One Family Christmas: The perfect, cosy, heart-warming read to curl up with this winter

by Bella Osborne

  ‘Hmm,’ said Lottie. ‘Trifle for tea then.’ She managed to rescue three cakes for Scott, which had been on the outer fringes and missed the full weight of the Duchess, and she put those to one side. The rest went into a large bowl and she covered them with raspberry jelly. She stuck the containers in the freezer and hoped a couple of hours would be enough time for the jelly to set.

  Lottie brought drinks into the drawing room, handed them round and flopped down on the sofa. Back to the Future was on the telly and everyone was quiet. Jessie and Dave were sitting underneath the Christmas tree having a cuddle.

  ‘Are you okay under there?’ asked Lottie.

  Jessie’s face peeped through the branches. ‘I don’t think it’s working any more now that Christmas is over.’

  ‘What’s not working, sweetie?’ asked Lottie, cupping her mug with both hands.

  ‘The magic tree,’ said Jessie, lifting her head to look up through its branches.

  Lottie smiled. ‘You’re probably right. Maybe next year it will work again.’

  Jessie shuffled out from under the tree and curled up on the sofa next to Lottie. She looked furtively around and then beckoned Lottie to lean down to her level. Jessie whispered in her ear, ‘I was hoping to get a necklace to match.’

  Lottie tried to make sense of the sentence. ‘To match what, Jessie?’ she asked, keeping her voice low.

  ‘The ring it gave me on Christmas Eve,’ said Jessie, tilting her head towards the tree.

  Lottie spun around so fast she slopped her tea in her lap. She whispered in Jessie’s ear. ‘A ring?’

  Jessie nodded. ‘It’s very shiny.’ I bet it is, thought Lottie.

  Zach and Emily were both watching the film, although Zach looked like he was about to nod off. ‘Have you still got it, Jess?’ asked Lottie, excitement tickling her insides. Jessie nodded. ‘Where?’

  ‘Somewhere safe.’ Jessie was wearing her most serious expression.

  ‘Okay. Will you show it to me, please? I’d love to see it.’

  Jessie seemed to ponder this. ‘Okay.’

  ‘And can Daddy see it too?’

  ‘I don’t think he’d be interested. He’s not a girl,’ said Jessie emphatically, as she slid from the sofa and walked to the door with Dave at her heels. Lottie put down her mug, tapped Zach on the arm and indicated with her thumb that he needed to follow them. With exaggerated eye rolls he followed them out of the room and upstairs.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Zach, with a yawn.

  ‘Jessie might just have solved one of your problems,’ said Lottie.

  In their bedroom, Jessie went to her camp bed and knelt down whilst Dave had a good sniff about. Jessie put her hand in her pillowcase, had a little rummage around, pulled out her hand and held up a diamond ring. The light caught it just at that moment making it sparkle like a star.

  ‘Bloody he … Where did you find that?’ asked Zach, attempting to snatch it from Jessie’s fingers. Jessie pulled her hand away quickly and the ring pinged out of her grasp and sailed into the air. They all watched it spin, fall, bounce on the carpet and land between Dave’s front paws.

  ‘Noooo!’ yelled Zach, making a dive for the ring as Dave bent his head towards it.

  Zach landed half on the camp bed, sending it toppling over on top of him, but, as it did so, he managed to close his hands around the ring and roll over like a cricketer taking a crucial catch. He grinned up at Lottie and a confused-looking Dave and Jessie. ‘I got it,’ he said from underneath the camp bed.

  ‘Brilliant,’ said Lottie, lowering her voice. ‘I have an idea for your proposal – and it might just work.’

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  A taxi pulled into the snowy driveway and crept up to the house. Lottie saw its headlights from an upstairs window so she was waiting at the front door by the time its doors opened. Dayea stepped out, paid the driver and scurried inside.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ asked Lottie, trying to read Dayea’s face.

  ‘Yes, yes,’ said Dayea. ‘My Bernard is getting better.’ Lottie was relieved. She shut the door behind Dayea as she stamped her feet to remove the snow. ‘I needed my car,’ she said, pointing over her shoulder.

  ‘But you’ll have a cup of tea first and update us, won’t you?’ asked Lottie.

  Dayea checked her watch. ‘I do not have long. I don’t want to miss visiting.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Hello,’ said an overly jolly Zach as he strode through the hallway brandishing a toolbox. ‘I’ve got a trellis to fix,’ he added and Dayea gave him a puzzled look. It wasn’t an obvious job to be doing at dusk in December.

