Happily Ever After This Christmas

by C. K. Martin

  Jo looked down to where Emily was staring up at them both, eyes wide and mouth open. Apparently Aunty Webby didn’t lose her temper very often and certainly not with customers. Jo found herself desperate to shrivel into a ball and sink through the floor to hide her shame. The last time she had been publicly berated in such a way had been outside a bar after a rather disastrous first date. The woman in question had been rather drunk. Kayleigh was stone cold sober and twice as mean.

  As she opened her mouth to offer another line of defence, Jo thought better of it. Kayleigh was right, after all. She had taken something beautiful and special and ruined it. Even if she did it for the right reasons, that didn’t mean the damage could be undone. No, it was better that she take her unwanted book and leave the shop without causing any more of a scene. ‘Thanks for your help Emily. It was nice to meet you.’

  Emily just nodded, the talkative child she had initially met still stunned by the outburst of her aunt for reasons that she had no chance of understanding. Jo picked up the book and headed for the door. As she walked by some of the displays, she saw people looking at her and felt a sense of shame she could not quite name. A shame that she knew she shouldn’t be feeling, but somehow felt anyway.

  She stepped outside, letting the cold winter breeze cool her burning cheeks. She had tried her best to make amends. To show Kayleigh that there was more to her as a person than just her job.

  She wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The image of Emily, staring up at her open-mouthed, was still haunting Kayleigh days later. She’d been timid around her since, watching her carefully with worried eyes. She had tried to explain it, in the simplest terms, but the words always seemed to be wrong. How could she expect Emily to understand it when she couldn’t understand it herself?

  Kayleigh stamped her feet, trying to get the blood flowing to her toes. She looked down at Emily standing next to her. If she was suffering, then she wasn’t going to show it. Tonight was a big night for them both, but in different ways.

  When the flyer had come through the shop door announcing the evening of the annual Santa procession through the town, Kayleigh’s heart had sunk. She had always known there was a chance that it would happen one day. That the big, fun, exciting event of the season would fall on the anniversary of the crash. Each year, she would build up to this day. Each year, she would get through and put on a brave face until Emily went to bed. Then, when Kayleigh could be absolutely certain that she was asleep, she would open a bottle of wine and allow herself to dissolve into tears. One night when she allowed herself to feel the acute loss that would never be replaced. It was a day to just make it through. A day to survive.

  It was not a day to cheer and wave and get caught up in the crowds revelling in their careless happiness.

  A tear threatened to fall and she pushed the thoughts back down. For now, they needed to be buried deep, safe in the place she kept them the rest of the year. Emily was the brightest six-year-old she knew and would pick up on her lack of enthusiasm if she wasn’t careful. Better to fake the excitement, in the same way she could generate instant amazement at a drawing that could, quite frankly, be anything, just because Emily had handed it to her and expected that particular response. Kayleigh willed happy thoughts. It was easier said than done. ‘Are you sure you’re not too cold?’ she asked Emily, reaching down to tug the zip of her coat up higher.

  ‘I’m fine.’ It was the petulant, weary tone of a child who has been asked the same question several times over and is determined to give the same response each time, regardless of whether or not it was true. They had almost had words before they left the shop. Kayleigh wanted her to use the wheelchair. Emily had insisted she would be perfectly fine standing up. The two of them had reached a stalemate. It seemed like all Kayleigh could do was fight with people these days.

  Eventually, she had relented. If the worst happened and Emily needed to be carried, then she could still just about manage it for short distances. It wouldn’t always be that way. Emily would have to learn to accept that sometimes using the chair was going to be the practical option, regardless of how she felt in the moment. Her balance wasn’t too terrible, all things considered. But she was little and people were careless. The crowds would push and shove and it would be easy for her to fall in the shuffle. Then there would be tears and Kayleigh wasn’t sure she could handle tears. Not today.

  They would unleash the flood of her own.

