"I got it!" Lyra beamed (floating at the kiss on her head, how easy that had been, how natural) as she untangled herself then untangled the red bag from his arms. "I'm in charge of freezer packing in this house, and fridge. Everything's a jigsaw in there right now. Oh my god Chunky Monkey yesss." She walked backwards, leading him in.
It was warm inside, and smelled like the wine that was mulling on the stove, heavy with spices and slices of orange to disguise the fact it was the cheapest cask on the shelf. The front door opened straight into the kitchen that, with its little round table, made it double as a dining room, and beyond that was the living room where the TV had been switched to football. To the right of the open space was the bathroom and Lyra's room, to the left Jocelyn's room and Jem's. And that was it, apart from the view of another apartment block out the window.
"You can put your bags down on the table while we sort stuff out, there's room. Hup—" she said, dodging around her mom, who was suddenly right there with a string of 'let me help yous' and 'oh that looks delicious' before she reached to take Patrick's hand and press it warmly between hers.
"Welcome to our home," Jem said, with a deep and meaningful smile. "It's cold outside, come in, come in, put your feet up and let me get you a drink."