Page 36 of The Village Christmas Party

‘Of course. What’s a kids’ party without a bouncy castle. Now, here I am making a sacrifice, so you might look a little morepleased. The kids will need to wear their coats, but I’m sure we can work together.’

‘Yes, yes, I’m sorry. I truly don’t want your little girl’s birthday to be ruined,’ I say, feeling as though I am about to burst into tears.

‘Well, you would have to be heartless if you wanted that. And as you have organised a Christmas Eve party for the old folk, I don’t think that’s the case.’ He smiles at me warmly.

I think of the mountain of vegetables in the car, and the bags of gifts waiting for all the pensioners back home. I can’t tell them that it’s all off, most of them have been looking forward to it for months. Many of them have no families to share their Christmases with at all.

As Kian turns the key in the door and enters the hall with me on his heels, he turns to me. ‘Look, I don’t want to be letting the pensioners down either, but you need to work with me,’ he says, ‘because we are agreed that I can’t be ruining my little girl’s birthday.’ He looks at me with those green eyes. ‘So here’s what I am proposing,’ he says, plonking the box down. ‘The only solution is that we have a joint party.’

TWENTY

‘We— What?’ I can hardly believe my ears.

‘We have a joint party. You could at least say yes, grand idea, why didn’t I think of it? Not a bother!’

‘Because I am trying to get my head around it. You’re serious, a joint party?’ My mouth is almost hitting the floor.

‘Sure, why not. The hall is definitely big enough.’ He gestures to the vast space around us. ‘You can’t argue with that. Besides, I’d say we have no choice in the matter.’

‘Yes, but…’

‘Twenty-five people you say.’ He’s marching off purposefully to a pile of chairs stacked in a corner. ‘And there will be fourteen children, so there are more than enough chairs. And tables, I’d say.’ He nods to a stack of tables. ‘There will be plenty of space. I will draw a line down the middle of the hall if you like,’ he offers.

‘I don’t think there’s any need for that,’ I say, although I secretly think it’s a good idea to divide the space up a bit.

But could it work? I am coming round to the fact that there may be no alternative. Someone at the council has made a terrible error, but it shouldn’t mean that anyone should suffer because of that. It is slowly dawning on me that there might not be any other solution.

‘So, we’re alright with sharing the space then?’ asks Kian, setting down some boxes.

‘I guess it will have to be,’ I reluctantly agree, my head spinning.

‘Good. Now, if you don’t mind me taking a few of those ceiling decorations down so I can hang this piñata.’

‘Take them down?’

‘Yes. Not all of them, but we want it to look like a children’s party too, right? And there are more Christmas decorations up there than Santa’s grotto,’ he says, glancing at the ceiling.

‘No, of course not. I will grab a ladder for you,’ I say, heading to a storeroom and praying that nobody minds the sudden change of plan. A kids’ party and pensioners’ party combined? Lord help us!

‘That’s grand, thanks. And don’t look so worried. Things don’t always go according to plan in life, but a party’s a party.’

‘I suppose so, it’s just a bit of a shock, that’s all,’ I say, trying to steady my nerves. He’s right of course, life doesn’t always go according to plan, but this is a nightmare. An unplanned event that is bound to be a disaster. It can’t possibly work. I feel sick.

‘I can imagine. But if there’s one thing I do know about, it’s how to throw one heck of a good party.’ He winks. ‘So relax.’

And all I can do is I pray that he’s right.

I decide not to tell the pensioners about the double booking just yet, as I don’t want it to put them off coming. Maybe I can play it off as the perfect surprise, rather than an insane idea – kids running around all over the place while pensioners try to chat quietly as they munch on Christmas lunch. And a bouncy castle! My stomach is in knots as I step outside and call Gemma.

‘You’re kidding me.’

‘I’m not. The centre has been double booked and the pensioners are going to be sharing the space with a bunch of seven-year-olds! Oh, Gemma, it’s going to be awful, I just know it. A few of the pensioners have heart problems. One or two get a bit confused.’ I sigh. ‘Especially old Wilf, who is as deaf as a post.’

‘Well, that’s alright, at least he won’t be able to hear them squeal after all the sugar they are likely to consume.’ Gemma giggles.

‘Oh don’t, this is not funny. And some of them use sticks or walking frames. What if there’s an accident? What if a child barges into one of them?’

I run through every scenario in my head. Spilled juice on the floor causing an old person to go flying. Pensioners trying to get on the bouncy castle after a drink or two. I can think of a couple of cantankerous old blokes that wouldn’t think twice about giving an unruly child a clip around the ear and ending up in court.

---