Once Upon a Christmas Night...

by Annie Claydon

  ‘Who is he?’

  ‘No idea. But he’s got that doctor’s look about him.’ Beverly tapped the side of her nose. ‘Interested instead of nervous. They’re in the waiting room.’

  The waiting room was deserted, apart from a couple sitting in one corner. Something like foreboding prickled at the back of Jess’s neck.

  ‘Rosa. Ted.’ She sat down in the chair opposite them. ‘How nice to see you both.’ What were they doing here?

  Rosa smiled. That self-possessed, gracious smile that somehow managed to be genuine as well. ‘It’s good to see you too, Jess.’ She looked around the waiting room. ‘This is very nice.’

  ‘Yes, they renovated the whole department a couple of years ago. Much brighter than it used to be.’ Jess flipped a querying glance towards Ted.

  ‘We were looking for Greg. You haven’t seen him, have you?’ Ted got straight to the point and Jess heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment there she’d thought that Greg might have told them about the things she’d said and they were here to remonstrate with her.

  ‘Isn’t he down in A and E? I haven’t spoken to him today.’ Okay, so not for two weeks. But there was something the matter, and suddenly that was of no consequence. It didn’t matter if she hadn’t spoken to him for two years, she’d still be there for him.

  ‘No, we went there first.’ Rosa shrugged, letting go with just a hint of well-manicured exasperation.

  ‘And we didn’t hang around because they were busy.’ Ted had clearly guided his wife up here before she’d got in the way. ‘Rosa’s tried his mobile and his home phone.’

  ‘He doesn’t answer. His mobile’s switched off,’ Rosa finished for him.

  Greg never switched his mobile off. The prickle at the back of Jess’s neck got worse and she tried to shrug it off. ‘He should be here. But he has another mobile. He uses it for work. His other work, I mean.’ She wasn’t sure quite what to call it.

  Rosa nodded, pursing her lips. ‘Shaw Industries.’

  ‘Yes. But I don’t know the number.’ Jess hadn’t wanted to know it. She’d tried staring at the sleek, black handset a number of times in the hope that it might dissolve into thin air, but that hadn’t worked either.

  Ted’s relaxed, even-handedness broke in. ‘We were wondering whether you could find out where he is for us. They looked very busy in A and E and we didn’t want to interrupt them.’ Rosa nodded, thin-lipped.

  ‘Yes, of course.’ Jess could get the information easily from the receptionist. ‘He’s probably on his break or something. Wait here, I’ll find out for you.’

  Jess hurried down to A and E, taking in the canteen on the way. Greg wasn’t there either. But the receptionist knew exactly where he was. Jess walked back up to the cardiology waiting room, feeling a little sick.

  ‘Rosa, I’m sorry, but he’s not here. He’s got a few days off this week.’ And next week. She’d wanted Greg to cut back on work, but it had never occurred to her that he might choose Shaw Industries over his work here at the hospital.

  Rosa rolled her eyes and made a gesture that defied translation but implied an immediate understanding of the situation. ‘I’ll find him.’ She looked at her watch and pulled her mobile out of her bag, scrolling through the contacts list.

  Ted took the phone from her hand. ‘Not here, darling.’ He stood, waiting for Rosa to follow him. ‘We’re sorry to have bothered you, Jess.’

  ‘It’s no trouble.’ Jess wasn’t going to let them walk out on her now. ‘I’ll take you down to the canteen. You can get a cup of tea and make your call there.’

  Ted asked whether there was anywhere else that Jess needed to be, and then insisted she join them. Rosa was on the phone almost as soon as she sat down.

  ‘Pat? It’s Rosa. How are you?’ Rosa smiled into the phone. ‘Really? You must give us a call when you arrive and come over for dinner. That would be perfect. I wondered whether you’ve heard from Greg today?’

  Jess smiled. The ladylike version of taking Pat by the throat, shaking her and demanding to know where he was.

  ‘Is he? No, that’s all right, thank you, it’s not important. I’ll catch up with him.’ Rosa’s smile drained rapidly from her face as she cut the call. ‘He’s at the London office. A board meeting. He won’t be finished until late if I know anything about these things.’

