by Lucy Daniels
Every year since Jack was born, Susan had bought a special decoration for the tree to celebrate. Each one reflected the things he loved that year. There were presents to buy too, and an outfit for Christmas Day. She would be spending it with Miranda and Jack. Her mum always made a special effort, and of course she was always stunning. It would be lovely to have something equally special to wear.
She pulled up outside the veterinary clinic. Mandy had told her to come to the old cottage next to the surgery where Mandy had grown up and where her parents still lived. Emily Hope opened the door. Emily smiled when she saw Susan. ‘Mandy’s not quite ready,’ she said. ‘She’s out in the clinic if you want to go through.’
‘Thanks, Emily.’ Susan returned her grin. She was looking well, Susan thought. Mandy had been desperately worried when her mum had been diagnosed with MS. But for now, everything seemed to be going better than anybody had hoped.
Susan stepped across the gravel, opened the door and stopped. Standing close to Helen behind the reception desk was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes. He was smooth-shaven with a very attractive smile. His hair was carefully coiffed into meticulous spikiness. He was leaning over Helen to point to something on the computer screen and Helen was laughing. Two pairs of eyes swivelled towards Susan as she walked in. Helen smiled a greeting and the young man pulled himself upright and moved away from Helen a little.
‘Hi, Susan,’ Helen called. ‘Mandy’ll be through in a second. She’s just washing her hands.’
Sure enough, a moment later, Mandy rushed in. ‘Sorry, Susan,’ she said. ‘One of the goats in Hope Meadows had a sore eye. It took ages to catch her.’
Susan grinned. ‘You’re here now,’ she said. ‘How’s Coffee doing?’
Mandy waved to Helen and the young man. ‘Bye,’ she called. ‘Have a good day.’ Pulling open the door, she ushered Susan back outside into the sunlight. ‘Coffee’s doing okay,’ she assured Susan as she closed the door behind her. ‘She’s had her breakfast and the wound’s fine. She can go home later, all being well.’
Susan unlocked the car and dropped into the driver’s seat. Mandy climbed in beside her.
‘So what do you think of Toby Gordon, our new vet?’ she asked as Susan turned out of the lane and swung onto the Walton road. ‘He was by far the best candidate that we interviewed, with loads of experience in anaesthetics and exotic animal practice. We’re lucky to have him! And Mum feels much better about stepping back now there’s someone to share the work with me and Dad.’
Susan risked a sideways glance at Mandy. Mandy looked amused, as if this was some kind of test.
‘Toby eh?’ she said. ‘Well I think …’ She paused, pretending to frown and then grinned. ‘I think … that he’s going to be the subject of a very great deal of village gossip!’
Mandy laughed. ‘Never a truer word …’ she admitted. From the corner of her eye, Susan could see that Mandy was looking at her. She thought she knew what was coming next.
‘Spit it out,’ she said. ‘Whatever it is you’re thinking.’
Mandy grinned with delight. ‘You’re far too perceptive,’ she said. ‘Well, I was thinking what about you? Will you be part of that gossip?’
Susan rolled her eyes and gave a firm shake of her head. ‘Not my type,’ she said. Too pretty, her mind added. She really hadn’t felt any kind of spark when she’d seen him. ‘So he’s single?’ she asked. He would cause havoc in the village if so.
‘He is,’ Mandy said, ‘though I must confess Mrs Ponsonby seemed very keen to see him yesterday when she brought Fancy in to have her nails clipped. Maybe he won’t be on the market for long.’
It was Susan’s turn to laugh. Mrs Ponsonby was Welford’s most redoubtable widow, and a regular at Animal Ark with Fancy, her much loved Pekinese. The idea of that slick young man and the very upright older woman together was hilarious. ‘Imagine her with Fancy under one arm and Toby under the other,’ she said.
‘Or she could keep him in her handbag,’ Mandy shot back, then groaned. ‘Poor Toby,’ she said, then clapped her hands down on her knees. ‘Speaking of new couples,’ she said, ‘how about you and that Douglas? You were meant to meet last night, weren’t you? Was he okay about it? Have you rearranged a time yet?’
