The house smelled amazing today, the smell of lamb stew spreading through the rooms. Cathal could almost see little cartoon tendrils of scent chasing people down. Not that there were any people. He was alone today, doing a little pre-Christmas tidying up.
When there was a knock on the door, Cathal's first though was carolers. It had literally never been carolers before, but there had to be a first time for everything.
But on the other side of the door it wasn't cheerful but cold people in Santa hats, but a familiar and deeply unexpected face.
"Marcie!" he said in surprise, a wide smile spreading across his face. He had swept her into a hug before he even realised that he should have asked permission for that first. "What a delightful surprise!"