Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (30 page)
Milly, hi.
Merry Christmas!
It’s Ben, from school. Laurie mentioned you’d be coming back to Skipley around now, so I wanted to let you know I’m having a party for New Year’s Eve. Do you fancy coming? It’ll be fun (I promise). Nothing big, just a few friends. I thought it might be good for you to meet some people, given that you’ve not been at our school for long.
Anyway, hope you can make it.
BenG.
From:
[email protected]
Hi Ben,
Thanks for the invite – that would be great. Will just get the OK from the olds, but as you’re only round the corner I’m sure it will be fine. OK if I bring a friend?
Looking forward to it.
Milly x
CHAPTER
34
Sunday 24th December, Christmas Eve
‘Laurie, glad as I am to have you back, you know I hate shopping,’ Siobhan grumbled as Laurie dragged her through Covent Garden. ‘And on Christmas Eve?’
‘I’ve got to pick up something special for Mum,’ she said. ‘And anyway, look. It’s nice,’ Laurie said, sweeping an arm to take in Christmassy stalls and brightly lit shop windows, rosy-cheeked shoppers loaded up with silver and gold boxes and bags.
‘You’ve changed,’ Siobhan said, scrutinising her friend’s face to try and identify where this newfound Christmas cheer was coming from.
‘Chestnuts?’ Laurie asked, stopping at a stall to buy herself a paper bag of them.
‘Yes, please,’ Siobhan said, rubbing her cheeks vigorously to warm them up. ‘Anything hot right now would be good.’
‘But seriously,’ Siobhan said, accepting the toasty paper bag and returning with Laurie to the pavement scrum, ‘since when did you start feeling so festive? Last thing I heard, you weren’t even going to come to Lily’s.’
Laurie had been feeling a little Scrooge-like lately, it was true – and she was still planning on having a quiet celebration by herself this year, rather than going down to Lily’s.
‘I’m still thinking I might give that a miss,’ Laurie said. ‘Although I haven’t told Lily yet. But I’m really looking forward to going out to Spain and spending some time with Mum – champagne and dancing in the square on New Year’s Eve. Plus it’s twenty degrees out there at the moment.’
‘Can you pack me up in your suitcase?’ Siobhan said, shelling another chestnut. ‘I could really do with a bit of sunshine right now.’
‘You look pretty glowing to me,’ Laurie said, noting the flush in her friend’s cheeks. Siobhan’s smittenness was written all over her face. From what she’d told Laurie already it sounded like the stress and strains of secondary-school teaching were rapidly being erased by plenty of acrobatic sex.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘It’s so weird, Laurie. I mean it’s all happened really quickly. And now Ed’s inviting me along to meet his family. It’s so early – I mean, what are they going to think of little old me?’
‘They’ll love you,’ Laurie said. ‘Everyone loves you.’
Siobhan gave her friend a gentle punch in the arm. ‘Aw,’ she said, wrinkling her nose a little. ‘I never knew you cared.’
‘Well, I do,’ Laurie said, stopping at a jewellery stall by the side of the road. ‘And I’m going to need you more than ever, now that I’m going on a proper man fast,’ she said, picking up a necklace and holding it to her collarbone for Siobhan’s inspection. ‘What do you think of this?’ she asked, the silver that backed the amber pendant cold against her skin. ‘Just imagine me with darker, more olive-y skin.’ Then she pointed to her hair. ‘And a few more grey streaks.’
Siobhan peered in closer. ‘I can already see some of those actually.’ She zeroed in on a grey strand and pulled it out, holding it up for Laurie’s inspection.
‘Aargh,’ Laurie said, wincing and swatting her friend away. ‘No decent hairdressers up north. So, go on, is it nice?’
‘The amber’s gorgeous,’ Siobhan said, ‘but the turquoise is beautiful too,’ as she lifted up a similar necklace with a smaller pendant.
‘Turquoise for Mum,’ Laurie said, smiling. ‘And the amber for you.’
After they’d finished their Christmas shopping Siobhan and Laurie collapsed on Siobhan’s sofa, watching
Serendipity
for what must have been the hundredth time. Siobhan had reasoned bad John Cusack in Christmastime New York trumped John Cusack in a decent film, so they’d put aside
Grosse Point Blank
to watch afterwards, to put the theory to the test. A tin of Quality Street was open between them, and brightly coloured wrappers littered the sofa and floor – purples and yellows on Laurie’s side, gold and greens on Siobhan’s. They were both immersed in the film when Siobhan’s mobile rang.
