Happily Ever After This Christmas

by C. K. Martin

  ‘Is everything okay?’ Kayleigh asked, as Maddy walked over to the counter and leaned against it. She was more dirt and sawdust than clothes at this point and Kayleigh’s heart went out to her. It had been a tough day on them both.

  ‘Jo is just being Jo,’ she replied, as if that explained everything. Kayleigh looked at her, hoping that her silence would prompt further information. ‘Look, this whole thing was a favour. She didn’t tell me about it until last night and for her, because she asked me to, I left home at five o’clock this morning and busted my metaphorical balls getting this shit done.’

  ‘Which I am very grateful for.’

  ‘Thanks. I know you are. But I forgot my book.’

  ‘Your book?’

  ‘Yeah, to sign off the work. With everything else going on, I left it in the van I use for work. I came here in my car. Just grabbed the stuff I needed.’

  ‘Oh.’ Kayleigh thought she could see the problem. ‘Let me guess, she needs to see the certificate as part of her paperwork?’

  ‘You guessed it. I’ve told her I’ll mail it to you in the morning, but she’s just being a pain. I’ve told her to check that everything else is done while I come over and cool off. Sometimes, we start to rub each other up the wrong way, then we just keep going for the hell of it. Sorry kid. Don’t use that word.’ Why she had the problem with ‘hell’ when she’d already sworn and talked about her metaphorical balls Kayleigh couldn’t imagine and decided not to ask.

  ‘So what happens next?’

  ‘Same as always. We give her a few minutes to get her head out of her own ar— backside and come round to my way of thinking.’

  ‘Does that really always happen?’

  ‘Ninety per cent of the time. And it will this time. She’s just a stickler for doing things properly. Which is what got her into this whole situation in the first place. She was just being good at her job.’

  ‘I suppose you can’t blame someone for being good at their job.’ Even as the words came out of her mouth, she knew they were the exact opposite of what she had been saying for the better part of a week. Damn Rob. It was entirely his fault for getting into her head, she was sure of it.

  ‘True. Forgiveness is a virtue.’ Maddy gave her a smug smile and Kayleigh wondered how much she knew. The seed of the idea Rob had been planting took hold. Maddy had gone above and beyond because Jo had asked her to, but why had Jo cared so much?

  A cynical little voice told her it was because she must have discovered that the whole thing was more than just so she could sell books. It was nothing more than guilt at having seen and met Emily. That was a perfectly valid reason to pull out all the stops. No one liked to have a guilty conscience and most people would do what it took to assuage one. Especially at Christmas.

  Yes, that could be all it was. Nothing more. Nothing emotional.

  After a few more minutes, Jo decided to finish what she was doing and join them. She gave Maddy the side eye and then turned to Kayleigh. In those few seconds before she spoke Kayleigh held her breath, hardly daring to believe that she might actually say yes. In the end, she couldn’t wait any longer. The anticipation was killing her slowly. ‘Well?’

  ‘There were a few things on the list. Most of them are done. A missing certificate for the electrics is a serious thing, but as I happen to know where the particular electrician in question lives and am willing to hunt her down if she fails to send the certificate and I lose my job, I’m going to bend the rules and say I’ve seen it.’

  ‘And everything else?’ Kayleigh waited for the other shoe to drop. Jo’s face was so serious and business-like, completely at odds with her casual clothes.

  ‘Once those books have been put back on the shelves and the place is tidied up so it’s not a trip hazard, everything will be fine. I’ll put through the paperwork first thing tomorrow morning. Congratulations Ms Johnson, you’re good to go.’

  ‘Are you being serious?’

  ‘Completely.’

  ‘Thank you!’ Kayleigh felt the tears forming and they fell before she could even attempt to hold them back. ‘You have no idea what this means to me.’

  ‘I think I do,’ Jo said with a smile. ‘I’m sorry you had to go through all this.’

  ‘I suppose you were just doing your job. I wasn’t particularly fair to you. Did you hear that Emily, we can do our big Christmas party again this year.’