Susan sighed as she came back to earth. ‘No,’ she said, ‘and I’m not going to. I didn’t get a chance to say, but he turned up at the nursery yesterday for a visit. You know he’s a children’s illustrator. He brought one of his books to read. I had no idea he was coming. My boss set it up …’
Mandy frowned. ‘And …’ she prompted.
‘And it was awful.’ Susan put her foot on the brake as she approached the turning onto the main road. She glanced to left and right, then pulled out. ‘He was like some kind of buffoon,’ she said when they were moving again. ‘He was so wild-looking,’ she wrinkled her nose, ‘and stupidly loud. He laughed like a seal. I wanted to tell him I didn’t want to meet, but it seemed so rude.’
‘So you weren’t too disappointed you had to cancel?’ Mandy asked. The teasing tone had disappeared from her voice.
‘Not at all.’ Susan was definite. She would be happy if she never ran into him again.
Below them, the Plain of York stretched into the distance. It was beginning to cloud over, a thin high layer of cloud that looked very far away. Presently a few flakes of snow appeared. ‘Was this forecast?’ Susan asked Mandy.
Mandy shook her head. ‘Mum said they were talking about a cold snap on the TV last night, though.’
The snow was coming faster now, the flakes swirling in eddies over the windscreen.
‘Jack will be pleased!’ Susan said, happily. She squinted at the clouds. ‘Looks like it might be heavy, though. Do you want to turn back?’
Mandy looked out for a moment, assessing the sky. ‘Not unless you want to,’ she said.
‘We’ll see if it gets any worse,’ Susan said. The snow was beginning to lie. By the time they reached York, the ground had turned properly white. Susan turned in at the entrance to a multi-storey car park near the castle. At least the car would be under cover. It was a good thing she’d worn her fur-lined boots.
The city had a magical look. The snow had stopped for now and the sky was clearing a little. They tramped through the narrow streets, surrounded on all sides by fairy lights and glitter. Christmas music floated through the air. Stalls had been set up all round the town centre. Mandy stopped at a stall selling brightly coloured candles. Susan stopped beside her. There were all different shapes and sizes from tiny tea-lights to massive pillars with multiple wicks. Susan lifted a red candle in a glass to her nose. It was scented with cinnamon and apple.
She breathed in deeply, then held it out to Mandy, who sniffed it appreciatively. ‘Smells like Christmas,’ she said.
They walked on to see the Minster. Every ledge and spire was edged in white. As they looked, a ray of sun broke through the clouds, lighting up the rose window. Susan felt a shiver run down her spine; it was so beautiful. The sun went in again and the moment passed. As one, they turned.
‘Where next?’ Mandy asked. ‘I need to buy some presents for the twins,’ she added, ‘though I’ve no idea what. I should have asked Jimmy.’
‘Why didn’t you?’ Susan asked.
Mandy waved an airy hand and grinned. ‘Didn’t want to admit I’d no idea what I was doing.’ Susan found herself smiling back. Mandy’s cheeriness and honesty were infectious.
‘What are they into just now?’ Susan asked.
Mandy looked up at the sky, then back to Susan. ‘Well they love the kittens,’ she said.
Susan smiled. Abi and Max had adopted the two young cats from Hope Meadows at the end of the summer. Susan knew they’d been a great hit. She thought for a moment.
‘What about,’ she said, ‘buying them a stocking each and filling it with little bits and bobs? Mini calendars and pens and stuff. You could get things with kittens on.’
Mandy opened her eyes wide.
‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ she said. ‘Maybe a little soft toy each. And some chocolate coins …’ she trailed off. ‘You’re a genius,’ she added a moment later.
‘Well in that case,’ Susan said, ‘we can start in here.’ She steered Mandy towards the entrance of a large department store. ‘I need to find a white toy kitten for Jack too. He’s so taken with that kitten at Hope Meadows, that I think it will be the perfect present. And I want a special ornament for him to put on the tree.’ They walked in and took the escalator up to the second floor. There were lots of small gift items. The whole shop was beautifully decorated. There was music playing in the background. It really was very Christmassy, even though November still wasn’t quite over.
There was a whole section dedicated to soft toys. ‘Did you say you wanted a white kitten?’ Mandy called. She was next to a stand where there were all different shapes and sizes of cats. Susan walked over. Some of the toys were truly enormous, bigger than Jack. But the one Mandy was holding out was quite small. ‘Look,’ she said, wiggling her hand so the kitten danced. ‘This one’s a bit like the kitten I’ve got in at the moment.’
