by Katie Fforde
‘This is Ella,’ said Brent, getting a tick from Ella for good manners. ‘Your mother hired her. To help us.’
‘I’m your Christmas Fairy,’ said Ella, waving from the kitchen sink.
‘A Christmas Fairy? What is Mum on? We’re too old for fairies!’ Judith was disgusted by the very thought.
Judith, Ella had been told by Jenny, had a very overdeveloped sense of responsibility and would turn into the ‘third parent’ given any opportunity. Her mother didn’t think this was a good thing at Christmas: Judith should be allowed to be a child, or at least a teenager.
‘She just thought it was all rather tricky for your uncle,’ Ella explained. ‘There’s a lot of you, you’re far away from home and staying in a strange house. That’s a big deal at Christmas.’ She let this summing up of their situation sink in. ‘Now if you would all like to go away, I’ll get supper on the table. You go into the other room – see if the fire needs another log …’ She hesitated. ‘Did you manage to get it going?’ Ella had a bag full of firelighter’s cheats she could produce if necessary.
‘Yes,’ said Brent. ‘I’m not completely incompetent.’
‘I didn’t mean to imply anything,’ said Ella, reminding herself that while he could probably be snappy with her, she couldn’t retaliate. ‘But you never know how well these holiday houses are set up for winter.’ She was fairly confident, actually, given that they were in Scotland, where they knew about cold winters. ‘I’ll get your supper ready.’
Obediently, they went. Ella realised that Brent was rather young to be an uncle in charge of three children. (She knew there was a boy, who was fourteen, who was probably in his room, on his tablet, playing Minecraft. ‘As long as it’s only Minecraft,’ his mother had said.)
Twenty minutes later she went into the sitting room. Brent, Judith and Mia had been joined by Bill, a good-looking boy with dark blond hair, carefully ruffled so he looked like a teen idol. They seemed awkward and unhappy, as if they didn’t know what to do with themselves. Ella imagined the reality of the adventure – an unfamiliar Christmas without their parents – was beginning to hit home. But at least the wood burner was doing its job, and pushing out a fair amount of heat.
‘Hi, guys!’ said Ella, including Bill in her embracing smile. ‘Supper’s ready!’
Still despondent, they trooped back into the kitchen. There was a collective gasp, and then:
‘Oh wow!’ said Judith. ‘You really are a fairy. It looks amazing!’
‘It is kind of cool,’ said Bill.
Mia, the youngest, was even more impressed. Ella watched her eyes shine as she took in the fairy lights decorating the walls, the candles on the table and the little figures apparently holding the dishes, the place mats like stars, and the cards with their names on in beautiful calligraphy.
Ella nodded in satisfaction. Desperate for money and something rewarding to do while she waited for her big break (any break, frankly) as an actor, she had conceived this idea of being a Christmas Fairy. The work was strictly seasonal of course, but she thought being a Valentine Cupid, or an Easter Bunny, could be a way to develop her business. Basically, she would be the person who would make any occasion magical. Brent’s sister was her first client and she was determined to give complete satisfaction.
‘It smells delicious!’ said Brent. ‘I didn’t know fairies could cook.’
‘It’s the first thing they teach us at fairy school,’ said Ella. ‘Now I’ll just pop off next door now.’ She had the rest of the house to decorate.
‘Won’t you stay and have a glass of wine?’ said Brent. He seemed disappointed to think she was about to leave them.
Ella shook her head. ‘That’s the second thing they teach us, don’t drink on the job.’
She hoped they’d dawdle over their supper to give her more time to work her magic; she had a lot to do in the sitting room. Her choice of pudding – sticky toffee pudding, one of the favourites listed by their mother – did the trick, and she was ready for them before they finished eating. She went back into the kitchen, pleased to hear happy chatter and laughter.
‘When you’ve finished, there’s a job that needs doing next door. I think you can see what it is. I’m going to clear up here.’
‘No you’re not,’ said Brent firmly, not intimidated by her gentle-but-determined instructions. ‘We’ll all clear up. Come and show us what the job is.’
