Once Upon a Winter: All Four Parts in One - Plus an Exclusive Extra Short Story...

by Tilly Tennant

  ‘Aren’t they all just absolute wankers, though?’ Gina said as she dusted some blusher over her cheeks. ‘This one guy sent me a photo of his boat in the Med instead of a photo of himself. I mean, what’s that about? I don’t have a personality but will my boat do instead? It’s doubtful he even has a boat, so either way he’s a loser.’

  ‘To be honest, in most cases I’d rather date the boat,’ Hannah laughed. ‘You can have a lot of fun in one of them.’

  ‘And they don’t shag their secretaries the minute your back is turned.’

  ‘Too true,’ Hannah agreed.

  ‘So… have you had any decent offers?’

  Hannah shrugged. ‘One half-decent one, but in the end I couldn’t be bothered. Half-decent isn’t really decent enough, is it? I’ll keep my membership for a while and see what else comes in but I’m not holding my breath.’

  ‘I’ve had one or two interesting ones. I don’t know about all these computer matches these sites run. Perhaps they’d work if the men they were trying to match me with weren’t mostly lying bastards to begin with. They say they like kittens and shopping but turn up to the date with matching his‘n’hers gimp suits and a penchant for shagging in custard.’

  ‘Blimey, they’re a bit more extreme in Brum, aren’t they?’ Hannah giggled.

  ‘And that’s just Howard.’ Gina applied a last slick of mascara and dropped the tube into her make-up bag. ‘The mirror’s all yours – make yourself gorgeous.’

  ‘How long have we got?’ Hannah asked. ‘I might have had enough time if I’d started last week.’

  ‘Silly,’ Gina smiled. ‘You know I was always envious of you when we were teenagers?’

  Hannah stared. ‘Seriously? What on earth for? You were always the beautiful one and I was envious of you!’

  ‘I was the tall, willowy one with what turned out to be pretty decent breasts but you were the one with the rosy little cheeks that everyone wanted to squish. You had the sparkle in your eyes and the huggable little bod. People wanted to love you, where they wanted to admire me. I only wanted to be loved.’

  ‘I love you, more than any sister loved another,’ Hannah said. ‘And don’t expect me to repeat that ever again because it’s the gin talking.’

  Gina pulled her into a hug. ‘Come here, sis. Now, let’s get ready for this… whatever it is you’ve dragged me here for. And there had better be some fit guys to compensate for my horrible train journey next to fried chicken armpit man.’

  ‘You know Ross is picking us up. There’s one straight away.’

  ‘Ah… Ross….’ Gina said in a deliberately dreamy voice. ‘Such a pity he’s not interested in an old lady. If the ball was for Help the Aged I might be able to persuade him to do me for charity.’

  ‘I probably shouldn’t say this… but I think he might be a bit interested.’

  ‘In me? What makes you say that?’

  ‘I don’t know. Just the way he looks when your name is mentioned.’

  ‘You say his mum is organising this event?’

  ‘She’s one of the organisers – yes.’

  ‘Well, I don’t suppose she’d approve of Mrs Robinson homing in on her son, then.’

  ‘Perhaps not,’ Hannah laughed. ‘But at least he’ll be pleasant company in the very likely event that the remaining male guests are rubbish.’

  ‘There is that,’ Gina agreed. ‘In that case I’d better go for the classy black number to get mummy’s approval, just in case Ross and I do get to… well, you know…’

  *

  The little black dress Gina had opted for was a fitted shift dress with lace sleeves and a deep V cut out lace panel that trailed the length of her back. It was simple and elegant and Hannah couldn’t help but feel that she looked stunning enough to outshine every other woman at the party. Hannah herself had gone for an old favourite in the end – an emerald green tea dress which everyone had always said flattered her slightly curvier figure and brought out the auburn highlights in her hair. It wasn’t perhaps very gala evening, but Hannah felt comfortable in it and figured nobody would really be looking at her anyway.

  ‘You look lovely,’ Gina said as Hannah slipped on her shoes. ‘I don’t know what you were worrying about.’

  ‘So do you. That dress is amazing.’

  Gina gave herself the once over with a small smile. ‘Howard bought it for me. One of the last ones he did buy. Cost an arm and a leg and, with hindsight, I suppose it was a guilt purchase. Still…’ she sniffed, ‘who am I to look a guilty gift horse in the mouth?’

