One Christmas Star

by Mandy Baggot

Ray began to write on his pad again.

  Dad and Brenda came this morning. They’re going for a carvery. Ironic!

  ‘Are they coming back later? I can go back home and get the presents,’ Emily replied, looking like she was going to leave.

  Ray grabbed her hand with his right hand then quickly swapped, holding her with his left hand and scribbling with his right.

  Emily read the words.

  Don’t go anywhere…

  ‘Ooo, that sounds a little possessive for Christmas Day but… I quite like it.’ She sat down on the edge of his bed as he continued to write. This type of communication was getting him down. He had been using a laptop, until he’d discovered he was actually quicker at handwriting than he was at typing.

  I hate not being able to talk to you. Dr Crichton says a few more days. I don’t know what I will sound like. I’m hoping not Joe Pasquale… I did not spell that right, did I?

  Emily laughed as she read the words. ‘I’m not sure if you spelt it right, but I know who you mean and what he sounds like. I’ll pray.’

  He tried to make his hands move faster across the page. Maybe he should open Deborah’s gift and get started with it. He wrote another couple of lines and turned the paper towards her.

  Despite being in a hospital bed for Christmas this is the happiest I’ve ever been. Things are going to be good from now on. I feel it

  He watched a whole range of feelings filter over Emily’s expression and he squeezed her hand in his.

  ‘I feel it too,’ she replied, her voice catching a little.

  He released his hand from hers to turn the paper back around and began to write again.

  There’s a present for you under the tree you hate

  She laughed. ‘I don’t hate the tree.’ She stood up and Ray wrote again.

  Yes, you do

  ‘No, I don’t.’

  He offered the same piece of paper again, pressing it forward and shaking it about. He watched her scoop up the small, neatly wrapped gift box, bringing it back to the bed and sitting down with a sigh.

  ‘You didn’t need to get me anything.’

  He wrote quickly.

  It’s not cheese

  She laughed. ‘Damn, I might not even open it.’

  Get on with it or I’ll give it to the nurse that likes me. His name’s Blake

  Emily carefully peeled back the paper and revealed a red velvet box, slightly worn at the edges. This wasn’t anything like throwaway cardboard or something from H Samuel, this was chunky and aged and she couldn’t wait to see what was inside. She looked to Ray before she lifted the lid. He had been through so much and yet here he was, strong, immovable, resilient. She hoped this operation had been successful and his recovery was going to signal the start of a whole new journey, for him as an artist and for them as a couple…

  She eased back the lid and it opened with a hefty and satisfying clunk. Gasping, Emily put a hand to her chest, as she gazed first at the brooch inside and then back at Ray.

  ‘Ray… this is… it’s so, so beautiful.’ She didn’t have the words to describe how elegant the gift was or how absolutely her. It was a stunning silver star, gleaming with encrusted diamonds, or fake diamonds, or another clear-coloured stone she didn’t know the name of. She didn’t care what it was made of, because what it had been given with was so much thought and feeling… and love. When she had finished marvelling at its beauty there was another message from Ray waiting on the notepad.

  The man at the shop said it was art-deco. I don’t know whether that’s true but he seemed legit. I bought it because it reminded me of you and the Stretton Park kids and that show we made that brought us together. It’s our Christmas star

  ‘Our Christmas star,’ Emily said, eyes leaking tears as she gazed at the man who had taught her how to love again. ‘The biggest and brightest and craziest and maddest one of all.’ She kissed him then, softly, slowly, slightly concerned she might break him, before smiling again. ‘I love you, Ray Stone.’

  This time his words were written large, at speed and with zero hesitation.

  I love you, Miss Parker. Merry Christmas xx

  Epilogue

  The Freedom Music Festival

  Seven months later – summer

  It was an absolutely picture-perfect summer’s day in London and Emily was so thankful for that. Blue skies, that fragrant scent of ice cream, freshly cut grass, sun cream and barbeque filling the air. And good weather meant that the turn-out for her parents’ chambers charity day was high and even more money was going to be raised for the three charities. It was obviously a little sad that she wasn’t going to get to see Alegra and William in their Hunter wellies, knee-deep in mud like a really soggy Glastonbury festival, but charity was more important than her own personal need for a laugh. Besides, her parents had been slightly less absent since Christmas. They had even invited her and Ray to the house, and not just to form part of a dinner party missing the down-to-earth element. Alegra had even cooked. Herself. And the lemon chicken had been so terrible William had begged her never to cook again. Emily had helped him order Dominos from an app she installed on his phone. Granted they had eaten the pizzas with knives and forks, but her dad had called the meal ‘most agreeable’.