  It was still early. The rest of the village would make their way down here soon, once they’d eaten dinner and had chance to change from their work clothes into something warmer. For now, it was a strange mix of very keen locals and the tourists who remained after their day out to the winter majestic beauty of the Cotswolds. At night, with the streets lit by Christmas decorations, she could see how the village lived up to the marketing. During the day, when the second downpour had made her worry the whole event might be called off, it hadn’t looked at all majestic. Still uncertain, the two of them had eaten sandwiches in the store rather than go home and risk not making it back again. For all her stubbornness, she knew Emily would be devastated if she missed it. Tomorrow, with only a handful of schooldays left, there would be little talk of anything else.

  Kayleigh felt Emily lean into her — a small concession towards warmth — and hoped that didn’t mean she was already flagging. The advantage of being early was that you got a prime spot, one she was reluctant to give away. She heard some children laughing farther up the street, and her heart warmed at the excitement in their voices as she looked up to see where they were. Instead, she caught sight of a familiar figure. One who she had been feeling increasingly guilty about assaulting with a verbal takedown a few days earlier.

  Jo hadn’t noticed her. She was leaning down to talk to an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair. The two of them were laughing and it looked like they were both new to the contraption. Jo was moving in a slightly zig-zag motion, unable to get used to the gentle undulation of the pavement that seemed determined to throw them off course. She remembered those first few months well. Emily hadn’t had the weight of a full adult to make it harder, but that hadn’t stopped her mentally cursing the chair several times a day while she got used to pushing it.

  Kayleigh watched as they came to a stop again, Jo reaching down and placing a gloved hand on the old man’s shoulder. Gone were the severe work clothes and in their place, she was wearing bright red and green gloves. Had she been wearing those when she visited the shop on Saturday? Kayleigh wasn’t sure. She couldn’t remember a thing about what Jo had been wearing. She had been too busy looking at her face so she could make sure her insults were landing home properly.

  Since the day of the inspection, Jo had grown into a mythical figure. A nemesis. Okay, that might be overstating it, but a heartless cow wasn’t. The woman pushing the wheelchair didn’t seem that way. She had obviously arrived early to ensure her companion got a good spot.

  The penny dropped that she must be local after all. Curious then, that Kayleigh had no recollection of her at all.

  Jo was crossing the street and heading towards them. A panic stirred — she could hardly move Emily out of the way so they could avoid each other — but she had no desire to repeat their previous confrontation. She was certain Jo would feel the same. Sure enough, in the middle of the road, Jo finally looked up and saw her standing there. She temporarily faltered and Kayleigh wanted to yell at her to keep walking. Once the momentum slowed, it was sometimes hard to get going again. The middle of the road was never the best place to come to a standstill.

  Before she could say anything, Jo recovered her composure and carried on, with no choice but to walk directly towards her. Any hope that the two of them would pass silently by was shattered when she felt Emily tug her sleeve and point. ‘Look it’s the lady from the shop. Who I helped. Do you remember?’

  ‘How could I forget?’ Kayleigh murmured, forcing something that wasn’t quite a smile
, but at least wasn’t a grimace, onto her face. ‘Hello,’ she said tightly. Jo, to her credit, at least had the decency to look as uncomfortable as she felt.

  ‘Hi.’

  ‘Hi lady.’ Emily waved.

  ‘Her name is Jo,’ corrected Kayleigh. It wasn’t Emily’s fault that the two of them hadn’t been properly introduced the first time they met. She had been too annoyed and Emily had been too excited.

  ‘Hi Jo,’ Emily tried again, doubling her waving efforts.

  ‘Hi Emily. This is my dad, Herbert. Dad, this is Kayleigh. She runs Johnson’s books.’

  ‘I know who she is.’ The man in the wheelchair beamed at her. Of course he did. Everyone around here knew the horror story that was her life. ‘Although she doesn’t know me. I knew her father, back when he ran the place. I used to come here every year for the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac. That was back when I used to be able to play the game and not just watch it.’

  ‘Oh.’ That hadn’t been what she was expecting. Kayleigh found herself slightly stunned by the average response to the conversation. When people realised who she was, there was more often than not a gentle tilt of the head and a soft sympathetic voice, even all the years on. Today, of all days, she was relieved.