  ‘Here,’ said Lottie, handing him a large cardboard box. ‘You’ll need to check them all first.’

  ‘Got it,’ he said, taking the box from Lottie and disappearing.

  Dayea was frowning after him. ‘Don’t worry about him,’ said Lottie. ‘You warm up by the fire and I’ll bring you a drink.’

  Dayea shook her head. ‘Bernard needs some more of his things,’ she said. She went upstairs and Lottie went to make yet more drinks.

  After a few minutes Dayea joined Lottie in the kitchen and plonked down Bernard’s old case.

  Lottie nodded at the case. ‘Just a few things?’ she said, passing Dayea her drink and offering her a biscuit.

  ‘He does not want to come back here. He calls it …’ She squinted with thought and Lottie wondered what she was about to say. ‘Time for new start.’

  Lottie was relieved. ‘Yes, I think that’s very wise.’

  ‘Bernard is worried about Duchess.’

  ‘Oh, she’s fine,’ said Lottie, glancing around the kitchen. She hadn’t seen her since the cake squashing incident, but she expected she was about somewhere. She was touched that in Bernard’s current state he was thinking about Nana’s cat.

  ‘Bernard worries they’ll give her to a cat rescue.’

  Lottie involuntarily drew in a deep breath. It hadn’t crossed her mind but Bernard was probably right. Neither Daniel or Angie were known for their caring sides. It wasn’t just Bernard and Lottie who were about to be made homeless. ‘I’ll look after her, Dayea. Please tell Bernard not to worry.’ Lottie wasn’t sure how because she had nowhere to go either. But she wouldn’t see the poor cat dumped in a rescue centre. And anyway, Lottie was fond of cats. She admired their egocentricity. She wished she could be just a little bit like the Duchess and occasionally put herself before everyone else. And at least when she was talking to the cat she didn’t appear quite as crazy as she would if she was talking entirely to herself.

  ‘Or Duchess could come live with us.’ Dayea peeped over her mug.

  ‘Oh,’ said Lottie. ‘Well I’m sure she’d love that too.’

  Dayea beamed. ‘I can take her now. Then she be there to welcome Bernard.’ It appeared she had thought this through.

  ‘Um.’ It all felt too quick to Lottie. ‘I’m not sure where she is.’ And I don’t want to be completely on my own when everyone departs tomorrow morning, thought Lottie, feeling a bit selfish. ‘How about you get Bernard settled first, then I’ll bring her over?’

  ‘If you think that is best.’ Dayea looked disappointed. Lottie wasn’t entirely sure how two people and a cat in one tiny caravan would fit, anyway.

  Lottie mulled over whether to ask the question that was worrying her. Dayea sipped her tea. ‘Look, Dayea, I don’t mean to be rude, but—’

  ‘But you worry about your uncle. Yes?’

  ‘Great uncle,’ corrected Lottie. ‘But yes. Nana made a lot of alterations here to help Bernard, like the stair lift,’ not that they’d need one of those in the caravan, ‘the grab rails and a shower with a seat in it. And I know that all cost a lot of money.’ The motorised scooter was the most expensive thing, and Lottie was absolutely sure there was no way that would fit in the caravan.

  Dayea stared at her for a moment. She started to chuckle. ‘It really is okay, Lottie. Money is not a problem.’

  �
�Nana didn’t leave him much, and he only has his state pension.’ Lottie knew Dayea genuinely loved Bernard, but she didn’t want her to be under any false illusion about how much money Bernard had.

  ‘I know,’ she said. She sipped her tea and continued to study Lottie. ‘I trust you, so I will tell you.’ Dayea put down her mug, her expression intense. ‘My father, he had a hotel business in the Philippines. Lots and lots of hotels. He worked hard, but it did not make him happy. I worked for him for a long time, but when he found out he was dying, he told me to travel. To not marry the company like him. You understand?’

  ‘I think so,’ said Lottie, wondering about Dayea’s previous life in the corporate world. It seemed at odds with the person she’d grown to know.

  ‘When he died, my sisters and me, we sold the hotels to a big American company and made lots of money. I travelled the world like I promised my father. But I get bored. I found I liked caring for old people. In my country old people are very special. In your country they are not cherished as they should be. I have a number of jobs with the elderly here and I find this is what makes me happy. This is the job I should be doing.’