  ‘Wreak havoc in it tonight, and think of it as revenge when you do.’

  Gina’s smile broadened. ‘My thoughts precisely!’

  *

  When Ross had called to pick them up, a little after seven, Hannah couldn’t miss his ravenous glances at Gina. She knew he wasn’t that sort of a letch, and his reaction was genuine, involuntary lust, but she felt reassured that Ross was too much of a gentleman to act on his desires. Gina, however… she was a different matter entirely. She was out for a good time, and Hannah could only hope that whatever tryst she got involved in (and whoever the lucky man was) it would be for the right reasons.

  As Ross pulled up at the venue, Hannah was surprised to see how upmarket it was. She had expected somewhere like the dusty old village hall she’d once gone to looking for second hand furniture at a bring-and-buy sale, and she hadn’t really concerned herself with more details about where they were heading tonight, knowing that Ross had offered to drive. The building they were outside now was a sweet little hotel that boasted its own ballroom – not the swish luxury she had encountered at far too many wedding receptions than she had the energy to recall – but smaller and more intimate, with a charming, shell-pink art deco façade, and set in modest but pleasant grounds. The trees were strung with fairy lights, the lawns bordered by solar lanterns, gravel paths running alongside neatly trimmed shrubs and hedges. She’d driven past often, but never with an excuse to look inside. Now she was glad to be at the charity night, if only to visit this lovely building, and made a mental note that if she ever needed a party venue, this one would be perfect.

  Inside, the ballroom was decorated for the occasion with all things Latin American – or, at least, the closest the organisers could find in the heart of England – with lights that looked like chilli peppers, paper fans pinned to the walls; red and black streamers and balloons festooned the ceiling.

  ‘This looks fabulous!’ Hannah said as Briony greeted them, looking suitably Latino herself in a corseted dress with waterfall skirt and a tropical flower pinned into her hair. ‘And you look absolutely lovely. I feel I should have made more of an effort now.’

  ‘Nonsense; you look as pretty as a picture. Besides, you could have come in a bin bag for me; I’m just glad you’re here.’

  Hannah laughed. ‘Thank you for being so kind.’ She gestured at Gina. ‘This is my sister, Gina. She’s come all the way from Birmingham to chaperone me.’

  Gina smiled. ‘It’s lovely to meet you.’

  ‘I’m so happy you could both come and support the event,’ Briony replied, beaming at the sisters in turn.

  ‘Has your husband come tonight?’ Hannah asked. ‘I haven’t seen him in ages and I’d like to say hello.’

  ‘He has, but I have no idea where he is now,’ Briony said as her gaze swept the room. ‘I expect he’ll make an appearance when the band starts playing. Paul never misses an opportunity to dance and the passionate ones are his favourite.’

  Somehow Hannah couldn’t equate the no-nonsense farmer with a passionate ballroom dancer, but she supposed it just went to show that people concealed all sorts of surprises. ‘I look forward to seeing him in action later,’ she said. ‘Will you be giving us a demonstration of your prowess on the dance-floor too?’

  ‘Just try and stop me!’ Briony said cheerfully. ‘And I suppose somebody has got to put their feet out for Paul to tread on, haven’t they? It might as well be me as some other poor w
oman.’ She looked at Ross who had been watching the exchange with an expression of faint amusement. ‘Why don’t you be a gentleman and hang coats up for these lovely ladies?’

  Ross grinned. ‘If I must.’

  As Hannah and Gina removed theirs to hand to him, Ross shrugged off the battered old donkey jacket he had been wearing to reveal an unexpectedly sharp suit beneath it. The ensemble fitted him so perfectly and so flatteringly that it could have been cut especially for him. Hannah mused that it probably had been. He looked handsome, and Hannah chanced a peek at Gina, who seemed to be admiring the view too, though she probably wasn’t thinking about the tailoring of his jacket. As Briony directed them to the bar to get drinks, Gina leaned in to Hannah and whispered, ‘Bloody hell, he looks gorgeous! This is cruel! Don’t blame me if I end up taking him home tonight.’

  ‘I don’t know how you’re going to do that when you’re staying at my house tonight.’

