by RJ Hunter
Jenny glanced disapprovingly at David.
"Don't you start getting any funny ideas."
David blushed and laughed it off, as he turned to his brother, "We've just been to see Meredith and asked if Jenny can stay on campus over Christmas. She's stranded. It's already snowing quite bad up north, and they're cancelling trains."
"So, what you're saying is, Jenny's going to join us for Christmas?" Asked William.
"If that's okay?"
"Of course it is, the more the merrier. Sally's going to cook the turkey for us!"
"I can cook too you know!" Remarked Jenny, darting a cold look in her rival's direction.
Sally couldn't believe the change that come over Falcondale during the Christmas break. She had been so used to the town being taken over by groups of noisy students, but now the streets were quiet in comparison. The dreaded snow, to everyone's relief had still not arrived, despite several days of oppressive dark, grey skies. There was still a bit of hustle and bustle, but it was mostly townsfolk going about their business as usual. The post office had reopened, following the robbery, and the death of Mrs. Davies. Now it was run by a couple, and new security measures had been put in place to combat the changing face of society. Two of the cafe's, and a few of the shops, that mainly catered for students had closed until next term. Sally didn't exactly find the town depressing, but she was beginning to appreciate the life and soul the students brought to the community in general, and she began to look forward to the coming term, and of course, seeing Lizzie again. She had telephoned her from William's house on Christmas eve, and was pleased to hear that she had patched things up with her adopted father, and Pamela was starting to visit regularly again, despite Janice's protestations.
Christmas had been interesting with William, David and his new girlfriend, Jenny all at the house together. Although Jenny seemed sociable enough, Sally felt a certain undercurrent of hostility emanating from her. Sally couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she suspected it was born out of jealousy, either because of how well she got on with David, or it was because of her looks, dare she admit it.
With her shoulder-length, mousy hair and engaging smile, Jenny could be described as reasonably pretty. She was very short, had expressive grey eyes, and a curvaceous figure, but she didn't make the most of her looks, and tended to dress rather drably. Sally wondered what the attraction was for David, there didn't seem any obvious connection and they certainly didn't study the same subjects. Maybe they met through one of the societies, she thought. Sally was curious, but knew she's have to wait to find out.
William had suggested going to Aberystwyth to do the Christmas shopping, and Sally had leapt at the chance to go with him. He had charged up the battery on his old Morris Minor van, earlier that morning and let the engine run for a while to warm it up, before they headed off for their little adventure. It made a wonderful change to see another town, go into different shops, and most importantly, to see the sea. It was cloudy and bitterly cold, but Sally loved walking along the windswept beach, arm-in-arm with William. The trip did them both good to get away from Falcondale, even if it was just for a day.
The van was laden with Christmas goodies by the time they got back to Falcondale, and the house looked wonderfully festive and inviting, with the tree and fairy lights all glittering away to add to the joyous atmosphere.
Once they had put everything away, Sally made an excuse to go back to Lloyd-Evans to get something she had left behind, but in reality she had brought presents for William, David and even something for Jenny to open. She had brought William a new fishing jumper, to replace his old threadbare one. It was a glorious royal blue, and much more jolly. She promptly wrapped the jumper, added a tag and placed it into her holdall, before starting on David's gift. This was an attractive maroon and dark blue, paisley-style, silk tie. Unlike William, who tended to dress scruffily, David often wore a collar and tie beneath his sweaters. The ties he chose though were usually very plain and dated, and Sally believed the one thing David lacked in life was colour. For Jenny, she had brought her a box of tiny vials containing assorted bubble baths. They smelt divine, and Sally would often use them herself. Once all the wrapping was done, she had a final glance around her room. She had hated it last October, when she first arrived at Falcondale. She smiled as she recalled the first time she met Lizzie, when the outlandish student appeared at her door, sporting the biggest beehive she had ever seen! They had then gone on a pub crawl around town with a few of the others, and had remained the best of friends ever since.