  Jess took a sip of her tea to steady her. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I haven’t seen Greg for a couple of weeks. Things have been… um… difficult.’

  Ted came to the rescue again. ‘That’s a shame. We were thinking, hoping, that he’d not been in touch because he was spending time with you.’

  ‘No. He’s been working.’ Jess chanced a look at Rosa and saw only understanding in her face.

  Ted leaned back in his chair, smiling at his wife. ‘Well, I suppose we should go and do that Christmas shopping, then. No point in wasting a journey.’

  ‘But… ’ Rosa puffed out a breath. ‘I suppose so.’ She pulled a flat package, wrapped in brown paper, out of her handbag. ‘Unless this fits through his letter-box.’

  Ted scratched his nose. ‘I doubt it.’

  Jess stared at the package. ‘The book. You’ve found his father’s book.’ Greg had said his mother had been searching diligently for it, and she must have found it.

  ‘Yes. You’ll never guess where it was.’ She paused and Jess shook her head. ‘It was in the tower. There’s a big old chest in there, full of goodness knows what, and it had been slipped inside there.’

  ‘And his father put it in there for him to find.’

  ‘Yes.’ Rosa twitched the corners of her mouth down. ‘Although how much good it’s going to be… ’

  ‘Greg’s father had a secondary brain tumour. Quite a large one.’ There was only compassion in Ted’s face.

  ‘Which might have affected his language functions.’ Jess could imagine Greg’s disappointment if the book was unintelligible.

  Ted nodded. ‘It seems that it did. Damn shame. We thought it would be better to deliver it personally under the circumstances.’

  Rosa nodded. ‘Silly really. I should have called first.’

  ‘If you had, he wouldn’t have answered. And we’d have come anyway.’ Ted brushed away the wasted journey as if it was nothing. ‘Jess, would it be inappropriate of us to ask whether you’ll be seeing Greg in the next few days? If not, we can give him a call tomorrow evening and he can come up and collect the book on Sunday.’

  She might not be going out with Greg any more but she could still be a friend to him. She knew how much he’d wanted to find the book and she couldn’t bear the thought of him waiting and worrying about what it contained.

  ‘I can take the book. I’ll give him a call tomorrow morning, and if he’s at home I’ll pop it round in my lunch hour.’

  ‘We don’t want to put you to any trouble.’ Rosa’s eyes flashed with gratitude.

  ‘You’re not. I’ll take good care of it. I know how important it is.’

  ‘That’s kind of you, Jess, thank you.’ Ted took the parcel from his wife and handed it over to Jess.

  ‘This was his last chance, wasn’t it?’

  Rosa nodded. ‘Yes. He didn’t say so, but I think he was hoping that his father might have written some of the things he never said to him.’ She grimaced. ‘He didn’t. I never really thought he would. John was always too involved with his work.’

  Like father, like son. Jess hoped not, for Greg’s sake.

  ‘So… ’ Ted drank the last dregs of his tea. ‘Jess, have you finished for the day?’

  ‘Pretty much. I just have to check in and make sure there’s nothing else for me and then I’ll be going home.’

  ‘That’s perfect. I’ll have another cup of this gorgeous hospital tea and we’ll take you for dinner. If you’re free, that is?’

  Of course she was free. And she couldn’t deny that she wanted some company tonight. ‘Or we could do a bit of shopping first? The shops are all open late for Christmas.’ She
glanced at Rosa, who brightened visibly. Jess had imagined that shopping would cheer her up a little.

  Ted rolled his eyes, chuckling. ‘Thought I was going to get out of that. Okay, we’ll shop and then we’ll eat.’

  CHAPTER NINE

  JESS HAD CALLED. She’d managed to talk Gerry into giving her a long lunch hour and she’d be here in… Greg looked at his watch… about ten minutes.

  He scanned the living room. His cleaning lady had been in yesterday and everything was neat and in its place. His laptop was hidden away in the TV cabinet, and he’d bundled everything that had anything to do with Shaw Industries into plastic crates, stacked them in the store cupboard in the hall and locked the door.

  He began to pace the full length of the hallway, looking at his watch as he did so. She had to come. If she didn’t, he’d do what he’d originally planned, go and find her and tell her that things would be different from now on.

