Laurie is pondering the air of Christmas all around her as she sits on the bus, exhausted from her work as a receptionist at a hotel in London. She finds herself annoyed by the other commuters, with their sneezes and her close proximity to their dandruff. She comforts herself with her upcoming visit home to the countryside, noting, “There’s something soothingly time warp-ish about leaving London for the interlude of sedate Midlands village life” (3). Laurie is awoken from her thoughts by the shuddering stop of the bus. She notices a man outside of her window at the bus stop, reading a book. He looks around him, and their eyes meet. Laurie is overcome with a sense of magnetism to the stranger, and she is “gripped by the overwhelming urge to go outside, to get to him” (6). She realizes that he is feeling the same about her. She sees him hesitate before he decides to enter the bus, but it pulls away. Laurie realizes, “if anyone asks me if I’ve ever fallen in love at first sight, I shall say yes, for one glorious minute on December 21, 2018” (7).

After the Christmas and New Year’s

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