by Heidi Swain
As Poppy had predicted, Nell and Gus were fine and I was grateful Gus stayed overnight because I somehow managed to sleep right through my alarm. If Poppy hadn’t come to collect him and roused me by hammering on the front door, I probably wouldn’t have made it into work at all.
‘What the hell’s happened to you?’ she gaped, taking in my dishevelled and pale appearance as I held up a hand to shield my eyes from the light which streamed in when I opened the door. ‘Oh God,’ she whispered, ‘you haven’t got Finn in there with you, have you?’
‘What?’ I frowned. ‘No, of course not, whatever made you say that?’
‘Nothing,’ she grinned. ‘Where’s Gus? Is he good to go?’
Sunglasses were hardly necessary on such a dull November day, but I kept them firmly in place and my thumping head down at work, avoiding all contact with anyone else and rushing back home, unusually for me, the very second the time ticked over to four o’clock.
Towards evening, I started to feel a little better, but I was still grateful that it was almost the weekend and I could take myself off for a very early night. I eventually managed to dismiss the thoughts about what Poppy had assumed and which had plagued me all day and slept soundlessly until late the following morning. Thankfully when I woke my head felt much more like my own again and I had an appetite to rival Nell’s.
‘Freya!’ Chloe called, beckoning me over as I joined everyone who had started to congregate on the green Saturday evening. ‘Do you want some mulled wine?’
‘Just half a cup, thanks,’ I said.
I didn’t really want any, but neither did I want her to guess that my lack of enthusiasm for the festive tipple was the result of a hangover I had ended up with after staying on with Finn at the pub.
‘There you go,’ she smiled, handing it over.
We had all left the cosy confines of our homes and ventured out as a result of invitations from Luke and Kate which had arrived earlier in the day. Inspired by the switch-on in the city, Luke had arranged for a large tree to be erected on the green and he, Kate, their children and most of the other little ones who lived in the square, had spent the last few hours decorating it with lights and huge baubles.
Goodness knows where he had sourced those from and as I took the spectacle in, I wondered where he’d found the tree too because it was planted in a huge pot. Given the weight of it, it must have come on the back of a lorry. I really must have been out for the count, to have slept through the delivery of that!
The air was filled with the mingling spicy scents of mulled wine and warm mince pies, which Carole was hastily handing out before they got cold and it really was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. I already knew my celebrations this year were going to be very different and, looking around at everyone’s happy faces, I was pleased about that.
Life in Nightingale Square might have been a bit overwhelming at times, but it was an honour to be a part of such a close-knit community and I was about to realise just how integrated I already was.
‘How did you and Finn get on on Thursday night?’ Chloe asked.
‘Oh,’ I said, trying to remember the finer details. ‘All right. We talked about family and stuff for a bit and then walked home.’
I thought the conversation had gone a little flat towards the end of the evening, but thanks to the excesses of micro-brewery bitter, I couldn’t get a clear grasp on why.
‘Well that’s good then,’ said Chloe. ‘You must be feeling relieved. There’s nothing worse than having to work with someone you don’t get on with.’
The cheeky tone of her voice didn’t quite match what she was saying, but there was no chance to clarify what she was really getting at.
‘Gather round folks!’ Luke’s voice rang out and we all huddled closer to the tree. ‘Gather round.’
Taking in the numbers, I saw there were even more than just those of us who lived in the square.
‘Who’s that?’ I whispered to Chloe, nodding towards a trio I didn’t recognise who were standing opposite us.
‘That’s the Stanton clan. Zak and his mum and dad,’ she told me, also looking over.
The two men were standing shoulder to shoulder, with a slightly shorter woman between them.
‘I didn’t recognise Zak with the hat on,’ I whispered.
‘Or the coat,’ said Chloe, with a wry smile.
She had obviously been privy to his posturing and preening too. Thankfully it was too chilly for him have his biceps out.
‘From what I can make out,’ Chloe carried on, scanning the crowd, ‘Luke’s invited everyone who has helped out at the house this year, all the trade staff and their families, as a thank you for their hard work.’
