Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights

by Carole Matthews

  ‘I’m tired,’ he says. ‘I should go to bed, otherwise I might sleep through Christmas altogether.’

  ‘We can’t have that,’ I agree. ‘I’ve got you down for table-setting duties tomorrow.’

  ‘I’ll be very happy to perform them.’

  ‘I’ll send Danny to get you.’

  ‘Thank you.’ He sighs heavily. ‘This has been a very lovely wedding, Fay. I wish the both of you every happiness in the world.’

  ‘Don’t go.’ I squeeze his hand tightly, reluctant to see him leave. Tears prickle my eyes. I’ve become only too aware that one day, we’ll say goodbye to Stan and never see him again. I harbour the hope that if I never, ever let him out of my sight then he’ll always be here with his kind smile and his words of wisdom.

  ‘You two young things go and enjoy the rest of your wedding. I’ll be fine. Really.’

  ‘It’s late. Let Danny see you home.’

  ‘No need. I’ll take my time.’

  I kiss his hand and let it go. Then I watch as he walks off into the night. He looks lighter on his feet than he has in a long time. As he leaves the garden, Stan turns and smiles. Then I think I see a blur of a shadow move beside him as I did before and, if I’m not mistaken, there’s a light laugh on the breeze.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Danny sweeps me onto the dance floor again and we lose ourselves in the music, the laughter and the love. ‘Are you happy, Mrs Wilde?’

  ‘Deliriously so.’

  The night is cold, the stars are out in force and there’s still the odd flurry of snow. I can hardly believe that it’s Christmas Day tomorrow. I’ve so much to do, you wouldn’t believe it. We’re all going to have our Christmas lunch together on The Dreamcatcher, which is going to be a right old squash and a bit haphazard, but I think it will work and I can’t imagine a nicer way to spend our first day as a married couple. I’m sure we’ll manage a honeymoon at some point in the future, take the boat back on the canal for a week or two, but not just yet. Lija needs us here and we’re both more than willing to do that for her.

  I see her and Mog come out of the house and I wonder if she’s been telling him about the baby. I do hope so. They’re holding hands and both smiling. That has to be a good sign. The fiddlers are playing a slow song – ‘Open Up Your Door’ by Richard Hawley. Lija and Mog take to the dance floor and this time there’s no awkwardness. It would be so lovely if he came back into her life and they could be a family. I wonder how he’s taken the news that he’s going to be a daddy?

  They circle the dance floor and, as they pass us, Lija grins widely at me and holds up a thumb behind Mog’s back. I wink back at her. I’m so relieved that it looks as if he’s going to be back in her life. I guess we’ll have another mouth to feed at Christmas lunch tomorrow and I couldn’t be more pleased for her. He looks like a nice man and it will be good to get to know him better. It would be wonderful if he was planning on staying here permanently. My loved-up heart likes to think that he will. I want nothing but happy endings from now on.

  They pass by us, close enough for me to ask, ‘Everything OK?’

  Lija nods.

  ‘You’re pleased at the news?’ I say to Mog.

  ‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘A bit shell-shocked, but I couldn’t be happier.’

  ‘It’s good to see you back,’ I tell him. ‘I’m not the only one who feels that way, I suspect.’

  ‘I would have been back sooner,’ he says. ‘I needed to make amends for leaving like that, but I got a good job that I couldn’t pass up.’ That sounds familiar. ‘Idiot that I am, I’d dropped my phone in the canal, so have been doing without one. I should have called Lija or let her know or something. I realised as soon as I left that I didn’t want to be without her.’

  Lija gives me a smug look.

  Mog laughs. ‘I’ve had to pluck up courage to come back though. I thought she might chase me off with a knife, if she saw me again.’

  ‘I think becoming a mother is starting to mellow her.’

  ‘Is flipping NOT,’ Lija says, but she doesn’t look cross at all. Well, not much.

  ‘You’re staying for Christmas?’

  ‘I’m hoping to be around for good,’ Mog says, slightly bashful. He looks at Lija and I can tell that he’s smitten. ‘If she’ll have me.’

  Lija tries to look as if she couldn’t care less whether he’s here or not, and fails. Phew.

  ‘It’ll be good to have another bloke around,’ Danny says. ‘Me and Stan are seriously outnumbered.’

  ‘Feeling you, bro.’ Mog and Danny high-five each other.

  As he and Lija dance away from us, I say, ‘Wow. That’s a relief.’

  ‘Yeah. I hope it works out for them,’ Danny says. ‘He seems like a good lad.’

  ‘Time will tell,’ I suggest. ‘But I think you might well be right.’

  Behind them, Rainbow is dancing with the young man she’s brought. They make a very pretty couple too. She’s bouncing all around him while he stands looking slightly bemused and more than a little mesmerised. It’s a shame she won’t be with us for lunch, but I hope that she’ll pop by in the afternoon and maybe bring her nana and dad as well. She’s a great girl and has a lot of potential. I’m sure we’ll be leaning heavily on her in the new year when Lija’s baby comes along and she’s more than capable of dealing with whatever we throw at her.

  I see that Edie is twined round one of the young men from the boatyard. She looks as if she could eat him alive. With a glance backwards, she catches me watching her and gives me a wave. Then, looking very shifty, she takes his hand and leads him out of the marquee. Off to find somewhere more private, no doubt. Oh, my dear sister. Some things never change. I just hope that this one isn’t married.

  ‘Where have you gone to?’ Danny asks.

  I look up at him. ‘Nowhere. I was just thinking of our odd little family and the challenges we’ve got to face next year. We’re going to be busy.’

  ‘I don’t want you to worry about anything. We’ve got each other. Whatever difficulties life throws at us, we’ll overcome them together.’

  ‘I like the sound of that.’

  He takes my hand. ‘Let’s walk down to the canal.’

  So we leave the party in full swing and stroll down the garden, his arm around me, sheltering me from the cold. Diggery, who has been doing the rounds of our guests, suddenly bounds across the garden to join us. Danny ruffles his ears and the dog gives an excited bark. As we go, the snow thickens into lacy flakes that drift down all around us.

  We climb onto The Dreamcatcher and sit together in the well deck beneath the twinkling Christmas lights. He’s decorated our favourite little spot with holly and mistletoe too and it’s feeling very festive. Danny pulls our crocheted blanket round our shoulders and Digs curls up at our feet. Christmas Day is barely an hour away, but I don’t want this night to end. I wish we could freeze this moment in time. It’s lovely looking back at the celebrations and our friends having a high old time, yet revelling in the stillness on board the boat. Danny reaches for a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and two glasses that are hidden away under the bench.

  ‘Well prepared,’ he says and pours us two shots.

  I accept mine gratefully, enjoying the fiery liquid as it burns my throat and warms me up inside. Danny wraps our crocheted throw around our shoulders and we snuggle in together. Digs settles down at our feet. The seductive sound of Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes singing ‘I’ve Had the Time of My Life’ drifts on the air. Which seems more than appropriate.

  ‘It’s been the best wedding ever,’ I say. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Yeah,’ he agrees. ‘It has.’

  My heart has never been happier. The moon is shining, snow falls on the canal and love is in the air.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Mrs Wilde,’ he says.

  ‘Merry Christmas, my husband.’ And when I kiss him, I know that where we were two, we’ve now become one.

  role Matthews, Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights