‘It’s fine,’ said Nicola. ‘But you’re right, I should talk to him.’ She snapped off a rubber glove, making Lottie jump.
Lottie dished out instructions for someone to light a fire in the drawing room and snug before she set about making lunch. She felt more Christmassy today than she had yesterday, it was odd. Perhaps it was the fun of the duck race, or the relief of not having to cook a full roast dinner – or, a little voice inside her head cut in, it’s being around Joe again. No. She banished that little voice and decided it must be that she had overdone the mulled wine. Yes, that would be it – too much alcohol and not enough to eat, that would certainly make you feel jolly.
Lottie could hear a kerfuffle coming from the drawing room, but she chose to ignore it, deciding that if it was something important someone would come and get her. She set about carving up the ham. It was a huge joint, and it would take ages if she was going to slice it thinly like Nana used to do.
‘Have you seen the pen I bought your mother for Christmas?’ asked Scott, appearing in the doorway.
Lottie racked her brains. ‘Not since she opened it, no.’
‘She’s lost it.’
Lottie could hear her mother’s dramatic performance coming from the other room. ‘Could it have got caught up with the wrapping paper, perhaps?’ she suggested.
‘Great thought!’ Scott punched the air. Bless him, he was so excited about everything, thought Lottie. Then she thought of the porn films and sniggered. He frowned at her as he went past so she turned it into a fake cough and his smile returned.
Eventually her mother’s dramatics reached the kitchen. ‘It’s gone! My Swarovski pen has gone! I was going to finish writing my autobiography with it, but I can’t find it anywhere.’
Lottie carried on battling with the ham.
‘Lottie!’ Her mother stamped her foot. ‘Why aren’t you searching for it?’
Lottie openly sighed at her mother’s lack of perspective. Yesterday poor Bernard had almost died and she had barely noticed; today she’d mislaid a sparkly pen and was declaring Armageddon. ‘It’s not gone,’ said Lottie, carefully putting down the carving knife. It was always safest not to handle sharp objects when she was arguing with her mother.
‘It has.’
‘You’ve just mislaid it.’
‘But I’ve checked everywhere,’ wailed Angie. ‘I don’t know what I’ll do.’ She slumped onto a kitchen chair and dropped her head to her chest. Lottie stared at the ceiling and counted to ten. ‘Lottie. Did you hear me?’
‘Yep. But other than suggesting you check again, there’s not a lot I can do.’ She picked up the carving knife. ‘Are you openly eating meat again?’ she asked. One less vegan to cater for would at least mean she wouldn’t be eating ham for the foreseeable future.
‘No, I’m a vegan.’ Angie swished her hair.
‘No, you’re not. You’re play-acting for Scott.’ Poor Scott; he seemed quite sweet really, and completely different to anyone her mother had dated before – which was most definitely a good thing. ‘Why can’t you just be yourself? Why do you hide behind this …’ she waved the carving knife and put it down hastily, ‘… this act, all the time?’
Angie looked affronted. Her mouth dropped open and she pulled her body back into the chair. ‘Me, acting? What about you?’
Lottie froze. She didn’t know where her mother was going with this. Her own secret, Melissa’s secret and Zach’s engagement plans all whizzed through her mind. ‘What about me?’ She felt like an ant under a magnifying glass watching a cloud move away from the sun.
Her mother’s cheek twitched; she hated that Angie knew she’d hit on something. ‘You’ve been keeping secrets.’ Angie narrowed her eyes but kept them firmly fixed on Lottie.
Lottie’s skin began to prickle. ‘What secrets?’ She raised her chin defiantly.
‘Oh. My. God!’ said Angie, each word getting louder. ‘Daniel!’ she yelled. ‘Daniel, come here.’
Daniel came into the kitchen with an irritated look on his face, closely followed by Zach, Joe and Emily. ‘What’s going on?’ Daniel asked.
‘No idea.’ Lottie shrugged and tried to remain calm. ‘Ask her.’ She stabbed a finger in Angie’s general direction. She couldn’t make eye contact with her brother or Joe. Was this the moment she’d been dreading for years? Her cheeks were burning. She didn’t want Joe to witness this, but what could she do?
Angie stood up and addressed her audience. ‘She knew.’ She pointed at Lottie and gave a fake sob. Lottie’s stomach plummeted. ‘She knew our mother was dying and she kept it to herself.’
That wasn’t what Lottie was expecting. Relief mixed with indignation washed through her. For now, her secrets were safe. As usual her mother had gone off down the path to crazyland and she would have to coax her back.
‘What? Nana didn’t say anything to me. Honestly, I didn’t know. Nobody knew,’ said Lottie. Angie was shaking her head. Daniel was frowning hard at Lottie. ‘I had the Christmas card, same as the rest of you.’ She struggled to stop her voice from rising to a shout. ‘If I’d known, then Nana wouldn’t have had to write me a card.’
Angie pushed out her bottom lip. ‘Proves nothing. You could have hatched the card thing up together.’
‘For crying out loud,’ said Lottie. She heard Nana in her words and it galvanised her resolve. ‘What would I possibly have to gain from keeping that secret?’
‘My mother,’ snapped Angie. ‘You always wanted her to yourself. You did everything you could to get between us.’
Lottie threw up her hands in frustration: this was madness. ‘How could I get between you and Nana when you were never here?’ Lottie shouted.
Zach stepped fully into the kitchen and strode over to stand next to Lottie. ‘Mum, that’s enough. Lottie didn’t know about Nana.’
‘How could you possibly know that?’
‘Because I know Lottie and she’s the most honest and trustworthy person I know.’
‘She was always Nana’s favourite. She always favoured Lottie over you, Zach.’ Angie was calmer now, and because of it, more dangerous. ‘You don’t think those two are capable of making a pact not to tell anyone else?’ She stared, unblinking, at Zach.
‘No,’ he said, calmly. ‘I don’t.’
Daniel was shaking his head. ‘Angie, you know what Mother was like. Stiff upper lip to the end. She wouldn’t have wanted any fuss or upset.’ He turned to Lottie. ‘And most of all, she wouldn’t have wanted to see you upset.’
Angie opened her mouth, but stopped when Scott came in from outside, bringing a gust of winter through the door with him. Lottie glanced at Scott and her breath caught in her throat when she saw what he had in his hand. Her eyes shot to Emily who, from her wide-eyed expression, Lottie guessed had spotted it too.
‘What’s that?’ asked Angie.
‘That’s what I was going to ask you,’ said Scott, holding the pregnancy tester box aloft. ‘I found this inside the packaging of the perfume I bought you. Have you got something you want to tell me?’ Lottie realised that Emily must have found the packaging in the bathroom and used it to conceal the evidence before putting it in the outside bin. She wondered where the actual test had gone.
It was Angie’s turn to look nervous. She got to her feet and moved towards Scott. ‘Darling, what do you mean?’ She went to take the box from him, but he snatched it away.
‘I’m guessing you thought you were pregnant.’ He turned to address the kitchen. ‘We’re hoping to have a baby.’
Zach coughed out a laugh and Lottie nudged him. Poor Scott, he really had no idea how old their mother was. Scott turned back to Angie. ‘Well, are you?’ he asked, his face hopeful. Emily was looking terrified and Lottie’s heart went out to her. She liked Emily, and she loved her brother. This was not how this information was meant to be shared.
‘No,’ said Angie. ‘I’m afraid I’m not. The test’s not mine.’
‘You’re forty-eight,’ blurted out Zach. Scott
looked like he’d been hit with a pan; or at the very least, a cremated stuffing ball.
Angie looked panicked as she strode over to Scott and snatched the test box from him. Trying to move the conversation on as quickly as possible, she spun around to look straight at Lottie. ‘But this means someone here thought they were pregnant.’
Lottie stiffened with alarm. She opened her mouth and said the first thing that came into her head. ‘Scott’s a porn star!’
Chapter Twenty-Four
‘A porn star?’ Angie’s laugh tinkled merrily – until she saw the look on Scott’s face. Angie put down the pregnancy test box on the kitchen table. Lottie stepped in front of it, silently picked it up and put it in her back pocket.
Angie turned to Scott, who was looking uneasy. ‘What’s she talking about, Scott?’
Lottie was about to usher everyone out of the kitchen until she realised that they’d only be listening on the other side of the door, so they might as well stay.
Scott’s eyebrows were working overtime. His usual smile was replaced with a thin line. ‘You remember I told you I’d been an extra in some low budget films?’
‘Ones that never made it to the cinema,’ said Angie, in a very small voice.
‘You don’t get those sorts of films at the local Cineworld,’ whispered Zach, who appeared to be enjoying the show so much he just needed a bucket of popcorn. Lottie shot him a glare.
‘I’m sorry—’ began Scott.
‘How many p … How many films?’ asked Angie, a hardness creeping into her voice.
Scott opened his mouth and closed it a few times. ‘I really don’t know.’ Angie continued to stare at him. He held up his palms.
‘Ten?’ she asked.
‘Fifty? A hundred maybe.’
Despite the Botox, Angie’s eyebrows shot upwards. ‘A hundred porn films! Bloody hell. Thousands of people could have seen them.’
‘It’s not likely. They’re not that good,’ cut in Zach. Scott and Angie both scowled at him and Lottie gave him another poke in the ribs. ‘What? I was trying to help.’
‘I’ve been doing it for years, on and off—’ said Scott.
‘On and off,’ sniggered Zach.
‘—whenever I needed the cash. But I haven’t done one for months, and definitely not since we’ve been together.’ Scott’s eyes were pleading. ‘I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you the truth, but it’s not something I brag about.’
Angie’s head tilted. ‘Do they pay well?’
Scott nodded. ‘A day on set equals a month as a trimmer. But I promise I’ll not do any more. I’m getting kind of old for it now anyway. And while I’m thinking about age …’
‘Ooh, nice segue,’ whispered Zach to Lottie.
Angie shook her head and turned away from Scott. Everyone else suddenly tried to look busy. ‘Right. Show’s over. You must have better things to do.’ She tried to shoo Lottie out, but Lottie picked up the carving knife and pointed at the ham – she was busy. Zach got out of his mother’s way and disappeared into the hallway with Emily and Joe.
‘You’re forty-eight?’ Scott seemed to be trying to work something out.
Angie let out a tinny laugh. ‘Zach was always rubbish with numbers. He failed his Maths GCSE first time. Don’t take any notice of him.’
Lottie kept her head down and prayed Scott didn’t think to ask her.
‘I thought we were trying for a baby,’ said Scott, his voice gentle and full of hurt. He leaned back against the cupboards.
Lottie concentrated on slicing the ham super thin. She wished she could escape with the others, but she really did need to get this job done otherwise there’d be no lunch.
Angie pushed her hair behind her ears and gave him a soft smile. ‘Oh, my dear Scotty. We were trying. We still are.’ Lottie didn’t want to think about that. ‘But the thing is, I think I’m going through an early menopause.’ Not that early, thought Lottie.
‘Early menopause. You poor thing – why didn’t you tell me?’ Scott took her hand.
Angie went all coy. ‘I wasn’t sure. And it’s the sort of thing that has most men running for the hills.’
‘You know I’m here for you, right?’
‘I do. And who knows? We might strike lucky. I’m happy to keep trying if you are.’ Lottie wished she had some earplugs. She was staring at the ham so hard she thought her eyes might bleed. Now seemed like as good an opportunity as any to put a few things straight.
‘Scott.’ His head jerked in her direction. ‘My mother is frequently misguided. Her vegan deception is a prime example. She was trying to impress you.’ Before he could respond, she turned to her mother. ‘And you really need to learn to be yourself. You always try to be what you think others want you to be. It never works, because eventually the real you comes out. People should accept you as you are. Both of you.’
Angie was blinking back her surprise at Lottie’s words. Scott slunk an arm around her waist and they silently smiled at each other. It gave Lottie a warm feeling to witness the acceptance. Maybe her mother was getting better at choosing men; she’d had enough practice.
Angie pulled Scott close and kissed him. It was barely on the right side of public decency and Lottie nearly lost a finger when the carving knife slipped.
‘Shit. Bugger me that hurt,’ said Lottie, and the kissing couple pulled apart.
‘Let’s take this upstairs,’ suggested Angie, all doe-eyed. She led Scott from the kitchen and they left Lottie to sort out her cut finger on her own.
Lottie wrapped a piece of kitchen towel around her bleeding finger and dashed outside to do a proper job of disposing of the pregnancy test box. She hoped that for now that was very much forgotten.
Lottie was adding the final touches to lunch when Emily came into the kitchen. There was an Everest of ham sandwiches, a separate platter of ham slices and ham and cheese on cocktail sticks. She’d made tomato and hummus sandwiches for Scott and put a big label on the plate with his name on it. There was also the last of the cheese board, Dayea’s lumpia, crackers, sausage rolls, crisps and a pineapple – she still wasn’t sure what she had been meant to do with the pineapple, but it made quite a nice table ornament. She figured the spread should keep the ravenous horde at bay until dinner.
‘Thank you for earlier,’ said Emily. ‘I really thought the game was up. I owe you.’
Lottie waved her thanks away. ‘It’s fine. But watch out because my mother’s memory is better than an elephant’s. She is preoccupied now, but she’ll be back on the case later. I guarantee it.’
Emily looked concerned, and rightly so. ‘Where’s she gone?’
‘Her and Scott are making up so she’ll be busy for a while. Thankfully.’
Emily flopped down on a kitchen chair. ‘This is turning into such a mess. I’m sure Zach knows something is wrong. He’s acting all odd around me. Do you think he’ll guess the test was mine?’
‘No. The good thing about having an overdramatic mother is that you automatically assume anything like that is her trying to draw attention to herself. So you’re good on that score. Also, he’s a man. They’re notoriously slow on the uptake on things like this.’
‘Thanks. I don’t want anything to spoil what I already have. Although I’m still a bit worried about what Jessie heard him say to Joe yesterday. I love Zach and Jessie.’
The fact that there was no pause between their names told Lottie all she needed to know. Anyone who Zach was considering proposing to needed to take him and his daughter as a package and it was clear that Emily did.
‘Then really that’s all that matters,’ said Lottie.
‘You’re right.’ Emily took a slow breath.
‘You seem to be getting on well with everyone.’
‘Joe’s nice,’ she said.
‘He is … very nice.’ The thought of him made Lottie smile.
‘What was that all about yesterday? Bernard said something about Joe’s father being a murderer.’
Lottie paus
ed with the clingfilm hovering above a plate. ‘It’s true … but it’s not that straightforward.’
‘But murder,’ said Emily, looking uncomfortable.
‘Joe’s mum was dying of cancer. His dad was the local GP. She was in her last few days and he gave her something to hasten the inevitable.’
‘Poor Joe.’ Emily scrunched up her features.
‘Poor all of them. His dad was arrested shortly after. He died in custody and I swear it was from a broken heart.’
‘That’s so sad.’
Lottie nodded. It was indeed the saddest thing she’d ever witnessed. Talking about it flooded her mind with memories. She’d known them so well. It had been awful to see Joe’s mum deteriorate and watch Joe trying to cope with it. When she had died and the police had taken Joe’s father away, the small village had been besieged by press, and Joe had taken refuge at the manor. Shortly afterwards, he’d written her a note and left without saying goodbye. She’d not seen or heard from him again – until two days ago.
‘Right. What have I forgotten?’ Lottie scanned an eye over the food. She needed to keep her mind in the present. Her memories were too much of a minefield to wander through.
‘Can I help with lunch? Ah.’ She looked over the table and seemed to notice that lunch was already a done deal. ‘Or dinner later?’
‘Thanks.’ Lottie was making a prawn curry tonight so she could fill everyone up with lots of rice. She just had to think of something to put in a vegan version. ‘Is sprout curry a thing?’ asked Lottie.
Emily wrinkled her nose. ‘Not something I’ve heard of, and certainly not something I’d fancy.’
‘No, me neither,’ admitted Lottie. ‘I might have to get something from the shop.’
‘Could you get me another tester while you’re there?’
‘Sure.’ Lottie hated seeing the worry in Emily’s eyes. ‘Whatever the result is, you’ll deal with it. And it’ll be okay. I promise.’ Lottie hoped she sounded reassuring.
‘Thanks. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you these last couple of days.’ Emily put out her arms and they hugged. Lottie felt quite emotional. She knew that whatever happened between Emily and Zach, she’d found a friend.
One Family Christmas: The perfect, cosy, heart-warming read to curl up with this winter Page 21