Page 13 of The Village Christmas Party

‘And so overcast you couldn’t even see the stars,’ Audrey reminds me, and we both laugh.

‘My mum kind of suggested it as she’d read online about local events,’ explains Audrey. ‘She thinks I need to make more friends.’ She scoops up some cream from her coffee and spoonsit into her mouth. ‘And I did enjoy it really, everyone was so lovely, but that owl just freaked me out.’

Audrey, with her long dark hair and pale skin, has a beautiful, fragile look about her. Her nose stud and dark eyeliner against her paleness give her a vaguely gothic look, although the rest of her attire is quite modern. Today she is wearing black jeans and a blue mohair jumper the colour of her eyes.

‘Doyouthink you need more friends?’ I ask, sipping my own decaff cappuccino with hazelnut syrup.

‘Dunno.’ She shrugs. ‘I did have a best friend but she moved down south for uni. We stayed in touch for a while but she met a bloke there and decided to stay.’

‘Does she never come home?’ My tummy gives a little rumble, and I debate having a delicious-looking chocolate brownie I spied at the counter on the way in.

‘Only occasionally. She never did get along with her parents so doesn’t make the effort to come back too often. I kind of thought she might have come to see me but…’ Her voice trails off and I can see the hurt in her eyes. ‘I got the train down there a couple of times to see her,’ she says in a quiet voice as she stirs her latte.

‘People change,’ I say gently. ‘It’s probably nothing to do with you, she’s probably just caught up with the romance of her new boyfriend,’ I tell her. ‘Believe me, so many girls ditch their friends, especially in the first flush of romance. Even me, I’m ashamed to say, but we live and learn.’

‘Suppose so. I’ve never really had a boyfriend, so I wouldn’t know,’ she tells me honestly. ‘I mean, I’ve had boys as friends, but not what you might call a real boyfriend.’

‘I remember my first boyfriend at the age of sixteen and how I wanted to spend every spare second with him,’ I tell Audrey. ‘That is, until my friends told me that they missed me hanging out with them.’ I take a sip of my coffee. ‘I took it to heart andtried to balance things a bit. In the end my boyfriend dumped me anyway, when I refused to sleep with him.’

‘That’s awful.’ Audrey shakes her head.

‘I know but looking back we were never really suited.’ A fact I acknowledged when I realised we had nothing in common and I only fancied him because he reminded me of Justin Timberlake. ‘So are you friends with anyone at the shop?’ I ask.

‘Not really. Don’t get me wrong, the younger staff have tried to include me in their nights out, but loud bars and cocktails aren’t really my thing.’ She smiles. ‘And there is a nice lady who is retiring soon, but I don’t think we have any shared interests.’

‘I guess so, although older people can surprise you,’ I say, thinking of the interesting chat I had with Eileen, and some of the pensioners at the community centre. ‘I do think your mum is right about you joining groups, but maybe the moonlight walk wasn’t quite the right thing.’

‘Maybe not.’ She grimaces. ‘And I really do hope I didn’t put a dampener on things.’

‘I wouldn’t worry about that,’ I reassure her, smiling. ‘I’m the one who arranged it, as I’m in a similar spot – it can be hard to meet new people at our age. It was so lovely to meet you and the other ladies. Everyone was so friendly and warm, even in the cold.’

‘You’re right, they were. Thanks, Lauren, I feel better talking to you. I’m glad you asked me to come and have a coffee.’

‘My pleasure. Oh, and I’m so sorry to hear about your dog,’ I say, remembering her mini meltdown on the moon walk.

‘Thanks. I loved Milo. Here he is, look.’ She turns her phone to show me her screensaver featuring a gorgeous black Labrador.

‘Ah, he looks wonderful.’ I smile at the photo of Audrey with her arms draped around her beloved dog. ‘He’s a proper dog, as my dad would say, who isn’t a fan of these smaller cross-breeds.’

We had a German Shepherd called Duke when I was growing up and I remember feeling heartbroken when he finally passed away.

‘Anyway, as you obviously like gingerbread,’ I say, nodding to her ginger latte, ‘I was wondering if you fancied the gingerbread decorating evening at the community centre on Friday? I remembered you saying you worked in Boots, so was glad I caught you there today.’

‘You came in especially to see me?’ She looks surprised.

‘Yes, although I did need some more conditioner, and that beauty bag was too good to miss.’ I wink.

‘I did think about the gingerbread evening,’ says Audrey. ‘But I have no one to go with.’ She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘No one at the shop seemed interested when I kind of mentioned it.’

‘Well, me and my friend Gemma are going, so you can sit with us.’

‘Really?’ Her pretty face breaks into a broad smile. ‘But don’t you have to book a place?’

‘Already done. If you weren’t available, I would have cancelled it. It’s a fun evening, you get chatting to lots of people you don’t know, so it’s a great way to make more friends,’ I tell her, thinking of the fun we had last year. I remind myself to take it easy on the Prosecco this year though.

‘You’re so kind.’ Audrey’s eyes mist over a little. ‘I would never have walked in there on my own.’

‘You came to the moon walk alone, didn’t you?’ I remind her.

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