The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas

by Carole Matthews

  Stacey laughed. ‘She’s strong!’

  ‘Takes after her mother,’ Chantal joked.

  They relaxed slightly with each other as they moved onto an area of common ground.

  ‘The kettle’s just boiled,’ Stacey said. ‘Tea or coffee?’

  ‘Tea, please. Black, no sugar.’

  ‘Go into the living room. Elsie’s in there. She’s a bit dazed as she’s just woken up, but she’s not grizzling yet.’

  So, while Stacey went to make the tea, Chantal headed into the living room. It was a small space but nicely furnished. There was a brown, squishy sofa and the ubiquitous pile of children’s toys. There was a basket of fir cones with red bows tied to them in the hearth, and in the corner was a real Christmas tree, sweetly scented and decorated in red tartan. On the mantelpiece there were a handful of cards. Chantal noted that she still needed to write hers, but then she also needed to buy them and pretty much everything else to do with Christmas. Her efforts with Lana’s room had been as far as she’d got. As time was pressing on, perhaps she’d get Jacob to lend a hand.

  But, most importantly, sitting quietly in her chair trying to focus on the room was Elsie. The little girl, the reason she was joined to this woman, was dressed in a pretty Christmassy dress and red leggings. Chantal’s breath caught in her throat. The child looked exactly like Ted – a mini-me if ever there was one. He could never question the paternity of this baby, that was for sure.

  ‘Hey, Elsie,’ Chantal said and she knelt on the floor in front of her chair. ‘This is Lana. She’s your half-sister.’

  The baby gurgled contentedly.

  Stacey came back with a tray which bore two cups and a bottle. ‘She’ll want feeding in a minute,’ Stacey said as she put the tray down on a side table. ‘I’m only surprised that she’s not screaming the place down already.’

  Chantal wasn’t sure what Ted had been worried about; Stacey seemed perfectly in control. The house was immaculate, and so was she.

  ‘Have a seat.’

  She and Lana made themselves comfortable on the sofa. ‘You have a lovely place.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Handing over a cup of tea to Chantal, she placed two chocolate biscuits on a plate next to her, then sat on the seat opposite, perched on the edge, back poker straight.

  ‘What was it that you wanted to see me about?’ Stacey asked as she sipped her tea.

  ‘Er . . .’ Wow. This was awkward. She’d assumed that Ted had told her he was concerned about her. It seemed not. ‘I’m not quite sure what to say,’ she admitted.

  Stacey waited patiently for her to explain.

  ‘I . . . er . . . I think Ted was worried,’ Chantal began.

  ‘Worried?’ Stacey raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, making Chantal wonder when she’d last plucked hers. ‘What about?’

  ‘You,’ she said frankly. There was really no point beating about the bush – Stacey knew this wasn’t likely to be a social call.

  Stacey gave a perplexed laugh. ‘Me?’

  ‘He thought that you might need a friend. An ear to bend. A shoulder to cry on.’

  The girl looked at her blankly.

  ‘Maybe he’s got it all wrong.’ Chantal waved a hand dismissively. ‘You know what men are like. If there’s a wrong end of the stick to grasp, they’ll hold onto it.’ She would kill him when she got home. Fancy putting her in this position. Awkward! She distracted herself with a bite of a chocolate biscuit. ‘These are good.’

  ‘I’d like to be able to say that I baked them myself,’ Stacey said. ‘But they’re out of a packet.’

  ‘Look,’ Chantal said. ‘This isn’t easy for either of us. I’ll hold up my hands, say that I made a mistake. I’ll finish my tea and leave you alone.’

  Stacey nodded. Her expression was unreadable. ‘That’s probably a good idea.’

  Right, Chantal thought. She had told Ted she would try and she had failed. There’s no way that she’d meddle in someone else’s business again.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Nadia made sure that she arrived at Autumn’s apartment as soon as she could, so that her friend wouldn’t be on her own for long after Lucy left for Chocolate Heaven. They’d spent the morning chatting and drinking coffee across the kitchen table from each other and Autumn had seemed much more settled after a good night’s sleep. Then, together, they’d picked up Lewis from the nursery. After a grey and snowy start to the day, the sun had eventually peeped out and the sky was a pale winter blue.

