The Christmas Spirit (6 page)

‘Can I help you?’ Natalie asked, her usual broad smile on
her face.

‘Yes, a latte and a slice of carrot cake,’ she barked,
without so much as a please.

Taken aback by her tone, Jacob raised an eyebrow at Natalie,
out of the woman’s line of sight.

Natalie smiled and said, ‘To go or to sit in?’

The woman regarded Natalie as if she was a cretin and said
with a hint of scorn, ‘To go,’ as if nothing could be further from her mind
than having her coffee and cake on the premises.

Not to be beaten, Natalie persisted. ‘I haven’t seen you in
here before.’

Rolling her eyes and irritated by the assistant’s
small-talk, she declared, ‘That’s because I’ve never been here before.’

‘Oh right, and you chose today, in this terrible weather to
give us your patronage for the first time. How nice of you.’

The woman narrowed her eyes at Natalie, then said, ‘Not by
choice, I assure you. My damned assistant called in sick with flu; useless
girl. She usually fetches my order.’

‘Ah, you mean Sophie,’ said Natalie, ‘Lovely girl, sorry to
hear she’s unwell. I hope she feels better soon.’

Cruella, or rather, Meredith, stared at her. How did this
woman know Sophie? Perhaps, she thought uncharitably, Sophie had been spending
more time than she should in the café.

‘Yes, well, she’ll be back tomorrow.’

‘Oh nothing serious, then. That’s a relief.’

‘I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but we have a big
presentation tomorrow, so she’ll be in if she wants to keep her job.’ Meredith
dropped the coins on the counter when Natalie mentioned how much it was and
without waiting for her change, stalked off.

‘I can’t believe Cruella was here!’ said Jacob, as they
watched Meredith’s figure retreat down the street. ‘Charming, wasn’t she?
Sophie wasn’t wrong there, then.’

‘Ah, it’s not always that simple,’ Natalie said sagely. ‘An
angry and unhappy woman. Who would like to be her?’

‘Not me, that’s for sure,’ said Jacob.

‘So, are you going to help me eat this Bundt cake, then?’
Natalie arched an eyebrow at Jacob, her cake slice at the ready.

‘Why not? They’re hardly beating a path to our door, and Mr
Winters enjoyed it.’

‘Ah, he was just being kind. Lovely old man. I think he’s
lonely. His wife died earlier this year. Christmas must be a hard time for
him.’

‘That’s a shame and yes, I imagine it won’t be easy for him
this year. Does he have any family?’

‘I didn’t get that far. One of the elderly ladies mentioned
it in passing just after he left last time.’

They sat down to eat their cake and drink their tea, both
hoping Stanley would go to the club and find some company.

Meredith sat back down at her desk, fuming.
Bloody girl, and flavour of the month over at the bakery
.
She barely tasted her carrot cake; she was so wound up. Afterwards, she
remembered the array of delicious cakes in the bakery and resolved that
occasionally she would go herself. It would give Sophie time to fax something
or print off another report. She, Meredith, could get out of the office and
stretch her legs, choose one of the other cakes. She scarcely had time to
remember her own name most days, never mind spend ten minutes deliberating over
which cake to choose. She could have and perhaps should have sent one of her
other minions out to get her order, but the truth was, she hated delegating.
She only trusted Sophie to do things right. Meredith continued to batter the
keys on her laptop as if they were her mortal enemy until her receptionist
announced her final meeting of the day.

6th December

Sophie felt terrible. Her whole body felt like it had gone
into shutdown. She could barely move yet that bitch, Meredith, had made it
quite clear she had better be there for the presentation today. She was much
worse than yesterday but she couldn’t afford to lose her job, so she dragged
herself out of bed, stood under a hot shower for a good twenty minutes and then
applied enough makeup so that she couldn’t be mistaken for someone in their
death throes.

‘I see you’ve graced us with your presence,’ Meredith said
sarcastically, turning on her heel, expecting Sophie to follow. Sophie shot
Meredith a look which could have killed her if she’d turned around.

