‘How?’ Paddy asked, clearly puzzled.
‘I just float around with my head in the clouds, acting as if everything is wonderful,’ she berated herself, ‘and the whole family does the same thing. Nobody faces facts. Sophia is a selfish cow. She can’t stand us and the feeling is mutual. Why have we pretended all this time?’
‘Because she’s Joey’s girlfriend,’ Paddy stated.
‘Well, he might consider getting rid of her if he knows we all think she’s a horror.’
‘She’s not my first choice of partner for him. Nobody’s arguing with you there, love,’ Paddy said. ‘But it’s up to Joey who he goes out with. He’s twenty-five, love. He doesn’t live at home. He has to make his own mistakes.’
Holly threw her arms into the air and exhaled noisily. Things needed to change in the family. So much hurt and resentment had been bubbling away for far too long. Her mother had as good as disappeared and none of them really talked about it. But, more than that, things had never been right between herself and Lainey. Maybe it was down to her sense of impending doom, with the family’s future at Huntersbrook in the balance, but Holly was tired of hiding her feelings. She didn’t want them to turn into people who vented their spleen publicly, like they did on those American chat shows, but there was more than one issue that they needed to address openly.
As they turned off the motorway towards the road leading to Huntersbrook, she decided that the time for burying their feelings was running out. They needed to make some changes – soon.
‘Let’s have a nice cup of tea and fill Sadie in on what’s happened with Joey and Pippa,’ she suggested.
As they sipped their tea and ate slices of Sadie’s delicious fruitcake, Holly and Paddy brought Sadie up to date on Joey and Pippa’s misfortunes.
‘My goodness, that’s worse than an episode of EastEnders,’ Sadie exclaimed.
‘You couldn’t make it up,’ Paddy agreed.
‘The taxi driver sounds like a right lunatic,’ Sadie added.
‘Indeed he was. Pippa got a terrible fright. At least her new flatmate Skye was there to help her,’ Paddy said.
‘Blessed,’ Sadie agreed. ‘And tell me about poor Joey.’
‘He’s had an awful fall,’ Paddy said, and described Joey’s injuries.
‘He must’ve fallen very awkwardly to do all that damage.’ Sadie tutted in shock.
‘I need to get the smell of hospital off my skin,’ Holly said suddenly, scraping her chair back and standing up.
‘There should be plenty of hot water. The Aga’s been pumping away all morning and I haven’t used any water for floors or anything like that,’ Sadie said.
‘Right …’ Holly hesitated. ‘I won’t be too long.’
As she walked from the kitchen the silence was almost palpable. Remembering her outburst in the car with Paddy just now, she braced herself and turned back. ‘Sadie, I said to Paddy that I’m fed up of the way we sidestep issues in this family,’ she said. ‘So, in the spirit of calling a spade a spade, the two of you don’t need to sit huddled together wondering if I’m headed for another breakdown.’
‘Nobody said you were,’ Paddy said, jumping to his and Sadie’s defence.
‘You didn’t have to,’ Holly answered, with a slow smile. ‘Your face said it all. Just because I’m having a bath doesn’t mean I’ll be spending most of my time locked in the bathroom from now on. I know I did that once, years ago. But I wasn’t well then. I hid away for a reason. Right now, I simply want to stretch out and soak up a more pleasant smell than antiseptic. End of story.’
‘All right so, love,’ Paddy said, blinking back at her.
As she filled the bath and added a good dollop of bubbles, Holly perched on the edge and pondered.
She spent the rest of the day clearing out one of the downstairs rooms for Joey. Paddy and Scott moved a bed in and Sadie helped her make the place welcoming.
‘I’ll have to turn the heating on in here for a few hours. It feels a bit damp,’ Holly said. They could see their breath in the air, and although Holly wasn’t a cold-blooded person, she had to admit it was freezing.
‘That might be a good plan,’ Sadie said. ‘Especially as Joey will be coming from hospital. He’ll be used to the heat. Did he say he’d come here for definite, then?’
‘Not as such, but I’m assuming he will. Sophia will be working so she won’t have time to care for him properly,’ Holly said. ‘Besides, she’s hardly the Florence Nightingale sort, is she?’
