‘I would like that very much. Merci.’
Matt disappeared into the kitchen to get the wine while I settled onto the sofa with Pierre.
‘You must tell me everything,’ he said, stroking his hand over his beard like he always did when he was anxious. ‘Are you happy with this news? Are you mad at me?’
‘I’ve just found out that one of my most favourite people in the world who I’ve always looked to like a father really is my dad. Right now, I couldn’t be happier.’
He hugged me once more then we settled back with glasses of wine Matt had brought in as I explained about Stacey’s visit and how suddenly lots of things from the past made sense now that I knew about my heritage.
‘I am sorry again that Gabby did not treat you like her sister,’ he said.
I shrugged. ‘I suspect it’s because I’m her sister that she treated me like that. It’s fine. Who knows. Maybe one day we’ll laugh about it, but I won’t hold my breath on that one. I wanted to ask you about Lillian. She was always nice to me but that must have been difficult, knowing who I was.’
‘Ah, yes. Lillian wanted to hate you, but how could she when you are so wonderful? She knew it was not your fault and she fell under your spell. You became like another daughter to her, n’est pas? She would not say this out loud, but I know she feels this in here.’ He tapped his heart. ‘She sends her love and wishes you a happy Christmas.’
‘Thank you. Please tell her I wish her the same. I’ve missed her too.’
The door buzzer sounded again.
‘Excuse me,’ I said, jumping up and buzzing our guest straight in without confirming who it was. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.
Matt was under strict instructions to keep Pierre distracted so that he couldn’t hear her voice when I opened the door. I was desperate to see their reactions when they were reunited.
I hadn’t seen Stacey since that evening in The Old Theatre because she’d needed to head home early the next morning, but we’d spoken on the phone and exchanged a few messages.
‘Thank you for inviting me. It’s really good to see you again.’ Stacey shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other, probably thinking that another handshake didn’t seem appropriate. ‘These are for you.’ She handed me some wine and flowers; the same wine as Pierre had chosen and the same colours in the bouquet.
‘You didn’t have to, but thank you.’ I smiled and gave her a quick hug. ‘It’s good to see you again too. Come in. Let me take your coat. Is it still snowing?’ It had started snowing lightly shortly after lunch, but hadn’t settled at first. As it fell more heavily across the afternoon, it started to lay. I’d worried that the snow might mean that Stacey and Pierre wouldn’t make it or that only one of them would manage.
‘It’s started again, but the trains were running fine. For now. I’m not hopeful for tomorrow, though.’
I hung Stacey’s coat up, indicated where she could leave her overnight bag, and took a deep breath as I pushed the lounge door open.
‘This is my boyfriend, Matt,’ I said. Matt stood up, smiling, blocking the view so Stacey couldn’t see Pierre and vice versa. He gave Stacey a kiss on her cheek.
I bit my lip. ‘And this is…’ Matt stepped aside, as planned ‘…Well, I think you already know each other.’
She gasped. ‘Pierre!’
He rose from the sofa, his eyes wide. ‘Mon Dieu! Stacey!’
They may have been shocked to see each other, but there was no mistaking the fireworks exploding as they kissed each other on either cheek then embraced. I glanced at Matt and he gave me a reassuring smile. Definitely the right decision.
‘I suspect you two have a lot to talk about so Matt and I are going for a drink round the corner. There’s a shepherd’s pie in the oven and some carrots and peas ready in pans to heat up. There’s plenty of wine. We’ll be back in a couple of hours and, if you two haven’t admitted by then that you’re meant to be together, we’ll knock your heads together.’
They both looked at me, mouths agape, evidently rendered speechless.
‘This is my Christmas gift to both of you and, so that you don’t spend the next two hours pussy-footing around things, there are two things you need to know. Pierre, Stacey still loves you, and always has done. Stacey, Pierre’s marriage is over and he still loves you too. Happy Christmas. See you later.’
‘Charlee, what…?’ Stacey began. ‘I… What…?’
