One Day in December: The Christmas read you won't want to put down

by Shari Low

  ‘But Mum said you’re not due home for a while,’ Caro said, confused.

  ‘What? We spoke yesterday. She knew I was coming back today,’ he replied, irritated.

  That was it. Right there. The woman who had waited with bated breath for her husband to walk through the door every single time he returned, had forgotten he was on his way.

  Todd’s voice at her ear snapped her back to the present. ‘Caro?’

  ‘Sorry, I think it’s a bad signal. I just… miss her.’

  ‘I know you do.’ She could hear the sadness in his voice and Caro knew that he missed her too. Yes, physically her mum was still there, but the truth was that the woman she’d been was long gone.

  ‘Anyway, so I’ve just ordered another drink – that’s two gin and tonics in the same day. I haven’t done that since university. I may keel over and wake up tomorrow morning in a gutter.’

  Todd laughed. ‘About time. I’m sick of that only being my party trick.’

  ‘You’re right. Somewhere there’s a gutter with my name on it. Anyway, I’ll be home later tonight. I’ll…’

  Her eyes drifted to the notification on the iPad in front of her.

  Lila Anderson has updated her status.

  ‘Hang on…’

  ‘Yep, your colleague at Stalkers Anonymous has just had a notification too,’ Todd replied. ‘God, I hate being a weirdo.’

  A photo – Lila with her boyfriend, taken on a beach somewhere. He was, as always, topless, and she was in a bikini that looked like three pom poms tied together.

  Can’t wait for dinner tonight at Grilled with this gorgeous man! #spoiled #luckyme

  ‘Urgh, is it wrong that I’m really jealous of your might-be-half-sister? I mean, seriously, there should be a law against being that happy.’

  Caro was too busy thinking the development through in her mind. So she knew exactly where Lila would be. No question. She could go to the restaurant and speak to her and clear this up once and for all. Not that there was anything sensible about striding over to a stranger who was enjoying a romantic date with her boyfriend and announcing that they may share a dad. With a bit of luck she could do it subtly, in such a way that didn’t cause too much drama. Unless, of course, Lila was actually her half-sister, in which case the drama would be unavoidable. But at least she’d know. No more wondering.

  ‘Okay, change of plan. I’m just going to check into this hotel tonight – I don’t even care if it costs a fortune. And I’ll go to the restaurant and see what happens.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘No,’ Caro said, with a wry chuckle.

  ‘I know I keep saying this, but you don’t have to do it, especially if you don’t feel ready.’

  ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be ready. But what’s the point of coming home with nothing?’

  ‘I get that. Ok, well, if you’re doing it, you might need to take a couple more of those gin and tonics for bravery purposes,’ Todd suggested. ‘And call me back the minute you get to the restaurant. I wish I was there with you.’

  ‘Me too. But I’d rather you were there so you’re close in case Mum needs you.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it, Caro – I’ve got this. And so do you. You’ll go there, you’ll meet her, you’ll sort this out. You can do it. You can. You’re the strongest person I know. But just, promise me one thing…’

  ‘What?’

  ‘That you won’t get so pissed you lose my Calvins.’

  ‘I promise I’ll bring them home to you,’ she vowed. ‘But right now I’m going to go. Will buzz you later. Let me know how Mum is, will you? And Todd… thank you.’

  ‘You’re welcome. You can repay me in designer boxers.’

  It was impossible not to smile as she hung up. She might just go in and buy another set in the morning as an extra gift. Services rendered for moral support.

  Another sip of gin and tonic, then she went on to the website for the restaurant that Lila mentioned. Wow. The images on the home page showed a decidedly upmarket venue, with deep-stuffed, crushed velvet booths, exquisitely set tables, and a huge, dramatic chandelier dropping in a myriad of glass beads from the high ceiling to the centre of the room. It was breath-taking. She deliberately avoided looking at the menu prices. Instead, she cast a glance over her jeans and Converse. Not exactly the outfit of choice for this kind of place.

  It would be crazy to go there. Mad. Why would she put herself through that?

