A Merry Little Christmas

by Julia Williams

  ‘Well, good luck with that,’ said Michael.

  Marianne got off the phone and whooped with delight.

  ‘Hurrah,’ she said to the twins, ‘I think this year, the nativity is going to be bigger and better than ever.’

  With the help of Miss Woods, Marianne had come up with a new script, making the nativity story more relevant to the modern day, by depicting Mary and Joseph as illegal immigrants.

  Marianne had still insisted on traditional carols though. Part of her brief, when she’d taken over the nativity when she first came to Hope Christmas, had been to keep it traditional, and Marianne had enjoyed using a different variety of Christmas carols to achieve that effect. She liked the challenge of keeping it fresh each year, but not making people feel they were seeing the same show every time.

  Noel had said he’d help light up the barn with fairy lights, and she was hoping for a really magical evening. Now all she had to do was get on and cast it. She usually set about doing that on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of November. And normally, she gave Steven a part. His voice was so beautiful it seemed criminal not to include him. This year, though … Marianne hesitated. She’d just have to arrange the first rehearsal for a weekend that Steven was home. That is, if Eve and Darren could ever manage to organise things so that she and Gabriel got a weekend with Steven at home. At first she’d thought Gabriel was being paranoid, but now she wasn’t sure. Of the six weeks that Steven had been at school, she and Gabriel had only managed to have him at home for two. Thankfully, he’d been keen to come home for half term this weekend, otherwise she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to answer for Gabriel’s behaviour …

  ‘Can I go trick or treating? Thanks, Mum, you’re the best.’ Paige flew in and out, before Cat had had time to say no.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Paige called back after her, ‘Anna and I are going with Nathan, George and Steven.’

  ‘That’s okay then,’ muttered Cat. Great. Now Ruby was bound to demand to go. It was a cold brisk October night, and the last thing Cat fancied doing was traipsing round Hope Christmas demanding sweets with menaces.

  Sure enough, Ruby appeared five minutes later in a ghost costume, complete with Scream mask. How had she created such a ghoulish child? She’d discovered her earlier, making a ‘witch’s stew’ that apparently contained eyeballs, and entrails. All Cat had been sure of was that her spaghetti supply had been depleted and she was going to have to buy ketchup next time she went shopping.

  ‘Can Molly come too?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Cat, bracing herself to go out in the cold. ‘But we’re only going to people we know.’

  ‘And can she stay for a sleepover?’

  ‘Oh go on,’ said Cat, ‘if her mum doesn’t mind.’

  Noel poked his head into the kitchen.

  ‘Oh, you’re going trick or treating. Great. Have fun.’

  ‘As if,’ said Cat. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘James and I have a date with the footie,’ said Noel. ‘See you later.’

  ‘And Mel?’

  ‘Upstairs,’ said Noel.

  ‘Surprised, not,’ said Cat, wondering if she should go up, but then chickening out. She didn’t have the energy to have a fight with Mel, which is why she hadn’t followed Michael’s advice and tried to chat to her yet. Which was cowardly, but easier. And sometimes the easy option was all you had time for.

  The streets of Hope Christmas seemed full of mothers on the same mission as her. She passed several mums she knew exchanging sympathetic glances, complete with over-excited, hyper children in devilish masks, witches’ costumes and several skeletons.

  By the time they’d exhausted most of the people they knew, Ruby and Molly were nearly satisfied with their sugar rush. (Memo to self, get them to brush their teeth really really well.) Cat’s feet were killing her, and she just wanted to collapse with a glass of wine. The thought of football not being that enticing, and seeing that Marianne had a pumpkin lit in her house, Cat decided to make one last call there.

  ‘Hi, did you know Paige was here?’ Marianne welcomed her in.

  ‘No, I didn’t,’ said Cat, then checked her phone, ‘oh yes, she does appear to have texted me.’

  ‘Can you stay for a drink?’

  ‘That sounds like an excellent idea,’ Cat said. ‘Girls, do you want to stay for a bit?’

  ‘Yes, please.’ Ruby amazingly was still spotting sweets to stuff in her bag, and the pair of them took themselves off to Marianne’s lounge to stuff their faces some more.

