Christmas Past

by Glenice Crossland

  ‘Aye well,’ she said, ‘I do me best and neither man nor woman can do more.’

  Alan looked thoughtful. ‘How long do you think we would have to wait for a council house, Gran?’

  ‘Maybe seven or eight years.’

  ‘Then I’d better start saving for a deposit. I can’t expect you to give us a home for that long.’

  ‘Yer welcome here for as long as yer like, lad, providing yer married and not living in sin.’

  ‘We’ll be married, I promise you that, and I’ll work my fingers to the bone to get a home together.’

  ‘That’s exactly what yer dad said when he married yer mother.’

  ‘He did, too.’

  ‘Aye, but yer mother was a worker as well.’ Suddenly she burst out laughing.

  .‘What’s so funny?’

  ‘I can just imagine yer mother’s face when she hears yer on the list for a council house. Eeh, no, lad, I think you’d best stay here until you’ve saved up that deposit. We don’t want yer mother having to come down off that pedestal, do we?’

  Elizabeth Ann Holmes was born on 19 September, as fair and placid as her father, and the apple of his eye. Mary had long since made her peace with Alan, apologising for losing her temper, though it had taken some persuasion on Jack’s part before she would do so.

  Alan had accepted her apologies graciously, but refused to move back to the shop. Avril didn’t interfere, leaving the decision to Alan. Though she got on well with her mother-in-law she wasn’t sure if she could cope with her for twenty-four hours a day, and was rather relieved when Alan chose to stay in the calm, easy-going atmosphere of Grandma Holmes’s rather than return to the shop with its lack of privacy.

  After her daughter’s birth Avril decided to repay the old lady for her kindness, by scraping off the old patterned wallpaper room by room and replacing it with a plain paper which could be Walpamured, and made the house seem much lighter. She also burned off the chocolate-coloured varnish from the woodwork and painted it all magnolia. Grandma Holmes hated the mess and inconvenience but was delighted with the result, and invited all the neighbours in to admire Avril’s handiwork.

  The outcome was a number of requests for Avril to use her skills and decorate their houses too. If Jack took her to the wholesaler’s she found she could make quite a reasonable profit on the materials alone, apart from being paid for her labour.

  One young couple who had bought a house called on Avril for an estimate for the job of decorating the walls and choosing a colour scheme for carpets and curtains. Keeping the cost as low as possible she still managed to make a decent profit, and the couple were highly delighted with the finished result.

  Baby Elizabeth seemed to thrive on being surrounded by stepladders and wallpaper, and if she did have a bad day occasionally Grandma Holmes was delighted to be given the chance to spoil her first great-granddaughter, and would wheel her down to the memorial gardens, where the rhododendrons grew in profusion round the lawns.

  When spring came she would take an old mackintosh and spread it on the grass, so that the baby could lie and kick to her heart’s content. It was here she began to crawl and try to eat the daisies, whilst her great-grandmother gossiped to her neighbours about the good old days, and watched the little girl with pride.

  There was no doubt that Elizabeth was the best-dressed child in Millington, if not in the whole of Yorkshire. Alan refused to accept a penny from his parents but could hardly refuse gifts for the baby, and Mary kept her granddaughter supplied with Cutie Wear dresses, frilly underskirts and best-quality baby shoes and socks.

  Avril was grateful to her in-laws, pointing out to Alan that the less they had to spend on Elizabeth the more they could save towards a house in the future.

  Grandma Holmes dreaded the time they decided to leave. She had hated living alone and the house had become alive again over the past year. The help she gave Avril occasionally by looking after Elizabeth was far surpassed by their just being there. Besides, the money they gave her for their board more than covered the expenses and went a long way towards paying the bills.

  Jack was relieved things were working out for the couple. He thought the world of Avril and idolised his granddaughter.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  After Avril finished college Jacqueline missed her friend terribly, but knuckled down to her final year in order to fill the void, and graduate with first-class results. By the time her training finished in the summer her little niece was toddling round by holding on to the furniture, and looked like following in Una’s footsteps and developing into another Holmes enchantress.

