Escape To Christmas at Corner Cottage

by Sarah Hope

  ‘Come on, Sophia, we were doing these on Friday. I’m on my third one already. I can show you, if you want?’

  ‘I don’t need anyone’s help. I just don’t want to do it.’ Sophia pushed her homework book across the table and slumped her head into her arms.

  ‘Oi, stop kicking me, Sophia!’ Evie pushed her chair back an inch from the table. ‘Mum, she’s kicking me.’

  ‘Sophia, don’t kick, please. Here, I’ll go through it with you.’ Chrissy placed the half-peeled potato back into the sink and dried her hands on the tea towel.

  ‘Can I go and finish it in my room, Mum? She keeps jogging the table and I’ve already made a mistake.’

  ‘Yes, of course you can, Evie.’

  Balancing her homework book, pen and drink in her hands, Evie left the kitchen.

  ‘Hey, Sophia. I know it’s difficult when maths seems so easy for Evie and you need to think about it a bit more, but you can do it. You just need to set your mind to it. Plus, you’re both really good at different things, aren’t you?’ Chrissy rubbed Sophia’s back.

  ‘I don’t want to do it and I don’t need your help.’ Sophia squirmed away from Chrissy’s touch.

  ‘Ok, well, just shout if you change your mind.’

  ‘Hello?’ Luke poked his head around the back door, a sweep of his ash blonde hair peeking out from under his black beanie hat. ‘Hi, sorry to let myself round the back but I’ve got some more logs for you. Shall I put them in the shed?’

  ‘Oh, wow. Thank you. Yes, that’d be great, please? Could I have some in here too, please? We’ve almost run out.’

  ‘Of course you can.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Luke shut the door again before returning five minutes later.

  ‘All done. Where do you want these?’ Luke nodded at the pile of logs balancing in his arms.

  ‘Oh, I’ll take those. Thank you.’ Chrissy unloaded Luke’s arms. ‘How did you know we were running out?’

  ‘It was a wild guess.’ Grinning, Luke blew on his hands.

  ‘Here, come in and warm up for a bit, if you like? I’ll pop these down and get you a coffee.’

  ‘I was hoping you’d say that. It’s freezing out here, and apparently, it’s going to get colder over the night. No doubt the snow will be frozen solid come the morning.’ Luke stamped his boots before coming in and shutting the door behind him.

  ‘Does that mean the school will be closed then?’ Sophia looked up. ‘I can leave my homework until tomorrow then, can’t I, Mum?’

  ‘It might well be. I know most of the kids are from the village but at least two of the teachers drive in from the nearest town. I guess, if they can’t get in, it probably will be.’

  ‘Yes!’ Sophia pumped the air with her fist and scrapped her chair back.

  ‘Where do you think you’re going, miss?’ Chrissy lay the logs down by the wall, knowing full well that if she disappeared into the living room, Sophia would have left her homework by the time she got back. ‘You can still finish it now, or at least get the majority of it done. I don’t want your homework spoiling our snow day if we get one.’

  ‘Urgh, I told you I don’t want to do it.’ Slumping back in her chair, Sophia threw her pen across the table.

  ‘And I’ve told you, I’ll help you.’ Sitting down next to Sophia, Chrissy pulled the homework book towards her.

  ‘I don’t want your help.’ Grabbing her homework book, Sophia snatched it from Chrissy’s grasp.

  ‘Sophia!’

  ‘I used to hate homework too, but you may as well get it out of the way like your mum says, or else it will just spoil tomorrow. Plus, on snow days, most of the children in the village go to the big hill and have massive sledge rides. You wouldn’t want to miss making the most of the snow before it goes, would you?’ Peeling off his wet gloves, he laid them on the kitchen side.

  ‘No, but I don’t get it.’

  ‘Let’s have a look then. Maths? I always found maths hard when I was your age, but I didn’t let it beat me. I worked it out, usually with a bit of help, and just kept practising. Now I use maths all the time in my job, pricing up materials, working out profits and I enjoy it too.’ Luke slipped into the chair Chrissy had been in and looked at the dreaded homework.

  ‘I’ll just go and check on Evie.’ Chrissy slipped out.

