"Daddy," Lumen whined as he wrapped his arms around my neck. The excitement that had taken over his baby blues diminished beneath a filmy layer of tears, his lower lip doing a jelly impression. "Lumen scawed."

"Why are you scared, my little king?" I humoured, resting my head on top of his. We were sat in the rear of the car, snuggling in the backseat. Lumen had needed changing, and jumping at the chance to escape the all-round-cheer, I had volunteered. The sickly music that had been playing by the tree display had been getting on my last fucking nerve, but the boys had been stealing candy canes from the...