‘Not that you’d think,’ Sadie agreed. ‘But you might want to be a little bit careful of how you pitch this to young Joey all the same.’
‘There’s a bit of a surprise for you in the living room,’ Paddy said, poking his head around the door.
‘What is it?’ Holly asked suspiciously.
‘If I tell you, it won’t be a surprise, you silly Billy.’ He took her hand.
Holly nearly burst into tears when she saw a second Christmas tree in the corner of the room.
‘Scott and I did the lights and even put up some decorations,’ Paddy said proudly. ‘Now, it’s probably all wrong and not up to the standard of you ladies, with all your fussing about, but we did our best, didn’t we, Scott?’
‘It’s wonderful,’ Holly said, and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. ‘Thank you both very much,’ she managed.
‘I didn’t know how to make you feel better,’ Paddy added, ‘but in the end I figured another glittering mound of coniferous might do the job nicely.’
‘How well you know me.’
In spite of the lovely gesture, Holly slept fitfully that night, images of Joey’s poor battered body and Pippa’s bruised face haunting her.
Early the following morning, before she and Paddy had got up, she called Joey, hoping his mobile phone would be switched on. She sighed with relief when it rang.
‘Hi, Mum,’ he said wearily.
‘How are you feeling today?’ she asked.
‘Sore,’ he said. ‘I had a pretty awful night. I can’t even tell you which bit hurts the most. I just saw the surgeon and it looks like I’ll be here for at least five days.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that. But listen to me,’ Holly said. ‘The main thing is that you’ll recover. Don’t lose sight of that.’
‘It’s going to be a long road, though. I’ll need lots of physiotherapy and I’m not going to be able to work until the end of January at the earliest. My training’s scuppered for next season. Uh …’ He sounded as if he was going to cry. ‘Everything’s gone wrong.’
‘Poor Joey. Maybe you’ll come here when you get out and we can look after you.’
‘I’ll talk to Sophia about that,’ he said. ‘Thanks for the offer.’
‘Here’s Dad,’ Holly said, passing Paddy the phone.
‘Hi, son,’ Paddy said.
They chatted for a bit as Holly got up and pulled on some warm clothes. Then she drew back the curtains, looked out at the heavy frost that blanketed the fields and shuddered. ‘I’ll go down and make breakfast,’ she said to Paddy, who was swinging his legs out of bed.
‘It’s chilly, isn’t it?’
‘I’d say it was well below zero last night. Still, nothing some tea, toast and a good thick sweater won’t fix,’ she said brightly.
‘That’s true,’ Paddy said. Holly watched him wince as he trotted towards the bathroom. He was too old to have to dance around on a freezing floor in the morning.
This wasn’t working. If they couldn’t afford to stay at Huntersbrook and be comfortable, there was only one thing for it. They were going to have to sell up.
As she made her way down the stairs she could hear Sadie in the kitchen. That was another awful thing she was going to have to face. Sadie would have to be let go. Holly didn’t know where they’d end up living, but wherever it was they wouldn’t be able to pay a housekeeper, although Sadie was hardly on a king’s ransom. And she was more than a housekeeper: she was family. A couple of years ago, Paddy ha
d suggested to Sadie she should retire, which hadn’t gone down too well. ‘Sure what would I do with myself?’ Sadie had asked, hurt and worried. They hadn’t mentioned it again.
Holly’s thinking had become less clouded of late. She was really beginning to appreciate the amazing, strong-willed people who surrounded her.
‘Morning!’ Sadie said, bustling around feeding Jess and Millie.
‘Morning, Sadie,’ Holly said, putting the big kettle on the Aga to boil.
‘Any news from Joey? How is he today? I could barely sleep last night worrying about him.’
‘Sure I was the same,’ Holly admitted. ‘We spoke to him just now. He’s a bit down in himself, but that’s to be expected. Hopefully, he’ll come here when they let him out and we can make a fuss of him.’
‘Don’t bite my head off now, pet,’ Sadie said carefully, ‘but have you thought of telling Maggie what’s happened?’
‘No,’ Holly stated firmly.
‘Don’t you think she has a right to know?’ Sadie asked.