  ‘You don’t mind if I borrow the spare room for an illicit shag, do you?’

  ‘Yes I bloody well do!’ Hannah laughed. ‘You’ll have to take your illicit shag elsewhere. And please, please do not let Briony find out.’

  Gina slipped her arm through Hannah’s. ‘Don’t worry little sis, I won’t embarrass you. For once I’ll be a very good girl.’

  Hannah shot her a sideways look. ‘Thank you! Don’t forget I have to live here.’

  ‘Seriously, though,’ Gina continued, ‘do you think he dances? If his mum and dad are into dancing do you think Ross is?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Hannah said, ‘but I expect we’ll find out soon enough.’

  ‘If he does, and he’s good, I’m not sure my self-control will hold. It’s only fair I warn you now.’

  ‘I’ll be there to keep you sane, so don’t panic.’ Hannah gave her a wry smile. ‘Maybe if I ply you with enough drinks you’ll have collapsed by that point and I won’t have to worry about you getting into trouble then.’

  Ross’s dad, Paul, was at the bar. He looked every inch the farmer, no matter what he wore. He greeted them both with a warm smile and a brief enquiry after Hannah’s health before returning to a rather intense conversation he’d been having about the state of the nation’s economy. It was early, and many of the invited guests were still to arrive, which made it easy for Hannah and Gina to get drinks.

  ‘Do you think we should get a couple each?’ Gina asked as she brandished a twenty pound note to let the barman know that they were waiting for service.

  Hannah raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you kidding?’

  ‘In case it gets really busy later and we can’t get served.’

  ‘If you get a reputation as a lush it won’t matter, but I don’t want to be the subject of feverish gossip on Holly way with people who think I have a drink problem.’

  Gina giggled. ‘Alright Miss Prissy Knickers – it was just a suggestion.’

  ‘Hmmm…’ Hannah turned her attention to the main doors where more guests were starting to trickle in. ‘Do you think I’m underdressed?’ she mused out loud as she noted some rather spectacular ball gowns.

  Gina looked around and then caught sight of what Hannah was looking at. ‘God, no!’ She lowered her voice. ‘I’d say they were a bit overdone if anything… I mean, look at those two…’ She angled her head as discreetly as she could in the direction of a couple of elderly ladies, ‘they look like Hinge and Brackett.’

  It was Hannah’s turn to let out a loud giggle. ‘I didn’t like to say it, so I’m glad I could count on you. I probably should have checked the dress code with Briony though.’

  ‘So should they,’ Gina grimaced. ‘Unless they’re the drag act.’

  ‘Gina!’ Hannah squeaked, trying to put on a shocked voice but laughing through it just the same. ‘You’re terrible! I’m not taking you anywhere again.’

  ‘Yes you are, because you have more fun with me than anyone else.’

  ‘Oh…’ Hannah grinned, ‘annoyingly, you might have a point there.’ She felt a light tap on her shoulder and turned to find Ross behind her.

  ‘Can I get you ladies anything?’ he asked.

  ‘I think Gina is ordering now, but thanks. In fact, we should be buying you drinks for all the favours you’ve done for us lately.’

  ‘In that case I’ll have a pint of Stella,’ Ross replied with an impish look.

  Hannah smiled, only too pleased to make some small gesture of gratitude. It was the first time he’d agreed to take anything from her. She nudged Gina. ‘Can you get Ross a pint of Stella?’

  Gina grinned. ‘For Ross… anything.’ As she turned back to add the order to the barman, Hannah felt herself blush on Gina’s behalf. Her sister might not know how outrageous her flirting was, but Hannah did, and she suspected Ross did too. He didn’t seem to mind, though.

  ‘I’d better make this the only one,’ he said, ‘seeing as I’m driving you home later.’

  ‘I did say we could get a taxi. It’s good of you but we don’t expect you to abstain on our account.’

  ‘It’s ok. I have to be up pretty early anyway and I don’t really want to leave Sally all alone in that great big scary car park all night now that I’ve brought her out.’

  ‘Oh my God, that car is your actual girlfriend, isn’t it?’ Hannah laughed.

  ‘She’ll do just fine in the absence of a real one,’ he replied cheerfully.