  BACK DOWNSTAIRS, CHRISSY paused in the kitchen doorway and watched as Luke explained to and encouraged Sophia, pointing with his finger at the sums. Catching his eye, Chrissy mouthed, ‘Thank you’.

  ‘How’s it going?’

  ‘Good.’ Sophia raised her head and smiled. ‘Sorry I yelled.’

  ‘That’s ok, sweetheart. Luke, did you want to stay for dinner? I’ve got loads. I always seem to do too much.’

  ‘Ooh, yes please?’

  ‘ALRIGHT, STAR, WE ALL heard the doorbell, we don’t need you barking too.’ Reaching across Evie to the coffee table, Chrissy put her hot chocolate down and stood up.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Evening. Sorry to intrude, but I was just wondering if Luke was still here? Only I saw him carrying some logs through earlier.’

  ‘Yes, he’s here. Come in out of the cold and I’ll get him. Sorry I didn’t catch your name?’ Chrissy stood aside to let the elderly man into the hall.

  ‘I didn’t introduce myself, did I? Colin, Colin Thompson. I live next door.’ Colin pushed his hood down, revealing a shock of white hair. ‘I must say it’s nice to see Corner Cottage being occupied again, and by a young family too.’

  ‘Thank you. I wasn’t expecting it to be so run down when we got here, but I think we’ve begun making it quite homely.’

  ‘Good, good. That’s just what this place needs, a bit of care and attention.’

  ‘Come through, he’s just in the living room.’ Chrissy opened the door, letting him through first. ‘Girls, this is our next door neighbour, Mr Thompson. Mr Thompson, this is Evie and this is Sophia.’

  ‘Nice to meet you, Sophia and Evie. And please, just call me Colin. After fifty years of teaching, I’m fed up of hearing myself being referred to as Mr Thompson.’ Colin smiled.

  ‘Colin, how are you?’ Placing his mug on the hearth, Luke stood up from his spot in front of the wood burner and wiped cream and chocolate dust from his lips with the back of his hand.

  ‘I’m fine, thank you. A little too cold with this weather, though.’ Colin took Luke’s hand and patted him on the back. ‘Which is why I’m here. I was wondering if I may ask a favour please?’

  ‘Of course. How can I help?’

  ‘Gladys has an emergency doctor’s appointment in an hour’s time. We’ve got a taxi booked but they’re refusing to come into the village because of the conditions of the road, so I was going to ask if you could possibly take her, please? I know you have your four by four...If it’s too much trouble don’t worry...’

  ‘I’d be happy to help. My old heap will make light work of this snow anyway.’

  ‘Are you sure? I don’t like to ask, but she’s had a bit of a reaction to some of her new meds and if this snow continues the whole village really will be shut off by the morning.’

  ‘It’s absolutely fine. I need to pop to the supermarket before it closes anyway to get some milk and bits for Natalie and Chrissy.’ Luke grinned. ‘I’ll come over to yours in about half an hour, that should give us enough time.’

  ‘Thank you. I really appreciate it.’ Colin looked at Luke before glancing over at Chrissy. ‘This one’s a good’un. Always there to help the ladies.’

  ‘See you in a bit.’ Luke saw Colin out, warming his hands in front of the wood burner when he came back in. ‘Right, can you make up a shopping list of bits you need, please? I need to make Colin think I was going into town anyway or else he’ll feel awkward and try to pay me back somehow.’

  ‘Ok. Well, if you’re paying, I’m sure I can think of a few things.’ Chrissy looked at him out of the corner of her eye. What had Colin meant by Luke being there to help ‘the
ladies’? Had he meant he was a ladies man, a womaniser?

  ‘Oooh, can I write the list? I’ll have a laptop, a trampoline and a new bike, please? Sophia, what are you going to order from Luke?’ Evie tried her best to keep a straight face, her shining eyes giving the game away.

  ‘I’ll have a tablet, please?’ Sophia grinned at Luke.

  ‘Whoah, I was only going to pop into the supermarket.’ Luke held his hands up and laughed. ‘I’d better run over to Natalie’s and see if there’s anything she needs. Thanks again for dinner and, of course, for the hot chocolate you both made, Evie and Sophia.’