  ‘I have a wheelchair too,’ said Emily apropos of nothing.

  ‘Do you?’

  ‘Yes. Because of this.’ Emily thrust her leg forward at an odd angle. Through the thick winter trousers it wasn’t possible to see the false limb, but the unnatural lack of bend made it obvious.

  ‘Emily,’ Kayleigh began to warn her but then stopped. It was a strange way to introduce yourself into a conversation, but she had made a promise to herself that Emily should never feel ashamed of her disability. It didn’t seem right to stop her talking about it.

  ‘Do you want to see?’ Without waiting for an answer, she reached down and began to roll up her trousers. The hard plastic glinted in the festive street light. Kayleigh threw an apologetic glance at Jo, who dismissed it with a smile.

  ‘Well that’s something else,’ said Herbert. His voice was filled with admiration, but whether it was because of the honesty or an attempt to give positive reinforcement, Kayleigh couldn’t tell.

  ‘Have you got one too? Is that why you get the chair?’

  ‘No, I don’t have one of those. But my leg is metal now inside at the top. That’s why I get a chair.’

  ‘Metal? Wow.’ Emily looked at him in wide-eyed wonder, her own leg now completely forgotten. ‘Like a superhero.’ She was practically breathless with adoration and it was all Kayleigh could do to stop herself from laughing. Herbert puffed out his chest, playing along, and gave Emily a cheeky wink.

  ‘Maybe I am. But you know that superheroes can never tell anyone their secret. So you’ll have to pretend you don’t know.’ Wherever Jo got her mean spirit from, it certainly wasn’t her father.

  Kayleigh looked up to see that Jo was looking down at him with the same sparkle in her eyes. The two of them were clearly enchanted with Emily. Under normal circumstances, that was the kind of thing that made her heart swell with pride. She hadn’t chosen to be a parent and knowing that Emily was doing okay was something she usually found comfort in. Instead, this time, she was more preoccupied with looking at Jo properly. Could she have been too hard on her?

  Jo looked up and smiled at her. For a second, it was like there was no bad history between them. Instead, they were caught up in the moment of an old man and an innocent child bonding over bodily afflictions with good grace and joy. ‘Are you here for the procession?’ she asked, feeling dumb the moment the words left her mouth but unable to pull them back in time. Lame. What else would they be here for?

  ‘Yes. I haven’t been to one in years. Not since I was a teenager. Besides, I promised Dad. He’s been getting cabin fever so I thought a trip out would do him wonders.’

  ‘I’m in a wheelchair, not deaf. Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.’

  ‘Chance to forget you would be a fine thing,’ Jo said, but there was no menace in her voice. If anything, there was a hint of guilt. It was a feeling Kayleigh knew so well in herself it was easy to spot in others. The silence stretched out between them and no matter how much she wracked her brains, she couldn’t think of anything else to say. If they hadn’t started off so badly, she would have invited Jo and Herbert to stand with them.

  ‘Hey my two favourite girls,’ a voice boomed behind her, making her jump. Rob threw his arms around her and planted a kiss on her cheek, before reaching down and lifting Emily up into a giant hug.

  ‘Put me down,’ she squirmed, trying to escape his grip as he blew raspberries on her.

  ‘Leave her alone,’ laughed Kayleigh.

  ‘We should go,’ said Jo. The twinkle in her eye had gone and she looked awkward.

  ‘Sorry,’ Rob finally put Emily down and turned to them both. ‘Have I interrupted something?’

  ‘No,’ said Kayleigh hastily. How had she forgotten that Rob would be joining them? She had no idea of the etiquette. Was she supposed to introduce him? Them? How could she explain any of this without looking insane?

  ‘This is Jo and her daddy Herbert,’ Emily helpfully supplied, sparing her any further agony.

  ‘Nice to meet you,’ Rob extended a hand, first to Herbert and then to Jo. Kayleigh saw his eyes widen as the penny dropped and the name sounded familiar. ‘I’m not sure I’ve seen you around here before Jo?’ His voice dripped with innocence and Kayleigh had to stop herself from elbowing him in the ribs. Not that it would shut him up. She knew better than that after all these years.

