wipers fought a losing battle to keep their windscreens clear.

Despite the heavy traffic, the road was still covered in snow marked with tyre tracks, which filled up again as the cars passed by.

Missing a glove, I checked through my pockets without success. I looked into the bag I was carrying and decided there was no way I was going to pull out all the parcels. I would have to make do with one glove for the hand carrying the bag and put the other hand in my pocket to keep it warm.

I could already feel my feet turning to blocks of ice as they sank in the deep snow, and my face was adopting one permanent frozen expression.

The bus shelter at least blocked out some of the wind chill as I joined the crowd squeezing into it. The other passengers were never normally prepared to give up so much personal space, but on days like this, sharing a stranger's body heat didn’t seem unusual.

‘Been shopping again, Tracy?’ a voice piped up.

‘Hello, Mary,’ I nodded to my workmate. ‘Yes, at lunchtime, just to get a few more gifts for Hannah.’

“Your house must be full of presents for her now!”

She was right. I had gone over the top with treats for my two-year-old.

‘It’s the first time she'll understand what’s going on at Christmas, so I had to spoil her.’

I wanted to change the subject as there was another reason why I had spent so much on my daughter. ‘I hope the bus is on time,’ I said, my breath making clouds. ‘I can’t wait to get home and put these under the tree.’

Mary shook her head. ‘I wouldn’t bet on it, not with this weather. I'd say they are already running late, going by this crowd.’

There were more people trying to huddle into the shelter and I was in danger of being pushed out.