Sally picked up the beautifully-wrapped present Lizzie had given her, just before she had left, and wondered what it was. It rattled, and was probably something hugely expensive knowing Lizzie. She suddenly felt a little embarrassed knowing she had brought Lizzie a set of heated rollers for her hair. But then, that's what Lizzie said she wanted.
Back at William's house, Christmas eve was probably the most memorable day. A few of the other students who had decided to remain on campus came over, and an impromptu party started, with the record player coming out and a dancing contest taking place, which Sally won hands down.
David and Jenny cut up several French sticks they had managed to get from the baker's and put out crisps, nuts, a selection of cheese, and some ham for the guests. However, the food all seemed to get eaten within the first hour, but still, everyone appeared to enjoy themselves.
A bit later in the evening, Sally noticed that David had drunk a little too much, and was showing off. She remembered what William had said about his behaviour, but now she was seeing it first hand. She actually had to ask William to stop David at one stage, as she feared he might injure himself. He had got hold of a sharp kitchen knife and had placed his palm flat against a table, and was stabbing between his splayed fingers at a very fast rate. Some of the other guests looked on fascinated, but a few of them, like Sally couldn't bear to watch.
"Why did you stop my fun, Sally?" Asked David, his speech slurred.
"It's obvious, I didn't want to see you hurting yourself, especially after you've been drinking."
"Who are you, his mum?" Laughed Jenny, but Sally noticed the bitchy tone in her voice.
Sally was up early on a bitterly cold Christmas day. She was sharing William's room, but her clothes and belongings were stored in the spare room, just to keep things above board, in case the nosey Nancy started snooping. She glanced down at the sleeping William, and wanted to wake him, just to wish him a happy Christmas, but he looked so serene, lying there, flat out and gently snoring. She kissed him on the cheek, then grabbed his dressing gown and tiptoed downstairs. She wanted to get the turkey prepared, then peel and chop the vegetables, ready for lunchtime. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she heard activity, and the smell of cooking coming from the kitchen. Opening the door, she was surprised to see Jenny working away, peeling potatoes.
"Good morning, Sally, happy Christmas," said Jenny cheerily. "There's a fresh pot of tea on the stove."
"Thank-you, Jenny, and happy Christmas to you." Sally glanced around and noticed Jenny had already done the carrots, parsnips, and shelled the peas. It looked as if she'd even made a start on the stuffing too.
"You didn't have to get up early and do all this, Jenny. I told William, I'd cook Christmas lunch."
Jenny put down the potato she was peeling, "It's okay, I'm used to cooking big meals. I come from a large family, and I'm always helping my mother."
"Well, alright, as long as you know what you're doing, I'll keep out." Replied Sally, a little disappointed. She went over to the stove to pour herself a cup of tea and noticed the oven was already turned on.
"So you've already put the turkey in the oven, Jenny?"
"Yes, everything's all under control, so there's not a great deal you can do, Sally. Just put your feet up, and take it easy."
"But you haven't put the stuffing in yet? Did you baste the turkey, and take the giblets out?"
"Oh, I'll do that later," replied Jenny,
going slightly red. "Look, if you want to help, Sally - there's still some clearing up to do in the front room. I've done in here."
Sally felt like she was going to explode, and marched into the front room to get away from Jenny, before she said something she might regret. She had been so looking forward to spending Christmas with William and David, just the three of them. She wanted to cook them a lovely lunch, give them their presents and have both brothers to herself for a few days. Now, Jenny was on the scene, and seemed to be determined to take over Sally's role.
"Something smells nice!" Yawned David, as he came down the stairs, hair slightly bedraggled and dressed in customary shirt and tie.
"It's your Christmas lunch, David. Jenny kindly volunteered to cook it, still with the giblets inside!" Replied Sally, unable to contain herself anymore.
David started laughing, as he went over to one of the kitchen cabinets.
"That's my girl! Gosh, I need some aspirin - my head's pounding!"
Sally then took William up a cup of tea, a glass of water, and a Beecham's powder.
