Blowing HOT & COLD

When it came to holidays, would Rachel and Tom ever see eye to eye?

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Coming in from the garden, ruddy faced from the cold, Rachel tried not to feel annoyed at the sight of her husband Tom pretending he hadn't just had a snooze. After all, she told herself, he had worked willingly on her shrub-pruning initiative that morning and she could hardly blame him for wanting forty winks just because she didn't.

Instead, she blamed her irritation on the weather. 'It's blooming freezing out there!' she said, pulling off her gardening gloves. 'And I can't believe it's nearly dark already.'

'That's this time of year for you,' Tom replied cheerfully. He loved winter. 'I tell you what, I'll light a fire.'

He busied himself with logs, which was one of his all-time favourite activities, along with reading the Sunday newspapers long after the weekend was over and listening to podcasts. Hardly unreasonable, Rachel knew, though when she talked to him and got no response because he had his headphones in, she couldn't help it grating on her nerves.

Now their three children were grown up and gone, she liked to keep busy, filling her days to the max. She found winter limiting and frustrating, with its long, dreary evenings.

Tom, meanwhile, relished the cosiness and peace. He even loved 'extreme weather events'. Whenever it was blowing a hoolie outside, he would snuggle up on the sofa with a blanket, actually delighting in the sound of wind and rain on the windows. If it snowed, well, then he was like a child whose birthdays had all come at once.

With a heavy sigh, she went to put the kettle on. When she returned with two steaming mugs, Tom, who had his headphones in, said at the top of his voice, 'Ooh, a lovely cup of tea!'

'Ssh!' she replied. 'You're shouting!'