As Sophie took off her coat, Meredith barked instructions at
her. Generally Sophie was like a sponge and could absorb multiple details with
ease, but today she was fuzzy and her brain felt woolly. She had difficulty
just functioning, yet Meredith was doing her usual, rat-a-tatting orders at
her. She felt like telling her to
f** * off
, but
stopped herself just in time, but oh how satisfying it would be. If only she
didn’t need this job...

Stanley stood outside the old folks’ home, unsure, now that
he was here, that he would be brave enough to go in. He was a shy man really,
and what if they were all nuts? What if it was full of people with mental
illness and degenerative diseases? Naturally he felt for them, but he wasn’t at
that stage. He didn’t want to go to use the toilet and find a woman sitting
with the door open and her pants around her ankles. His decision was soon made
for him as Cathy, the fundraiser, arrived behind him and said, ‘Here for the
club, are we? Good stuff. In you go, you’ll have a great time. Angus and George
will be there already, if I’m not mistaken; always the early birds.’

Stanley stood, his mouth agape, then meekly preceded Cathy
into the building. She ushered him down a corridor until they entered a large,
airy room, with a vaulted ceiling. The building had originally been listed and
had previously belonged to the church. True enough, two men sat playing cards;
rummy.

‘This is Angus,’ Cathy said, indicating a portly gentleman
of around seventy wearing a heavy cable knit navy sweater and grey trousers.

‘Hello,’ Angus raised his hand in greeting, careful to
shield his cards from them all.

‘And this is George.’ Cathy pointed out the other man, who
wore an immaculate white shirt with a chocolate coloured waistcoat, and
trousers of a slightly lighter shade. The most notable feature about him was
his enormous handlebar moustache, which gave him the air of a sergeant major.

‘Nice to meet you.’ George shook his hand; such a firm grip,
Stanley noticed.

‘I’m Stanley,’ he almost whispered, then louder, ‘Stanley
Winters.’

‘Winters, is it? That’s a great name for now, with all this
snow.’ George let out a hearty laugh.

Stanley smiled, ‘Aye, it is.’

‘So, do you play rummy?’ Angus asked him.

‘It’s been a while, but I did play, back in the day.’

‘When was the day?’ cackled George, easily amused.

‘I often ask myself that, but I think I’ve decided now is
the day.’

‘Oh, this should be interesting. Were you any good?’ asked
Angus.

‘I wasn’t bad,’ Stanley admitted. ‘Above average.’

‘Oh well, we like a bit of competition here, don’t we,
George?’

‘Aye, we do that. Sorry, just a sec. Have to get important
matters sorted first. Cathy?’ George beckoned her over. ‘What’s for lunch
today?’

‘It’s pea or lentil soup and then roast beef Stirlingshire
with roast potatoes, parsnips and baby carrots, or gammon steak, pineapple and
fried egg.’

‘Ooh, I do like the roast beef,’ Angus licked his lips.

‘Yes, but they don’t serve the food hot enough for my
liking,’ George grumbled.

‘Well, at least they’re heating the plates up now, as per
your request,’ Angus pointed out.

‘Small mercies,’ George conceded.

‘The food’s good,’ Angus divulged, ‘But I agree with George,
I’d like it a bit warmer. We think someone sued them in the past for burning
their tongue on their lunch.’ Angus laughed at his own comment.

‘Aye,’ said George. ‘It was probably on Scotland Today -
pensioner burns tongue
.’ The pair of them had a fit of the
giggles, as Stanley looked on, bemused.

‘So, Stanley, tell us a wee bit about yourself before the
others arrive. We like to be in the know.’

Happy to have made two acquaintances already, Stanley
settled back in his chair and shared a few snippets of his life with the two
men.

Bustling around, trying to get everything ready for the
club, Cathy came into the hall and saw that the three men were deep in
conversation. As she’d been asked, Cathy dialled the number she’d been given,
waited for the person on the other end to pick up, then introduced herself and
said, ‘Stanley’s here and I think he’s going to be just fine.’

Natalie thanked Cathy, replaced the receiver, and allowed
herself a Cheshire Cat-like smile.