  ‘So money’s not a problem?’ She was dying to ask why Dayea was living in a caravan.

  ‘Not at all. I am having my house altered now, making big changes to make it easy for Bernard. That is why I live in the caravan. It’s too dusty in the house.’

  ‘The big house is yours?’ Dayea nodded.

  Lottie couldn’t hide her grin. She was reassured her great uncle would have everything he needed, and she was also pleased that her mother had been so wrong about Dayea being a gold-digger. ‘I have to say it’s a big relief to know you can cope financially.’

  ‘But it’s only money. It does not buy you people who care.’ Dayea gently patted Lottie’s hand.

  ‘Very true.’ And yet the pursuit of money was what drove most people; well, certainly most of her family.

  ‘I need to go.’ Dayea stood up. ‘You like my house?’ she asked Lottie.

  ‘I do. It’s lovely.’ She picked up the heavy case and followed Dayea into the hall. They could hear raised voices coming from the snug and they shrugged their shoulders simultaneously.

  ‘You want to come live with me, Bernard and Duchess?’ asked Dayea. Lottie was taken aback.

  ‘That’s really sweet of you, Dayea. Thank you. I’ve got a lot of decisions to make. Please can I think about it?’

  ‘You are welcome, any time,’ said Dayea, taking the case from her. ‘Bernard says, “Button is the best of the lot”.’

  ‘Thank you. Give Bernard my love. I’ll visit him tomorrow.’

  ‘And bring Duchess?’

  ‘Um … okay,’ said Lottie, a little reluctantly. And she waved Dayea off.

  Lottie entered the snug and World War Three was in full swing. The tension bubbling between Nicola and Daniel had erupted, volcano-style.

  ‘You don’t care about Rhys or you’d never have got involved with that slut.’ Aunt Nicola’s whole body was shaking.

  ‘It was before he was even b—’ Daniel halted when he spotted Lottie hovering in the doorway.

  Nicola looked like she was fighting back tears, and Daniel was as cross as she’d ever seen him. They were hurting each other, and it was a hard thing to witness. Truth was, they’d been hurting each other for years. Was this what happened to relationships when the initial excitement faded? Did couples just chip away at each other until all that was left was hurt and resentment, lies and regrets? Or was she just feeling particularly negative today?

  They were both staring at Lottie so she couldn’t just sneak away. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m looking for the Duchess.’ She knew it sounded lame, but it was true; now the cat was going to have a new home, Lottie wanted to spend a bit of time with her before she moved on. She also had a niggling worry that the Duchess wasn’t herself; she perhaps needed to get their usual vet to check her over before she went. She really didn’t want to have to see Joe.

  ‘No. We’re sorry,’ said Daniel. ‘You shouldn’t have to witness this.’

  ‘At least we’re communicating,’ said Nicola, her expression grim.

  ‘This isn’t communicating.’ Daniel looked sad. ‘I can’t keep saying I’m sorry.’

  Nicola pulled her eyes from Daniel to address Lottie. ‘I haven’t seen the cat,’ said Nicola, pulling a tissue from her pocket. ‘Have you seen Rhys?’

  ‘Erm. Yeah he’s in the rockery with the metal detector. He’s fired up from finding the coins.’

  Daniel’s pained expression changed to one of interest. ‘In the dark? He must be keen! I’ve been having a look on eBay and some of those coins are going for quite a bit. We might have a few hundred quid there. But Nicola is guarding them – she won’t let me tip them all out of the pot.’

  ‘Because the coins and the pot are delicate. We don’t want some sausage-fingered amateur damaging ancient history in the hope of making a few quid.’

  ‘Oh, forget it,’ said Daniel with a resigned sigh.

  ‘The coins might be an important find,’ said Nicola, focusing back on Lottie. ‘This could be something credited to Rhys. He could produce a paper on it. It might provide an area of research into Roman life in the Cotswolds. Perhaps it could feed a PhD.’

  Daniel looked exasperated. ‘How many times, Nicola? Rhys has dropped out of university. There is no more archaeology degree. It’s over. Face it. Please, not only for his sake, but for your own.’

  Nicola swallowed hard but said nothing.

  ‘Look, about Rhys and uni.’ Lottie came into the room fully and shut the door. ‘He had mentioned something about working in car sales,’ Nicola gasped as if she’d just said Rhys had joined Scott in the porn industry, ‘but I thought it was a part-time job he was fitting around his studies. I don’t want you thinking I’d encouraged him to drop out or helped him deceive you.’

