Christmas Cheer

by Bella Osborne

  Christmas Eve brought its own answers as Beth and Leo woke up to a village painted white with snow and it was still falling fast. Leo was beside himself with excitement and went through three pairs of trousers in his enthusiasm to make snow angels and snowmen in the garden. Beth watched him and Denis through the window as they chased each other with handfuls of snow as it continued to fall at a steady pace. Snowballs suddenly started to fly out from the willow, which was now a cascading beauty in sparkly crystallized snow. The boys were stunned for a moment until they saw Ernie’s grinning face as he peeped through the willow’s frozen fronds to see if his missiles had hit their target. The boys’ excitement went up a notch and a full-on snowball fight ensued. When an errant snowball smashed against the living-room window Beth decided to intervene; it wouldn’t be long before someone got hurt and she would like to avoid any pre-Christmas injuries if she could.

  ‘Okay, snowball fight over. There’s hot chocolate if you come in now,’ she said as she dodged a snowball that hit the doorframe and shattered spectacularly above her head, dousing her in tiny droplets of snow. There was a lot of giggling as Leo, Denis and Ernie all trooped inside.

  Beth was very proud of herself for getting the real fire going as it made the living room come alive and it also generated a lot of heat. The boys were rattling off all the things they wanted for Christmas and Beth tried to ignore the worries that were sweeping over her that Leo would be disappointed with his pile of gifts this year, as it bore no comparison to previous years’. There was a knock at the door and she was instantly distracted. Something made her hesitate before going to answer it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Beth braced herself and opened the front door. A very smiley man stood on the doorstep with a clipboard and Beth immediately relaxed but also felt her charitable side decline; she didn’t need someone trying to sell her something on Christmas Eve.

  ‘Ms Browne?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes,’ said Beth, anticipating the inevitable awkward moment.

  ‘Sign here please,’ he said, handing her the clipboard. He turned and walked away, which was when Beth noticed the large delivery van parked by what was left of her picket fence. She stood still for a moment as confusion reigned. She hadn’t ordered anything so what could it be? She glanced over the paperwork on the clipboard for a clue. One word jumped out at her at the same time as a large box was heaved from the van and the faces at the window identified the package. ‘TELEVISION!’

  Beth started to panic. This had to be a mistake and it was bad enough that Leo was spending Christmas without a television, let alone having one wafted under his nose and then cruelly taken away on Christmas Eve. She strode out into the snow to intercept the deliveryman.

  ‘I’m really sorry, there’s been some mistake. We haven’t ordered a television. This isn’t ours.’

  The man who had come to the door was still holding onto his end of the large box. He opened his mouth and tilted his head towards Beth so he could get a look at the paperwork. ‘But you are Ms Browne?’

  ‘Yes, but …’

  ‘And this is Willow Cottage, The Green, Dumbleford?’

  ‘Yes, but …’

  ‘Then this is where we’re delivering it,’ he said with certainty. ‘Come on,’ he said to his colleague who looked like he was close to dropping the large box, although they now did both look rather Christmassy with their light coating of snow. As they marched the parcel into the hall, the whoops of delight from the living room were deafening and Beth’s heart sank.

  Beth heard a car pull up behind the van but she was too busy speed-reading the delivery documentation to see if there was a number she could call.

  ‘Helloooooo!’ called a familiar voice.

  Beth spun round with a frown etched on her face. ‘Carly?’ What was going on?

  ‘Ooh, it’s beaten me here. That’s good service. I only ordered it last night. Had to pay extra, obviously.’

  Beth used the clipboard to point from Carly to the deliverymen who were now heading out of the house. Carly took the clipboard from her, signed her name and handed it to the deliverymen as they passed.

  ‘Merry Christmas,’ they all chorused and Carly and her wheelie case carried on into the cottage as Beth watched the taxi and delivery van crawl slowly out of the snow-covered drive.

  Eventually, Beth came to her senses and went inside. Ernie was sitting on one of the sofas hugging his empty mug and grinning from ear to ear as Leo and Denis ripped apart the box. Carly was in the hall, taking off her shoes and coat.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Beth, closing her eyes briefly as she tried to make sense of everything that was perplexing her.