  But… maybe, if she timed it right, she could go speak to Lila in the toilets, casually, and somehow engage her in a conversation that would absolutely prove that wasn’t her dad in the pic. Maybe that guy was English. Or French. Maybe he had lived with her and her mum every day of their lives. Maybe he was a distant cousin who just happened to look like her dad. Maybe it was her dad’s twin, separated at birth and kept secret all this time. Maybe she’d had way too much gin.

  Picking up her phone again, she dialled the number at the top of the screen.

  There was only one way to get answers to her questions.

  ‘Hi, can I make a reservation for tonight please?’

  Chapter 18

  Cammy

  The ping of the doorbell at CAMDEN set off yet another twang of nostalgia. It was the same bell that had been there when the shop was La Femme, L’Homme and he, Josie and Mel had worked there. Every morning, it would start his day, and every evening, it would mark the end of another shift in the company of the woman he’d loved… and lost.

  He shook the thought off. What the hell was going on today? He’d realised long ago that he couldn’t change what happened with Mel, couldn’t do anything about the fact she didn’t love him, couldn’t alter the reality that she was now happily married to someone else, so he’d put her out of his mind. Closed chapter. Done deal. Yet today she was round every corner and in the ping of every bloody door. Enough.

  ‘Hey man, how’s it going?’ Digby’s laid-back drawl greeted him.

  ‘So the place didn’t collapse without me then?’ Cammy asked, feigning disbelief.

  Digby did a theatrical scan of the room. ‘Nope, still standing. Guess you’re dispensable after all.’

  Cammy laughed. ‘I never doubted it for a moment.’

  Digby nodded to Josie and Val as they spoke. ‘Have these two beat your romantic intentions out of you yet?’

  ‘Nope, but I’m a shell of the man that I was when I woke up this morning.’ It was meant to be a joke but there was definitely an element of truth in there.

  Digby nodded conspiratorially to the two women. ‘Disappointed in you two. Thought for sure you’d have persuaded him against all that oppressive marriage stuff. You’ve let me down.’

  ‘Day isn’t over yet, son,’ Josie said, defiantly. ‘I’ve still to deploy firm persuasion, and if that fails I’m just going to take him hostage and keep him in my hut.’

  Cammy had stopped listening. While Josie and Val parked themselves on the two leather chairs outside the changing rooms, he headed into the back office, reappearing a few moments later. ‘Digby, did my suit arrive from the tailor?’

  Digby stopped polishing the counter top and thought for a moment. ‘It did not. He called. Said there had been some issue and it wouldn’t be back until Monday.’

  He started polishing again, then froze, as he realised that three astonished faces were looking back at him.

  ‘What? What did I say?’

  Josie and Val now swivelled their heads, in perfect synchronisation, to face Cammy, their expressions incredulous.

  Val was the first to speak. ‘Josie, did you or did you not say this morning, and again this afternoon, that you could feel it in your water that everything was going to come good today?’

  ‘I did,’ she admitted solemnly. ‘But I was lying through my teeth to make Romeo feel better.’ She switched her gaze to Cammy. ‘Starting to feel like someone’s trying to tell you something yet?’

  Cammy began to resist the notion, then just slumped against the door fr
ame.

  ‘What’s up?’ Digby asked. ‘It’s only a suit. And I hate to point out the obvious,’ he said, his hand sweeping the room, ‘but you own a clothes store. You have options.’

  Cammy knew he was right but still… He’d picked that suit especially, had it tailored, and yes, he could wear something else but that wasn’t the point. He wanted everything about the night to be special. And – for fuck’s sake – so far he had a substitute ring, an audience of French football players, nothing lined up to wear and Josie and Val were looking more self-righteous by the minute.

  Nothing was going right.

  The door dinged again and Lila walked in. What the hell…?

  Actually, maybe something was going right after all. He had no idea why she was here, but whatever it was, it was lucky timing. He’d told her he’d be at the shop all day, so if he hadn’t popped in to pick up the invisible suit, he’d have been rumbled.

  He did his best to act natural. Nothing to see here. Just an ordinary day. Nothing special at all.

  ‘Why are you wearing a jacket? Are you going out?’ she asked.