‘Hi,’ Siobhan answered. It must be Ed, Laurie thought, noticing the flirty tone Siobhan’s voice had taken. And judging by the way she was swiftly sweeping the sofa clear of chocolate wrappers, he was probably coming by.
‘That was Ed,’ Siobhan said, as she lay her mobile down on the coffee table. ‘Holy crap, he’s coming around, and he’s only five minutes away.’
Siobhan dashed to the bathroom. ‘Got to put some slap on,’ she said. ‘Stay and meet Ed,’ she called out, her voice echoing off the tiles. ‘You’ll like him,’ she said, poking her head out of the doorway. Laurie wasn’t sure – the men Siobhan had dated before were wafty, Tantric-sex enthusiasts who smelled of incense – in short, not Laurie’s idea of great company, and definitely not the kind of person she wanted to spend Christmas Eve with. But she owed it to Siobhan – and she’d said Ed was different.
The intercom buzzed and Siobhan let loose a tirade of swear words. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll let him in,’ Laurie called back. She tried to buzz Ed in, but he didn’t seem to be getting the door-pushing timing quite right. After a minute or so, he was quietly swearing as much as Siobhan had just been, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Laurie could hear his every word through the speaker.
‘I’ll go down and get him,’ Laurie said. ‘And you,’ she took in Siobhan’s silky dressing gown, ‘get some clothes on in the meantime.’
Downstairs, Laurie opened the front door to find Ed standing out in the cold, a black wool coat pulled tightly round him. He was hard to miss – over six foot, with broad shoulders and short dark hair, his cheeks wind-reddened. The feature you couldn’t miss, though, was a grin that seemed to stretch from one ear to the other.
‘Tough entry policy here,’ he joked, putting his hand out to greet Laurie. ‘I’m Ed. You must be Laurie. Nice to meet you.’ Laurie went to shake his hand, then kissed him on the cheek instead; it seemed more natural.
‘It’s good to meet you too. I’ve heard a lot about you.’ Laurie beckoned him in.
As she turned around to walk back into the hallway, she saw that Jay was behind her, on his way out. He looked from Laurie to Ed. Was Laurie imagining it, or did his face fall a little?
‘Merry Christmas,’ he said, and with a nod to Laurie and then to Ed, he headed out of the front door.
Siobhan passed Laurie a piping hot cup of mulled cider and she wrapped her mittened hands around it. The gospel choir had just started their carol service in the square by Brixton Town Hall and a big crowd had gathered. They broke into a searing rendition of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ that gave Laurie goosebumps. Lily was in the front row, singing her heart out. It was a crisp, clear evening – kids ran and danced in front of the choir, their parents tucked into mince pies, and the grannies and grandpas were out in force. Siobhan nudged her. ‘Worth getting off the sofa for, wasn’t it?’ Laurie nodded, and took a sip of warming cider. Ed put his arm around Siobhan and held her close.
OK, Ed was lovely. Laurie had to admit it. He seemed totally into Siobhan, laughed at all her crap jokes, and had even made Laurie feel like she wasn’t a gooseberry. On the walk down he’d entertained them both with stories about the kids he taught, and bought them both sparklers from a guy in the square.
Fireworks went off and the choir sang even louder. Laurie found herself joining in with the song – all this Christmas cheer was getting a bit contagious.
CHAPTER
35
Monday 25th December, Christmas Day
‘Look what I got,’ Zak said, emptying his stocking out on to his parents’ bed. It was 6.30 a.m. and Rachel groaned as she gradually woke up, then, seeing her son’s gleeful face, found a smile.
Inside Zak’s stocking, among the other small gifts, was a beetle that rattled across the floor in an alarmingly realistic fashion.
Later, over their breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, he showed it to his grandma.
‘Why, that’s
lovely
, darling,’ Bea said, smiling and then looking at Rachel with a raised eyebrow.