Susan reached out and took it. It really was the sweetest thing. It had wide blue eyes and tufty fur. Best of all were its realistic pink nose and incredibly long whiskers. ‘It’s perfect,’ she said. She stroked it. It was silky soft. ‘Thanks, Mandy.’ Jack would love it.
‘What about Abi and Max?’ she asked Mandy. Do you think they’d like soft toys, or are they a bit old?’ What were they now? Ten, she thought.
‘They still like them,’ Mandy replied. ‘Maybe dogs, though, rather than cats. Huskies if they had any.’ As well as the kittens, Mandy’s partner Jimmy Marsh owned two huskies. ‘Especially if they have some small enough to fit in a stocking.’
They wandered a little further. With Susan’s help, Mandy chose several small presents for the twins. Susan also found a lovely umbrella for Jack with sheep all round the outside and a wind-up penguin that waddled and flapped its wings.
They made their way back downstairs and Susan caught sight of a lovely deep red dress. It was a skater style, overlaid with red lace. She walked over, took it off the rack and held it up. ‘What do you think of this?’ she asked Mandy.
Miranda had slipped some money into Susan’s hand when she’d collected Jack from Hope Meadows last night. ‘Treat yourself to something nice,’ she’d whispered.
Mandy smiled. ‘Lovely,’ she said.
Susan wanted to laugh at Mandy’s expression, which held nothing more than polite interest. Her friend wasn’t a great lover of clothes and didn’t go in for dresses at all, but she seemed happy enough to follow Susan to the changing room.
It was the most fantastic dress. Susan gazed at herself in the full-length mirror. Despite the unforgiving light she could see, as she turned this way and that, that it hugged her figure in all the right places. It wasn’t the most practical of dresses; lace sleeves weren’t great at keeping out the cold. But Mum said something nice … Susan reasoned to herself. It would be lovely, for once, to buy something just because it was beautiful and not because she had calculated how much wear she could get out of it. She pushed open the curtain and twirled out to show Mandy.
‘It looks great,’ Mandy said. She looked genuinely impressed.
Susan put her hands on her hips and gazed down at the dress. It really made her feel good. ‘It actually does, doesn’t it?’ she grinned. ‘Yeah. I’m going for it.’
Perhaps she didn’t have anywhere exciting to wear it, but it would be fantastic to feel glamorous on Christmas morning.
Ten minutes later, they were back outside. Though there was still snow on the ground, it was becoming slushy. Clutching their bags, they explored the stalls, looking for Christmas decorations. Susan had just handed over the money for a little robin ornament for Jack to hang on the tree when there came a crash of thunder. She glanced up at the sky. Huge black clouds were closing in. Within a minute, large raindrops began to fall.
‘We should have bought ourselves umbrellas too,’ Susan joked. She had to raise her voice for Mandy to hear. They were sheltering under an awning for now. The stall was selling mulled wine. It smelled wonderful, but Susan was driving. ‘Should we make a dash for it?’ she suggested. ‘Find lunch somewhere. Hopefully this won’t last too long.’
Mandy glanced out at the rain. It seemed to slow a little. ‘We could go to James’s,’ she suggested.
James was a childhood friend of Mandy and Susan’s. He ran a little café-cum-bookshop in York. Susan had heard a lot about it but had never been. ‘Where is it?’ she yelled. The deluge intensified again, thrumming on the canvas over their heads.
‘It’s just round the corner on the other side of the road,’ Mandy bawled. ‘I was going to suggest it anyway, if you didn’t have anywhere else in mind. James is working, but he might have time to have lunch with us.’
‘That would be lovely,’ Susan shouted. It was ages since she’d seen James, and Mandy often talked about the little café.
They waited a moment longer until the rain eased again, then after a nod, Mandy made a dash for the end of the street. Susan scurried after, bending her head against the driving rain. Round the corner, under a bridge. Ahead, Susan saw an old-fashioned shop front with bow windows: small panes of glass criss-crossed with white-painted bars. A moment later, she and Mandy stood in the doorway panting and laughing. Mandy straightened first. She slicked a hand through her blonde hair, pushing it back out of her eyes and blinking. Susan stood up, rubbing away the drips from her own forehead.