  ‘I want to pop into work quickly and then we’ll go to the park for an hour while you get off to work,’ Autumn said.

  ‘This is a bit of a tester session. I haven’t got the job yet,’ she reminded her friend.

  ‘It’s a given,’ Autumn assured her. ‘You’ve nothing to worry about.’

  Autumn didn’t know about her strained relationship with her brother-in-law and now wasn’t the time to explain her fears. Nadia had her fingers and everything else crossed in the hope that over the years things had changed. ‘I hope you’re right.’

  ‘I’ll take Lewis home after we’re finished in the park. I think there could be a jigsaw challenge on the cards.’ She looked at Lewis for approval and he nodded his head enthusiastically. ‘Can I get something started for dinner?’

  ‘You’re an angel,’ Nadia said. ‘Lucy called and I said that we’d pop into Chocolate Heaven later on our way home.’ Lewis beamed at that. He was always spoiled with little treats when she took him there. ‘There’s some chicken in the fridge. I was just going to make a curry. Not from scratch tonight. There’s a jar of jalfrezi sauce next to the cooker.’

  ‘You had me worried there for a minute.’ Autumn looked relieved.

  ‘If you put it in the slow cooker then it will look after itself while we go to Chocolate Heaven. Stay and have some dinner with us. I don’t want you going home to an empty flat.’

  ‘I will. That would be nice.’

  Nadia bent down to kiss Lewis. ‘Be good for Auntie Autumn. I’ll see you later.’

  Her son wiped the kiss away and Nadia smiled to herself. She hoped he would be about fifteen before he got fed up of her overt displays of affection but it seemed that it was coming far too soon. Leaving him in the care of others was the hardest part about having to go back to work. It was something that all working mums struggled with, so she’d simply have to learn to get on with it.

  ‘I’d better get going. I’m meeting my sister at the shop. She’s going to show me the ropes and see if I like it. Then it’s down to Tarak to decide if I can stay.’ It was only a few stops from here to Aldgate East Underground station, but she didn’t want to be late. If she did get the job then she’d have to do this commute on a regular basis.

  ‘Good luck.’ Autumn hugged her tightly. ‘I hope it goes well. Thanks for being there for me last night and this morning.’

  ‘I couldn’t leave you alone. This is all part of the grieving process. I know what you’re going through. You will feel like yourself again, I promise. But you can’t hurry it.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘See you later.’

  Nadia strode away from them both, heading to the Tube and waving over her shoulder as she did. It broke her heart to leave Lewis, even though he seemed to be quite happy with Autumn as a surrogate mum. Perhaps that hurt a bit too. Fortunately for her, Autumn did a great job of looking after her son. She was a natural mother and Nadia wondered, not for the first time, whether Autumn would be keen to start a family as soon as it was feasible.

  A short time later she was making her way up Brick Lane and towards her brother-in-law’s shop. If he had a chain of them now, perhaps she’d see very little of him. She could only hope so, as she really wanted this chance to spend time with Anita again.

  The shop, when she saw it, looked much as she’d remembered it from years ago. It was sandwiched between a slightly seedy bar and what looked like a relatively new bakery. There was a functional black and white sign, plus a rather plain window featuri
ng two mannequins wearing cheap-looking short skirts and cropped tops. The floor area of the window display was covered with a random range of handbags and shoes. It wasn’t exactly enticing and she wondered why Anita hadn’t done more to spruce up their image. Nadia considered whether she would actually enjoy working here. It was pretty downmarket and quite depressing. TD Fashions could hardly be classed as competition for Harvey Nicks.

  As soon as she stepped inside, Anita rushed to greet her warmly. ‘I was worried that you’d change your mind.’

  ‘No. Of course not.’

  ‘I’ve had to stop myself from pestering you with texts.’

  Nadia laughed. It felt good to be wanted.

  ‘You’ll love it here,’ Anita gushed. ‘We have our regular ladies and they’re such characters.’