It was a generous gesture, certainly one he wasn’t obliged to make and, given the swollen numbers, I guessed there had been a lot of work carried out during the last twelve months. Everyone was tucking into the mince pies, enjoying the wine and looking very happy to be there. As was I.
‘Where’s Finn?’ I asked, ‘isn’t he coming? He’s not with his family.’
‘I’m here,’ said a voice close behind me, making me jump and Chloe squeal.
‘Thank you all so much for coming,’ said Luke. ‘After our trip into the city on Thursday night, I thought the square could do with a bit of festive cheer and as plans for the Winter Garden don’t extend to here, we thought we’d have our outdoor Christmas tree delivered here instead.’
Everyone cheered and raised their cups in approval.
‘When we ordered it, we were going to put it next to the house,’ said Jasmine, who clearly had no qualms about talking in front of so many people, ‘but then we said that if we put it here everyone would be able to see it all the time.’
‘Thank you, Jas,’ said Lisa, speaking for all of us, ‘that was a very kind thought.’
‘So,’ said Luke, his eyes searching the crowd, ‘let’s get it lit, shall we?’
‘It’s going to look amazing!’ said Jasmine, bobbing up and down.
‘Where are Freya and Finn?’ shouted Luke.
Chloe started to bounce on her toes, looking very much like Luke’s eldest daughter in her eagerness to point Finn and me out. Suffice to say, her antics quickly attracted everyone’s attention.
‘Come on, you two,’ Luke grinned, beckoning us over. ‘As the two newest recruits, we thought we’d leave the honours to you.’
I knew I had no choice but to step up, but I really didn’t want to. Being the centre of attention was the last thing I had expected when I arrived.
‘Come on,’ said Finn, nudging me in the back. ‘Let’s get it over with.’
I couldn’t tell if he was just plain grumpy or embarrassed like me, or a bit of both. I handed Chloe my cup and walked over to Luke and Kate with Finn following close behind. I really hoped Luke wasn’t going to force us to say anything. Public speaking was definitely not my forte.
‘All you have to do is press this down,’ said Luke, pointing to a switch on what I guessed was some sort of external power pack. ‘Okay?’
‘Okay,’ Finn and I said together.
‘Here we go!’ Luke shouted, turning back to the group while Finn and I got ready to hit the button. ‘Ten, nine, eight…’
As soon as everyone shouted ‘one’ we pressed together as instructed, our gloved fingers briefly touching, and the tree became a beacon of brightly lit bulbs. Everyone cheered and clapped and we took a step back to admire the festive view.
‘It’s beautiful,’ said Kate, coming to stand next to me while Luke went to the opposite side and nudged Finn out of the way because he was blocking the view for at least half of the crowd. ‘Isn’t it pretty?’
‘It’s gorgeous,’ I told her.
‘Happy Christmas, Freya,’ she smiled, kissing me on the cheek.
‘Merry Christmas, Kate,’ I said back, ‘and thank you, for everything.’
And then everyone was kissing and hugging. Somehow, I managed to avoid both of the Stanton brothers and m
ade my way back to Chloe to admire the green, blue, red and yellow lights which reflected on to the baubles and bathed the whole square in a bright and seasonal glow.
‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ said Chloe.
There was something in her tone which made me look at her properly and I was shocked to find her eyes filled with tears.
‘I’m all right really,’ she said, sniffing hard and shrugging off my attention with a watery smile as she handed back my cup of wine. ‘It’s just Christmas, you know. It’s tough.’
With her usual gusto and get-up-and-go enthusiasm, it was all too easy to forget that she was a widow harbouring a broken heart.
‘Yes,’ I said, carefully pulling her into my side so as not to crush our drinks, as I felt sympathetic tears prickle my eyes too, ‘I know.’
We stayed like that while Luke delivered the rest of his speech, filling us all in with a quick update on Winterfest.
