A Winter's Wish Come True

by Lynsey James

  ‘Thanks for being here,’ he says, drawing away from her and running a hand across his face. ‘I really appreciate it.’

  She shakes her head and waves a dismissive hand. ‘It’s Marilyn, of course I’m here.’

  Well aren’t you just an angel, I think, feeling a prick of envy. I tell myself off for being so bitter; she’s just being nice and she’s taken time away from work to come to the hospital.

  Her eyes fall onto me, and she smiles as though she’s just realised I’m here. ‘Cleo! Long time, no see.’

  I get up from where I’m sitting and she comes over to hug me. ‘Hi Natalie, it’s lovely to see you. You look great.’

  She pulls back and looks at me, taking in my bump. ‘Wow, look at you! Something you forgot to tell me, Scott?’

  Both of us look at him and he looks back like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

  ‘You didn’t tell her about the baby?’ I say, placing my hands on my bump.

  ‘I haven’t spoken to her for ages!’ he protests. ‘She’s been off travelling to God knows where.’

  ‘It’s true,’ Natalie confirms. ‘I took a bit of time off recently and went travelling with some girlfriends. Congratulations to you two, though! When are you due?’

  ‘February,’ I reply. ‘We’re having a little girl.’

  She claps her hands together and her perfect smile grows ever wider. ‘That’s amazing! Have you got a name for her yet?’

  ‘We haven’t managed to agree on one yet,’ Scott replies. ‘Natalie, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the baby sooner. I would’ve, but things have been a bit hectic round here recently.’

  She shakes her head and makes some ‘don’t worry about it’ gestures. ‘Honestly guys, it’s fine. You two are going to make awesome parents; I always knew you’d end up settling down and having a family together. You must be so excited to meet the baby.’

  I look at Scott, silently asking are you going to tell her or shall I? He seems to understand and bites his lip for a moment.

  ‘Cleo and I … we aren’t actually together anymore,’ he replies.

  Natalie’s eyes shift from me to Scott and back again. ‘What? What do you mean you’re not together anymore?’

  I decide to take my turn at delivering the difficult news. Part of me wonders how she’s feeling about this. Her face and tone of voice are giving nothing away.

  ‘It wasn’t working anymore, so we decided to split up,’ I say. I don’t really want to rake over the whole Australia affair here at the hospital, especially during such a difficult time. ‘We’re still friends though, it’s all good.’

  Even if I’m still completely in love with him and want him back.

  ‘Well, that’s great!’ Natalie says with a grin. ‘That you’re still friends, I mean, not that you’ve split up. I’m really sorry to hear that.’

  Something about that doesn’t quite ring true with me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was happy to hear we’re not together anymore. I put it down to the stress and worry over Marilyn.

  Scott and I mumble things about it all being fine and that we’re putting the baby first. Neither of us knows what to say to make this sound any better.

  Luckily, a doctor coming towards us provides a new focal point.

  ‘Marilyn Chambers?’ he says, looking up from his clipboard.

  Natalie, Scott and Donald all immediately crowd round the doctor. I join them, but I’m stuck at the back. It’s as though the three of them have naturally gravitated towards each other, due to their shared connections and history.

  ‘How is she?’ Scott asks, desperation straining in his voice.

  ‘She’s out of surgery and resting now,’ the doctor replies. ‘She took quite a nasty hit to the head, but I’m confident she’ll make a full recovery.’

  We breathe a collective sigh of relief and collapse onto available chairs. My body feels exhausted as the worry leaves it, allowing tiredness to seep into my bones.

  ‘When can we see her?’ Donald asks as he rises to his feet.

  ‘I’ll take you to her room now. It’s immediate family only at the moment, so anyone who isn’t related will have to stay here.’

  Natalie and I look at one another, knowing he means us. We stay where we are as Scott and Donald head off to see Marilyn.

  ‘What a day,’ I say with a sigh. ‘I’m so glad she’s OK.’

  ‘I know,’ she agrees. ‘I can’t imagine Marilyn not being around anymore. She was always so good to me when I was with Scott.’