  ‘I’ll see you out.’ Chrissy stood up, following him to the front door.

  ‘Seriously, thank you for asking me to stay for dinner. It’s been really nice spending some time with you all.’ Leaning towards her, he kissed her on the cheek before pulling his hood up and disappearing into the snow.

  Chrissy shook her head, trying to get Colin’s words out of her mind. He had only been teasing Luke, so why couldn’t she shake the niggle of doubt away?

  Chapter 11

  ‘Love you both. Have a lovely time.’ Chrissy pulled Evie and Sophia towards her, landing a kiss on their heads. Flinching, Chrissy looked up as Andrew sounded the horn again. It wouldn’t hurt him to actually walk to the door to collect his children rather than summoning them to the car and disturbing all of their neighbours with his impatience. ‘You’d better get a wriggle on.’

  ‘Ok. Love you, Mummy.’ Evie leant in for a quick hug before running down the path towards her dad.

  ‘Hey, Sophia. You ok?’

  Looking at the floor, Sophia nodded.

  ‘Look, try to enjoy yourself, ok?’ Cupping Sophia’s cheeks, she kissed her on the forehead. ‘I know it probably feels a bit strange still, but he’s your dad and he loves you.’

  ‘You’ll be on your own though.’ Glancing up, Sophia mumbled.

  ‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Of course, I’ll miss you but I’ll keep myself busy and this weekend will just fly right by. I’ve got to go and see Natalie about her wedding dress anyway, so I won’t be on my own.’

  ‘Ok.’

  ‘Now go and enjoy yourself. Have fun. You’ve got your mobile to ring or text me if you want to as well, so you know I’m always at the end of the phone.’

  ‘Love you.’

  ‘Love you too, sweetheart.’ Chrissy smiled, her cheeks hurting, as she watched Sophia trudge down the path and get in the car next to her sister. She waved and blew them kisses as Andrew drove them away.

  Standing on the doorstep, she watched as Andrew’s car disappeared around the corner, taking her two girls miles away from her for the weekend. Taking them back to Susan’s house where they could play happy families, two adults and two children, just as they had been, should still be doing.

  Slowly shutting the door behind her, Chrissy let her smile fade and wiped the tears as they spilt down her cheeks.

  It wasn’t fair.

  It wasn’t fair that overnight she’d become a member of a part-time family. A family where she had to be apart from her children every other weekend. It was unnatural, and downright wrong. All she’d ever wanted as a child was to become a mother herself, and now, now she had that role stripped from her twice a month.

  This was how life would be from now on until the girls were old enough to decide what they wanted to do, she’d be everything to them for two weeks and then nothing for a whole weekend, absolutely nothing. She’d be no one. She had no purpose when they were at Andrew’s house. They were her purpose.

  What if they preferred Susan to her? What if Andrew’s mistress was a better mother figure to them? What if they wanted to go and live with them? What then?

  Digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands, she walked into the living room. She needed to get out of here. Needed to get away from Sophia’s half-full glass of milk on the coffee table and Evie’s pens and colouring book scattered across the rug. She needed to get away from the reminders of what they should still be doing if Andrew hadn’t taken them for the weekend.

  She would go to Natalie’s. She didn’t really need to, she’d only wanted Sophia to think that she’d be busy, but she would go. She had to ask her opinion about some crystals she’d ordered for the bodice anyway. She’d ordered two different sizes because Natalie hadn’t been sure at the time, so she’d pop over and ask. It would get her out of the house for half an hour at least anyway.

  OPENING THE FRONT DOOR, Chrissy stamped the snow sludge off her boots before entering into the hall. Most of the snow had melted, but there were still mounds of sludge frozen where it had been scraped away from pathways and driveways.

  Natalie wanted the bigger crystals sewn around the rim of the bodice with the smaller ones scattered across. It should look lovely, even if it would take a long time to achieve the look Natalie wanted.

  Taking her coat off, the chill in the house seeped into her already cold bones.