  ‘And Tarak doesn’t mind?’

  At that moment, her brother-in-law stepped through a beaded curtain and came into the shop. ‘I don’t mind at all, Nadia,’ he said with a broad smile. ‘It’s lovely to see you after all this time. Nice to have you back in the family.’

  It was hardly that when her parents still refused to acknowledge her, but it was a start and his welcome was much warmer than she’d anticipated. Perhaps, after all, she could relax and enjoy this.

  She grinned at them both. ‘Well, now I’m here, what would you like me to do?’

  ‘I’ll leave you in Anita’s capable hands,’ Tarak said. ‘I have to go to one of the other shops. There’ll be some new stock arriving soon. You could both sort that out and price it up.’

  ‘Will you be home for dinner tonight, Tarak?’ Anita asked.

  ‘I’ll text you. I may have a late business meeting,’ her husband said. ‘Good to see you again, Nadia.’

  She checked his parting smile for signs of sarcasm or smarminess there, but saw none. Perhaps age had mellowed Tarak. She hoped so.

  Anita showed her how to work the till in lulls between customers and it seemed straightforward enough. Then the delivery arrived and, when it was unloaded, they sorted through the rails of dresses and marked them up. They were all the height of fashion, but cheaply made and would look great for a couple of washes. Yet that’s what people wanted – everything disposable. In fairness to Tarak, there were some nice dresses and separates for very reasonable prices.

  ‘We could vamp up the window display, if you like,’ Nadia suggested. She was itching to get at it with some window cleaner and a duster.

  ‘I’ve never done that,’ Anita admitted. ‘But we could try. Should I check with Tarak first?’

  ‘We could give him a surprise. If he doesn’t like it, we can put it back how it was. But it’s up to you.’

  Her sister nodded her consent. ‘OK. Let’s do it. Do you have some ideas?’

  ‘Loads!’

  Anita laughed at the twinkle in her eye.

  So they stripped out the mannequins and the mounds of handbags and dusty footwear. Nadia kicked off her shoes and climbed into the window, setting to with the duster and cleaning spray, which earned her a few wolf whistles from van drivers as they passed by.

  She and Anita picked out festive colours from the latest arrivals and redressed the mannequins in their new Christmassy clothes. Nadia found some white cardboard in the stockroom and, with the help of Google Translate, wrote out signs in her best handwriting with Christmas greetings in different languages – joyeux Noël, feliz Navidad, Чесmuma Коле∂а, Boldog karácsonyt. In the stock room she found some discarded white boxes of differing sizes and they used those, in the most artistic manner she could muster, to create a display of the handbags and shoes. She propped up the Christmas greetings against them while Anita dashed to one of the pound shops down the road and picked up some red tinsel and baubles to add to their creation.

  While they worked, they also managed to catch up on gossip about the family and mutual friends and Nadia realised that she really enjoyed being with her sister again. They could have fun together and there was plenty of scope for increasing the business here. It was obvious that Tarak was letting it just coast along, but there was a lot of untapped potential. Perhaps they could have girly evenings and get in someone doing manicures or hair extensions. Maybe they could even do something with Chocolate Heaven. A choc and shop night. The premises might look a little run down, but it wouldn’t take much to spruce it up and Brick Lane was a prime location. Nadia felt quite excited about the possibilities.

  ‘Wow,’ Anita said when they’d finished. ‘That looks fabulous. Tarak will be pleased.’

  Nadia stood back and admired their handiwork. It looked great. She only hoped that Anita was right and that Tarak would like it too, as she was suddenly very keen for this job to work out.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Autumn and Lewis had jumped on the Tube too, but going in the opposite direction from Nadia. Addison would be back from his conference now, but he’d gone straight to work at the Stolford Centre. His new job there kept him more than busy. She hadn’t called him and neither had he called her. Had she missed him while he’d been away? She wasn’t sure. She’d needed him. But that was a different thing altogether.

  The centre was in an old school and it badly wanted money spending on it. Many of the windows were cracked, the gutters leaked and the boiler was on its last legs. Still, inside it was a relaxed, comfortable place with free coffee and biscuits on tap; a lot of their clients were homeless and glad of any place with a warm welcome.