"I think I'm dying," he groaned, downing the Beecham's in one. "It was a damned good night though. You're really quite a dancer, Sally, much better than me!"
"You're not so bad yourself," she replied, sliding back into bed, next to him.
They lay together for several minutes, smooching and cuddling up, before hearing the sound of pots and pans clattering, and a few expletives being muttered.
"What on earth's going on downstairs?" Asked William, sitting up and reaching for his tea.
"That's what I need to talk to you about. Jenny has started cooking lunch, but I don't think she has a clue what she's doing."
"But I thought you were cooking lunch?"
"Yes, so did I, until little Miss Giblets got involved!"
William couldn't help laughing. "What do you mean?"
"I'll tell you what I mean - she's gone and put the turkey in the oven, without basting it, without the stuffing, and without removing the giblets!"
"Oh, crikey! It's going to be a disaster isn't it?"
"Yes, William it will, but David is down there now, helping her. I'm just a guest, I don't want to cause a row."
"David's there too? It'll be more than a disaster! Leave it to me, I'll go and have a word with them." Said William, leaping out of bed.
"Okay, but do it diplomatically, old giblet features has got it in for me!"
"You have my word on it," replied, William grabbing his trousers to go downstairs.
The Christmas lunch was rescued, Jenny was demoted to desserts, and Sally turned a near-disaster into a mouth-watering victory, utilizing her exceptional, cookery and domestic science skills.
William, to make up for the inevitable delay, prepared a wonderful, if somewhat un-festive starter of hummus, taramasalata, mixed olives and pitta bread, all courtesy of Pedro's of course. This was later followed by Sally's butter-basted turkey, complimented by pigs-in-blankets, sausage, apricot and chestnut stuffing, roast potatoes cooked in goose fat, peas, parsnips and carrots. However, to add a Welsh flavour, and to both William and David's delight, Sally also added a dish of locally-grown leeks, which she served with bacon and mushrooms.
The wine flowed freely and the four students amused themselves by clowning around and doing impersonations of various members of the university staff. William's impression of Mr. Meredith, had them all in hoots of laughter, with even Jenny finding it hysterical.
"I will not tolerate any lewd, drunken or foul-mouthed behaviour in my university!" He mimicked, balancing somewhat unsteadily on a chair. "Now, Jane, sober up, and get your bloody clothes off, we've got important university business to catch up on!"
Now it was Jenny's turn to shine and Sally had to bite her tongue as her culinary rival managed to produce a delicious sherry trifle topped with thick custard and lashings of double cream.
"Don't worry, Sally, we'll save some room for your lovely Christmas pudding later on, after the charades," groaned, William, rubbing his stomach.
After a boisterous cracker-pulling session, they sat back on the easy chairs and began to open their presents. William and David were delighted with Sally's gifts and eagerly tried them on, much to the annoyance of Jenny, who had to do a last-minute shopping dash, and on very limited funds.
"Wow thanks, Jenny, we can open this tomorrow," grinned David, pleased with the bottle of claret that Jenny had brought for him. William got the same, and he too appeared to appreciate his gift. Jenny, in return, got lavender bath salts from David, and a box of dates from William. If Jenny was disappointed, then she did a wonderful job disguising it. Sally also got the bath salts from David, and a pair of pretty gold earrings from William. However, not expecting anything from Jenny, she was quite surprised when she peeled off the wrapping paper to find she had given her a cheap, garish lipstick!
"I'm so sorry, Sally. The shops were closing, and I had to make a quick decision!" Blurted out, Jenny, feeling rather embarrassed.
"It's the thought that counts!" Laughed Sally, "Don't worry, It'll be put to good use!"
As the afternoon progressed, David became noticeably more withdrawn. Sally just put it down to last night's lingering hangover, and having eaten too much, but William later told her, it was typical of his brother's mood swings. Shortly after this, David went out to chop some wood, and the two girl's began clearing the table. It was when they were both alone in the kitchen that Sally decided to ask Jenny what the problem was.
