‘I’ll drive,’ she said to Paddy. She needed to feel in control of as many situations as possible, even if it was only a drive to find the right tree. As she steered the jeep over the churned-up frozen ground they were jolted from side to side. ‘The mud is like rock, it’s so cold out there,’ she said to a nodding Paddy.
‘The bright blue sky is fantastic, though. Once I see that, I feel I can keep going,’ he said wistfully. ‘We’ll find a way to get through this, Holly,’ he vowed, and patted her hand. ‘Nothing is ever hopeless.’
Holly wished she could share his optimism but she’d never been able to see the world in as clear a light as her husband, much as she’d tried.
‘Here’s the tree I spotted. What do you think?’ she asked, happy to change the subject.
‘Well, it’s a fine specimen but I’d have to chop the whole thing down if we want it. Why aren’t we topping one of the bigger ones like usual?’
‘How on earth are you going to scale a large tree while manoeuvring the chainsaw by yourself?’ Holly asked. ‘And I want it in the stand today. I need to keep my mind off all my worries. Come what may, Christmas is on the way and we need to make this one count.’
‘All right, love.’ He pulled on his gloves and hat and hauled the chainsaw from the boot.
‘It’s still a good sixteen feet high so it’ll be glorious in the hall,’ Holly said, rubbing her hands together. ‘It’s so cold! That wind would cut you in half.’
‘Stand back and keep the dogs to the side while I fell this creature.’
As it crashed to the ground, Scott pulled up alongside them. ‘G’day,’ he said, getting out and walking towards them. ‘How’s it going? I called into the house and Sadie said you were up here. Let me give you a hand there, Paddy,’ he said, grabbing some of the lower branches of the tree. ‘Hefty bugger. Beautiful, but …’ He yanked the tree into the back of the jeep and helped Paddy secure it with rope. ‘Can I follow you back to the house and give you a lift out with it?’
‘That’d be brilliant, Scott. Then I can get going with decorating it.’ Holly was looking happier by the second.
‘I’ll take those two back, unless you’re planning on having them on your laps in the front?’ Scott said to Paddy, as the dogs jumped around his feet.
‘Thanks. I rather not do the journey inhaling dog breath!’
The mood in the jeep was decidedly less strained on the way back to the house. Holly pulled up at the front door and hopped out.
‘I’ll give you a shout once we have this tree in the stand,’ Paddy promised. ‘I’ll do it out here, and then we can haul it inside.’
‘I’ll find the right boxes and see if Sadie and I can get the lights working.’ Holly disappeared around the side of the house.
The sound of the oil truck crunching along the main driveway made Holly stop in her tracks. ‘Hello,’ she said, waving to the driver. ‘That was quick,’ she said, as he rolled down his window.
‘I was in the area and the orders aren’t exactly coming in thick and fast at the moment,’ he said. ‘I’d enough on board for you so here I am.’
‘You know where the tank is at the side, don’t you?’
‘Yup.’ He handed her a docket from his delivery book.
‘I’ll write you a cheque and meet you there,’ she promised.
She hadn’t had time to sit and work it all out cent for cent, but as she went into the house, Holly hoped she’d left enough funds to cover Christmas.
Sadie appeared, pink-faced.
‘All right?’ Holly was puzzled. ‘You look like you’ve been on a treadmill since we were gone.’
‘I had a sudden burst of energy so I took advantage and got a few jobs done. Did you get the tree at all?’
‘Yes and a beauty it is too. The men are putting it in the stand out front. Remind me to get Paddy to pop a bucket under the trunk, won’t you? If I can’t water the poor thing it’ll die. And thanks for sending Scott to help.’ Holly was rooting in her handbag for her cheque book. ‘The oil man has just arrived so I’ll pay him and maybe you’d give me a hand with the decorating,’ she called over her shoulder as she went back out to pay.
‘Right you are, love.’
When the oil man had gone, Holly dragged the boxes of decorations into the hall where Sadie was directing Scott and Paddy through the front door. ‘Over to the right a bit or you’ll skin the paint off the skirting board,’ she instructed. ‘I’m like the sat-nav here.’ She grinned at Holly. ‘You weren’t exaggerating when you said you’d picked a fine one this year. It’s magnificent, Holly.’