  Jacqueline wondered why, apart from her father, she was the only dark one in the Holmes family, and the plainest, but as she had never been vain by nature she didn’t let it trouble her. Besides, Doug must consider her attractive, otherwise he would never have proposed.

  He had waited until she finished college before buying the ring, and the engagement had taken place the week after her homecoming, on the understanding that they would wait until she was settled in her new job before arranging the wedding.

  She considered herself fortunate to have secured a teaching position at the newly built junior school in Millington. She found the children on the whole friendly, intelligent and thirsty for knowledge. She had the knack of making lessons interesting and lively while at the same time managing to keep discipline without appearing heavy-handed. Before long she had the majority of children eating out of her hand.

  Yet for some reason she didn’t find teaching as satisfying as she had expected. After analysing her feelings, she came to the conclusion that it was because she was unable to use her talents to the full. Most of the day’s timetable was made up of other subjects, and her artistic flair was only brought to the fore on two or three half-hourly periods a week. As a result, she became more and more frustrated and couldn’t wait to leave her tutoring behind, and escape to a place where she could nurture her gift in the floral surroundings of Gardener’s Rest.

  Once, she applied for the headmistress’s permission to take her class on a nature expedition. They set off in the morning armed with drawing equipment, exercise books and a packed lunch. On their arrival at the farm Doug explained how the seeds and cuttings were planted and the best way of caring for the many different species.

  After he had answered the questions the children were encouraged to ask, they were allowed to draw or paint any of the beautiful and colourful hothouse plants, or were free to wander in the meadows and paint pictures of the animals or the countryside. Jacqueline was impressed by the variety of talent displayed, and the day was voted an outstanding success, especially when Doug gave each child a small pot plant to take home, with instructions on how to care for it.

  During the weekends, Jacqueline became more and more familiar with the gardening scene. She studied the books, memorising the names of the different species. She created bottle gardens and hanging baskets, and most of all she painted: pictures of beautiful double begonias, scarlet bush roses, and later on, in time for Christmas, red-breasted robins and snow-clad hills, with fir trees in silhouette against the sunset.

  Doug had extended the display area to include an old stable, and this was taken over by Jacqueline for use as a gallery to display her work. It was also used as a hideaway for the couple to make love, usually on a Sunday morning before the visitors began to arrive. Doug was becoming impatient to be married, so that their lovemaking could be more frequent and leisurely, but Jacqueline was content for the time being and needed space to think things out.

  ‘We need to be practical,’ she told him. ‘We haven’t thought about where we’re going to live, for a start.’

  ‘I thought that was decided,’ he said in surprise. ‘The farm’s plenty large enough for us to live here.’

  ‘But it wouldn’t be our own place.’

  ‘I know that, but we can have the front room, my mother’s said so.’

  Jacqueline had already thought about it, and d
ecided against it. ‘But I want our own place.’

  ‘Well, so do I, but it wouldn’t really be practical, would it? I mean, we’d be here, on the spot, to keep an eye on things.’

  Jacqueline didn’t enjoy arguing, but she knew she couldn’t give in on so important an issue. ‘But it wouldn’t be fair, Doug. What about Cyril and Bessie? It’s their home too. I can’t just intrude on them. Besides, there isn’t really all that much room. If we had a family the house would be overcrowded. And what if Lucy and her husband wanted to come and stay?’

  ‘Well, our Bessie’s never at home. She’s always at Sam’s. And Cyril’ll be off for good in the near future.’

  Jacqueline looked worried. ‘But that’s another thing. Even if Cyril goes the farm wouldn’t be ours. If anything happened to your parents it would have to be shared. They’ve all a right to a part share.’

  Doug frowned. ‘Not if I’d done all the work around the place. They wouldn’t be so mean as to put a claim in.’