Fortunately the presentation went exceptionally well. Sophie
somehow held her part together, even though she felt she might faint at any
minute, and by the end of the meeting contracts had been verbally agreed. For
some in this business a handshake was enough; with others weeks passed waiting
for approvals to go through. Sophie couldn’t fault Meredith’s presentation, as
Meredith couldn’t fault Sophie’s research. They would achieve so much more if
Meredith wasn’t such a control freak, an out-and-out bitch, and if she actually
valued her. If she didn’t thank her for today and for coming in when she
clearly wasn’t fit to work, Sophie was looking for a new job come the New Year.

She was happy to be sent out to the bakery today for two
reasons, not least that she wanted to get away from Meredith. As she walked the
short distance from the office, Sophie thought with a smile of the other
reason.

A woman with a buggy was struggling to open the door to Sugar
and Spice when Sophie arrived.

‘I’ll get that for you,’ she said, going ahead of the woman,
opening the door and giving her baby boy a big smile and a
hello
handsome
, as they passed her. 

It was such a relief to be out of the office and Sophie was
glad the presentation was over. Everything for months had been building up to
it and now they had won the contract. If Meredith was a normal boss, they’d be
cracking open the champagne and celebrating. But all Meredith did was tell her
to go to the bakery, although unusually she had asked for caramel shortcake -
deviating from her habitual carrot cake.

Maybe she’s lightening up - yeah, right
.

Jacob smiled when he saw Sophie come in. He had been
wondering if she was better, as he enjoyed talking to her and was keen to let
her know he’d met Cruella. When she turned to face the counter, he almost
gasped. She looked terrible. Her eyes were sunken, had dark shadows under
them, and she was wheezing.

‘I heard you were sick. You don’t sound better to me,’ Jacob
said to Sophie, concern apparent in his voice.

‘I’m not, I feel dreadful, but we had this really important
presentation today and I wasn’t able to get out of it.’

‘Can I take it Cruella made you come in?’

‘Yes, did you meet her? Lovely, isn’t she?’ Sophie coughed
into a handkerchief. ‘Sorry, I’ll be out of here as quick as I can,’ she said,
seeing the worried glance from the mother with the baby.

‘She was quite something,’ Jacob agreed, ‘Charm personified.
It was clear she missed you,’ he said loyally.

‘I’ll bet. More like she missed her gopher.’

‘That’s probably true,’ said Jacob. ‘She really is a piece
of work, a nasty woman altogether.’

‘Anyway, what did you to do to her? She’s asked for caramel
shortcake instead of her usual carrot cake.’

‘Nothing. I didn’t speak to her. It was Natalie who dealt
with her.’

‘Well, I don’t know what she said or did to her, but the
fact she’s ordered something different is proof she can change. Where’s
Natalie? Can you ask her to talk to her again? Maybe Meredith will stop being a
bitch!’

‘I don’t think her powers are that far-reaching,’ Jacob
laughed, ‘but I’ll let her know about the positive impact she’s had on
Meredith’s ability to choose cakes.’

‘Do, please. This is a real breakthrough,’ Sophie said, as
Jacob handed her the cakes and Sophie took out her purse. ‘OK, better get back
to it, see you on Monday, unless Cruella has me in over the weekend. God, I
hope not.’

‘Get some rest, and hope you feel better. See you Monday,’
Jacob called after her as Sophie left the bakery.

Thank God that’s over
, thought
Meredith, breathing a sigh of relief. Sophie had come through for her, as she’d
known she would. She knew the girl looked awful and she had told Sophie to
touch up her makeup before the presentation started, to try to hide the dark
circles around her eyes. She couldn’t have her in the boardroom resembling
someone from The Corpse Bride. And that terrible cough - well, she had an awful
cough, too, but she managed to hide it, so she’d warned her to minimise the
coughing.

The Xanders board had lapped up everything she had told
them, and she had known they would award her company the contract by the time
she had reached slide three. She really did leave nothing to chance. What she lacked
in her personal life, she made up for in her professional one. She’d buy a more
expensive bottle of wine tonight to celebrate. The adrenalin coursing through
her veins made her feel temporarily better. Sophie wasn’t the only one who was
feeling unwell.

Meredith picked up her mobile and rang Amelia’s number.  She
liked to keep her sister appraised of her success.