  ‘I think the deception is hereditary,’ said Nicola, her glare resting on Daniel.

  ‘For heaven’s sake, Nicola. You don’t have to take every opportunity to remind everyone that I cheated – least of all me. Okay. Yes, it happened. It was a mistake. But I have an opportunity to get to know a daughter I didn’t know existed, and if you would stop shouting at me for just one second, maybe you could be a part of that? Or maybe this is the thing that finishes us.’

  Daniel made to stride past her and Nicola grabbed his arm, halting his progress. Her complexion had faded to deathly pale. ‘I love you.’

  Nicola’s words hung in the air. Daniel turned slowly to look at her.

  ‘I’ll look for the cat later,’ whispered Lottie, and she quickly exited the room and left them to it.

  By the evening, everyone was settled in the drawing room. Angie and Scott were cosied up together, and even Nicola and Daniel appeared to be back on speaking terms. Emily felt like she’d been babysitting Jessie all day. Not that she minded – because she didn’t – but when she was trying to grab a few minutes alone with Zach it did make things tricky. Emily loved Jessie. She felt the little girl brought out the best in her. Maybe all children did that, she wasn’t sure, but she knew she enjoyed Jessie’s company – she had a pure way of looking at things and taking pleasure in the simplest of tasks. It was also a great excuse to act like a child and because of Jessie she had rediscovered her love of board games and custard creams. She’d not spoken to Zach since the walk back from the pub, where he’d been quietly miserable. His moods were unsettling her.

  Emily had to admit the whole pregnancy question was also a lot to do with her unsettled state. She had been hoping for an opportunity to take Zach aside so she could explain her predicament and they could do the test together, but he’d been missing for a couple of hours now. Perhaps she needed to find out for herself, she pondered. Otherwise she was building something up that might be nothing. She openly sighed. She was rubbish at making decisions.

  Jessie was trying to blow up modelling balloons. Emily knew balloons and children
were a hazard, so she didn’t want to leave her.

  ‘Angie? I’m just popping to the loo. Can you keep an eye on Jessie please?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh, she’s fine,’ said Angie, without even checking where the child was. Angie was busy playing with Scott’s hair.

  ‘But …’

  ‘You are such a worrier,’ said Angie, appraising Emily from top to toe. ‘Children are quite robust. You don’t need to mollycoddle them all the time. They learn from getting into scrapes.’

  ‘Like when Zach wanted to slide down the banister and you told him to polish it first and he broke his arm?’ said Daniel, with a snort.

  ‘Exactly,’ said Angie, returning her attention to Scott. They were grooming each other like oversexed baboons.

  ‘And when Jessie got locked in the cupboard last Christmas? That was you too,’ said Nicola.

  ‘How many times?’ snapped Angie. ‘We were playing escape rooms.’

  Emily faltered. She was foiled again. She couldn’t leave Jessie with Angie, given her wildly inappropriate parenting style.

  ‘It’s okay. I’ll play with her,’ said Rhys, getting up and moving next to Jessie.

  ‘Perhaps you could do babysitting as your next career move,’ said Nicola. ‘You don’t need a degree for that.’

  ‘Leave it, Nicola,’ said Daniel. ‘We’ve been over it a million times. He needs space to make his own mistakes.’

  Nicola opened her mouth and seemed to pause before speaking. ‘Perhaps you’re right.’ Daniel patted Nicola’s thigh as if congratulating her on her restraint.

  Emily turned to Rhys. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

  The door opened and Zach popped his head in. ‘Jessie, do you want to give me a hand with something in the garden?’ he asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Jessie, throwing the balloon at Emily and racing to her father. Zach gave Emily a warm smile before closing the door. Now she had no excuse. She steeled herself, clutched her bag to her and left the room.

  At last she was in a toilet on her own. No backing out this time, she told herself. No more excuses, no more changing her mind or convincing herself that it was better to do the test with Zach, no seeking out Lottie as a hand to hold. She needed to take responsibility and do this on her own. She actually felt quite calm. She’d spent most of Christmas Eve in a blind panic. On Christmas Day she’d built herself up to do it and then it had all gone horribly wrong. Throughout Boxing Day she’d gone over so many scenarios her brain was porridge. But today it seemed like the right thing to do. She just needed to do the test properly, and not drop the ruddy thing down the loo.