The glass in the door was misted. Mandy grinned as she pushed it open. ‘Hope James doesn’t object to drowned rats coming for lunch,’ she said.
Susan followed Mandy inside. The little café was just as cosy as Mandy had promised. Its walls were lined with bookshelves. Tables were tucked into booths and there were nooks and crannies filled with artwork and paintings. But she stopped dead as she heard a booming voice from the back of the café. ‘Snowflake rushed to the edge of the frozen lake. Frosty was stuck in the ice!’
From the alcove at the back of the shop there came a roar of children’s laughter. A huge man with flame-red hair pranced into view, gurning madly and waving his arms. It was Douglas MacLeod.
Chapter Seven
There was no time to back out. Douglas had seen her. The grin widened to watermelon proportions and he waved both arms in the air. ‘Hi there,’ he mouthed, and disappeared again.
Beside her, Mandy was frowning. ‘Do you know him?’ she asked.
Susan managed a weak smile as she looked at Mandy. ‘That’s Douglas,’ she admitted.
The gangly figure hove back into view. He was singing a bouncing song and jumping up and down. Susan’s face was hot. She felt embarrassed on his behalf, although he certainly didn’t seem to be. She was glad when Mandy guided her to a seat. Douglas was now letting out his honking goose laughter. The song continued, culminating in the most enormous leap and a farting noise. Some of the children joined in and the café rang with the sound of competitive raspberry blowing.
She could turn away, but she couldn’t close her ears. How had she ever thought of him as attractive? The idea of them sharing a quiet romantic evening appeared absurd. He seemed wholly undateable. See what I mean? The words got as far as her teeth, but she stopped them as she turned back to Mandy. Mandy was watching him too, but she looked fascinated. She laughed out loud. Susan closed her eyes. Don’t encourage him.
A shadow fell over them. Susan looked up. James was smiling down at them. His brown hair was flopping over his forehead as it always did, and his glasses were halfway down his nose. He pushed them up. ‘Mandy, Susan! What brings you here?’ he asked.
Mandy stood up to hug him. ‘We’re on a girly shopping trip and we thought you might like to have lunch with us! If you have time, that is?’
James grinned, leaning his hands on the table. ‘I’d love to,’ he said. ‘Give me five minutes. I’ll be free once
story time’s over.’ He followed Susan’s gaze towards Douglas’s antics and grinned. ‘Enjoying the show?’
Susan resisted the temptation to grimace. This was James’s café. Under all other circumstances it would be delightful. ‘Oh, yes,’ she managed.
‘Can I get you some drinks?’ James asked.
Susan asked for a latte and Mandy a hot chocolate. Mandy’s attention was still on Douglas whenever he capered into view. Now and then, she turned to address a remark to Susan. Susan found it difficult to concentrate. In a few minutes Douglas was going to bound over. He would ask when he could see her. How could she tell him she didn’t want a date? She could hardly say she was busy the whole time between now and Christmas.
She lifted her coffee to her mouth and took a sip. It tasted wonderful, but she felt it would choke her. She set it down again. Today had started so well. Now everything just seemed awkward and difficult.
Douglas finished his story with a final roar. There was a burst of enthusiastic clapping from the children, then they began to appear from the alcove as Douglas bent to put his props back into his briefcase. As Susan had predicted, once he had tidied up, he made a rush for their table. Pulling out a chair without asking, he sat down.
‘Do you mind if I sit down?’ he asked. He sounded breathless. No wonder, Susan thought. Did he ever sit still?
James came over too. He clapped Douglas on the back and pulled up another chair. ‘That was great,’ he said. He glanced round the table and frowned. ‘Do you guys know each other?’ he asked.
Susan felt the familiar heat rising in her face. Would Douglas blurt out about LoveSpark again? But Douglas glanced at her with the hint of a smile. ‘Sort of,’ he said to James. ‘I did story time the other day at the nursery where Susan works.’
‘Great!’ James turned to Mandy. ‘Douglas is our most popular storyteller,’ he said. ‘Every time he comes, we get a bigger audience. The parents get a break and a coffee and the kids have a whale of a time. Bet he was a hit at your nursery,’ he said to Susan.