  Once Gina had collected their drinks they found a table where they could sit together and chat until the party really got started. Hannah wondered from time to time why it was that Ross chose to stay at the table with them for as long as he did. There were lots of people he knew arriving, as he pointed out on many occasions – indeed, quite a few walked over to say hello. But none could prise him away from Hannah and Gina’s company, not even his mum. There was no shortage of conversation either, and he happily chatted about life on the farm and his hopes for the future, interspersed with enquiries about both Hannah and Gina’s plans for the coming year. Three more rounds of drinks quickly followed the first, and by the time the band had started to play, Hannah was so pleasantly tipsy that she had quite forgotten she didn’t actually know how to salsa and was itching to have a go.

  Paul Hunter started the ball rolling, enticing Hannah up from the table while Gina watched and clapped her encouragement.

  ‘I don’t know how!’ Hannah protested, but laughing all the same, and he was only too happy to lead the way, showing her simple steps that she soon got the hang of until she was loving the feel of the music vibrating through her and the swaying of her body to the rhythm. It might have been the gin, but salsa dancing was intoxicating. She looked around to see that Gina was now on her feet too, being whirled around by Ross, who was also surprisingly light on his feet. Hannah wanted to ask him later how he’d learned to dance so well. It was yet another surprising thing she’d discovered about him. Briony was dancing with the vicar, and then the song ended and everyone swapped partners, Hannah now found herself with Ross, and Gina danced off with a tall, balding man, who was apparently the hotel owner. Was that regret, longing – perhaps both – on Ross’s face? Hannah wanted to ask him about that too, but realised it was probably the booze making her think of something so inappropriate. And right now, she wanted to get drunker, dance faster, laugh harder, and forget herself in the moment, just for once. As she began to dance again with Ross, she felt wonderfully free, all her worries falling away as she twirled and skipped to the beat, Ross’s sure footwork making it easy for her to follow his lead.

  ‘I thought you said you couldn’t dance,’ he shouted over the music.

  ‘I thought you said you couldn’t either,’ Hannah shouted back, ‘you’re brilliant, a regular little Fred Astaire!’

  ‘Did I say that?’ Ross grinned. ‘I might have been trying to preserve my street cred.’

  ‘I never had any to preserve,’ Hannah laughed, ‘which is why I totally meant it when I said I couldn’t dance.’

  ‘You’re not bad for a novice.
You’ve got natural rhythm.’

  ‘Have I?’ Hannah smiled.

  ‘Absolutely. And you’re light on your feet.’

  ‘Oooooh… Flatter me more you lovely man,’ Hannah giggled.

  Gina twirled past them and called over. ‘Still standing, sis?’

  ‘Cheeky cow!’ Hannah shouted back. ‘You’re the one with two left feet.’ But she couldn’t help but admire the grace with which Gina spun and sashayed, not a step out of place or a beat missed. She caught Ross looking again and wondered how many other men were having similar thoughts about the newcomer in their midst. It was possible that Gina might cause a riot if she moved onto Holly Way, so it was probably a good thing that she was planning to head into Millrise itself when she finally left Birmingham.

  The tempo of the music moved up a gear, and Hannah soon found herself struggling, even with Ross’s help.

  ‘I’ll have to sit this one out,’ she panted.

  ‘I suppose I’ll have to go and steal your sister from the vicar then,’ Ross laughed.

  Hannah wobbled on her heels as she made her way back to their table.

  It was disappointingly empty of drinks – although there were plenty of empty glasses – and Hannah was gasping, not to mention sobering up rather quicker than she was happy about. Grabbing her purse from where she had stowed it underneath the table, she tottered over to the bar. The balls of her feet were throbbing, but the music still had her itching to dance and she drummed her fingers to the rhythm on the bar as she waited to be served. Maybe she’d grab a quick drink and throw herself back in, difficult steps or not.

  It took a good ten minutes for any of the bar staff to get to her and she watched the dance-floor while she waited. Ross’s dad, Paul was now dancing with Briony, and they looked so happy. Briony giggled like a schoolgirl as Paul swept her around and dipped her low to the ground in his arms as if she was weightless.

  Gina had somehow managed to end up dancing with one of the Hinge and Brackett women, but she was laughing at something the woman had said. Hannah guessed that her sister might well be drunker than she was, but she’d lost count of Gina’s shots after the first five.