  The intercom buzzed and he jerked round so quickly that he almost pulled a muscle in his back. He forgot all about waiting for a few seconds, to make out that he hadn’t been waiting in the hallway for her, and punched the button to release the entrance doors downstairs.

  A pause and then a quiet knock on the door.

  ‘Hey.’ Suddenly the last two weeks seemed like nothing. She was here, her face glowing as if it was Christmas Day. This was Christmas Day, as far as Greg was concerned. ‘Come in.’

  He remembered to stand back from the doorway and she smiled at him—he’d so missed that smile—and walked past him into the hallway. He’d missed her scent too, to the point that it seemed to haunt him, clinging to pillows and sheets, even though they were fresh on the bed.

  ‘What have I done to deserve this?’ He wondered if he should kiss her and decided it was taking too much for granted.

  ‘I have something for you. I have to warn you that it’s probably going to be a disappointment.’ She handed him a flat brown paper parcel.

  That was okay, she was here, and that was all that really mattered. ‘What is it?’

  ‘It’s your father’s book. Rosa found it. She and Ted were at the hospital yesterday but you weren’t around and they came up to Cardiology.’

  Greg stared at the package. Suddenly he didn’t want to open it. ‘And they gave it to you?’

  ‘Yes. I said I’d bring it to you. We did some shopping and had dinner.’

  He’d been missing her like the feeling was going out of fashion, and she’d been swanning around going shopping with his mother? Fury tore at Greg’s chest and he turned on his heel, marching into the sitting room and slinging the parcel down onto the coffee table.

  He heard her behind him. ‘What? What’s wrong now?’

  ‘Nothing… nothing. I’m sorry, Jess, yesterday was a long day. Thanks for bringing this round.’ He turned, smiling as best he could. She’d be off now, as that was all she’d come for.

  ‘Aren’t you going to open it?’ She stared pointedly at the package.

  ‘No. I’ll do that later. I’ve some things to do. You’ll be wanting to get back as well.’ He moved to usher her back towards the doorway but she evaded him.

  ‘I’ve taken a long lunch hour. I told you that.’ She took her coat off and sat down on the sofa, plumping her handbag defiantly onto the floor.

  ‘You’ve done what you came to do.’ he couldn’t help the anger in his voice.

  ‘Think so?’ She jutted her chin at him and he almost melted. Almost.

  ‘You’ve delivered the book. Is there anything else?’

  ‘Yes.’ She sprang to her feet and marched over to him. ‘Just this.’

  She raised her arm and for a moment Greg thought she might be about to slap him. He stood his ground, reckoning that he probably didn’t deserve much better from her, and felt her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him roughly towards her.

  She kissed him. Wild and warm and angry. Deep, passionate and finally tender. Just as he began to reach for her, she was gone, picking up her coat and huffing in annoyance as she tried to thread her hand through one of the tangled sleeves.

  Oh, no, she didn’t. If She thought she was going to leave now… Greg covered the floor between them in three strides and caught her by the arm. She spun round and he pinned her against him. ‘What was that for?’

  She turned her face up towards him, defiance blazing in her eyes. ‘You can tell me to go now, and I’ll go. But I’m not leaving without letting you know how I feel.’

  ‘I don’t want you to go, Jess.’

  He backed her against the sofa, almost collapsing on top of her as she lost her balance and fell onto the cushions. This time he kissed her. Anger and passion again, melting together into an explosive cocktail. She moved beneath him, a little cry escaping her lips, and her sweetness almost overwhelmed him. How he’d missed her.

  That heavy-lidded, golden look almost destroyed him. He murmured her name, and she seemed to melt into him, as if there was no such thing as him or her, only them.

  ‘I missed you, Jess.’

  She hesitated. Silently he willed her to say it. ‘I missed you too.’

  Triumph shimmered through him, teasing every nerve ending. He should let Her up now, but somehow he couldn’t. Not until she kissed him again.

  She didn’t make him wait. Her kiss still had a trace of defiance, a dash of anger, but this time it was assured. The way he wanted her to feel with him.

  ‘One more thing.’

  ‘What’s that?’ She was smiling now.