  ‘All flights to and from Ireland are cancelled because of the snow. I’ve got hardly any food in because I didn’t know what was happening so I thought I’d surprise you and come for Christmas,’ Carly said, with a beaming smile. ‘Surprise!’ she added belatedly.

  ‘And?’ Beth gave one firm finger-point in the direction of the cardboard massacre that was occurring on the new living-room carpet.

  ‘If you think I’m spending Christmas here without a telly you’re very much mistaken.’ She gave Beth a kiss. ‘Merry Christmas. It’s your present for this year and the next gazillion years too!’

  ‘But I thought Fergus said he’d be home for Christmas, come what may?’ said Beth. However Carly wasn’t listening – she was already helping the boys to set up the television.

  Christmas morning was a frenzy of vegetable preparation and wrapping paper as Leo opened his presents and Beth tried to work out what to feed an unexpected vegetarian for Christmas dinner. Beth was mightily relieved that Leo loved his presents and especially the giant Lego set. It was the biggest she could afford and it had gone down a storm. He even seemed pleased with the new jeans and tops that she’d got him which were actually things he’d needed but had made for extra presents to unwrap. Carly was officially the best godmother ever as the television was an afterthought; she had also bought him a tablet, which was now charging in the bedroom.

  Ernie appeared mid-morning and Leo thrust a present under his nose as soon as he came in. They’d agreed that the adults would open theirs together in the afternoon but Ernie was the exception to the rule and was allowed one now. Ernie had sat down with the neatly wrapped gift resting on his knee for a while before he eventually gave in to Leo’s pleas for him to open it. Ernie carefully picked at the edges and gently unfolded the paper to reveal his present. Leo lost interest as soon as he saw what it was and quickly returned to his new toys.

  Ernie was transfixed by the gift for a long while and when he eventually looked up he had tears in his eyes. Beth felt a prick at the back of hers too.

  ‘Do you like it, Ernie?’

  He nodded and swallowed hard. ‘I lost my owinge scarf,’ he said at last.

  ‘Now you’ve got a new one,’ said Beth, fighting back the tears. Ernie put on his bright orange scarf and smoothed down the ends. He sat with it on, nursing a cup of tea as he watched Leo play.

  Carly seemed to be keeping her distance from Ernie and Beth sensed that she wasn’t that comfortable around him. She had to admit that she had been cautious of him at first and it registered with her how things had changed since the day he’d chased them away from Willow Cottage.

  Beth came downstairs, having changed ready for her shift at the pub, and was putting on her flat shoes when Carly slunk out of the living room.

  ‘You’re not seriously leaving me here with Leo and him?’ said Carly in a low voice.

  ‘If you mean Ernie, he’s fine. He doesn’t say much so he’s a good listener, you’ll love him,’ chided Beth.

  ‘Beth!’ said Carly, her tone aggravated. ‘He’s a strange old man who thinks he lives under a tree. Anything could happen. You read about it in the papers!’ Her eyes were wide and she was nodding frantically.

  ‘Look, Miss Marple, you are quite safe with Ernie. Give him tea and he’ll be fine. But if his tea runs out m
ake sure he’s not near the poker,’ said Beth as she put her coat on and tried to hide her smirk. Carly stuck her tongue out.

  ‘Bye, Leo, bye, Ernie. See you later.’ She pulled on her gloves and hat. ‘Carly, stop fretting, I’ll be back in a couple of hours and don’t forget to baste the turkey every hour!’ she said as she left.

  ‘But I’m a sensitive vegetarian!’ Carly protested to the closed door.

  The pub on Christmas Day ran like a well-oiled machine. All the menu choices had been given in weeks before and the meals were timed to perfection. Beth got to pull a cracker and have a glass of champagne so it was not exactly the hardest shift she’d ever done. Everyone was on fine form and the pub was filled with chatter, laughter and crooning from a dodgy Christmas CD. Most of the patrons were the elderly of the village, Shirley included, but there were also a few tables of visitors who were treating themselves to the luxury of someone else cooking their Christmas dinner for them.

  Beth lost count of how many bottles of champagne she poured, but everyone was happily merry and the tips were plentiful. When Shirley suggested that they put the Queen’s Christmas message on the TV and demanded that everyone should stand for the national anthem, Petra gave Beth the nod that she could leave. She left with a doggy bag from the chef, two bottles of wine from Petra and Shirley’s rendition of ‘God Save the Queen’ ringing in her ears.