  ‘You can’t know that. Besides, it wouldn’t be meanness, it would be their right.’ Jacqueline hated to have to hurt Doug. She came closer and touched his hand, saying gently, ‘I love you, Doug, and I want to be with you all the time, every moment of the day, but when we many I want our own home. We can still run Gardener’s Rest, but independently from the farm. You can still help run the farm with your father – you couldn’t desert him now at his age – but I don’t want to live with them. I wouldn’t feel secure knowing our home might have to be sold at any time.’

  Doug shovelled compost into brown paper bags and dumped them on the scales. He knew Jacqueline was talking sense, but couldn’t think of an alternative.

  ‘What do you suggest we do then, live over the brush? There are certainly no houses going in Longfield. Nobody ever leaves once they’ve lived here.’

  ‘Well, they wouldn’t, not if they’d any sense. We’ll think about it – there isn’t any hurry.’

  ‘Maybe not for you, but I’m not completely happy with a roll in the hay on a Sunday morning. I want us to be able to make love when we feel like it, and in a bed.’

  ‘And do you think I don’t? Look, I’ll tell you what, we’ll go away for the weekend. We can close up early next Saturday and be away by six at the latest. I’ll book us in somewhere nice, not too far away, and we can be back to open up by eleven on Sunday. There’s never much doing before then.’

  Doug cheered up. ‘And what will your mother have to say about that?’

  ‘Who cares? I’m over the age of consent and even if I weren’t it’s you and me who matter.’

  Doug grinned. ‘I’d better buy myself a pair of silk pyjamas, then,’ he joked.

  ‘I wouldn’t bother.’ Jacqueline pulled a face. ‘They’d only be a waste of money. I prefer nice silky flesh myself.’

  The dispute was put to one side for the time being, but a solution would have to be found, and soon. Especially after a night at the Rutland Arms in Bakewell, for instead of satisfying their desires all the night of lovemaking did was whet their appetite for more.

  As trade in the shoe shop increased and the bank account looked more healthy Jack couldn’t understand why he continued to feel ill at ease. The house just hadn’t seemed the same since Alan walked out, and though he and Avril visited often there still seemed to be a barrier between the two families. Jack wished his son would accept a monetary gift, or even a loan to start them off in a home of their own, but Alan wouldn’t hear of it.

  ‘We’re almost there,’ he said when Jack renewed the offer. ‘Besides, we haven’t found anywhere suitable yet.’

  It was true that the young couple were well on their way to being able to take on a mortgage, but Alan didn’t confide in his father his fears that the garage was about to be sold.

  Avril wasn’t worried. Alan was good at his job and if he lost his existing one she was confident he would find another. ‘Besides,’ she said, ‘I could take on more decorating jobs if you were home to see to Elizabeth.’

  ‘Oh, no.’ Alan refused to listen to such suggestions. ‘Elizabeth needs you, at least until she starts school.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right,’ Avril agreed. ‘And I need to be with her. She’ll grow up far too quickly and I don’t intend missing out on her progress.’

  Avril could have taken on more work. Grandma Holmes was always delighted to be left in charge of Elizabeth, but Avril knew what a handful her daughter could be and only left her on rare occasions. Anyway, the landlord had recently divided the large bedroom and installed a bathroom so she was busy decorating, tiling and making curtains. It meant that she and Alan had been forced to move up into the attic, leaving their daughter in the smaller room. The arrangement was not ideal and they stepped up their search for a suitable house within their means.

  Alan usually worked late, so the night he arrived home on time Avril knew something had happened. Grandma Holmes saw the worried expression on her face when the car drew up outside, and tactful as ever decided it was time to visit one of her neighbours, asking permission to take Elizabeth with her. After they had gone, the little girl toddling happily along holding on to the old lady’s hand, Alan came in, wearing a smile which laid to rest any worries Avril had harboured.

  ‘You’re early,’ she said. ‘Has the garage burned down?’

  ‘Not on your life!’ Alan grabbed Avril round the waist and danced her round the kitchen table. ‘How does it feel to be dancing with the new manager of Hillside Garage?’ He stood away from her so he could see her face, the face he had loved from the first moment he had ever set eyes on it. Now it was a picture of smiling astonishment.