  ‘Cool. Will the newspaper man be there again?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe. But you have to make sure you tell all your friends at school tomorrow that we’re going to do it after all. Then they can get their parents to bring them if they want.’ It was devious, but it was the best marketing tool there was. Parents tended to be indulgent this time of year. ‘Tell them Santa will be there to give out some presents.’

  ‘Okay. I like it when the tree has its lights on. It was boring before.’

  ‘You are right. Christmas trees are meant to have lights.’ She swept Emily up in her arms and gave her a big hug. With the inspection complete, she felt the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. ‘You will come won’t you?’ Kayleigh looked at Jo. A not so subtle cough next to her reminded her that they were not the only ones in the room. ‘Both of you. Obviously.’

  ‘I’d love to,’ said Jo. ‘I’m sure Dad would as well.’

  ‘He’s more than welcome. Maddy?’

  ‘Much as I would love to, I have plans for tomorrow night.’

  ‘That’s a shame. Well, if you change your mind, you know you are always welcome.’

  ‘Thanks. But a date is a date and I don’t like to let a lady down. And this particular lady isn’t into cosy village scenes if you know what I mean.’ Kayleigh wasn’t sure that she did, but with Emily’s tiny ears so close by, she thought it better not to seek clarification.

  ‘How much do I owe you?’ Kayleigh braced herself for a figure she wouldn’t be able to afford without dipping into her savings. True, she should have thought to ask before Maddy even started, but the whole thing had been like getting caught up in a whirlwind. It was underway before her brain had even kicked into gear. She’d watched the woman work hard all day. She’d done her best and earned her money. Some of the cowboys she’d called had quoted her multiple thousands.

  ‘I’ll do you the parts at cost price,’ said Maddy, looking at the back of the store as she mentally tallied up the work.

  ‘That’s very good of you.’

  ‘It’s actually very good of my company, but if you don’t tell them then neither will I.’ Maddy gave her a cheeky wink and she couldn’t help but laugh in response. ‘Can you do cash?’

  ‘I really shouldn’t be listening to this,’ muttered Jo and walked off to pretend to look at some of the books on the history of the Cotswolds that were always close to hand.

  ‘I think so.’ It wasn’t her usual way of doing things, but nothing seemed to be lately. And it was up to Maddy what she did with the money anyway.

  ‘In that case, let’s call it an even thousand.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘A thousand. Is that a problem?’

  ‘No. I mean, I know it’s a lot of money, but I was expecting you to say more than that.’

  ‘I can raise the price if you want me to, sugar. That was a tough day’s work.’

  ‘No, a thousand is fine.’ Normally, she wouldn’t have that kind of cash to hand, but today had turned out to be a good day. She should do crazy things and get Rob to help her out more often. She would be able to pay Maddy out of the takings. It would all be okay.

  Two days ago, she hadn’t dared believe that okay was a possibility. Now, she could allow herself to breathe again. She looked over to Jo, unsurprised to see that Emily had joined her. The two of them were talking in hushed voices, heads close together. Yes, Emily had taken a shine to this woman who had walked into their store and their lives, turned everything upside down and then righted it again. It was almost too much to process.

  As she waved them
goodbye to them both a few minutes later, a strange sense of peace settled over her. It was a feeling she never usually got this time of year. Even on the happiest of days, peace was never what she felt. The reminders of what could have been — what should have been — were everywhere. But this was their life now and between her and Emily, they were going to make the best of it.

  Besides, she had a charity event to arrange and in that moment, she was determined to make it bigger and better than ever.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It was with a curious combination of guilt and exhilaration that Jo snuck out of the fire door at the back of the building. Office hours would not be officially finished until 5:30, but tonight, getting to Johnson’s Bookstore was her main priority. She’d promised her father she would take him too, so there was no way she would be able to make it there early if she finished on time.