  ‘How’s it going?’ said Marianne, opening a bottle.

  Cat pulled a face.

  ‘Oh the usual. Mel’s still not speaking to me, I’m pretty furious with her. Same old, same old.’

  ‘Oh I am sorry,’ said Marianne. ‘It must be such a huge strain on you and Noel.’

  ‘The worst thing is,’ Cat admitted, ‘that I want to be supportive, but all I keep thinking is, how could she have been so stupid? And as for that bloody Andy Pilsdon, I could kill him. He doesn’t seem to want to take any responsibility. Noel went round and had a serious chat with him, and he pretty much said the baby wasn’t his.’

  ‘Oh God that’s awful,’ said Marianne. ‘Poor Mel.’

  ‘I know,’ said Cat. ‘I wish she’d talked to me about it. I always wanted us to be close, and now we’re miles apart.’

  ‘I’m sure the rest of us would feel the same, Cat,’ said Marianne. ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself.’

  ‘But I am such a horrible person,’ said Cat. ‘I’m actually jealous of her. I’m never going to have another baby, and my daughter is having one. What kind of monster does that make me?’

  ‘You’re not a monster,’ said Marianne. ‘You’ve had a really tough time. I don’t think you should beat yourself up. Come on, let’s have a party to cheer you up.’

  ‘A party for two?’ said Cat. ‘Where’s Gabe?’

  ‘Out for a drink with Dan,’ said Marianne. ‘Tell you what, I’ll ring Pippa. She’s bound to ring soon to ask when the boys are coming home.’

  Pippa came around straight away.

  ‘Lucy and I were just settling down to watch X Factor, weren’t we, Lucy?’ said Pippa, as they came into the kitchen.

  Lucy giggled.

  Mum fancies Simon Cowell, she typed.

  ‘That is so untrue,’ protested Pippa.

  You said he was hot, Lucy shot back.

  ‘You can watch it with Ruby and Molly,’ said Cat, ‘they’re next door.’

  Ruby had an instinctive way with Lucy. At her old school in London there had been several special needs kids, so Ruby took differences in her stride and seemed to be able to communicate with Lucy in a way that Cat could only marvel at. She didn’t think she’d been that tolerant as a child.

  Paige heard the magic words X Factor and was down the stairs in a flash.

  ‘Come on, Lucy,’ she said, and she pushed her next door.

  Cat, Marianne and Pippa sat in the kitchen and put the world to rights. Cat felt the upset and strain of the last few months slip away as she sipped her drink happily. Despite all the misery of her life at the moment, she was so glad she’d come to Hope Christmas; so glad she’d made these friends.

  ‘Right, I think I’d really better be off,’ Pippa declared, putting down her glass. ‘Otherwise I’m going to push Lucy in the gutter.’ She got up rather unsteadily and tripped over her feet, knocking straight into Cat. The pair of them ended up on the floor in a giggling heap.

  ‘Oh dear, Marianne, what have you done to me?’ laughed Pippa. ‘I think I may have had a little too much to drink.’

  ‘A little,’ snorted Cat. ‘I think you were matching me glass for glass, and I’ve had A LOT.’

  Pippa tried to get herself up, and fell back laughing. By now she and Cat were helpless with laughter, and when Marianne tried to get them both up, and fell on top of them, Pippa thought she might never ever stop. She was laughing so hard it hurt. Suddenly everything came out in a rus
h, the misery of the last few months, not being with Dan, and the worry about Lucy. Her laughter turned to tears, and soon she was sobbing in Marianne’s arms.

  ‘Gi– ir–irls,’ she sobbed, ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re the best. I love you sooo much.’

  ‘Uh oh,’ said Cat, ‘I think it’s time we got you to bed.’

  ‘Maybe a coffee, first,’ said Marianne, extricating herself from Pippa’s hug with difficulty. ‘When Gabe gets back, I’ll get him to walk you home.’

  That set Pippa off again. ‘Oh Gabe, and you, you’re so fantastic, I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

  ‘I know, we’re brilliant,’ grinned Marianne, ‘and you, my darling, are very drunk. Come, on, let’s get some coffee down your neck. Gabe should be here soon.’