  Bollocks.

  ‘No, I er, just popped out for… milk. Yeah, we were running low. Because, you know, er, Josie and Val came in for a coffee.’

  ‘We did,’ Val told him with a wink. ‘Only, I don’t know what happened to the coffee, because my hands are still empty. How are yours, Josie?’

  Josie look at her lap. ‘It would seem that mine are empty too, since you ask.’

  Digby chuckled and took pity on Cammy. ‘Two coffees coming up,’ he said, finishing off whatever he was doing at the till.

  Lila, meanwhile, gave Cammy a kiss and then pretended to be pleased to see Josie and Val, who were watching his panic with barely disguised amusement. Life would be so much easier if Lila’s relationship with everyone else was a bit more amenable. Cammy knew they’d grow on her eventually, and vice versa. No other choice. He was marrying Lila and that was it.

  Cammy cleared his throat, desperate to act nonchalant. ‘Didn’t realise you were coming in,’ he told her, thinking how gorgeous she looked. Her hair was messier than usual, almost the way it was when she woke in the morning and she was, in his opinion, at her most beautiful.

  She didn’t need the make-up and all the other stuff – she was beautiful just the way she was.

  Lila sighed and pulled herself up to sit on the mahogany counter. ‘I wasn’t but I just went in next door and Suze told me someone had been in there to see me and she’d sent them in here. A woman.’

  ‘Oh, it er… must have been when I was out for the milk.’

  ‘You know you have staff to do that, don’t you?’ Lila remarked.

  Over in the chairs, Josie had a coughing fit.

  Cammy knew exactly what she was doing. ‘Slap her back, Val. If she chokes in here, the crime scene team will be here for a week and we’ll lose a fortune,’ he said dryly.

  Josie made an instant recovery, just as Digby reappeared clutching two mugs of milky white coffee from the instant machine in the staffroom.

  ‘Mate, was someone in here looking for Lila?’

  Digby nodded. ‘Yeah, forgot to say. Just before you got here…’ He froze… ‘Eh, got back with the milk.’

  Cammy sagged with relief that he hadn’t blown the story.

  ‘Blonde. Pretty. Said she was a friend and asked for you,’ Digby told Lila, as he handed over the hot drinks to the spectators in the comfy seats. ‘She’ll be on the CCTV if you want to have a look?’

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ Lila said, then added to Cammy, ‘Baby, will you show me?’

  ‘Right this way,’ Cammy answered, heading back into the office.

  Lila followed him in and waited as he rewound the CCTV footage back to just before he arrived. If she wondered why he came in at the same time as Val and Josie, she didn’t ask.

  ‘You okay?’ he said, pausing the footage and reaching over to hug her. She returned the gesture, but he could sense something was off. She’d usually have her arms around him by now, be kissing him, and… okay, so yes, they’d had a couple of quickies in the staffroom over the months. There was a lock on the door and they kept the noise down. It was allowed, wasn’t it? He loved that about her – that free, sexy, adventurous side. But today and, actually, over the last few weeks, she’d just seemed a bit… flat.

  A thought. Did she know? Had she guessed? That was it. Bugger, he must have left some clue to what was going on and she’d sussed it. Although, if that was the case it was a definite worry that she didn’t sound too excited about it. No. She was probably just tired. Yeah, that must be it. She’d been working way too hard lately and she was just knackered and a bit burnt out. Hopefully, she’d feel a whole lot better after tonight.

  After a few seconds wrapped in his arms, she pulled back. ‘I’m fine,’ she assured him. ‘Just tired.’

  Okay, so he’d got that right. He kissed the top of her head. ‘Then how about I take this weekend off, and we just chill out and spend two whole days in bed, just me and you?’

  Was it his imagination, or did she just flinch when he said that? Imagination. Must be. Jesus, all this engagement subterfuge was making him paranoid and oversensitive.

  ‘Yeah, babe, maybe. Got a few things I need to do though, so we’ll see.’

  Like stay in bed, looking at your engagement ring. Or going out to pick a new one. Or making plans and talking about just how happy they were going to be. A bubble of excitement caught him off guard and he cleared his throat. Enough of the doubt. She was going to be thrilled that they were engaged and they were going to live happily ever after. The end.