  She should, she knew, have cleared it with her line manager first. But with some staff already on annual leave leading up to the holidays and her line manager out doing a final site visit of the year, there was no one she could actually tell. At least, that was how she was able to justify it to herself. Besides, she’d taken a shorter lunch to compensate. Only about ten minutes shorter, but it was the thought that counted right?

  If she stopped to think about it too much, Jo would barely recognise herself. Such a stickler for doing things properly, there was something about Kayleigh that made her want to cross lines and take short cuts. It was a freedom she hadn’t felt since her late teens and with the sound of Christmas songs on the radio, it felt like the start of something special. Something new. She just hoped she wasn’t wrong.

  There was, after all, every chance it was purely in her own imagination. Rob had dropped hints, but she didn’t know him. She shouldn’t be relying on his word. Maddy had gone some way towards convincing her that he was a decent enough chap from what she’d seen. When they had left the bookstore together after the inspection, Jo had insisted on taking Maddy for a drink at the local pub. Maddy had agreed of course, never one to turn down the offer of a pint, but had worked out her cunning plan the moment she had started pumping her for information. About Kayleigh, about Rob, about anything she might have seen during her day there that could let her overwrought heart know if it was on the right track.

  After the third question, Maddy had put her firmly in her place. In hindsight, Jo couldn’t exactly blame her. The woman was exhausted, both physically and mentally, from doing a job that no sane person would do. So, despite what Jo thought, she had spent the vast majority of her day with her head down, unaware of her surroundings or what Kayleigh was doing. The best information she could give was that Rob had seemed very nice and had bought her two cups of tea and a sandwich and that when she’d stretched her back sometimes, she’d looked up to see the store was really busy for a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. She had then firmly endorsed the local ale and moved on to other matters.

  Yes, Maddy had done her bit for building bridges — in an almost literal sense — so now it was up to Jo to handle the rest on her own.

  Once she was far enough away from her office to stop worrying about drawing attention to herself, she turned the radio up high and blasted Christmas hits from the speakers. Her car was old now and she had to drive with the windows open sometimes, on days when it got this cold and damp, to clear the condensation from the windows while she waited for the ancient heater to warm up. She’d promised herself a new one for the last two winters whenever this happened, but she’d developed quite an attachment to it. This car had seen her through several girlfriends that were fun but went nowhere. Maybe it would see her through the next one. That would go somewhere, she mentally added, not wishing to add Kayleigh to her list of failed relationships.

  A slouching teenager, dressed ninety-five percent in black and therefore camouflaged against the night, stepped out into the road in front of her, eyes down at the phone in his hand. She swerved slightly and swore at him. She watched as he jumped and remembered that the window was down and he had just heard every expletive thrown his way. Good. She hoped the surprise would remind him that he wasn’t invincible and although he probably thought his parents hated him and he hated them — she thought she could reasonably make that assumption based on age, clothing and her own emotions from that time — that they would be devastated if he got run over at Christmas because he was more interested in whatever social media channel he was looking at.

  She glanced in her rear view mirror. He was already staring at his phone again. Oh well.

  When she pulled onto her father’s driveway, she was relieved to have made it home without any further incidents and in good time. It would be nice to be home at this time every night, she mused, before realising she probably shouldn’t get into the habit of bunking off early. ‘Hi, I’m home,’ she called as she walked through the doorway. The heat of the house blasted against her face, feeling far too warm after the chill of her car.

  She took off her coat and boots. ‘Hello?’ she called again, when she realised there had been no response. Her heart began to quicken as she walked down the hallway and into the living room where her father spent most of his days. When she walked in she found him seated in his chair, body lurched forwards. ‘Dad?’

  ‘I’m trying to tie this blasted shoelace,’ he muttered, frustration oozing out of every pore. ‘I thought I could be ready when you got back so you didn’t have to worry about me.’

  ‘Dad, I can do your shoelaces for you. It’s really not a problem.’