  ‘What?’

  ‘You’re looking at the new manager of Hillside as from today.’

  ‘But I thought it was to be sold. Has the new owner employed you or something?’

  ‘They’re changed their minds. They’re still moving to Derbyshire as planned, but they’re keeping Hillside too, and I’ve been put in overall charge. Colin’s decided if I’m half the businessman my parents are I’ll have no problem.’

  ‘I’m sure he’s right.’

  ‘And that’s not all. Colin’s house is up for sale. What do you think?’

  ‘Oh, we couldn’t, Alan. They’ll be asking a fortune – we can’t possibly afford it.’

  ‘But I haven’t told you the best part. I shall be given a substantial rise in salary, enough to enable us to take the chance.’ He hugged Avril to him. ‘We’ll show my mother I can keep my wife and child without any help from anybody.’

  ‘You’ve already done that. I do wish you’d let bygones be bygones and stop harping on past differences. You only upset your father by being so stubborn.’

  ‘OK, OK, I promise, but only if you agree to consider buying Colin’s house.’

  ‘All right. We’ll make some enquiries, I promise.’

  Looking down into the gentle grey eyes, Alan ran his fingers through her tousled shoulder-length hair and was suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to kiss her. It was at that moment that Grandma Holmes chose to walk in the door.

  ‘Dada,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Dada.’

  Alan grinned and lifted his daughter high, planting a kiss on her turned-up nose. The only shadow on Alan’s happiness at that moment was the thought of having to break to his grandmother the news that they would soon be leaving.

  It was Jacqueline’s birthday, and Mary wasn’t very pleased that her daughter had arranged to join the other teachers at her school for their annual dinner dance. Husbands and boyfriends were invited and a coach was to take them to the Angler’s Rest in the village of Bamford. ‘It’s been arranged for ages,’ Jacqueline said. ‘They just added my name to the list automatically. No one knew it was my birthday. Besides, I would have gone anyway.’

  ‘But we’ve always had the family to tea on your birthday,’ Mary moaned.

  ‘I know, and I’m sorry, but I’m not a little girl any more, Mam. It’s not as though I’m going to miss the jelly and cream b
uns. And we shall be having all the usual Christmas get-togethers in a few days.’

  Jack admired his daughter’s ability to stand up to her mother, and wished he’d done the same years ago. Not that he didn’t love Mary dearly, but she did tend to boss everybody around given half a chance, though she had mellowed a little after the set to with Alan.

  That evening Jacqueline wore a royal blue cocktail dress with rhinestones adorning its low scooped neckline. She was also wearing a diamante necklace, a birthday present from Doug, and a pair of silver earrings from Grandma and Grandad Roberts.

  ‘You look a sight for sore eyes, sweetheart,’ Jack said when she came downstairs. ‘Here’s a little bit of something from yer dad.’ Jack always found himself embarrassed when handing out presents and he shyly gave Jacqueline a parcel wrapped in rose-patterned paper.

  Jacqueline tore open the paper eagerly to find a jewel box in polished wood. When she opened the lid a ballerina began a pirouette and the tune ‘Fascination’ began to play.

  ‘Oh, Dad, it’s absolutely beautiful, and I adore the tune. Thank you.’ She hugged her father and left the box open so she could continue to listen. Mary watched her daughter with pride.

  ‘You look a million dollars, love,’ she said.

  ‘Thanks to you, Mam.’ Jacqueline gave a twirl. ‘The dress is really smashing. I bet everyone at the dinner dance’ll be queueing outside the shop for one just like it next week.’

  ‘Well they won’t get one.’ Mary brushed a dark hair from Jacqueline’s shoulder. ‘Anything I make for my daughter is exclusive, and no one else will ever have one the same.’

  ‘Well, thanks, both of you. You’re making me feel guilty now for going out. I tell you what, Doug and I will make amends by taking you out for a meal tomorrow. How’s that?’