I grinned at her. ‘You see that Christmas present under the tree with the red wrapping paper? That’s for you, Stacey, and you need to open it tonight before we return. And the one with the gold paper is for you both, also to be opened tonight. We’ll see you later.’
I grabbed Matt’s hand and we darted out of the flat, before they could say anything else. We pulled on our coats as we ran down the stairwell and out onto the snowy street.
The gift for Stacey was Nanna’s cream photo album full of her childhood Christmases. I suspected that looking through it would be extremely emotional and it felt like Pierre should be there to support Stacey; not me. How funny that I’d made the decision to keep it when I cleared the attic. I’d never imagined that, a year later, I’d have met my birth mother and discovered the identity of my father.
The gift for them both was my Christmas album. Pierre and Stacey had already seen some photos of me growing up, courtesy of Nanna, but I thought that giving them the album would be a lovely way of fully letting them in. Jodie, Matt and I had spent several evenings choosing other photos of me throughout the years which we’d had printed and added so the album had become more of a story of my life instead of just my Christmases. The album held precious memories for me, but we’d scanned in the photos so I still had copies but in digital format,
Matt stopped me when we rounded the corner, pulled me close and tenderly kissed me. ‘I think that went brilliantly. How do you feel?’
‘Pretty amazing right now. Hopefully they’ll finally take their chance to be together.’
‘I reckon they will. What you did tonight was really special. You’re such a romantic.’
‘It’s all those books of Nanna’s I’ve read. That and watching her and Grandpa together over the years. I always hoped I’d find what they had.’
Matt brushed my hair back from my face. ‘Do you think you might have found it now?’
My heart raced as I gazed into his eyes. We’d been inseparable all week and I had no doubt that it was the real thing, but I didn’t want to be the first to say ‘I love you’ in case I scared him off.
‘That depends on you,’ I said, trying and failing to sound casual.
He smiled and cuddled me to him. ‘That wasn’t a very fair question, was it? I’m not great at the romantic stuff, but I’d like to learn. And, as you could tell from the way I bumbled through it in the haybarn last Friday night, I’m not very good at talking about feelings either, but I’ll keep trying.’ He stepped out of the hug and looked at me so tenderly, I could have melted. ‘I love you, Charlee. I should have said that last week or all the times we’ve been together since. I don’t know why I haven’t but it’s how I feel.’
‘Will you say it one more time, please? I just want to check I heard you right.’
Matt laughed. ‘You heard me right. I love you, Charlee. I’ve loved you for the past year, even if I didn’t admit it to myself until recently. And, if you’ll let me, I’ll love you until the end of time. Maybe a bit longer.’
‘And you said you’re not romantic,’ I said, tears rushing to my eyes. ‘That was lovely. And I love you too. I’ve also loved you for the past year and I did admit it to myself. Serious case of unrequited love.’
‘Unrequited love?’ He raised his eyebrows and I could see it had just clicked. ‘At the Awards do when we danced to Daniel Bedingfield, you said unrequited love was the story of your life and I thought you were talking about Ricky.’
I shook my head. ‘I know. I was talking about you but you were with Libby so I couldn’t say anythin
g even though I really wanted to. Jodie had just given me a lecture about either telling you how I felt or getting over you. She set me a deadline. I had until the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve to kiss you or kiss goodbye to my feelings for you.’
‘Then it looks like I was just in time,’ Matt said, leaning forward to kiss me. Flakes of snow settled on my head and shoulders, but I didn’t feel their chill because my heart was on fire.
33
‘It’s Christmas Day tomorrow!’ Jodie squealed, as she joined me in the shop on Sunday morning, wearing an elf hat with pointy ears and a tingling bell. ‘And it’s still snowing.’
‘I know! I’m so excited!’
Jodie grinned. ‘I’m not surprised. You’ve bagged yourself the best Christmas gift ever.’
‘I can’t stop smiling. It’s going to be such a different Christmas to the disaster from last year.’
‘Nobody deserves it more than you. Are you sure Matt’s parents don’t mind me joining you tomorrow?’
