It seemed the kitten had done the trick but even seeing Della so happy could not entirely quell the reason for his present. By now he had expected they might have a child or two to celebrate Christmas morning with and, with each passing month, he began to wonder whether it would ever be a blessing they would receive. It was something he desperately wished to discuss with his wife and yet the one person he wanted to talk to most was the one it would upset the most: and he could not conceive of upsetting Della deliberately.

And yet, it played on his mind. He agonised over the question as he settled the books in the backroom of his thriving shop, when he woke next to his beautiful wife and whenever he saw some comfort in the eyes of a child who looked frightened to be away from home alone and he knew he had helped: if everything else in his life was so perfect, was it some sort of balance to deny them a child?

“Call her something Christmassy,” he suggested, returning the kiss to her cheek. “We should save our best names for now.”

---

never ever changing this Soph set <3