  ‘I’ve only recently moved back to the area. To help Dad out.’

  ‘That’s very nice of you. What do you do?’

  ‘I work for the council.’ Jo was starting to look uncomfortable now. If she suspected that this was some kind of trap, she wasn’t going to be too far wrong. Kayleigh prayed for some kind of intervention.

  ‘The council eh? That must be fascinating?’

  ‘Not really.’ Jo looked thoroughly confused by the sudden and enthusiastic line of questioning about her job. ‘We should really be going.’

  ‘Why don’t you join us?’

  ‘Rob,’ Kayleigh growled a warning.

  ‘Thank you for the offer, but I’d like to get Dad down to the end where it will be a bit less busy. I’m a learner driver,’ Jo pointed to the wheelchair. ‘It’s safer for everyone’s toes if I get down there before many more people arrive. It was nice to meet you. Hope you enjoy the procession Emily. Give Santa a big wave for me.’

  ‘I will. Bye Jo. Bye Herbert.’ Emily said his name as though she was in church and he was some kind of revered saint. Kayleigh watched her stare after the wheelchair as Jo moved them away through the crowd with profuse apologies. Emily tugged on her sleeve. ‘Do you think he’s really a superhero?’

  ‘I don’t know. Perhaps. But you heard him. If he is, then he has to keep it a secret like all superheroes do. Do you think you can do that?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Good.’

  ‘I feel like I’ve missed something.’ Rob rubbed his hands together to ward off the cold. ‘Why would he be a superhero?’

  ‘Hip replacement at a guess,’ she whispered, unwilling to shatter Emily’s illusions just yet.

  ‘That was her, wasn’t it?’

  ‘Stop it.’

  ‘I knew it.’

  ‘Rob, you never know anything. And I am going to pretend I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘You know exactly what I’m talking about. No wonder you were getting so confused. She’s cute. And definitely gay.’

  ‘On that, you really have no idea. Being friends with me doesn’t give you automatic gaydar.’

  ‘No, but I could see the way she was looking at you and then how she looked at me when I turned up. She probably thinks I’m your boyfriend. You need to correct her.’

  ‘I need to do nothing of the sort.’

  ‘Come on. Yo
u haven’t had a date for so long. The two of you look really cute together.’

  ‘Can we not talk about my personal life in the middle of a very crowded street please?’

  ‘There’s nothing to talk about. That’s the problem.’ For that, he got the elbow in the ribs.

  ‘Look, just because she’s gay doesn’t mean that we automatically have to date each other. Or even have anything remotely in common. Besides which, do I have to remind you that she is currently the biggest thorn in my side and ruiner of Christmas? Think of the children Rob. They’re going to miss out on thousands of pounds because of her. That woman. No one else.’

  ‘She didn’t look like the monster you keep making her out to be. I bet she only did it because she didn’t have a choice.’

  ‘I can’t believe you’re defending her.’

  ‘I’m not. But you admitted it yourself, the wiring problem in the store isn’t exactly a small one. You can’t expect her to turn a blind eye. Plus, have I mentioned that the two of you looked really cute together?’

  ‘For the first time in my adult life, I can honestly say I can’t wait for Santa to arrive. With any luck he’ll distract you from this madness.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll stop. Especially tonight,’ he gave her shoulder a squeeze. ‘But you shouldn’t deny yourself a chance at happiness Kayleigh. Life’s too short. You of all people should know that.’

  He was right of course, but that didn’t stop a rogue tear escaping her eye. As it rolled a hot trail down her cold cheek he pulled her closer. She had Emily to look after. Her own happiness didn’t even factor into the equation.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Jo knew she was fussing excessively over her father. She tucked the blanket in tighter around his legs, despite his insistence that it was fine where it was. Under normal circumstances, she would avoid causing him any kind of minor annoyance such as this, but he was a distraction from the conflicted feelings she had racing round her head.