  ‘Thank you so much,’ Emily said as a concert-going family dropped some coins into her charity bucket. She popped it down on the grass for a moment while she tied the bottom of her Ray Stone T-shirt into a knot at her waist. Ray had laughed when she’d got dressed in it that morning and said it was almost a kissing deterrent, having to look at a shadow of his profile across her chest whenever they got close. Emily had insisted it was great publicity for the festival and his upcoming tour and she actually really liked the design Deborah had signed off on.

  ‘Hey,’ Ray greeted, his voice close to her ear, hands slipping around the waistband of her denim cut-offs. She loved his ‘heys’ more than ever, remembering those ten days with limited talking, digital notepads and Post-it notes and even, at one point… Maltesers to shape words.

  ‘Hey,’ Emily answered, turning to face him. Ripped jeans, boots, a muscle-fit vest he had no right to look so good in… Gone were the long sleeves of winter and his self-confidence was mended enough for him to be almost comfortable with that scar on his shoulder. His beard was short and his brown hair was verging on that scruffy side of sexy she loved.

  ‘Argh! You’re still wearing my face!’ he exclaimed, covering his eyes with his hands.

  ‘I hope you don’t react that way to all your fans,’ Emily said, smoothing her fingers over the picture on her top.

  ‘What way?’ Ray asked, removing his hands and stepping closer to her. ‘This way?’ He kissed her lips. ‘Or this way?’ He kissed her again, deeper this time. He tasted of sugary lemonade, the meadow and… was that Haribos? She stepped away from him, looking amid the growing crowd getting the best spots for picnics, others moving close to the stage, enjoying the first performers. ‘Is Dennis here?’

  ‘He is,’ Ray answered. ‘With his mum. He gave me some sweets. He’s just there, setting up a parasol.’

  Emily shielded her eyes from the sun and looked where Ray was pointing. Her first sighting of the elusive Mrs Murray. One of her first jobs since being appointed Head at Stretton Park, was finding Penny’s replacement for her maternity leave. Dennis’s mother had applied for the position but failed to turn up for interview citing ‘other commitments’ as her excuse. Emily had been beginning to think Mrs Murray didn’t actually exist and perhaps Dennis had a Norman Bates thing going on. But here, it seemed, she was.

  ‘Miss Parker!’

  Emily turned around to see some of her children running across the grass towards her. Except they weren’t her children anymore. Her Year Sixes had spent the past six months learning and growing at a rate of knots and they were all off to secondary schools in September. She smiled brightly at them. Jayden with Rashid, Alice, Cherry, Angelica, Felix – who was dressed as an astronaut which probably wasn’
t the smartest idea on one of the hottest days of the year so far – Makenzie wearing a bright rainbow T-shirt and pink shorts, Matthew, Charlie, Frema and Lucas.

  ‘Ray! Ray!’ Felix chanted before realising it might be better if he opened the visor of his helmet to speak. ‘Ray! Ray!’

  ‘Oh, it’s so good to see you all,’ Emily greeted, ruffling heads of hair and high-fiving others. ‘Thank you for coming. Thank your parents for bringing you and letting you come.’

  ‘We’ve adopted two of Idris Elba’s babies,’ Matthew informed. ‘The man at the sanctuary said that they wouldn’t be able to go back into the wild and survive so they’re living with us now.’

  ‘That’s amazing,’ Emily said. ‘What have you called them?’

  ‘Mine’s called Taylor,’ Charlie said with a grin.

  ‘And mine’s called Swift,’ Matthew told.

  This earned laughter all round from the group.

  ‘Great names,’ Ray agreed.

  ‘So, have any of you been on the helter-skelter yet?’ Emily asked them. ‘You’d better make sure you have a go because my friend Allan has been hogging it since the gates opened.’