Ella could have argued, but preferred not to.
‘A Christmas tree!’ said Mia. ‘With a zillion lights!’
‘But no decorations,’ said Ella. ‘There’s a box here. It’s your job to decorate the tree.’
‘And you’ve put lights up all round the walls and things too!’ said Judith. ‘In fact’ – she took a few moments to take in the changes to the room – ‘you’ve made it look amazing.’
Brent and Bill seemed outwardly less impressed but still happy.
‘The lights will be handy if there’s a power cut,’ said Ella, knowing she shouldn’t feel the need to justify herself but doing it anyway.
‘Won’t the fairy lights go out too?’ asked Bill.
Ella shook her head. ‘Most of them are battery operated.’ She’d spent a small fortune on them but she’d known they were essential to create a magical Christmas.
‘Is the power likely to go off?’ asked Judith.
Ella gave a fairy-sized shrug. ‘This is Scotland; anything can happen.’ Having spent every holiday since she could remember in different areas of the country, she knew nothing was certain and she did like to manage expectations. ‘Now, I should leave you to decorate the tree while I do the washing up.’
‘No!’ said Brent firmly. ‘Fairies are an essential part of Christmas trees.’
Ella looked him firmly in the eye. ‘I will help you decorate but I’m not climbing on top.’
He definitely twinkled. ‘Glad to hear it!’
Ella relaxed her rules about not drinking on the job and accepted a glass of wine to sip while she helped with the tree decorating. Although they were reluctant – typical men – Brent and Bill soon got into placing the decorations. Ella had spent some hours on the internet sourcing them. Jenny, throwing money at this bad situation, had given her a big budget to buy anything she needed.
‘I think that’s the best tree we’ve ever had!’ said Mia ecstatically.
‘That’s because it hasn’t got all the home-made crap we’ve had for years,’ said Judith. ‘Cotton-wool-covered toilet rolls and goggle-eyed Santas made out of crêpe paper.’
Bill, equally impressed, nodded. ‘And those really heavy salt-dough stars covered with glitter that make the branches all bendy.’
Mia’s face suddenly crumpled. ‘I made that Santa, and I like our home Christmas tree better!’ she wailed, her previous enthusiasm for the tree forgotten.
Ella had been warned this might happen. Mia was much younger than the others, Jenny had explained, and she was a bit clingy. ‘Would you like a story?’ she said, taking the little girl by the hand. ‘It’s a special story and it involves dressing up. Come with me. We’ll go where we can be private.’
‘Hey! I want to come!’ said Brent.
Ella regarded him sternly. ‘You have to dress up.’
‘OK.’
‘We’ll come too,’ said Judith. ‘Come on, Bill.’
‘Can I bring the wine?’ asked Brent.
Ella didn’t reply to this, she was intent on capturing Mia’s interest so she would forget to be sad.
An hour later, everyone was weak with laughing and wearing a very strange selection of clothes. They had been donned to act out the various characters in a ridiculous tale, guaranteed to cheer up the most homesick child.
‘That was brilliant!’ said Brent, tipping the last of the wine into Ella’s glass. He was wearing monster feet and a pirate hat, an eyepatch and a hook at the end of his arm. ‘Who wrote it?’
Ella took off the fairy crown that was quarrelling with her fairy tiara and decided to go bar
eheaded from now on. ‘I did.’
‘Really?’ If Brent had been surprised to see her when she first arrived on the doorstep it was nothing to his astonishment now. ‘You wrote that?’
‘I looked all over for something suitable but nothing seemed right. I had to have a part for everyone, you see.’ She sounded apologetic.
‘But you didn’t know we were going to join in!’ said Bill indignantly.
‘No, you didn’t!’ his big sister agreed.
‘I hoped you would. If you hadn’t I’d have had to do all the parts myself, which would have been quite hard work. I did have a fall-back position.’
‘It was probably quite hard work with us doing it,’ said Judith.
‘It was much more fun with you doing the parts,’ said Ella.
Mia suddenly yawned enormously.