  ‘I know. Help me back up.’ He said nothing as she gently lifted his upper body into a seated position and pushed him against the back of the chair. ‘At least I’m not quite incontinent yet,’ he grumbled, ‘although I suppose that’s the next thing to look forward to.’

  ‘Dad, you’ve done a great job in the circumstances. So what if you couldn’t tie your shoes at the end of it? That doesn’t matter.’

  ‘I just thought you might like the time to get yourself ready instead of me for once.’

  ‘Thank you. I really appreciate the thought.’ She dropped a kiss on the top of his head. He could be the sweetest sometimes. ‘I’m going to make a cuppa first. It’s cold out there tonight. Want one?’

  ‘Yes please. I’ve no idea how long I’ve been looking at my own knees.’

  ‘That doesn’t sound like a particularly interesting sight, I agree.’

  ‘You have no idea. But I did spot where that biscuit I dropped last night went. It’s sticking out from under the chair leg. Must’ve bounced.’ He gave her a grin and she crouched down next to his chair. Sure enough, half a biscuit was poking out from underneath. She made sure to take it with her. At his age, the three second rule didn’t seem to matter if you could brush the fluff off it.

  Still, she brought him a replacement or two with his cup of tea and grabbed a handful to take with her when she got changed. She wanted to look good for Kayleigh tonight and a few biscuits at this late stage weren’t going to do any damage. As she chomped down on them, she surveyed her wardrobe. Friendly, but casual. Smart, but casual. Cool? There were so many options and she wasn’t sure which one was appropriate for an evening like this. The only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted to remove any hints of ‘work Jo’ from herself. She wanted to be there tonight as a new friend, nothing more. Kayleigh had started to soften towards her a little. No reminders of the person who got them into this tricky situation in the first place would be a good idea.

  Once she was confident in her look, she checked her watch. Damn. She had taken longer than she wanted to create a look that could best be described as ‘completely neutral’. She was sure other women couldn’t possibly take this long to get ready when the most they were aiming for was average and normal. She took one last look in the mirror. A small pep talk and then they could go.

  Unfortunately, parking turned out to be less easy that she had expected. There were several disabled parking spaces in the street, but they were
on a first come first served basis. In a village where the local residents were predominantly in the older age groups, there were plenty of blue badge holders to go round. By the time she was wheeling her father up the high street, she was already feeling stressed and, rather grimly, a little bit sweaty from the exertion. Jo hoped this wasn’t a sign of things to come.

  Very few other stores were still open. Late night shopping simply wasn’t cost effective outside of malls or city high streets. Here, people wanted to go home to their families more than they wanted to make an extra few quid for many hours extra work. Some of the store fronts were already in darkness, others had their windows only bathed in a faint light, reminders to any passersby on their way home from the pub of what their wares were.

  But it wasn’t the pub that was the hive of activity tonight. As she passed the newsagents, she saw people spilling out onto the street. She had no idea what to expect from the evening. In all their conversations and all the internet stalking she had managed to fit in around doing actual work, there hadn’t been much information to be found about what the evening entailed. All the newspaper reports were about the amount of money they raised.

  A makeshift table stood outside the building next door, a tea room closed for the evening. Inside, towards the back, she realised there was a light on and Kayleigh must have some kind of arrangement with them to use their facilities. The food and drink options couldn’t be a wide range given the size of the table, but she concluded they must be of a good quality given the size of the queue lining up. The weather had gone in Kayleigh’s favour; clear but cold. The very weather that made a hot drink and warm mince pie an almost irresistible proposition. It was still early.

  Not for her. She had places she needed to be.

  Jo manoeuvred the wheelchair past the queue, a young man who stepped out of the way for her helping to push back his friends so she could get by. It seemed the Christmas spirit was beginning to win people over. Schools had finished for the holidays and so had some parents. Some were working with a slower pace, others were rushing to get things finished before the break began. It created a unique sense of everyone coming together for this moment that only happened once a year. Jo couldn’t call herself religious, but she could appreciate a season of giving and forgiveness. It was what she was hoping to find for herself.