‘It never looked that big when it was against the backdrop of the sky!’ Holly giggled. ‘It’s really huge, isn’t it?’ she said, with her hands on her hips. ‘Oh, Sadie, look at the fire you’ve lit! All we’re missing now is a bit of Christmassy music. I’ll go and grab the CD player.’
As she went into the living room, Holly saw that a fire was roaring in the hearth there too. No wonder poor Sadie looked like she’d run a marathon. She’d gone around trying to heat the freezing house while they were out. Holly didn’t know if she’d overheard her conversation with Paddy earlier, but either way she had taken it upon herself to make the place more comfortable.
Holly picked up the CD player, then rushed back to the hallway, closing the living-room door to keep the heat in. As the children weren’t around, she’d keep the central heating off until they needed it. The kitchen was warmed by the Aga and if they kept the fires stoked in the hall and living room, they’d stretch the oil.
‘Mighty job there, Paddy, good on ya,’ Scott said, pumping his hand as Holly plugged in the music. ‘That’s what I call a real tree, eh, mate?’
‘Thanks for your help,’ Paddy answered. ‘Come in and have a cuppa, why don’t you?’
‘Cheers, I will.’
‘Did you remember to put the bucket under the trunk?’ Holly asked.
‘Yes, dear. It’s all done,’ Paddy said patiently.
‘Well, then, I don’t mean to be rude but I can’t wait another second to start decorating the tree,’ Holly said.
‘You get going there, pet, and I’ll give these men a cup of tea in the kitchen,’ Sadie offered. ‘Then I’ll be back to help.’
As she shooed the men away, Holly felt a rush of love for Sadie. She was always there for her and the family.
By the time she’d taken the decorations she wanted out of the boxes and found the white lights she needed, Paddy, Scott and Sadie had returned.
‘We’ll get the lights up and the high decorations done, and leave you to spend hours fussing over the details,’ Paddy said, as Scott set up the stepladder.
‘I’ll do the climbing,’ Scott volunteered, and shinned up the stepladder. ‘I’m steady now. Pass the lights up, Paddy,’ he called down.
‘Over a bit more … Don’t just dump them all in one bunch on the left,’ Holly interjected anxiously. ‘It needs to look natural when it’s lit, with well-distributed lights.’
‘It’s hardly going to look the way nature intended by the time you’re finished dumping fairies and balls and God knows what on the poor beggar,’ Scott shouted down with a grin.
He and Paddy were a good team. Within a short time they had the tree lit to Holly’s satisfaction.
‘Should we put one more set towards the bottom right-hand side?’ she wondered.
‘No!’ the men chorused in unison. Paddy held the front door open and Scott ran through with the ladder under his arm before she could change her mind.
Most of the decorations were up and the tree was looking gorgeous when Holly exclaimed, ‘Look, Sadie, it’s the box of homemade ones from when the children were small.’ Turning the first one over, she looked inside the cardboard toilet-roll insert. ‘Lainey age 4’. The cotton wool was more than a little matted, the cardboard sagging, and Santa was down to one bobbly eye, but he was still just about recognisable. Holly placed him on the tree, then fished out an equally dishevelled snowman with Joey�
��s name written in bockety childish scrawl. His head had come off several times over the years and was being kept in place now by a threading of wire.
Pippa had always had a fixation with paper chains. Holly had kept her quiet for hours by cutting strips of anything from old wallpaper to Christmas wrapping. Her little fingers would deftly entwine the strips into chains. An entire box housed yards of them. They were faded in parts, but still much loved. Each year Holly insisted on starting at the top and winding them the whole way around the tree. She’d no doubt that Pippa would turn up over the next few days and grumble about how embarrassing it was to have them there and how crappy they were. But Holly didn’t care.
‘Look, here’s the angel Mum made with Lainey,’ Holly said. The year Joey was born a disgruntled five-year-old Lainey had been coaxed away from her exhausted mother by the ‘angel project’ with her grandma.