  With funding cuts, she now only worked sporadically and, at most, three afternoons each week. It wasn’t enough and she knew that she had to do something more with her days. At the moment, it was convenient as she was able to look after Lewis for Nadia and she loved spending time with her little charge. However, she was relying on trust money from her mother and father to keep her going and that was what she hated. She was nearly thirty years old and it was time – more than time – that she stood on her own two feet. Addison had told her that more than once.

  Perhaps that was part of the difficulty. Maybe they were just too different. Addison was streetwise; his family had come here as immigrants from the Caribbean when he was a boy. They’d arrived with nothing and had lived in one of the rougher areas of London. Whereas Autumn’s family were old money. Her grandparents had inherited a large estate in the Home Counties and both of her parents were barristers. Addison, all credit to him, had pulled himself up by his bootstraps and had been the first in his family to go to university. He was a striver, whereas Autumn had never really had to work for anything. That didn’t make her a bad person, just lucky. Yet the longer they were together, the more she felt as if he resented her well-heeled, privileged background. He wouldn’t be the first.

  She held Lewis by the hand as they walked through the corridors.

  ‘Is this where you work, Auntie Autumn?’

  ‘Yes, sweetheart.’ However, she wondered for how long. She loved it here and wished that there was a way she could make this into a full-time job. The kids who came through their doors generally just needed a bit of love and attention and someone to talk to. It didn’t really matter whether they showed any aptitude or real interest in stained glass. Even if they were just fiddling about with the glass, it enabled her to get alongside and chat with them. If their hands were occupied, they seemed to be able to talk more openly about the things that bothered them. That had to be worthwhile.

  When she came to Addison’s office, she poked her head round the door and wasn’t entirely surprised to see him perched on his desk talking to a colleague.

  ‘Hi,’ she said, cautiously. ‘I just came to say hello. I can go again if you’re busy.’

  ‘No,’ Addison said. ‘We’d just finished.’

  The woman was new to the centre and worked more on the funding side. Autumn had been introduced to her, but couldn’t remember her name.

  ‘See you later,’ the woman said and left, smiling at Autumn.

  ‘Who is she again?’

  ‘Monica Desmond. The
person who now holds our purse strings.’ Addison nodded after her, an admiring expression on his face. ‘She’s going places.’

  ‘Hmm. Perhaps you could persuade her to give me a few days’ extra work.’

  Addison shrugged. ‘You know what it’s like.’

  Only too well. Teaching arts and crafts to drug addicts was never going to be high on the list of priorities. Despite the budget constraints they’d recently introduced street-dance lessons and music sessions, which were infinitely more popular.

  ‘How did the conference go?’

  ‘Brilliant.’ His chest puffed up. ‘My presentation was really well received.’

  ‘That’s good. Let’s walk down to the craft room. I was going to let Lewis play with some of the coloured paper for a while. You can tell me all about it.’

  Addison looked as if he was about to decline her invitation, but he tidied some papers on his desk and came to join her. Then they fell into step together as they walked along the corridor. She noticed that he didn’t take her hand, nor did he seem particularly pleased to see her, but then he could be distracted when he was at work. The thought made her feel even more empty inside.

  When they reached the craft room – Autumn’s usual domain – she settled Lewis with a pencil and some scraps of paper.

  ‘Draw me a dinosaur,’ she said.

  Lewis chewed the end of the pencil, contemplating his task. ‘A scary one or a friendly one?’

  She ruffled his hair. ‘Why not do both?’

  Addison leaned against the work bench. He was tall, handsome and his dark chocolate eyes still made her heart flip.

  ‘I missed you,’ she said. Yet even as she spoke the words, she wondered if it was really true.

  ‘Me too,’ he admitted. ‘What did you do last night?’

  She didn’t want to tell Addison what had happened, but she couldn’t lie to him either. Moving away from Lewis, she lowered her voice so that he couldn’t overhear their conversation. ‘I babysat for Chantal while she went out with Ted. Then, later on, I went over to Rich’s apartment.’