'Thank you' Lyra mouthed at him gratefully. There was some high pitched cackling coming from the other side of the room where Dante (to his credit, Lyra acknowledged) wasn't just watching football but was also holding out his arms straight, a child hanging off each forearm as he tried to lift them into the air. "That's Dante, Jemma's dad," Lyra explained, as Dante waved under the weight of a pre-schooler. "And there's Micky, whose mom's in hospital having a baby. Jemma? Wanna come say hi to my dad?"
Jemma did not, Jemma wanted to keep hanging in the air laughing, so Lyra said "Nope okay, she doing her own thang," and pulled the carrots from Jocelyn's hands, trading them for a mug of mulled wine. "Why don't you put your feet up, 'stead. We got the salad." Jocelyn did look a touch reluctant to leave the kitchen, but the offer of a few moments in a soft armchair while drinking wine was too good to pass up.
And with one less person in the kitchen there was a tiny bit more personal space, but Patrick didn't look like he was overwhelmed, and Lyra smiled over at him thankfully again. "What does the colcannon need? I am so ready to stick my face in it."