‘Come, and we’ll do a little more work on her,’ Maggie used to say, holding her hand out for Lainey to take. They’d made the body out of clay, baking it in the oven to harden it. Several vitally important trips had followed: one to the haberdasher to find scraps of white tulle and lace to make her dress, another to the wool shop to buy the angel some hair just like Lainey’s. The poor thing mightn’t have looked quite so kooky if Lainey hadn’t insisted on making her head out of a ping-pong ball.
‘Don’t laugh when you see it,’ Maggie had warned Holly. ‘I tried to encourage her to use something else but she was having none of it.’
The angel had ended up looking like a mutant boiled egg.
Holly might have considered making it mysteriously disappear but every time Lainey clapped eyes on it she glowed with pride.
The first year Paddy had climbed the ladder with little Lainey on his shoulders so she could ‘stick the tree up the angel’s frock’, as Grandma had delicately put it.
‘She’s as unfortunate-looking as she was the day they made her,’ Holly said now, and giggled with Sadie.
‘She is sort of hideous, God bless her,’ Sadie said, and laughed.
‘Oh, God, I do miss Mum,’ Holly sighed.
‘Me too,’ Sadie said gently. ‘But we’ll have a good Christmas as usual, won’t we?’ She raised an eyebrow.
‘Of course,’ Holly said, as she gathered the empty decoration boxes and stacked them.
‘Did you think of inviting Scott at all? We’d do worse than have him to look at,’ Sadie said with a wink.
‘You’re awful!’ Holly laughed. ‘He’s young enough to be your grandson.’
‘True, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the view!’
‘You’re a bad girl underneath that angelic exterior,’ Holly teased. ‘I’ll invite him along with Jacob and Cynthia and their son. I’d say there won’t be a massive amount of Christmas cheer next door. The more the merrier!’ Holly snatched up the boxes to move them out of the way. ‘Just inhale that pine scent. Isn’t it gorgeous?’
‘Yes, indeed. It’s making my nose very happy,’ Sadie replied.
By the time darkness fell that evening, Huntersbrook House had begun its transformation into a Christmas wonderland. Both sides of the impressive double doors between the hall and the living room were encased in greenery, and so were both fireplaces. Paddy had dutifully gone outside and come back with a huge pile of sticks, which they’d poked into the swags to make them more lifelike. The little birds were like tiny twinkling finches. Dozens of white lights poked out at intervals, illuminating the silver glitter that Holly had carefully shaken over the artificial foliage.
‘I’ll head off home now, if that’s all right with you?’ Sadie asked.
‘Of course. Thank you for helping me today,’ Holly said, hugging her. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’
‘I’d be a lost soul without you too, my dear,’ Sadie said, patting her hand.
As Holly threw another log onto the fire in the hallway, Paddy came to join her. He put his arms around her and they stood mesmerised by the spectacle of the tree. Holly leaned her head against his chest and smiled. She had a lot to be thankful for, she knew that. But she wished she could get them through the financial crisis that was threatening to change their lives for ever.
Feeling Paddy’s strong arm around her, she felt guilty for being so short with him earlier on. She wouldn’t trade him for any other. He would never be Richard Branson, but he was the kindest and most supportive man she’d ever met.
If they lost Huntersbrook House, the fault would lie with herself, not Paddy. She was the one her mother had trusted to keep it in the family. She was the one who was hurtling swiftly towards failure. There was nobody to blame but herself.
Sorrow, guilt and regret washed over her, but she had to remember to count her blessings. If her worst fears were realised and she had to sell Huntersbrook, would Paddy and the children hate her? The children were all grown up now. They would make their own way in the world, God willing. And Holly hoped more than anything that Paddy would always love her the way he did today. No matter where they ended up living.
14
The Sounds of Christmas
Lainey was really looking forward to her Saturday night out. She’d never been to a concert at the O2 and she was feeling good about her new outfit. She had to hand it to her younger sister, Pippa knew her fashion.
Examining herself in the mirror, Lainey felt both nervous and delighted. Jules had offered her a bed for the night but Lainey said she’d prefer to go home. ‘I’ll gladly take you up on the offer for the night of the work Christmas party, but I’m going to pop down to Wicklow tomorrow so I’ll head back to my flat.’