"I don't really have an issue with you now, Sally, as I've got to know you a little bit better. But yourself and Lizzie did have quite a reputation as being the 'fun' girls of the campus. Because you were seeing Frank, everyone became rather wary of you."
"I'm sorry, Jenny, I didn't realise - that's awful," replied, Sally, scraping some leftovers into the bin.
"Then it turned nasty with Frank, and you started seeing William. Well, it was like you could just have all the best-looking boys whenever you wanted them."
Sally was very shocked by this, and had to stop what she was doing.
"No, Jenny, it wasn't anything like that."
"Then, when you started flirting with David, I thought you were going to take him as well."
"Flirting with David?" Sally was dumbfounded by this, and turned to face Jenny. "What on earth are you insinuating? I'm seeing William!"
"Oh come on Sally, don't try and fool me. I've seen the way you and David look at each other. I'm not blonde and beautiful like you, but I felt that David and I had something special going on, that's until you dug your claws in."
"Jenny, please - I can assure you I've got no interest in David, he's William's brother, and yes, we do get on well together, but that's all it is."
"Are you telling me the truth, Sally? I know you could take him away from me with just a flick of your eyelashes."
"It's the truth, Jenny. Now, enough of this nonsense." Demanded Sally, feeling guilty, and beginning to go red.
After that, things between the two women, continued to be a little tense. William and David even noticed there was a certain degree of rivalry between them, but thought it best not to get involved.
Jenny, however, only stayed at the house Christmas eve and Christmas night, choosing instead, to return to her room at Lloyd-Evans. This came as a welcome relief to Sally, and she found she could relax more without Jenny watching her every move. Sally couldn't quite work out though, if Jenny had left because of her, or if it had been due to David's continued low mood. However, Jenny was expected back over on new year's eve, and Sally decided to try and get along with her for everyone's sake.
On Boxing Day, the weather predictions were proved correct. A heavy blanket of snow lay over Falcondale, and more was on the way. The snow and blizzards of winter 1962-63 was one of the severest on record. It cut off communities, brought down power lines, halted train services and flights, and caused massive disruption to practically every aspect of life. The bitter conditions would last well in
to early March and effected most parts of England and Wales
The four students opted to celebrate the arrival of the new year at the Black Lion in town. Many of the locals were there, and compared to student nights, the evening appeared to be quite subdued. The constant snow falls had made people downcast, and wary of celebrating what the future may have in store for them. However, in true community spirit they managed to sing, dance and join in Auld Lang Syne as the whole pub hugged, kissed, shook hands and patted each other on the back. It was only Sally and William though, who finally took the plunge and joined in the conga. David and Jenny left shortly after this, and trudged back holding hands in silence.
On New Year's day, Sally and William went outside to frolic and throw snowballs, even Jenny came out and joined in the fun for a while, but there was no sign of David. Later that afternoon, after a lunch of cold meats, salad and pickles, he put on his coat and announced he was going for a walk. William insisted on washing up the dishes, before practising on his guitar, and surprisingly, Jenny also volunteered to help. Sally sat down by the dying fire and thought about Lizzie. She wanted to chat with her friend, and decided to phone her that evening, providing the phone lines were still intact. She sat back and allowed herself to be serenaded by the distant sound of William's playing. It was a relaxing romantic, Spanish piece, and it gave her a few precious moments to gather her thoughts and to reflect. However, after a few more minutes, she really felt the temperature drop, and noticed the fire had practically gone out. The log basket was empty, and not wanting to bother William, she put on her coat, picked up the basket and headed off outside. Her Wellington boots made deep tracks in the fresh snow, as she made her way towards the shed, where the logs were kept. As she pulled up the hood on her coat, to keep out the chill, she noticed, David. He had cleared the snow from a circular, metal seat at the base of a tree, just near the end of the orchard. He must be frozen sitting down there all on his own, she thought, putting the basket down.