  ‘Damn.’ She must have forgotten to leave the heating on. Taking the two short steps towards the thermostat, she checked the setting. That was strange, it was set to twenty-one Celsius, there was no way it was as warm as that in the house. Breathing out, she could see the condensation as her warm breath met with the icy coldness in the air. It definitely was not twenty-one Celsius. She twisted the thermostat all the way down and then back up again, listening for the pop from the boiler as it kicked into action. Nothing. It must have broken. That was all she needed.

  Laughing a hollow laugh, she realised Mr Lowen would not be in the slightest bit interested or inclined to get it fixed, and she didn’t really want to have to dip into the limited savings she did have. She’d budgeted their monthly outgoings for the next six months and there wasn’t really anything spare. She shrugged, she’d have to get it fixed, there was no choice. She’d have to use the money Natalie was paying her for finishing her wedding dress.

  Slumping onto the sofa, she stared at the wood burner. She should light it, but even then it would take a while to heat the room. And what was she supposed to do? She was bored. If she was honest, she was lonely. She didn’t want to rattle around the cottage all weekend but it wasn't as if she knew many people from the village, not well enough to just drop in for a chat anyway.

  There were her old friends, but she hadn’t seen her proper friends, the ones from before Andrew, for so long it would be weird to contact them out of the blue. She and Andrew had always met up with his friends, not hers. Whenever a social event involving her old friends had come up, he’d always made some excuse or other, they didn’t have enough money to waste it on a meal out or he wanted to spend some time as a family, even though he’d inevitably still hidden in the kitchen whilst she’d tried and failed to put the twins to bed before he sloped off upstairs leaving her with two grumpy children.

  So, now she was left with no one. His friends had sided with him. She didn’t blame them, they had known him long before her, but it would have been nice if at least one of them had thought to contact her, to check she was ok. And her friends, well, she was probably just a distant memory to them.

  Chrissy pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, focusing on the bright speckles that appeared. She’d just have to get used to doing things on her own. She’d been fine going down the pub by herself. Yes, she’d met Luke there but that hadn’t been until nearer closing time. She’d spent most of the time on her own.

  That’s what she’d do, she’d go to the pub. Maybe she’d even get something for her dinner there. Yes, it was a waste of money, money she shouldn’t be spending, but if it kept her sane, it would be worth it. Plus, she’d only get a bowl of chips or something equally cheap and a couple of drinks. She didn’t want to get drunk and show herself up like last time.

  OPENING HER SKETCHBOOK, she took a chip from the bowl to her left and looked out of the window. It really was a pretty little village. If they really could make their lives here, it would be a nice place to live and to bring
the girls up.

  She took another chip. She’d show Andrew. She’d show him she could cope and make a nice life here for the twins and herself.

  ‘You’re looking all melancholy.’

  Jerking her head up, Chrissy smiled at Luke who was towering above her.

  ‘Hi. No, not really. Just thinking. How are you?’

  ‘Tired. I’ve just got back from travelling up and down the country on a wild goose chase after this old hotel which was supposed to be super cheap.’ Luke looked down at the two glasses he was holding and nodded towards the seat opposite Chrissy. ‘Can I join you? I’ve got a gin and tonic with your name on here.’

  ‘Yes, of course. Thank you. I’ll get the next one.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’ He pushed the glass across the table.

  ‘Chip?’ Sliding the bowl across the table, Chrissy closed her notebook.

  ‘Lovely.’

  ‘So this hotel you went to see, was it not what you were looking for?’

  ‘No. A mate of mine tipped me off about it. He said it had been standing empty for years and so was going to auction. Anyway, I thought, great, another one I can renovate and sell up making a tidy profit. So I drove all the way up north to go to the auction just to find it had been pulled out at the last minute.’ Luke took a chip, dipping it in tomato sauce before eating it.

  ‘It was a wasted trip then?’

  ‘Yep. Never mind. These things happen, don’t they?’

  ‘They sure do. Have you got any other houses lined up?’

  ‘Not really. I’m still working on one anyway, so I’ll probably wait until that’s finished before I go to another auction, it was only because the one up north was supposed to be a steal.’ Luke wiped his brow with the back of his hand and took a long gulp of lager. ‘Never mind, let’s drown our sorrows and think about nicer things.’

  ‘I’ll drink to that.’ Holding her glass out, she clinked it against Luke’s.