  He pushed a stray lock of her hair off her face and kissed her, then turned back to the screen, before opening the door a few inches and popping his head out.

  ‘Digby, was she wearing jeans and Converse?’

  ‘She was indeed.’

  Cammy refocussed on the screen. There she was. Blonde. Jeans. White Converse.

  Looking at the clock at the top of the screen, he could see she’d been here just a few moments before he’d waltzed in with Val and Josie.

  ‘That’s her there,’ he told Lila. He played, rewound, played, rewound. The CCTV covered the till area, although it also caught the rest of the room, but the black and white image was a little grainy. It was the same system that Mel had fitted when she opened La Femme L’Homme over ten years ago. If nothing else, this was a reminder that he should probably update it.

  He paused on the best image, and both he and Lila strained forward to see it closer up.

  ‘Do you know her?’ Cammy asked, studying the image.

  Lila shook her head. ‘Don’t recognise her at all. I thought maybe it was someone I’d met through work, but… no, never seen her before,’ she declared, her tone unquestioning. ‘What about you?’

  Cammy was still staring at it. ‘I don’t know. There’s something… familiar about her.’ He was flicking back through scenes in his mind. Was she someone from the glory days when he was out in Glasgow clubs every night of the week? Or someone that used to come into the shop? He had such a feeling it was more recent. ‘Could it be someone you’re friends with on Facebook?’

  Lila shrugged. ‘Don’t think so, but I’ve got over two thousand friends and I’ve never met most of them, so it’s possible.’

  That whole concept never failed to bemuse Cammy. Over two thousand friends online, and she couldn’t pick most of them out in a line-up.

  ‘It could be one of the nurses or doctors from hospitals I’ve dealt with. I’ve told loads of people this is your shop…’

  ‘Thanks for the plug,’ Cammy interjected.

  ‘You’re welcome. Anyway, people always look different out of uniform so that could be it.’

  Cammy stared at the screen again. There was definitely something about the woman that struck a chord. ‘I’m sure it’ll be something like that. But look, just keep an eye out. There are all sorts of weirdos around these days. Crazy stalkers on ev
ery corner,’ he said flippantly, then realised that Lila wasn’t in on the joke. ‘Hey, I was only kidding.’ He pulled her towards him, kissed her, long and slow, his hands gently tracing a line down the side of her face. ‘It’ll be fine. There will be a perfectly innocent explanation. In the meantime, why don’t I get Digby to lock up and we can go home, and I’ll pour you a drink, and do filthy things to you to take your mind off all this.’

  Usually her shoulders would relax, her breath would deepen and her hands would start to wander at that very suggestion, but not today.

  ‘I’d love to, baby,’ she said, and she looked so sexy that, for a moment, he was sure she was going to agree, ‘but I’m not finished work yet. I’ve got one more appointment.’

  His arms still around her, Cammy’s face was one big question mark. For fuck’s sake, this was all he needed. Hadn’t enough things gone wrong today? And now she had to work late.

  ‘At this time on a Friday?’

  His irritation dissolved when he saw how mournful Lila was.

  ‘Sorry, babe, but it’s a meeting that got postponed from earlier. A cardiac surgeon. He got called into theatre. I’m just going to pop into Pluckers for a quick something, then go back to see him.’

  ‘Can’t it wait until Monday?’

  She was already disentangling herself from his arms. ‘It can’t. I just need to get an order from him and if I don’t get it today I’ll miss my target. You know how it is – these guys work all kinds of hours and sometimes I just need to be flexible and fit around their schedules. It’ll be worth it.’

  Cammy didn’t have much of a clue how her commission structure worked, but it had to be a big deal or there was no way she’d be going there instead of knocking off early.

  She stretched up on to her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek – the cheek.

  ‘I’ll be back in time for dinner though. What time are we going?’

  ‘We’re meeting your mum and dad there at eight o’clock.’

  ‘Okay, well I’ll try to make it home for sixish. That’ll give me time to beautify myself even more,’ she added with a giggle.