‘I think you need to go to bed, Mia-woosy, it’s almost nine o’clock,’ said Judith. ‘Would you like me to play you something on my violin?’
‘Not really. You only play sad stuff,’ said Mia.
‘I don’t! But a jig at this time of night would over-stimulate you,’ said Judith, obviously feeling underappreciated.
Sensing a potential falling-out, Ella intervened. ‘If you go quickly, I’ll come and read you another story. A proper one this time, from a proper book. I have a few with me.’
‘I’ll read to her,’ said Judith with a sigh. ‘If she hates my playing so much. I quite often read to her and you must be tired, Ella. We’ll ring Mummy and Dad when you’re all tucked up, Mia.’
As Bill went upstairs with his sisters, possibly to listen to the story and join in the phone call to his parents, Brent and Ella were left alone. She felt suddenly awkward. She was here for the children, not for him unless he needed help with something specific.
‘I should go. I think my fairy duties are over for the day. Lots more planned for tomorrow.’ She got up and straightened her tutu.
‘Please don’t! Stay and keep me company for a bit,’ said Brent. ‘You’ve been so brilliant and I want to apologise for being churlish when you first arrived. I was a bit taken aback.’
She laughed and sank back down on to the sofa. ‘I’m not surprised. Finding a fairy in a parka on your doorstep would be a shock for anyone.’
‘I didn’t know you could hire Christmas Fairies like you,’ Brent went on.
‘Well, I think I may be the only one. I thought up the idea a few months ago, when I just wasn’t getting work as an actor. I felt I had to do something that was original and fun so I spent ages trying to find a service that people really wanted.’ She picked up her glass, saw that it was empty and put it down again. ‘I think maybe your sister will be the only person ever to hire me, but I’m very happy to have a client.’
‘I’m sure that’s not true – once word spreads that there’s a fairy playwright available for hire you’ll be run off your feet. Don’t move! I’m going to get another bottle, unless you’d rather go on to whisky? Wine of the country?’
Ella shook her head, knowing she should go home but not wanting to leave the wood burner and, she admitted, the man currently in charge of keeping it going. ‘Fairies never drink spirits. It’s against the rules.’
‘You seem to have broken a few rules already. Now stay there.’
While he was in the kitchen, Ella took a moment to check her appearance in the mirror over the fireplace. While not overly vain she was aware she’d been romping with children wearing a large selection of bizarre clothing, much of it animal-inspired, so she was bound to be a mess. Wishing she had the time and equipment to give her hair a wash and blow-dry, she did her best with her fingers before sitting down again. She’d been a mess for hours, she shouldn’t really care.
‘So,’ said Brent when both their glasses were filled. ‘How did you prepare for being a fairy?’
‘Well, your sister was really helpful because she knew exactly what she wanted me to bring, and she knew what you might find difficult, especially staying up here.’
‘Jenny did help bring me up, being quite a lot older than me,’ Brent explained. ‘But I think she forgets I’m now a thirty-three-year-old man – she thinks I still need my frozen pizza put in the oven for me.’
Ella laughed. ‘No! She didn’t think that, but she did think feeding hungry people after a very long drive wouldn’t be easy.’
‘So, she found you online, you said? And you happen to be based up here? What a coincidence.’
‘No. But I know the area well and lots of local people. My family have had holidays up here – and in other parts of Scotland – for years. I put Crinan into my ad as one of the places I could be in.’
‘That explains that then. And so what happened after Jenny got in touch?’
‘She gave me details about all of you, what you liked, didn’t like, and what was likely to cause problems. She told me Judith couldn’t be parted from her violin, Bill mustn’t be allowed too much screen time and that Mia might get homesick and miss her parents, so that’s why I had the story all prepared.’
‘I’m so impressed you wrote it yourself! With parts for everyone.’
Ella shrugged. ‘Making stuff up is easy! It’s real life that’s tricky.’
‘Actually, making up stuff is not that easy; not everyone can do it.’ Brent frowned slightly. He looked as if he’d been about to say more but thought better of it.
‘I did illustrations for it too, in case I couldn’t get you all to dress up,’ said Ella, partly to cover the awkward pause. ‘But I’m glad you did. The interactive version of that story is so much better!’
