Page 75 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

I blew a kiss to the grave and read the inscription which I already knew off by heart.

Theresa Matthews

Beloved daughter, friend and aunty

Forever in our hearts

Life was cruel at times, taking our loved ones way too soon, when they still had so much life ahead of them. It makes you realise – we think we have all the time in the world when we don’t. If we’re lucky enough to have hopes and dreams, it’s up to us to go and grab them while we have the chance. Aunty T. might have been gone from our lives but the lessons she left behind would live on forever in Books In The Bay, but more than that, in my heart.

51

‘He’s been!’

Dad tapped on my bedroom door gently and I put my head back under the covers. Surely it wasn’t time to get up yet.

‘He’s been, darling.’

This time I could hear Mum’s voice but I chose to ignore her too.

‘Fucking hell, Nancy. Santa’s been all round the world last night, including here and you can’t even be arsed to get out of bed.’

My brother suddenly landed on top of me, rocking me not so gently.

‘Ooof!’

‘Get up, get up, Nancy!’

‘Kack off, Dan.’

‘Language, children.’ Mum laughed.

‘Kack isn’t even swearing, Mum.’ Dan always argued this point.

‘I don’t care, Daniel. I don’t like it so stop using it. You’re not too big for a clip round the ear, you know.’

Dan climbed over the top of me and landed heavily on the other side, digging me in the ribs.

‘You’d have to catch me first,’ he laughed.

Mum squidged in next to me, the bed dipping, and she reached across, slapping Dan playfully. At the same time, Dad shuffled in on the other side. I grinned. It had been years since we’d done this. It was nice to have the family all together. I knew this would be a very different day for Dan to his last few Christmases, where he wasn’t permitted to come out at all, not even to see his family. And we weren’t allowed to visit either. Mum had always tried not to show she was bothered that he went to Sabrina’s family instead but every year I could see the hurt in her eyes.

This year, she looked deliriously happy as she pulled us all in tight for a hug.

‘My family,’ she muttered under her breath and sighed loudly. ‘Merry Christmas.’

‘Right, the turkey is in, there are forty pigs-in-blankets ready to go in the oven, the veggies are all peeled and there’s just time to have a quick cuppa before we head down to the beach to watch those total nutters do their Christmas Day swim.’

Every year at midday on Christmas Day, the Driftwood Babes braved the cold water and did a swim, encouraging the locals to join in. There were never many people who joined them, despite them all saying that they would, but always loads who stood by and watched. Gemma always brought down her mobile catering unit, and hot drinks were available and very much needed, and there was even the odd Baileys in coffee, or brandy in hot chocolate to warm up the swimmers.

Dan had been behaving quite shiftily in the last hour, and when the door went, he grabbed his coat.

‘Where are you going?’

‘Mind your own beeswax, missy. You should never ask questions around Christmas.’

My brows furrowed. I hoped he wasn’t planning something as a surprise. I’d gone off surprises. In fact, recently, I’d gone off most things.

‘Nothing for you to worry about, sis. Just need to see a man about a dog.’ He grinned and slammed the door behind him as Mum yelled, ‘Daniel, don’t slam the door!’ as she headed through with mugs of tea for me, her and Dad. Maybe today was going to be all right.

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