  My heart sinks a little. ‘We’ve had a bit of a rocky relationship at times,’ I admit. ‘I’m not sure she ever thought I was good enough for him really!’

  Natalie chuckles. ‘I had that too in the beginning! No mother ever thinks any woman is good enough for her son. It’s the same with dads and their daughters. You watch Scott with your little girl; he’ll insist on a full background check on any boy who wants to go out with her!’

  The image of Scott as an overprotective father makes me laugh. ‘You’re probably right. Knowing him, he won’t let her out of the house until she’s thirty.’

  When she doesn’t reply right away, I glance sideways at her. I can tell she’s trying to work out how to correctly phrase whatever she’s about to say.

  ‘What happened with you and Scott? I’m not buying the whole “it didn’t work out” thing, not with you two. There’s got to be a reason.’

  ‘… We wanted different things,’ I say. ‘To cut a long story short, he got the chance of a lifetime to go and work in Australia. I wanted to stay here and he wanted to go, so we broke up. He came back a few months ago, we had a reunion of sorts, and now … well, here we are.’

  Natalie nods and sighs. ‘Cleo, I’m going to tell you something that you’re probably not going to want to hear. I still love Scott. I’m with another man and I’m crazy about him, but I know I’ll never love him like I love Scott. Guys like him don’t come along very often, and when they do it’s either the best or worst thing to ever happen to you. In my case, it was the worst. I wasn’t ready for him when he came into my life, and pushing him away is my biggest regret. He wanted to stay and help me through my illness, but I didn’t want to put him through that. I lost him a long time ago because I thought I was doing the right thing by letting him go. Please don’t do the same. He loves you and you love him, right?’

  I let out a hollow chuckle and tell her everything: how he left me the morning after our night together and how he’s said on more than one occasion that we shouldn’t be together. Tears well up in my eyes but I manage to keep them at bay.

  ‘Cleo, he left you that morning because he was scared,’ Natalie says. ‘Getting you back was probably all he could think about, but when it looked like it was going to happen, he panicked. He likely thought he’d mess it up or that you’d say it shouldn’t have happened, so he thought the best thing to do was to leave. It was stupid and he shouldn’t have done it, but he’s human just like you are. We all make mistakes, and I bet he’s kicked himself ever since for doing it.’

  I nod, running my fingers through my hair. ‘I know he didn’t mean it, I just … When I woke up to find him gone, I thought he’d done a runner because he regretted anything happening between us again. I love him so much, Natalie. Sorry, I know you probably don’t want to hear that, but I do. I want to try and fix things, but I don’t know where to start. It feels like I’ve got some of the pieces I need to put us back together, but the rest are scattered everywhere.’

  ‘That’s not to say you won’t find them sooner or later,’ she says with a hopeful smile. ‘You’ve both been through a lot; you just need to give each other a chance.’

  I bite my lip. ‘Maybe you’re right. Can I ask you something though? Would you …would you ever tell him? That you love him, I mean.’

  I wait for Natalie to laugh, wave her hand and say ‘of course not’ but she doesn’t. Instead, she looks at the floor and twists her fingers on her lap.


  ‘No … no of course I wouldn’t. He’s not mine anymore.’

  Just then, Scott comes walking down the corridor towards us.

  ‘How is she?’ I ask.

  He nods. ‘She’s asleep for now. Doctor says she’ll be fine though, so that’s the main thing. Thank you both for being here, it means a lot to me.’

  ‘Don’t mention it,’ I reply. ‘I’m just glad she’s going to be OK.’

  He comes up to me, cautious at first, and wraps me in a tight hug.

  ‘Thank you,’ he whispers. ‘For everything.’

  I let him hold me as close to him as my bump will allow as he buries his face in my neck.

  ‘Let’s go home, eh?’ I suggest. ‘I might let you make me pancakes if you’re lucky.’

  He chuckles, his breath tickling my ear. ‘Sounds good to me.’

  *

  Scott says thank you to me a further three times before we get home. Each time, he seems to find something new to be thankful for.

  ‘You really came through for me tonight,’ he says from the kitchen as I make myself comfortable on the couch. ‘I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. I’ll find a really good way to make it up to you though.’