‘Can I see them? The illustrations?’
Ella shrugged again. ‘If you really want to. But they’re very basic.’ She got up and found the pictures and brought them over.
‘They’re really good!’ said Brent as he flicked through the pages.
‘No they’re not!’ Ella looked at him as if he were mad. ‘They’re terribly naïve. I loved doing them though. Any excuse to buy new felt-tip pens.’
‘Seriously, they’re good! Better than a lot of the children’s books I’ve seen. Didn’t anyone ever suggest you should go to art school?’
‘Not really. My heart was set on being an actor.’ She brought her hand to her mouth suddenly. ‘Whoops! Notice the past tense there? I still want to be an actor!’
‘But not as much as you once did?’
Ella frowned. ‘Really, you are asking a lot of questions.’
‘I’m interested,’ said Brent. ‘I’ve never met a fairy before. I want to know how they tick.’
Ella looked at him, her head on one side. ‘I’m not really a fairy, you know. I’m just pretending.’
‘Never! You had me fooled! But seriously, I love these drawings and I love the story. I think you’ve got something, a real talent. Maybe that’s the way to go rather than acting.’
‘And I think you’ve had too much to drink and that it was time I was getting back.’ She got up again, gathering up the folder with her drawings.
‘I’ll walk you home.’ Brent got up too and Ella was suddenly aware of how tall he was.
‘No! You’re in charge of the children. It’s really not far. I came on my own with those enormous suitcases.’ She paused. ‘Is it OK if I leave them in the utility room? But if they’ll be in the way – or rather if you mind them being in the way – I’ll take them back. They’re not so heavy now.’
‘Of course you can leave the cases and I will walk you back. Judith is sixteen, she can be in charge for a few minutes.’
‘It’s really not necessary!’
‘I know. Just indulge me. I am “the client” after all.’
‘Technically, you’re not the client, your sister is, but I will let you walk me home. But first we must discuss tomorrow. When would you like me to come over? I can come any time but I do have to be here before bedtime because I have – elfly duties.’
He laughed. ‘I think we’d like you to come in the morning.’
&n
bsp; ‘For breakfast? Home-made crumpets are my signature dish – well, I can make them.’
‘Wow. Aren’t they quite hard to make?’
‘Not at all – and even easier because I’ve pre-made the batter!’
‘Come for breakfast. About eight thirty? Too early?’
‘Not at all, as long as you don’t need me to dress up as a fairy again.’
‘I think your fairy credentials are well established, but having someone with local knowledge—’
‘That’s why I was hired.’
‘Then come on. Let’s get togged up in our arctic clothing and get you home.’
‘So, how did yesterday go? I’ve been dying to find out!’ asked Rebecca, the owner of the little house that was Ella’s home for Christmas as well as the famous Crinan puffer. Ella had met Rebecca only once before, but had got in touch when her Christmas Fairy job became a reality. She’d been amazingly welcoming, insisting Ella stay with her over Christmas. She put down a jug of milk, along with a loaf of home-made bread, on the kitchen table in front of Ella. It was Christmas Eve morning.
‘It was good, I think. The boeuf bourguignon was a hit, tree decorating went off with only a minimal hitch, and then the play swooped in to save the day.’ Ella felt rather proud of herself, an unusual feeling, and she wondered if Brent might be right about writing, rather than acting, being for her? ‘Thank you for all of this. I’m going over to make crumpets at eight thirty, but I’ll need a gallon of tea and toast to sustain me before then.’
‘All part of the service.’ Rebecca had been brilliantly helpful when Ella was preparing for fairy duties. ‘What are you going to do with them all today?’
‘I’ve got loads of indoor stuff I can do with them if they want me to but it’s a glorious winter day. I think we should go outside if they’re up for that.’
‘We’ve got some lovely beaches, although you would have to drive a little. Or walks over the moors?’
‘I know about the beaches, but I’m not sure if they’d have the right shoes. If I was a proper fairy I’d magic some but, sadly, I’m only pretending.’