  And Jonah was trying out a brand-new venture today. As much as he loved his work at the hotel, he really wanted to be able to put his own unique spin on his cooking and sticking to a rather restricted menu was all but killing his creative flair. He had a stall at the festival, with one of his sous chefs helping, serving up his mother’s old wholesome Caribbean recipes alongside more contemporary dishes of his own creation. Emily knew he was road-testing the idea with a view to starting his own restaurant and she had no doubt he was going to make a success of it.

  ‘I’ve been on the bouncy castle,’ Angelica announced.

  ‘Jayden and me kicked goals against someone called David Seaman. My dad said he used to be famous,’ Rashid said. ‘I scored three of mine.’

  ‘And I scored four,’ Jayden added.

  ‘What time are we singing again, Ray?’ Alice asked.

  ‘Ah, um, yeah… about that…’ Ray replied. He looked at his watch and Emily sensed his edge of uncomfortable.

  ‘It was supposed to be a surprise, Alice!’ Makenzie exclaimed in irritation.

  ‘Sorry!’ Alice snapped back. ‘But no one’s died!’ An eye-roll ensued.

  ‘You’re singing?’ Emily asked.

  ‘I got parental consent,’ Ray told her. ‘All above board. I couldn’t risk the wrath of the headteacher, I hear she can be really raw when it comes down to it.’

  ‘Is that so?’ Emily said, stepping closer to him.

  ‘Eww, they’re going to kiss!’ Matthew stated, putting a hand over his eyes.

  ‘Kiss! Kiss!’ Felix shouted.

  *

  The daytime part of the festival had been a roaring success and, as the evening arrived, and the temperatures dropped, it was time for the headline act to take to the stage. It was Ray’s first big performance since his surgery, but it wasn’t his first test. After his convalescence, he had sung at Ronnie Scott’s, a small, intimate, yet sell-out show to prove that his voice was still perfection and that he was coming back with a vengeance and a hunger to produce new music. His album was now complete and set to launch next month, when he would also take to stages around the country to promote it. He couldn’t wait to get back out there, living his songwriting and performing dream, but he was going to miss not waking up with Emily every day. Which was why he was calling in the big guns, Year Six, to help him in this moment.

  ‘Good evening everyone,’ Ray greeted the crowd from the seat at the grand piano. ‘I’m Ray Stone.’ There was loud applause from the hundreds of festival goers. ‘And these are my awesome friends from Stretton Park Primary School.’

  *

  ‘We’ve made thousands,’ Alegra stated, plumping down a charity bucket next to Emily in the VIP area of the crowd. ‘I am most probably heaving around hundreds of pounds in tiny coins.’ She looked into the bucket. ‘I’ve never even seen those little silver ones before.’

  ‘5ps?’ Emily queried.

  ‘Tiny!’ Alegra commented. ‘Tinier than pennies! How does that work?’ She let out a sigh. ‘Your father has bought another hat. This one has a ridiculous feather. I don’t know what it is with him lately. It’s like he’s experiencing a middle-age crisis that only millinery can solve. Have you ever heard of a condition like that?’

  ‘No, Mum,’ Emily replied. ‘But sshh, Ray and the children are going to sing.’

  ‘Don’t you think I know that?’ Alegra asked. ‘That’s why I’m here.’

  ‘We haven’t missed it, have we? Len had to have a go at the coconut shy, didn’t he? I told him I don’t even like coconuts, but he wouldn’t listen.’ It was Brenda, red-faced and panting like she had run the London Marathon. Her summer dress was slightly too short and every time she breathed Emily caught sight of her bright lime green knickers. Once seen they couldn’t be unseen…

  ‘Coconut’s good for you,’ Len announced, arriving too. ‘Unless you’ve got an allergy. Then I guess it’s fucking bad for you.’ He wheezed a laugh.

  ‘Candy floss?’ Allan offered. A bright pink swirl of fluff was pushed into Emily’s orbit.

  ‘Or Caribbean salt cod fritters?’ Jonah suggested. He was holding a box with the most delicious-smelling food inside.

  ‘Can I have both?’ Emily asked. ‘But after Ray and the children have sung! Sshh!’