  ‘Don’t mention it,’ I say. ‘You’ve said thank you a billion times and you’re making me pancakes, so I’m thinking you’re done.’

  Right on cue, he comes back to the living room with two plates of chocolate chip pancakes. The smell makes my heart do a happy dance and my mouth waters at the thought of tucking into them.

  ‘So your mum’s going to be alright,’ I say, noting the look of worry still etched into his face. I hope that by saying it again, it’ll help him realise nothing will happen to her.

  ‘Yeah, we had a really good chat. We talked about you actually; she really likes you. She was saying she admires you for everything you’ve done and thinks you have massive balls to tackle a bucket list the way you did. She thinks you’re even braver to put up with me and my nonsense though!’ He chuckles. ‘When she found out we’d split up over Australia, she called me every name under the sun. Told me I should fight to win you back and do whatever it takes to help you believe I won’t go anywhere again. We kind of ended up going down a different path though, didn’t we?’

  I nod. ‘Yeah, we did. How did that happen anyway?’

  ‘Well, it all started because I was stupid and put going to Australia above our relationship. Then … then I thought it might be best if we didn’t try again because of the baby. I was scared in case things didn’t work out and that we’d end up at each other’s throats.’

  ‘Do you still think that?’ I ask, deciding to put Natalie and Amanda’s advice into practice. ‘Because … I’d like to give things another go. If … if you want to, that is.’

  He doesn’t reply and I risk a sideways glance at him. A small smile is playing on his lips, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking.

  ‘Cleo …’

  He trails off and gets up from the couch, abandoning his pancakes on the coffee table. Although I’m eager to hear what he has to say, I’m also tempted to sneak some pancakes off his plate.

  ‘Forget it,’ I say, getting up to join him. ‘It was a stupid idea. It’s just I’ve realised how much I want us to try again. I was scared you might up and leave again if I let you back in, but the only way to let you prove you won’t is by giving you a chance. We’ve both made mistakes, but we were good together Scott. We had fun, we could talk to each other, we had an amazing connection. Why the hell did we let that go over—?’

  Seconds later, his lips crash into mine, his arms wrapping around me to pull me close.

  ‘I’ve been an idiot,’ he whispers. ‘I don’t want to be without you, and I never have. I was just trying to do the right thing, you know?’

  ‘I love you so much,’ I reply. ‘Let’s just put all this behind us and start again eh? I’ve missed you.’

  And with that, he kisses me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The next few weeks pass in a blur of date nights, Carb Counters meetings and hospital appointments. As our little girl continues to grow, my relationship with Scott goes from strength to strength. We slip into our own little groove and begin to refamiliarise ourselves with being together. It’s easier than either of us expects and although there’s the odd argument over something silly, we’re pretty darn happy.

  Marilyn makes a full recovery and heads home after spending two weeks in hospital. She’s as full-on as she’s been, ordering Donald to fetch her tea and biscuits at regular intervals.

  ‘So I hear you and my son are back together,’ she says on one of my regular visits to see her. ‘I’m bloody glad you two have finally sorted yourselves out!’

  I chuckle. ‘It took us long enough, didn’t it?’

  ‘Too long for my liking,’ she replies. ‘I had a word with him the last time he was here and told him to be good to you. So I’ll tell you the same thing: be good to him and don’t either of you let each other go.’

  I smile as I feel the baby kick again. ‘Don’t worry, we won’t. We’re going to be a team when this little madam comes along.’

  Team Robinson.

  That sounds pretty good to me.

  *

  Bonfire Night, my favourite night of the year, soon comes around. Every year, there’s a bonfire and an epic fireworks display on the village green. It’s an amazing event and I’ve been going ever since I was a little girl.

  ‘Come on!’ I call to Scott as I pull my boots and scarf on. ‘I don’t want to miss any of the fireworks.’

  ‘Don’t worry, we won’t,’ he insists as he thuds down the stairs. ‘You’re really just a child at heart, aren’t you?’