7th December

‘Are you sure this is the address?’ Hannah asked Rebecca,
eyeing the building uncertainly. Piles of rubbish lay outside; clearly the bin
men hadn’t been for a few weeks. An old car with stuffing coming out of its
leather seats lay at one end of the front garden, and four cats, no five,
swaggered around the outside of the building as if staking claim to it.

Rebecca was terrified of cats. ‘I can’t go in there. We’ll
have to phone and cancel.’

‘Somehow I don’t think it was going to be for you, anyway,’
Hannah soothed her rattled friend.

They drove immediately round to the next viewing, which was
an open house. A few other viewers milled around, murmuring to each other about
what they liked and disliked. At least this one didn’t look scary at first
sight. Yes, it would need a little TLC, but for the most part it ticked all the
boxes, i.e. it was under £500 a month, was furnished, and was relatively clean.
The view out to the bing wasn’t the most attractive, mind you.

The next property initially seemed OK, but then Rebecca
noticed an odd smell. As she sat on the sofa, she noticed something flutter
past her feet. A moth? She couldn’t stand moths. Hannah lifted up one of the
sofa cushions. It was riddled with dead moths. Rebecca ran out of the house.
Hannah found her throwing up into a patch of snow.

‘How can these properties be so misrepresented online? Not
one of them is habitable.’

‘Well, the one before the moth-infested one was OK.’ Hannah
tried to be fair.

‘Don’t. Don’t mention this visit again, ever, or I might be
sick again.’

The next property was in the centre of town, so Rebecca
parked her Citroen Saxo, and she and Hannah climbed the stairs to the second
floor flat. It was a new build, higher in price than she had hoped to go, but
after this morning’s nightmares, Rebecca was prepared to view anything, even
stately homes and castles.

The rooms were small, but clean and brand new. Rebecca
couldn’t say she’d warmed to the place the way she had her own flat. It was
neutral, so she’d be able to put her own stamp on it, although if she did go
ahead with renting it, she’d have to ask in advance if she’d be allowed to
modify anything. Most landlords, she understood, were happy to let you decorate
or remodel as long as you put things back the way they were originally, before
you moved out, or if you were improving the property.

Deciding she had had enough for one morning and since they
were in the centre of town anyway, Rebecca suggested to Hannah that they nip
into Sugar and Spice to try one of the cakes.

‘Seriously, they’re to die for and there’s a sweet guy
there, who’s right up your street.’

‘Sweet,’ said the unattached Hannah, ‘Does that mean he’s as
ugly as sin?’

‘Not at all, the exact opposite, quite a hunk.’

‘Lead the way.’ Hannah pushed her friend forwards, promise
of a good-looking man apparently reason enough for her.

As they entered the bakery, Rebecca saw that it was much
busier than during the week, the café was full, not a single free table. Just
as she turned to head back out, wondering where else they could go that wasn’t
too far a walk, she heard a voice say, ‘Table number five’s free now,’ and turning,
she saw the boy from the other day smiling at her.

‘Thanks,’ she grinned at him. ‘Hannah, over by the window.
That couple’s just leaving.’

Hannah nabbed the table, whilst Rebecca headed over to grab
a menu, as she saw that the one on their table was missing.

‘Do you have a menu?’ she asked Jacob.

‘Sure. So you live and work round here?’ he asked.

‘Yes, well, for now,’ she said ruefully. Who knew what would
happen once she had to sell her share of the flat to Ethan? He’d texted her the
other night asking how the flat hunting was going.
Giving me
plenty of time to move, my arse
.

‘Ah, it’s just I’ve noticed the Saturday crowd is different
to the people we see during the week.’

‘Right,’ said Rebecca, unsure where this was heading. ‘We’ll
just have a quick look at the menu and we’ll be ready to order soon.’

‘No problem. Take your time.’

The longer she stays in the café the
better
, thought Jacob. She looked different today, not dressed for work,
but still very elegant in slim black trousers, a white fluffy jumper and black
ankle boots. This trend of oversized boots costing hundreds of pounds, which
had cropped up in the past few years, had never appealed to him, plus Jacob
thought it made all the girls look the same. Rebecca’s style was original and
he liked it.

‘Here’s the menu. There are loads of cakes listed on it, but
to be honest, you’re better just to go up and see for yourself,’ Rebecca told
Hannah, as she swept her hair back from her face, where it had fallen over her
eyes when she bent down to pick up her bag.