  ‘I’m loving the VIP section.’ It was Dennis now invading her space. She really just wanted to hear Ray’s opening number and with her children there it was all the more special…

  ‘Dennis, please have some free water and M&Ms but let me listen to the music!’

  ‘I need to talk to you about Mother.’

  ‘Oh, Dennis, can’t it wait until after the holidays?’ Emily asked. She was getting completely frustrated now.

  ‘Well, that’s not the mark of a true leader,’ Dennis replied. ‘Susan always listened.’

  ‘Susan always made budget cuts,’ Emily reminded. ‘Not that that was all her fault.’ She was having trouble managing their spending too, but was juggling funding as best she could.

  ‘Well, that might be something you no longer have to worry about,’ Dennis continued. ‘Budgets should be dealt with by an assistant.’ He smiled. ‘Mother thinks the cooking was beneath her. She wants to apply to be Deputy Head.’

  Emily opened her mouth to make reply but was stopped by a call from the stage.

  ‘Emily, will you come up and join us?’

  Jonah nudged Emily hard, Allan grabbed her shoulders and spun her towards the exit to the stage and suddenly she was being propelled away from her friends and family towards those bright lights again. The bright lights she did her best to avoid despite her relationship with one of the UK’s top talents. Ray’s job might mean fame. Her job meant using a red pen a lot…

  ‘Let’s hear it for my girl, Miss Emily Parker,’ Ray spoke into the microphone.

  His girl. Yes, she was his girl. And he was her man. And seven months down the line they were as strong as two people in a relationship could be. Like every couple they were trying to live in the moment, feeling their way into a future no one could predict, but they had so much honesty and hope in their hearts.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Emily whispered to him as she got onto the stage, the crowd whooping and clapping her arrival.

  ‘Starting a night of music,’ Ray told her.

  ‘With me?’

  ‘Never without you,’ Ray answered with a smile. ‘Sit down right here.’ He patted the piano stool with room enough for two.

  ‘Oh, Ray, no, you know my playing the piano was a one-off and…’ Emily began. She could feel her cheeks heating up from the crowd attention and a little sunburn she’d got earlier.

  ‘You don’t have to play this time,’ Ray told her. ‘Just listen.’ He smiled at her, those eyes that looked like autumn leaves matching hers for a moment, before looking back to the children. �
�Ready?’ he asked them.

  They all nodded, stepping up to their microphones. Then Ray began to play, the drums kicked in and his sweet voice started the opening bars of Jason Derulo’s ‘Marry Me’.

  *

  Tears were flashing down her face and there was nothing Emily could do to stop them. Ray and the children had sung a marriage proposal and now, on the ivory keys of the piano in front of her, rested the most gorgeous gold ring, two diamond hearts intertwined. It was like time had stopped and she and Ray were in a moment just for them.

  ‘It’s Edwardian,’ Ray told her, a nervousness to his voice. ‘Maybe. Possibly.’

  ‘I don’t know what to say,’ Emily answered, tears still flowing.

  ‘Say something,’ Ray begged. ‘Even if it’s “No. Are you mad? You’re no way good enough for me.”’

  ‘Oh, goodness, Ray, that can’t be what you think!’

  ‘I think… if you say yes… I’m going to be the luckiest man alive.’ He swallowed. ‘And I’m not picking that ring up again. So, if it’s a no, I’m going to have to work around it for the rest of my set.’

  Emily wiped her eyes with her fingers. ‘Pick the ring up.’

  ‘Really?’

  She nodded and held out her left hand to him.

  His fingers were shaking as he picked the delicate ring from the keys and presented it towards her hand. He paused, his eyes fixing with hers. ‘Emily Parker, will you marry me?’ he whispered softly.

  There was no doubt in her mind, or in her reply. ‘Yes!’ she gasped. ‘I say, yes.’

  Ray slipped the ring onto her finger and drew her into his embrace, the children clapping, hollering and jumping around like excited hedgehogs next to them.

  Emily held him tight, living only in this one moment, letting the feeling of excitement, contentment and all-round euphoria surround her heart. And then she came to and realised there was something she had to do. She didn’t want to leave the festival-goers, her friends, her family or the whole world in any doubt. She took hold of the microphone, her heart bursting.

  ‘I said yes!’ She beamed. ‘Yes! We’re getting married!’