  He taps my nose with a finger and I narrow my eyes at him. ‘I’ll have you know I’m a strong, independent woman who just happens to love Bonfire Night. Hey, if you think about it, this is technically the baby’s first Bonfire Night!’

  He chuckles. ‘I suppose it is. Next year, she might be able to enjoy it a bit more since, you know, she’ll actually be here!’

  I swat him on the arm and we head out to the village green. There’s already the smell of fire in the air and goosebumps rise on my skin when it hits me. For me, there’s always been something magical and romantic about Bonfire Night. Whether it’s the toasted marshmallows, the gunpowder plot story, or watching beautiful fireworks light up the night sky, it’s always been a night I’ve enjoyed. Plus, it means there’s only six weeks to go until Christmas.

  ‘I haven’t been to a bonfire for years,’ Scott admits as we join the crowd. ‘I used to love them when I was a kid.’

  ‘Well wait till you see the Silverdale bonfire,’ I say, feeling my heart race. ‘It’s out of this world and they always go totally overboard on the fireworks. The Catherine wheels are my favourites. Did you know they were named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria? She was condemned to death by “breaking on the wheel”, but when she touched the wheel it flew to pieces.’

  Scott wraps an arm round my shoulders and kisses the top of my head. ‘You’re such a nerd. I bloody love you.’

  Mum and Dad come up to us, their faces lit up by the bright sparklers they’re holding.

  ‘Hiya love,’ Mum says, reaching over to hug me. ‘Are you excited? You’ve always loved Bonfire Night.’

  ‘I can’t wait for the fireworks to start,’ I say. ‘Do you know if there are any toasted marshmallows anywhere? Baby fancies some. And by baby, I obviously mean me.’

  Dad chuckles. ‘Don’t worry, they’ll be coming round soon! Just think, this time next year we’ll be watching the fireworks together with the baby. Talking of which, have you two managed to agree on a name yet?’

  Scott and I look at one another with weary grins. ‘Don’t mention bloody baby names!’ he chuckles. ‘If it were up to Cleo, we’d be calling this baby Princess Unicorn Starflip or something.’

  I snort. ‘Hardly! I floated the idea of calling her after a Disney princess, m
aybe Aurora or Belle. You were the one who mentioned Princess Consuela Bananahammock.’

  ‘I don’t want a granddaughter called Princess Consuela,’ Mum says with a frown. ‘I’ve agreed to be called Grandma, but I don’t fancy shouting “come on Princess Consuela, time for tea” in the park.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ I say, putting a hand on her arm. ‘Princess Consuela is firmly out of the running.’

  A figure moving on the other side of the bonfire catches my attention, and I see it’s Amanda. She’s got a large coat bundled around her and looks lonelier than ever.

  ‘I’ll be back in a sec,’ I say. ‘Get me a toasted marshmallow in case I miss them.’

  I pick my way carefully through the crowd until I reach her. She looks a little surprised to see me, but flashes me a smile.

  ‘Hey,’ I say. ‘How are things? Are you settled in over at Rose Cottage?’

  She nods. ‘Yeah, I’m just getting the place sorted now. I’ve still got to decorate the nursery and get all the things I’ll need for the baby, but it’s coming together.’

  ‘What about your mum? Are you two speaking yet?’

  Amanda nods. ‘Yeah we’ve sorted things out now. She apologised for being so hard on me and accepted that the whole thing with Adam was just a mistake. She’s actually really looking forward to being a gran now.’

  I scan the crowds for Mrs Best’s face, but I can’t see her. Amanda follows my gaze and seems to pick up on what I’m thinking.

  ‘She’s off on a cruise with her new boyfriend. Three weeks round the Caribbean. Not bad for some eh?’ She laughs, but I can tell it’s bothering her. She might’ve built some bridges with her mum, but it looks like she’s as alone as she’s always been.

  ‘Do you want to come and watch the fireworks with me and my lot? Emma should be along soon too.’

  Amanda doesn’t respond immediately and looks over to where my mum, dad and Scott are standing.

  ‘I-I don’t know …’ She twirls a blonde curl round her finger. ‘I’m fine over here, honestly.’