  At that moment the key turned in the lock, and Gabe came in, saying, ‘Well, I still think the defender was useless, letting that last goal in.’

  Oh shit. Pippa sobered up the instant Dan walked through the door. He couldn’t see her like this. She stood up and rushed out of the door, muttering something about going to the loo, where she frantically washed her face down, and hoped that the red blotches wouldn’t be too noticeable.

  If they were, Gabriel was discreetly ignoring them. ‘I don’t know, I go out for a quiet night and come back to a den of iniquity,’ he was laughing with Marianne, when she came back into the room.

  Dan was hovering awkwardly in the background.

  ‘I should go,’ he said, ‘I don’t want to disturb anything.’

  ‘Oh don’t be daft,’ Marianne said, ‘we were just having coffee, and then Pippa was going to take the kids home. I was going to ask Gabriel to escort her up the lane, but why don’t you instead?’

  ‘There’s no need–’ said Pippa, who’d just come back from the loo.

  ‘That’s fine,’ said Dan simultaneously.

  Oh God, this was awkward. Pippa had barely spent a moment alone with Dan since he’d moved out. She felt all at sea, wondering what he was thinking, but excited by the thought of spending some – any – time with him at all.

  ‘Are you sure?’ Pippa looked at Dan, feeling absurdly shy.

  ‘Of course,’ said Dan, and gave her his lovely wrinkled reassuring smile. Her heart did a little fillip and suddenly she felt eighteen again. It was that look which had floored her on their first meeting. He’d grinned at her across a dance floor, and she’d wanted to know more about the gorgeous dark-haired guy in the corner. Pippa’s heart was hammering very loudly as she started to get ready to go.

  ‘Right, I’ll gather the troops.’ Pippa could feel herself blushing and busied about shouting up at the boys, going to get Lucy out of the lounge, to hide her discomfiture.

  It took ten minutes to get everyone ready, and after a flurry of goodbyes it was just Pippa and the children with Dan going home together, for the first time in several weeks. It was as though nothing had changed. The boys were delighted to see their dad, and he chased them up the road laughing and joking about, while Lucy had lit up when he’d come in the room.

  When they got to the house, Dan looked all set to go, but the boys were disappointed, dragging him to show him their latest Wii scores, and Pippa said, ‘Come on, stay for a quick drink. At the very least come and put Lucy to bed with me. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, sweetheart?’

  What do you think? typed Lucy, clicking with happiness, and the look of surprised delight on Dan’s face made Pippa grateful that she’d asked.

  By the time Lucy was settled, and the boys had been finally chased off the computer and Wii, it was gone eleven.

  ‘I should go,’ said Dan.

  Taking a deep breath, Pippa said, ‘Do you have to?’

  Dan came closer towards her, and she could feel herself just wanting to fall into his arms.

  ‘Would you like me to stay?’ he said.

  ‘More than anything,’ she said. ‘I’ve missed you.’

  ‘I’ve missed you too,’ he said taking her into his arms. She felt the weeks of heartache and loneliness melt away.

  ‘Stay,’ she said. ‘This is where you belong.’

  Mel

  FACEBOOK status Fat. Bored. Fed up

  Jen17: You’re the one who got pregnant

  Mel: Don’t remind me Jen. Am trying to forget it.

  Ellie: what’s it like?

  Mel: crap. I’m always going to be fat. And no one will ever love me.

  Jake: Aw babe. I love you.

  Mel: Thanks babe. But you don’t count. xxxoooxxx

  Kaz: Do you want to come round?

  Mel: Too much homework.

  Adam: You’re still doing homework?

  Mel: I didn’t lose my brain when I got pregnant.

  Teenage Kicks

  I’m getting quite scared now.

  The doctor says I’m twenty-six weeks. That’s well over halfway.

  And the baby’s kicking all the time. Soon it’s going to be born, and I’ll need to make some big decisions.

  I wish I could talk to Mum about it. But there’s no chance of that.

  I realise I’ve been completely stupid.

  The Boy isn’t going to come riding round on a white charger to whisk me and the sprog away into the sunset. And TBH, I don’t know whether I want him to.

  He knows I’m pregnant and he hasn’t come near me. He still won’t admit the baby’s his. Even when Dad went round and confronted him.