‘They said the more the merrier. You’ll really like them. You know Matt’s nieces already. Matt’s brother, Tim, is lovely and so’s his wife, Kendal.’ I didn’t mention that Kendal’s brother Dean was also joining us – her older single brother who’d been staying at the farm for the past couple of weeks while he house-hunted, ready to move back into the area after leaving the army. Her single brother who couldn’t be more perfect for Jodie if I’d picked him out of a catalogue; something with which Matt wholeheartedly agreed.
Despite loving to meddle herself, Jodie couldn’t bear it if she thought anyone was trying to matchmake for her. If I’d mentioned Dean at any point, she’d have refused to come up to the farm so Matt and I had agreed that the best plan was to conveniently forget to mention the additional dinner guest and let Cupid do his thing.
‘How did it go with Pierre and Stacey last night?’ she asked while she boiled the kettle.
‘Better than I could ever have imagined.’ When Matt and I returned from the pub, we’d felt like parents returning home, wondering if we’d catch our teenage daughter and boyfriend up to no good. We made sure we were unnecessarily loud when we opened the door and we loitered in the hall hanging up our coats for far longer than we needed to.
‘The food was untouched, but plenty of wine had been drunk. We chatted for a while but I was shattered. When I started yawning, they said they’d better leave and Stacey invited him back to her hotel for a nightcap. Pierre sent me a text later that simply said “merci” followed by a stack of smiley faces and kisses. I’ll FaceTime him later and find out how it went.’
Jodie made the drinks. ‘Aw, it’s so sweet. I hope they make a go of it after all these years. But if they tie the knot and you get to be bridesmaid at their wedding, don’t forget that your “sister” here is available for bridesmaid services too.’
I laughed. ‘I’m not sure they’ll be rushing down the aisle any time soon but, if it does come to that, I’ll definitely suggest it.’
She sighed wistfully. ‘It’s like something out of Love Actually. “Love is all around”. There’s you and Matt, Stacey and Pierre, Sarah and Nick, me and… oh wait! Me and Teddy Brown Bear to cuddle again.’
‘It’ll happen. You’ve still got time to ask Santa for the man of your dreams.’
‘Already have. Tall, athletic, blonde, older, mature, and completely and utterly faithful. The opposite of Karl, as it happens.’
I had to bite my lip to stop myself from smiling. That was Dean to a tee. ‘Sounds like you’ll need an extra big stocking this year. I just hope that Santa doesn’t get your dream man stuck in the chimney.’
We had an amazing Christmas Eve in the shop. I was lucky that Ashleigh and Kieran had both been available to work because we never seemed to stop. I lost count of the number of times customers said they were buying, ‘a few last-minute stocking fillers’ or I heard, ‘I don’t know what to get the wife. Women like chocolates, don’t they?’ I’d smile politely at that one, and subtly add, ‘and perfume, and jewellery.’ I’m sure my words fell on deaf ears most times, but that was their problem; not mine.
The atmosphere was electric. I couldn’t decide whether that was because it was Christmas Eve, or whether the snow had escalated the excitement. Castle Street was the perfect setting for that magical Christmas feeling. Full of Victorian character buildings and old-fashioned lamps there was almost a Dickensian feel to the place.
At around 3 p.m., we hit a lull and I took a moment to step outside the shop. I looked up beyond the strings of fairy lights into the snow-laden sky, thinking of Nanna and Grandpa. Thank you for making my Christmas wish come true and also for giving me a family again. If it’s not too greedy, could I make another wish? I’d love Pierre and Stacey to finally get their happy ever after. I kissed my fingertips then blew the kiss into the sky. Happy Christmas to you both.
‘Right, Ashleigh and Kieran,’ I announced, stepping back inside. ‘I think it’s calmed down enough to let you both go an hour early and start celebrating Christmas with your families.’ I handed them each a gift bag full of chocolatey loveliness and a Christmas bonus.
‘I love seeing you like this,’ Jodie said after we waved them off. ‘I was a bit worried about you for a while there.’
‘I was worried about me too! I’ve never felt so stressed. Thank you for being the best friend and non-biological sister ever.’