Aiden filled his mother’s plate high and passed it over to her. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘That’s a sight for sore eyes after all the hospital food, I can tell you,’ she laughed. In a red cardigan with a holly leaf brooch on it, Bea was a picture of health. She had managed to sneak her presents in and under the tree without Zak or Milly seeing.
They all took their cups of tea over to the sitting room area and cosied up under blankets. ‘Can I be postman?’ Zak said, standing tall in his blue pyjamas.
‘Yes,’ Aiden said, with a wink.
Zak delivered presents to all of them to open. Rachel opened one from Milly – a delicate green scarf. ‘It’s gorgeous,’ she said, holding it up. ‘Did you make this, Mills?’
‘I found the pattern in one of Laurie’s books,’ Milly said, with a modest shrug. ‘So do you like it, Mum?’
‘I love it,’ Rachel said, giving her a hug.
‘Aha!’ Bea exclaimed, as the paper fell away from the gift she was opening. She held up a DVD of
Out of Africa
. Aiden had bought it for her, thinking of the African memoir they’d read to her while she was in hospital. ‘It’s a fascinating story, this one.’
Bea looked as if she was about to say something, then paused. ‘It’s a funny thing, you giving me this, actually.’
‘Is it?’ Aiden said, puzzled.
‘Yes,’ Bea went on. ‘There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you all.’
The CD came to a stop. Everyone, even Zak, waited for Bea to continue.
‘When I was getting better in the hospital,’ Bea said, cradling her mug of tea – Rachel’s heart constricted as she recalled those dreadful moments when they’d been waiting for Bea to come out of her coma, wondering if she ever would – ‘I had some time to think. And seeing as I seem to be OK, I want to make the most of the time I have.’
‘The thing is,’ Bea continued, ‘while I’ve done a lot in my life that I’m proud of –’ one hand went, unconsciously, to touch the locket around her neck, which held a small photo of David, Aiden’s father, and looked over at her grandchildren, who were watching her with rapt attention – there are some things that David and I never got round to.’
Rachel felt confused. Bea had always seemed so content, going about her day-to-day tasks and caring for her grandchildren. She had her friends, and her bridge evenings, her activities in the community. It had never crossed Rachel’s mind that Bea might want anything more.
‘I want to go to Africa,’ Bea announced.
Aiden nearly spat out his mouthful of tea in shock. ‘You what, Mum?’ he said, sitting bolt upright.
‘I want to go on safari, with a tour group,’ she said, pulling a brochure out of her bag. Zak leapt up on to the sofa next to her and peered at the photos of lions and elephants. ‘Cool!’ he shouted out, looking up with a wide grin on his face.
Bea’s smile grew as wide as his as she pointed to photos of the African sunset and hippos in watering holes.
‘But, Mum,’ Aiden said. ‘You’re only just out of hospital – and the doctors said—’
‘Don’t worry,’ Bea said, waving away her son’s concerns. ‘I’m not going to head off this minute. But I was looking through this brochure.’ Rachel saw it was a Trailfinders one that had come through the cottage door weeks back. ‘I remember Diana saying she wanted to go after her husband left, but with the business doing so well she decided to wait. Well, I’ve got no work to worry about these days, and I’ve got some savings still. David and I always talked about travelling together –’ her eyes glinted with tears, but her smile remained – ‘but we ran out of time.’
‘I think David would be very proud of you doing it on your own,’ Rachel said, her own eyes welling up.
‘Me too, Granny. I think it’s a great idea,’ Milly added.
‘Well, if you insist,’ Aiden said, reluctantly. ‘But make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get better first. And please promise to be careful?’
‘Of course I will be,’ Bea said.
‘OK,’ Aiden said, hesitantly. ‘Well in that case, with all this news, I think it’s about time we cracked open some champagne to celebrate.’
He went over to the fridge and got out a bottle, letting the cork fly with a pop.
‘Four glasses this year, I think, don’t you?’ Rachel called out to Aiden, giving her daughter a wink. Milly smiled and gave her mum’s arm a squeeze.
‘Once a year, Mills,’ Aiden said, as he got the glasses out of the cupboard, ‘so don’t go getting any ideas.’
After lunch – a plump turkey together with all the delicious treats Laurie had made for them, the Murrays were lying slouched across the couches in the living room. Zak was acting out a charade, and, shielding his mouth with his hands, unsubtly whispering the answer to his grandma.
