25
Krampus
Emily was sitting outside the pub with a glass of wine, watching the snow gently fall over the village green when Alan Rowe appeared beside her.
‘This seat free?’ he asked, pulling out a chair beside her, then waiting for a few polite seconds until she smiled and told him to sit down. Above them, the snow pattered gently on the parasols Skip had erected on the pavement in front of the pub, sheltering a dozen tired planners from the falling snow. Behind her, a large paraffin heater provided warmth to the back of Emily’s legs, a blanket to the front. A couple of dozen other people were still inside the pub, making a day of it, but Emily was exhausted. She hadn’t realised how much being a leader would take out of her.
‘You’ve done a brilliant job,’ Alan said. ‘I think people ar