  Beth texted Jack to let him know she had escaped, and he and Doris arrived as she was knocking the snow off her wellies.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Beth,’ Jack said, giving Beth a gentle kiss on the cheek that took her slightly by surprise and made her blush.

  ‘And to you,’ she said. Their eyes fixed intently on each other for a second before Doris jumped up and very nearly knocked her over. ‘Oh, and to you too, Doris!’ She gave the dog a fuss as Jack brought her in. He whipped out a small towel and wiped the snow off Doris and dried her paws.

  ‘Wow, I’m impressed. I hope you’re as well house-trained,’ teased Beth.

  ‘Couldn’t risk ruining your new carpet,’ said Jack. ‘And you’ll have to wait and see if I’m house-trained or not.’ There was a flicker in his eye and she wasn’t sure if it had been a wink. She wanted to demand an action replay but he had already kicked off his shoes and was heading into the kitchen with two more bottles and a large bag. Doris went charging into the small living room and completely misjudged everything with all the people, a half-completed Lego set all over the floor and a large tree. She careered into everything and everyone.

  ‘Doris!’ yelled Leo as she trampled over his Lego instructions and then trod on and skidded off the shiny surface of the presents by the tree.

  ‘Argh!’ shouted Carly as Doris clambered across her and the sofa. Ernie managed to save his tea and avoided any spillage but the might of Doris was too much for the Christmas tree as she sideswiped it and it toppled over, luckily missing everyone.

  Beth surveyed the devastation as Jack ran to her side and Doris looked about her in amazement as if to say, ‘Who made all that mess?’

  ‘She looks even bigger from this angle. You could put a saddle on her,’ said Carly, making room as Doris trotted past her. At first Carly didn’t seem to notice that she was leaning towards Ernie but when she did she stood up quickly. ‘I’ll give you a hand with the tree.’

  ‘No, you’re okay. I’ll put it straight,’ said Jack, lifting the tree and the stand upright.

  Doris sat next to Beth and watched as Jack put the tree back together. She gave Beth a forlorn look. ‘I know you didn’t mean it,’ she said, as she rubbed her head and Doris rested her face against her leg.

  Once Beth was happy that everything was under control in the kitchen and the living room had been put back in order, she handed out drinks to everyone and announced a toast. ‘To friends and family, wherever they may be.’ Everyone nodded and clinked glasses. Even Ernie had a small glass of fizz; he didn’t look impressed when he tasted it, but he raised it to the photo of Elsie and Wilf all the same.

  ‘Presents!’ said Beth, and Leo dived towards the gifts which now looked slightly scraggy thanks to their encounter with Doris. Leo read out the labels and passed them round. Jack produced some gifts too and handed his out, and a frenzy of opening commenced. Doris started to bark; she was very excited by all the noise and especially the large ball-shaped present that Leo had placed in front of her.

  Leo had a similar-shaped present from Jack. Unsurprisingly it was a new football.

  ‘Because she keeps putting holes in your others,’ explained Jack.

  ‘Cheers,’ said Leo, and he gave Jack a spontaneous hug. Jack became a little awkward but he looked touched as the embrace ended. Leo helped Doris unwrap her present, which was a large red ball.

  ‘It’s indestructible,’ said Beth, and Jack nodded his approval.

  ‘Well, if anyone can prove that wrong it will be Doris,’ he said. Leo immediately donned his coat, hat and wellies and took Doris outside to road-test her new present.

  Beth carefully unwrapped her present from Jack. It was a slate house sign that said Willow Cottage. ‘I love it, thank you,’ she said and she meant it. And for a moment she held his gaze.

  Jack was taken aback by his canvas print of a photo Beth had taken of Doris in front of the willow tree. ‘Wow, you never told me you’d taken this.’ he said, beaming broadly.

  ‘Duh, that would have been a rubbish surprise,’ said Beth, and she was pleased with Jack’s reaction and watched him as he kept eyeing it. Carly pulled faces when she unwrapped an idiot’s guide to the Internet from Beth but was very pleased with her sparkly picture frame that Beth had embellished herself. Ernie was surprised to get another present and was again overcome when he opened a small version of the Elsie and Wilf photograph also in a sparkly frame. He pointed at his and back at the original on the windowsill but couldn’t seem to find the words. Beth gave him a brief hug, which he self-consciously reciprocated.