‘Quite honestly, Sadie, I think she waived that right when she flew to the other side of the world without so much as a backward glance.’
‘Holly, that’s not entirely fair. Maggie—’
‘—is my mother and I’m dealing with her abandonment the best way I can. Okay?’ Holly could count on the fingers of one hand the altercations she and Sadie had had over the years. ‘Sorry, Sadie. That was rude of me.’ Sadie nodded, but Holly could tell she’d really upset her.
Sadie sat at the kitchen table. She wasn’t sure what to do for the best. Then, weighing things up, she came to a decision. She went to the computer and rested her fingers on the keyboard She felt she owed it to their sixty-year friendship to let Maggie know what had happened.
Dear Maggie
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but a couple of things have happened. I thought you should know. Pippa had a horrible altercation with an aggressive taxi driver. Seems he attacked her and if it wasn’t for her new lodger coming to her rescue things would have been a lot worse. As it is, she took a blow to the face and is in shock.
Not taking away from the trauma poor Pippa endured, Joey’s situation has some more serious physical implications. He had a bad accident yesterday. Before you panic – he’s going to be just fine. He’d a terrible fall. Down into a large hole the council had dug on the side of the road near his apartment. He’s broken his arm, his leg, hurt his neck and gashed his poor head. He’s been operated on and the doctors say he’ll require physiotherapy but he’ll be right as rain before long.
Holly is keen to get him back here to Huntersbrook to recover. I think it might be a good plan all right. Sophia isn’t the most motherly sort. Pippa is fit to be tied. By all accounts they were phoning Sophia all morning and she only arrived to see Joey late in the afternoon.
Holly went for a bath as soon as they returned from the hospital yesterday. I saw the colour drain from poor Paddy’s cheeks when the bathroom door was locked. I know it’s a long time since she had that episode but I think Paddy feared she’d slip right back into it all.
She seemed less despondent this morning although she’s in a very dark mood, Maggie. It’s not like her. They’ve gone up the back field to get the tree for the living room. Can you fathom it was Paddy’s suggestion? He obviously wants to try and fix at least one member of his family so he knew the thought of another tree would bring joy to Holly’s heart. Bless him.
I’ll keep you posted. This makes me sound like an informer and believe me, Maggie, that’s actually how I feel. But Holly was adamant you weren’t to be told about any of this.
If I’ve overstepped the mark by going behind her back, forgive me. But if I were in your position I’d want to know. Apologies once more for being the bearer of such sad tidings.
Take good care, Maggie, and I’ll let you know how Joey and Pippa are doing. Hopefully the next email will be less dark.
All the best for now,
Sadie
18
Rockin’ Around the
Christmas Tree
It was the day of the office Christmas party so Lainey took a long lunch-hour and visited Joey in the hospital. As she walked towards his bed she spotted her mother and Sophia sitting there already.
‘Hi, everyone,’ she said. ‘I might call back another time.’ She bent to kiss Joey. ‘It’s too difficult for you to talk to us all at the same time.’
‘Hello, love.’ Holly seemed strained.
‘Hi,’ Sophia said, without looking at Lainey. ‘Don’t leave on my account. I’m going now.’
‘You only just got here,’ Joey protested.
‘I’ll go, you stay,’ Holly said, standing up and gathering her coat from the end of the bed.
‘I’ll only be here for five minutes – I’ve to get back to the office. It’s the Christmas party tonight,’ Lainey put in.
‘I’m surrounded by women who are all beating themselves over the head to get away from me,’ Joey said, grinning.
‘Not at all, love, I just don’t want to crowd you,’ Holly assured him.
‘’Bye,’ Sophia said, leaning over and kissing him briefly. ‘See you both,’ she added, without smiling, to Holly and Lainey.
Before anyone could protest, she’d bounced out of the ward.
‘Sorry if I caused her to leave,’ Lainey said to Joey. She had to admit to feeling more relaxed without her, though: Sophia always set her on edge.
‘Don’t worry. It’s not your fault,’ Joey said. ‘She’s not in good form at the moment. I’ll call her later on. What went on between herself and Pippa last night?’
‘Nothing much,’ Holly said.
‘Pippa lost it a bit,’ Lainey said evenly. ‘I happen to agree with her on this occasion.’