‘Practically every spot for every session is filled now,’ he announced, with a big smile. ‘Which shows us that there’s definitely a demand for this sort of thing and if it doesn’t get us all in the mood for Christmas, then nothing will.’
‘We’re already in the mood!’ called John, making everyone laugh.
‘Well, that’s good,’ said Luke, ‘let’s see if we can keep that feeling going right the way through to spring, shall we?’
We all had enough to do to keep us occupied and I couldn’t image Graham, who was standing next to Carole and looking flushed from the wine, would have time to feel anything like as low as he had the winter before. At least, I hoped he wouldn’t. If push came to shove in the garden, I still had every intention of drafting him in to help.
There might still have been over a month to go before the official opening on December twentieth, but I could have quite easily filled double that time with what I wanted to achieve, and that was even before we had worked out where to place Finn’s sculptures. Without thinking, I swallowed down a mouthful of wine as I ran through the long list of jobs which still had the power to make my heart canter and my nerves prickle.
‘I’m going to be checking through everything tomorrow,’ Luke finished up, ‘and if any of you who are involved could come along, I’d really appreciate it.’
Everyone seemed happy with the request and I thought it was a good idea to get us all together to share our plans and give a flavour of what to expect. I was really looking forward to Winterfest now, even the part that I was going to play in it.
‘It’s exciting, isn’t it?’ I said to Chloe, who I was happy to let go of, now I had banished my nerves again and she had recovered from her understandably emotional moment.
‘It is,’ she agreed. ‘Hannah and I have signed up to do one of the sessions.’
‘Hannah?’
‘My friend who works in The Dragon.’
‘Of course, which one are you doing?’
‘The bread- and chutney- making that Mark and Poppy are running.’
‘That sounds wonderful,’ I nodded, my mouth watering at the thought of warm crusty bread topped with local cheese and a spoonful of chutney.
‘And what about you, Finn?’ Chloe asked, as he walked by. ‘Are you excited about Winterfest? Have you signed yourself up to make a needlefelt robin or a festive cake?’
‘No,’ he said, sounding gruff. ‘I haven’t.’
‘You don’t sound very enthusiastic,’ I commented, looking up at him.
His hair was tied back properly for once and I could see the whole of his face. I hadn’t noticed before but his cheekbones really were beautifully defined.
‘I thought you were on board with it all,’ I swallowed, quickly regrouping.
Given that Zak had let slip that Finn had gone ahead and offered to run a session himself, I thought he would have sounded far keener.
‘It just seems to be getting out of hand,’ he grumbled, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, ‘I had no idea it was going to be so popular.’
I couldn’t understand why he felt so aggrieved. Surely, the more people the event attracted, the more would see his work if we got it out in time and possibly offer him a commission.
‘None of us did,’ Chloe pointed out.
‘You aren’t going to back out of doing your workshop, are you?’ I asked.
‘No,’ he snapped. ‘Of course not.’
‘Well, there’s no need to bite our heads off,’ Chloe shot back.
‘Sorry,’ he muttered, scuffing the grass with the toe of his boot. ‘I’m just worried about how it’s all going to impact on my studio time. I only get to work in there properly during the weekends at the moment and there’s still loads to do. It’s going to be hard to work if the grounds are heaving.’
‘It’s not going to be that busy,’ I said, my own mood deflating a little in the face of his persistently grumpy one. ‘And if you keep the door shut and your music belting out like you usually do, then you won’t even know it’s happening.’
‘Maybe,’ he muttered.
Chloe looked at me and shrugged, clearly, she was as confused by his apparent change of opinion as I was.
‘I just need to be able to get on,’ he elaborated. ‘I’ve got a lot riding on this.’
When he said that, I realised his mood was more the result of fear than grumpiness. He was doubtless mindful of his professional future and worried about hitting the Winter Garden deadline rather than having to cope with a few extra people milling about. Given the way I also felt about the fast-approaching official opening date, I could empathise with that.