  ‘What did you get from Fergus?’ asked Beth.

  Carly disappeared to rummage in her handbag and Beth followed her. Carly pulled out a gold box and took it into the kitchen where Beth watched her open it. Beth could feel her pulse rate quicken as the lid came off. Carly took out a piece of paper and shook the box to see if there was anything else, but that was it. She read out the handwritten message.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Carls. Embankment Pier at eleven a.m. I love you. Fergus xx’

  Beth looked over Carly’s shoulder to check the message herself. ‘Was that eleven o’clock today, then?’

  ‘I guess so but he wasn’t there, was he. He’s stuck in Ireland so that was pointless.’ She folded up the note and placed it back in the box.

  ‘What do you think the present was?’ asked Beth. She couldn’t picture what was near Embankment Pier apart from, very obviously, the Thames.

  Carly shrugged and looked up at the ceiling as she thought. ‘I don’t know. There’s nothing open on Christmas Day apart from a few restaurants. I bet it was Christmas dinner out somewhere. Yeah, that’d be it.’

  ‘Oh well,’ said Beth as she put an arm round Carly, ‘never mind. You can be my kitchen slave instead.’

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Christmas dinner was held on Simon’s borrowed paste table, which was sturdier than most and well disguised by tablecloths from the tearooms. The chairs were on loan from Jack and Beth had borrowed two large serving bowls from the pub. But, wherever it was from, when it all came together it worked. There was plenty of food for everyone and they all joined in and wore their paper hats out of the crackers. By the time they all pushed their pudding bowls away, everyone was looking decidedly stuffed, which was exactly as it should be on Christmas Day. Leo was keen to watch a film on the new mega television so he made good his escape.

  Ernie stood up and all eyes followed him. ‘Thank you,’ he said, pointing to his bowl and then stroking his scarf.

  ‘You’re very welcome, Ernie,’ said Beth as Ernie went to put his coat on. Jack ju
mped up and pointed after him to indicate that he’d see him out. She watched as Jack chatted to Ernie in the hall and they very formally shook hands before Ernie ventured into the swirling snow outside. Jack rejoined the adults, got more wine from the fridge en route and topped up their glasses.

  ‘Have you left your boyfriend for good this time then, Carly?’ asked Jack as Beth gave him a stern look.

  ‘He’s visiting a sick relative in Ireland.’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Jack, pouring wine into Carly’s glass.

  ‘To be honest we needed some space,’ said Carly, ‘time to re-evaluate things.’

  ‘Sounds like you’ve been reading self-help books to me.’

  Carly frowned. ‘I might have been,’ she said. ‘Ugh,’ she added dramatically, ‘he spends all his time on this stupid computer game and talking to other nerdy people about it. It’s taken over his life.’

  ‘Which game?’ asked Jack, now looking a lot more interested in what Carly had to say.

  ‘Minecraft.’

  ‘Sound,’ said Jack, nodding with approval.

  ‘Do you play it?’ asked Beth, a little smirk escaping at the thought of Jack being into kids’ games.

  ‘Yeah, but not seriously. I dabble now and then. It’s quite complex with all its different servers, dimensions, worlds, mining and crafting.’

  ‘It is!’ said Carly. ‘See, I told you.’ Carly turned to Beth. ‘How am I meant to understand conversations about zombie pigmen in the nether. It makes no sense at all. I mean who has a T-shirt with I’m The Ghast Blaster on it?’

  ‘They were a big seller this Christmas but I like this best,’ said Jack sheepishly, as he lifted up his Christmas jumper to reveal a blue T-shirt with two eyes and a large square red mouth lined with white teeth.

  ‘Squid!’ shouted Carly, pointing at it in alarm.

  ‘I-ballistic squid, to be precise,’ said Jack. ‘He’s a Minecraft YouTuber as is The Ghast Blaster but nobody knows who The Ghast Blaster is. It’s this big mystery.’

  Beth was looking blankly at him. ‘It was all over social media, did you not see it?’ asked Jack. Beth and Carly shook their heads.