‘Well, poor Sophia was in an awful state,’ he said. ‘She said Pippa yelled abuse at her down the corridor in front of a load of people. Is that true?’
‘Steady on now,’ Holly said. ‘I think maybe Sophia exaggerated the exchange ever so slightly.’
‘She was totally talking through her arse, you mean,’ Lainey said. ‘Pippa just told her a few home truths and madam didn’t like it too much.’
‘She wants me to speak to Pippa and get her to apologise,’ Joey said, rubbing his face with his good hand.
‘The best of luck with that one,’ Lainey said, pulling a face. ‘You know our Pippa when she gets a bee in her bonnet and, believe me, she’s got a swarming hive right now where Sophia’s concerned.’
Joey sighed deeply.
‘This is all just a result of charged emotions,’ Holly interjected. ‘Pippa is up to high-do over the incident the other night. Then she was in shock seeing you in here. I’m sure it’ll all work out for the best.’
‘I don’t know if I can cope with this right now,’ Joey admitted. ‘I’ll have to phone Sophia in a while and try to calm her down.’
‘I’m sure she’ll pop back in,’ Holly said, trying to sound cheerful. ‘Especially seeing as you only live around the corner. At the end of the day we all want you to feel better. That’s the most important thing.’
‘You’re right, Mum,’ Lainey agreed. ‘How are you feeling today, Joey? Are you still in as much pain or has the medication kicked in?’ She didn’t want to say as much to her brother but he looked dreadful. The bruising on his head was working its way to the side of his face. He was strung up like a puppet between his leg and arm and he was the colour of putty.
‘I’m okay,’ he said. ‘The surgeon was telling me to keep on top of the pain. He said I’ll heal quicker if I take the anti-inflammatories and painkillers so I’m popping away like a junkie here. Tell me about this office party, then.’
‘Well, it’s tonight in the Regency and I’m staying with Jules, my friend from work. She lives opposite the hotel in those new apartments. It’ll save me getting a taxi.’
‘Great,’ Holly said. ‘Do you have the day off tomorrow, then? It’s an odd night to h
ave it, isn’t it?’
‘It’s to save money,’ Lainey said. ‘And to answer your question, a few of us will have to go in tomorrow and I volunteered. I won’t drink too much and I should be fine.’
‘At least you aren’t stuck in hospital like Joey, or with a bruised face like Pippa’s. Try to relax and enjoy it,’ Holly said. ‘You shouldn’t always be the one to offer to do the donkey work. You’re too soft at times, Lainey.’
Lainey didn’t answer. What was the point? No matter what she said it would only start a row. Her mother always had to have a little dig and make her feel like she was doing the wrong thing.
‘Your office party sounds pretty desperate,’ Joey said, sticking up for her. ‘I hate those contrived party nights where you have to cram into a room with people you can’t stand and eat crap food followed by dancing to some awful rip-off band.’
‘Thank you, Joey,’ Lainey said, without glancing in her mother’s direction. ‘They are hideous nights. But it has to be done. At least I’ll have Jules for company this year. She’s great fun. You’ll meet her at Christmas. She’s coming to Huntersbrook.’
‘Yeah,’ Joey said awkwardly. He still hadn’t got around to mentioning Sophia’s Lanzarote plan. He wouldn’t be able to go now and hoped she wouldn’t kick up a fuss at the thought of spending Christmas at Huntersbrook. The row between her and Pippa wasn’t exactly going to create an ideal atmosphere over the turkey and ham.
Still, he figured his mum was probably right. It was just Pippa’s ordeal and the shock that had caused the upset. He’d get it all sorted over the next couple of days.
Joey knew he needed to address Sophia’s behaviour. He wasn’t stupid, just sore, tired and feeling sorry for himself. He hadn’t the headspace to tackle any major issues. Besides, he was secretly hoping his accident would lead Sophia to realise just how special their relationship was.
‘I’d better get back to the office,’ Lainey said. She felt like she was saying all the wrong things to her mother and brother. It would be best if she scarpered. ‘I’ll pop back tomorrow and fill you in on all the gossip from the land of the county council and its employees.’
Driving Home for Christmas Page 19