  He leaned in until his lips were almost touching her ear. ‘Do you have a right to my attention?’

  Her beautiful eyes clouded in doubt. He hated that he’d been a part of creating that doubt. ‘Do you, Jess?’

  ‘Yes? I do?’

  He felt himself smile inside. ‘Right answer. Only you could be more definite about it… ’

  ‘Could I?’

  ‘Yes. It’s the truth, and I need you to know it.’

  She thought for a moment. ‘Let me up, Greg.’

  Damn! She wasn’t going to say it. Greg shifted, sitting up, and she followed, sitting close, smiling when he put his arm around her.

  ‘I have a right to expect your attention.’ She whispered the words into his ear.

  He chuckled. ‘Was that so difficult?’

  She rocked her head from side to side, as if weighing it up. ‘Surprisingly easy.’

  He wondered how long she had before she had to go back to work. Actually, it didn’t matter. He’d say what he had to say if he had to follow her back, and gabble it into her ear in the lift up to Cardiology. ‘If I sounded a bit gruff… over you going shopping with my mother… ’

  She made a face. ‘Somewhere between noticeable disapproval and overt censure. Just to let you know, we didn’t talk about you, or us.’

  That only made things worse. Greg swallowed his disappointment. ‘Rub it in, why don’t you? Just when I was coming to terms with feeling left out.’

  ‘Ah. Well then, we did talk about you a bit. Only I can’t tell you about that, because Rosa was buying Christmas presents. Anyway, don’t you hate shopping?’ She smiled up at him, that beguiling, mischievous look flickering in her eyes. Jess had a way of making everything seem right.

  ‘Well, Ted and I might have made a few faces at each other.’ Even so, he liked the thought of watching Jess and his mother, discussing their purchases, deciding for and then against, laughing together at the brightly lit counters, ablaze with Christmas decorations. He could have carried her bags, shepherded her through the crowds in the shops and on the pavements.

  ‘There you are, then. Anyway, shopping’s a pretty cut-throat business at this time of the year.’

  ‘Jess?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Come back to me.’

  ‘I… We… ’ There was only one answer that Jess could give to that. There had only ever been one answer where Greg was concerned. If she didn’t give it immediately, it was only because she wanted so badly to
do it right this time. ‘Do you really think this is the right thing, Greg?’

  His chest rose and fell in a short, explosive laugh. ‘As a friend, I’d tell you that waiting around for any guy is bad news. That you deserve a lot better than someone who’s fighting to keep his head above water and can’t always give you the attention you deserve.’

  ‘Yeah. And?’

  ‘As a lover, I’ll say that I’m a pretty miserable excuse for a suitor. That sometimes I get distracted, and I feel guilty about that and lash out at you, instead of doing what I should and telling you that I’m sorry. But you always have my heart, I promise you that.’

  ‘You’d better make up your mind which you are, then.’ Choose right. She was willing him to choose right.

  ‘Are you free tomorrow?’ Warmth filtered back into his tone.

  ‘Yes. What about you? There’s a whole twenty-four hours for Shaw Industries to come up with something that’s more important.’

  ‘I’ll be there. I promise.’

  ‘It’s a date, then.’ It was almost impossible to keep from smiling when his voice caressed her like this. Liquid caramel. Jess tried to think of something else but the only alternative she could come up with at the moment was melted chocolate.

  ‘What time shall I pick you up? Is five o’clock too early?’

  ‘No, that’ll be great. I’ve got to pop into the hospital, take a look in the library to see if they’ve got any of the books we need for the storytellers, so perhaps I could do that first and then come straight over to you?’

  ‘Why don’t I meet you there? At about three o’clock. I could give you a hand.’

  Pure, unadulterated happiness crashed over her, like a wave. Bubbling around her and then pulling her under. ‘I’d really like that.’

  He smiled. That slow, delicious smile that just kept on giving. ‘When do you have to be back at work?’

  ‘About thirty-five minutes. I have to go soon.’

  ‘If I drove you back, it’d only take ten minutes.’ He wound his arms around her waist, pulling her close again.

  ‘I can stay if you want some company. I’ll make a cup of coffee and you can take a quick look at the book.’ She gestured towards the package on the table.