  Mum warned me about guys like him. And I had to be the idiot who fell for his lines. I feel so stupid.

  The thing is I’ve messed up. Big time. But I’ve started to work things out. I want to carry on with my education. I want to have a future. And I think I’ve figured a way to do it …

  November

  Chapter Thirty-One

  ‘Right, let’s have a go at the first scene, shall we? See what we’re all made of.’ Marianne had gathered her group of hopeful actors and actresses together in the village hall, which as usual, was freezing. You’d have thought when they rebuilt after the flood four years previously, someone might have managed to put in a modern heating system. But no, the boiler seemed perpetually on the blink. Every year, when she started rehearsing, Marianne swore she’d try and get it sorted out for the next year, and every year she forgot.

  She was trying the children out in different combinations to work out who would get which parts. She always tried to be scrupulously fair, never picking the same girl for Mary twice, making sure that not all the angels had to have fair hair, using Steven’s talents whilst ensuring that he didn’t always get a pivotal role. It was an exhausting but necessary part of the job, but despite her best efforts, inevitably at least one mother would be unhappy and find something to complain about.

  Which was why this year, she was torn. She felt Ruby Tinsall would make a lively and sparky Mary, judging by the verbal exchange she’d just had with Toby Davies, who was trying out for Joseph. To her amusement, Ruby had even improvised her own lines. But Ruby was only in Year 4, and Ruth Patterson in Year 6 had been angling for Mary for the past two years. Ruth’s mum was a notorious whinger. In the past Marianne might have been prepared to stick her neck out, but with the commitments she now had at home, she didn’t think she had the energy for a full-on fight with Danielle Patterson, Ruth’s mum. If she chose Ruby, she’d also be accused of favouritism, as everyone knew she was friends with Cat. So to counter such claims, the fact that she knew Ruby’s mum would actually go against Ruby.

  ‘Any thoughts so far?’ Pippa slid into a seat behind her, as they watched Nathan and George and three other boys vying for roles as shepherds. Steven, who had come home for the weekend especially for the rehearsal, refused point blank to try out for a shepherd, so Marianne was thinking of casting him as wise man, as there was a rather haunting solo she had in mind for him to sing. Then she remembered that Ruth Patterson’s brother Josh had also signed up for a wise man. Bugger. She’d probably need to give Steven something else to do. It w
as depressingly true what they said about squeaky wheels …

  ‘Well, I’d love to cast Ruby as Mary, but I think she’ll have to wait for next year,’ said Marianne, ‘otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it from Danielle.’

  ‘That’s a shame,’ said Pippa, ‘I think Ruby would be a fun Mary.’

  ‘I do too,’ said Marianne, ‘although I’m not sure Diana Carew would approve of Mary having fun …’

  They both laughed at the thought of Diana’s horror of things not being presented in a manner she thought appropriate.

  ‘That’s great, kids,’ said Marianne, calling them all to order. ‘I think I’ve got enough to decide who’s going to play which part. Don’t worry, there will be a part for everyone, and remember girls, just because only one of you can be Mary, doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re all fabulous!’

  The children laughed; it was part of Marianne’s pep talk every year to tell them they were fabulous. She went round the group handing out scripts, and carol sheets.

  ‘Next week, I’ll put up cast lists, and we’ll start going through the carols, but in the meantime you can all look through these to familiarise yourself with the words. See you all next time.’

  There was a scrabble for the door, and the children poured out in an excited rabble to meet their patiently waiting parents.

  ‘How are things, by the way?’ Marianne said to Pippa when the last child was accounted for. She hadn’t seen Pippa since Halloween, and had been wondering ever since how things with her and Dan had gone.

  Pippa blushed.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, Dan walked you home the other night. What happened?’

  ‘Nothing,’ said Pippa, blushing some more.

  ‘Nothing? I’m deeply disappointed,’ said Marianne.

  ‘Oh all right,’ said Pippa, ‘he came back.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And, he stayed the night,’ said Pippa, ‘but we both agreed we’d take it slowly for now. So much has happened, and Dan’s still struggling with his temper. We just thought we’d ease back into things gently.’