She hugged me. ‘Same to you.’
Matt called in shortly before our 4 p.m. closing time. He ran the vacuum cleaner round the shop while Jodie and I nipped up to the flat for a quick freshen up and change before joining some of the other traders in The Old Theatre for Christmas Eve drinks.
The pub was packed and buzzing with excitement. I thought about my conversation earlier with Jodie about the two very different Christmases. This time last year, I’d been in the flat on my own, heartbroken and lonely. What a difference a year could make.
As we headed up town for a last drink in Minty’s, I dug my phone out intending to check the forecast for Christmas Day and was surprised to see three missed calls from Stacey. She must have called while I was in The Old Theatre and it had been so loud in there, there’d been no chance of hearing a ringing phone.
There was also a text:
✉︎ From Stacey
Called you but got voicemail so hope you don’t mind a thank you by text instead. What you did for Pierre and me yesterday was the best Christmas present ever. We’ve agreed that too many years have been wasted so we’re moving in together. We don’t know where but it will definitely be England, not France. I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow with Matt and his parents. If you have time, Pierre and I would love to see you again before you’re back to work but there’s no pressure. We know there’s a lot to take in. I can’t thank you enough for my photo album. I had no idea Mum had created that. Sobbed like a baby! What a precious gift. As for that album of your life so far, there aren’t enough words to describe how wonderful that was. Pierre and I will treasure it forever and look forward to adding more photos to it. But the best gift of all has been finally meeting you. Happy Christmas xx
‘Are you okay?’ Matt asked, as I wiped my eyes, feeling quite overcome with emotion.
Silently, I passed him my phone so he could read the text for himself. ‘It worked,’ I whispered. ‘Our matchmaking worked.’ I glanced towards Jodie, who was having a snowball fight with Sarah. ‘I’ve found love with you, and now Pierre and Stacey are back together so that’s two of my Christmas wishes come true. Do you think there’s any chance of a hat-trick?’
34
‘They’re laughing,’ I whispered to Matt as we hid behind the haystacks in the barn, spying on Jodie and Dean. ‘That’s a good sign.’
‘We need kissing, not laughing,’ Matt whispered back.
‘Aw, you old romantic. And you thought you were rubbish at this stuff.’
I’m pretty certain they knew they were being set up because it wasn’t exactly subtle. Kendal
had started it, introducing Dean as ‘my single brother’ and Jodie as ‘Charlee’s single friend’. Matt insisted on them sharing a two-seater sofa while we had champagne and exchanged gifts, and his mum had placed name cards on the dining table, sitting Jodie and Dean across a corner for ease of conversation.
Jodie had rolled her eyes at me a few times, but it was good-natured because I could tell she liked Dean and they seemed to have plenty in common as they chatted together.
After dinner, he’d declared loudly, ‘Jodie, why don’t you and I go for a walk all on our own before someone pushes us both out the door, nudging and winking.’ As soon as they’d gone, Matt and I pulled on our wellies and ran out to spy on them, feeling like naughty schoolchildren.
The haybarn was at the highest point on the land, like the farmhouse, so we had a great view. Suddenly Jodie and Dean turned in our direction. We ducked back down behind the haystacks but they waved at us. We reluctantly emerged from our hiding place and waved back. They laughed and disappeared down a farm track.
‘Seeing as we’ve been busted, this gives me the perfect opportunity to give you your main Christmas present,’ Matt said.
‘My main present? You’ve already given me loads of gifts.’ And they’d all been really thoughtful ones which was no mean feat considering how close to Christmas we’d got together.
‘I couldn’t wrap this one. Come on.’ He took my hand and led me back towards the farmhouse, then took a right down a track before we reached it.
‘It must have been amazing growing up here,’ I said, taking in the rolling fields either side, housing a mixture of crops and animals.
‘As kids, Tim and I probably took it for granted because it was all we’d known, but I started appreciating it more when Lucy and Erin came along and I saw it through their eyes. Wide open spaces. Stunning views. Animals. What’s not to love?’
Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop Page 24