‘Just keep in mind that the garden’s a work in progress,’ I said, as much for my benefit as his. ‘You’ll be able to add to it as we go and I’m sure Luke won’t be expecting you to have everything ready all at once.’
‘Because that’s not how creativity works, is it?’ Chloe cleverly pointed out. ‘You can’t just sculpt on demand. You can’t rush it, can you? I would imagine it’s a lengthy process.’
I can’t say I’d given much thought to the nuts and bolts, either figurative or real, but Chloe was right. It wasn’t all about hammering and welding, the planning and preparation had to come first.
‘Jesus!’ Finn suddenly shouted.
For a moment I thought he was shouting at me and Chloe, but then his hair fell loose around his face and Zak appeared from behind him, waving a band about.
‘Are you having a little arty-farty temperamental moment, bro?’ he teased, tossing the band into the air for Finn to catch.
‘Fuck off,’ Finn snapped.
Chloe and I exchanged a look and I realised that Finn’s bad mood was most likely aggravated by his half-brother’s unwanted presence as well as his concerns about his work.
‘Not that you can call welding a few bits of junk together, art,’ Zak carried on, obviously determined to get a reaction.
‘Actually,’ I said, thinking of the beautiful cat Finn had put together for Jasmine, ‘I’ve seen one of Finn’s pieces and his work is exquisite. It’s definitely art.’
Zak looked shocked that I had sprung to his brother’s defence. Perhaps he wasn’t used to having someone stand up to him.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘whatever. I’ve only really come over to ask if you lot fancied a trip to the pub?’
‘And yet you couldn’t resist trying to get a rise out of your brother while you were about it?’ I pointed out.
There was no way I’d be going to The Dragon with him, and not only because it was far too soon after my switch-on hangover.
‘Crikey,’ Zak grinned, looking me up and down. ‘She is a feisty one, isn’t she? You said as much.’
‘Shut up, Zak,’ Finn warned him.
‘Good looks and a bit of spirit,’ Zak carried on anyway. ‘I get the feeling you’re going to be more of a challenge than Poppy, Freya.’
‘I think you’ll find we’re both unconquerable, Zak,’ I snapped.
‘Oh well,’ he shrugged, ‘you can’t blame a fella for trying.’
<
br /> Chloe looked at me and shook her head. The risk of running into Zak was the only thing I didn’t like about living in Nightingale Square and I hoped Luke was going to take up Finn’s offer to finish off any outstanding jobs.
‘Well thanks for that, Freya,’ Finn said tartly, once Zak was out of earshot.
‘What?’ I frowned.
‘She only spoke up for you,’ Chloe pointed out.
I wondered if Finn had mentioned her to Zak too.
‘Exactly,’ he rumbled, ‘and I’ll never hear the bloody last of it, will I?’
‘So, I should have just stood by and let him talk to you like that, should I?’
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘that’s exactly what you should have done.’
He strode away without another word and I was left red-faced and wondering if our relationship was ever going to be plain sailing.
* * *
I was looking forward to joining everyone at Prosperous Place to discuss our Winterfest plans, but I didn’t make it over very early because I had a call from my mother to contend with first, followed by a very quick soul-soother with Peter.
‘Freya!’ Mum said by way of greeting, ‘I’ve found you at last.’
‘I did message Dad last week,’ I reminded her, ‘so you knew I was okay.’
‘Oh, I don’t mean that,’ she said with a tinkly laugh and I imagined her waving her hands about.
‘What do you mean then?’
‘I mean I’ve found out where you actually are. It’s that Prosperous Place in Norwich, isn’t it? Owned by that luscious Luke Lonsdale.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘I spotted you in the background of one of the photographs advertising this Winterfest thing he’s so keen on and then you were named in the article too. Can you believe it made the national press? I take it you’re managing the garden?’
‘Yes,’ I confirmed, inwardly cursing the efficiency of the photographer and his zoom lens, ‘yes, I am.’
‘I don’t know why you didn’t just tell us that’s where you were going,’ she said, sounding a little sulky.