‘Sure, Lainz,’ Jules had said. ‘Whatever you prefer.’
She hadn’t been to the hairdresser for ages, so Lainey’s normally short hair had grown a little, softening her previously boyish look. With a bit of makeup, she had to admit she felt a damn sight better than before.
A text from Jules helped her relax during the taxi ride: Text when you get here and I’ll meet u outside the bar so u don’t have to walk in on ur own. C u soon!
She answered: Thank u! Will do. Ur a star!
It was so long since she’d been in this position – going out and meeting new people. Seth hadn’t been a concert-goer. He’d had a boys’ night every Friday but he’d discouraged her from going out when he wasn’t there. She’d comforted herself with the thought that he loved her so much that he couldn’t bear to share her. But in hindsight she couldn’t help wondering if he was merely trying to control her.
As the driver approached the concert venue, Lainey texted Jules. ‘There’s a lot of ladies around tonight,’ the taxi driver said with a grin. ‘Mr Bublé certainly knows how to draw a crowd.’ She agreed, paid him, then began to walk towards the bar where she and Jules were to meet. A moment later, she spotted her friend.
‘Lainz!’ Jules was trotting towards her on pencil-thin high heels. ‘Hi! You look great, come on and meet some super-cool people.’ She hugged Lainey and kissed her on both cheeks.
‘Thanks,’ Lainey said. ‘You look great too.’
Jules was certainly attracting plenty of attention kitted out in her gold-sequined hot-pants with a matching bra and see-through black blouse, her signature killer heels and fishnet tights.
‘I’m in Kylie-meets-Madonna mode, circa 1986,’ she said. ‘Let’s grab a glass of wine and I’ll bring you over to meet the troops.’
Lainey had to employ every shred of poker face she possessed as she concentrated on not staring at one of the people standing in the group Jules had led her to. ‘Manus, Lori, Anna, Carrie, this is Lainz,’ Jules announced.
‘Hiya!’ they cried in unison.
The girls all looked ordinary enough. Manus, though, stood out.
Built like a tank, he sported a ponytail, full beard, tattoos, thick biker boots and what appeared to be a vintage wedding gown. ‘All right. How’s it going?’ he asked, holding out his fingerless-gloved hand for her to shake.
‘Hello,’ sh
e said, trying not to sound like a disapproving headmistress.
‘I’m Manus and this is my wife Lorraine,’ he said, obviously comfortable to play the role of man and introduce people. Even if he did look deranged.
Lorraine was a little twinkly Tinkerbell in pale pink tulle. ‘Lovely to meet you,’ she chirped. ‘Jules has told us all about you.’
‘Good to meet you too,’ Lainey said, gulping her white wine wishing it was brandy.
Anna towered above them all in a black catsuit, which left nothing to the imagination. She oozed sex appeal. She stepped forward, grasped Lainey’s hand and shook it firmly.
Carrie was quiet and dowdy in a blouse the colour of a plaster with mammy-style jeans and battered suede ankle boots. As she sipped her drink, which was an alarming shade of blue with a stripy straw, she waved vaguely. Lainey waved back.
‘So are you ready for Mr Smoothie, then?’ Lorraine asked.
‘Eh, yes,’ Lainey managed, as she downed the rest of her wine.
‘I’m not mad about him, but the tickets were free and I can fake it for the night,’ Jules said.
‘Well, Lorraine is totally obsessed with him, aren’t you?’ Manus said, smiling.
‘I’m probably going to faint the minute he comes on stage,’ she admitted.
‘It’s a lovely way to kick off the Christmas season, isn’t it?’ Lainey said. ‘Can I get you all another drink?’
‘We’re fine, thanks,’ they said, waving their hands over their glasses.
‘Jules?’ Lainey asked.
‘Ah, go on, then. I’ll have one more glass of wine too. We’ll probably need to head inside then. It’s a seated concert and I hate stumbling around in the dark, don’t you?’
A passing bartender took their order so Lainey had to stay standing next to bridal Manus.
‘Look at the state of him!’ a passer-by said loudly, pointing and laughing.
Lainey caught Manus’s eye. He didn’t seem in the least bit bothered.
Driving Home for Christmas Page 15