They chose their drinks and Rebecca told Hannah she wanted
an Empire biscuit, ‘Makes me feel like I’m back at school, but these Empire
biscuits are nothing like the stodgy ones we had there.’

‘You’ve no class,’ her friend chided. ‘I was going to go for
a
pain au raisin
, but I think I’m going to go for the
Cake of the Day.’

‘Ooh, what’s that? I didn’t see that,’ Rebecca said, peering
at the menu.

‘No, I saw it up on the blackboard there, under Specials.’

‘Oh right.’ Rebecca squinted to read, as she wasn’t wearing
her contact lenses. She could drive fine without her contacts, but reading
small print was a bit of a challenge.

‘
Stollen
. Ah, German Christmas
cake. Oh yeah, I’m definitely having that, then. I can have an Empire biscuit
anytime.’

Rebecca went up to place their order and then sat down to
analyse the morning’s events.

‘So what are you going to do?’ Hannah asked her.

‘The only one that’s even a possible is the new build, but
it’s the top end of, if not over, my budget, and tiny.’

‘And how many more are on your list?’

‘Two more this afternoon and that’s about it unless I want
to change area. I don’t.’

‘And have you talked to Ethan?’ Hannah asked, as she rotated
a coaster between her middle finger and thumb.

‘No, just by text. He’s prepared to buy me out if I want him
to, otherwise we put it on the market.’

‘And what about all your stuff?’

‘I’m putting off that conversation for as long as possible.’
Rebecca was tearful; it wouldn’t be a pleasant task.

Jacob brought over their order, sat it down on the table, and
said, ‘Is there anything else I can get you, ladies?’

Ladies
, thought Rebecca,
what a charmer! But he’s a nice guy
.

‘How about a decent flat in this area?’ Rebecca asked.

Momentarily taken aback, Jacob recovered saying, ‘How many
bedrooms?’

‘One or two.’

‘Any other requirements?’ he mimicked estate agent speak.

‘Parking, a shower and it’s to rent, not buy.’

‘Well, I don’t know of any, but I’ll keep my ear to the
ground for you.’

‘Thanks,’ Rebecca said.
He’s just being
nice
.

Rebecca and Hannah discussed her separation from Ethan in
hushed tones whilst they ate their
stollen
and drank
their coffees.

Natalie watched the girls from a distance and thought happily
to herself that all was on schedule.

The blare of a horn woke Meredith from a deep slumber next
morning. She’d only fallen asleep properly around four. So much for
celebrating. When she had arrived home the night before, after picking up a
bottle of
Barbera d’Alba
reserve, she felt much worse
than earlier. She was shivering and somehow she didn’t think it was solely down
to the minus temperatures outside. Damn, she’d better not have flu; there was
too much to do.

She had phoned out for a Chinese - she couldn’t face making
anything, no matter if it only required pinging in the microwave. Anyway, she
needed comfort food and she was celebrating, so why not? To try to heat herself
up, she took a shower, but although it helped at the time, within half an hour
she was freezing again. She ate little of the Chinese and drank only half a glass
of wine before calling it a night and going to bed, first throwing a second
duvet on top.

About an hour after going to bed, the second duvet had been
thrown off and Meredith had eventually thrown off the other duvet, leaving
herself only partially covered by a thin sheet - her body bathed in sweat.
Dragging herself out of bed, she made herself a lemon drink with paracetamol
before seeking refuge under the covers once more, where she’d tossed and turned
for hours.

Meredith opened her eyes with difficulty; her eyelids seemed
to be stuck together, her throat felt dry and her breathing was raspy.
Gradually she pulled herself up to a sitting position. Christ, she felt awful.
She’d never felt this bad before. Bloody flu. Just as well she had nothing
urgent to do today, and it was Saturday. Thank God the presentation had been
yesterday. Meredith managed to make it to the bathroom before a coughing fit
overtook her. She must have what Sophie had. Bloody girl. It didn’t occur to
her that it was her own fault for telling Sophie she had to come in.

After making herself a cup of tea, Meredith went back to
bed. Within minutes she was asleep again; the tea lay untouched on the bedside
cabinet.