Page 47 of The Village Christmas Party

I grab a huge tub of Celebrations. ‘Sweets for everyone who takes part, and, um, maybe some small prizes,’ I say, and grumpy boy looks a bit happier.

I had gathered up all the discarded gifts from the Christmas crackers that I can give out, although I’m not sure what the kids will do with a nail clipper or a tape measure. At least there are a few plastic toys in there though.

‘Can’t we go back on the bouncy castle?’ says the boy with the black hair as he stuffs another cupcake into his mouth. ‘That was much more fun.’

‘Yes, of course, but after a game of musical statues,’ I say firmly, wondering whether I ought to have trained as a teacher.

‘Musical statues?’ says one of the older guys. ‘I don’t know about that, I might seize up if I stand in one position for too long,’ he says and the others laugh.

‘Oh, come on, it will be fun,’ says Eileen, getting to her feet.

‘If you say so,’ huffs Elsie. ‘Although I thought this was supposed to be a pensioners’ party.’

‘Kids keep you young,’ says Mum but Elsie looks unconvinced. ‘Honestly, whenever children come to the food bank with their parents, they always make me laugh. Little treasures they are. They grow up so quickly.’

‘Go on then, let’s give it a go,’ says a tall bloke, whilst a lady who needs the assistance of a Zimmer frame asks if it will be alright if she acts like a statue from her chair.

‘Of course it is. We want you all to have a good time here despite any handicaps.’

‘I don’t think you’re allowed to say that word,’ says black-haired boy.

‘Oh right, sorry.’ I smile. ‘For anyone who has limited mobility.’

The music plays and we soon get into the mood. Audrey helps me to judge and after a while, everyone is showing their competitive spirit, arguing that they weren’t moving when they are called out – and that’s just the pensioners!

Audrey and I hand out sweets for winners, and Audrey mistakenly hands a whistle to the black-haired child that I thought I had hidden. He then proceeds to blow it loudly.

‘Man the lifeboats, man overboard,’ says Wilf, looking startled, and Sue settles him, before miraculously managing to prise the whistle from the boy’s hand.

‘And it was all going so well,’ Mum says laughing as the boy bursts into tears. I hand him a red plastic elephant and a yo-yo that he pulls a face at, but accepts all the same. A few minutes later, Audrey has shown how to successfully glide the string of the yo-yo up and down, and he is smiling happily. She really is a godsend. I feel so pleased that I ran into her on the evening of the forest moon walk, which reinforces my belief that it is sometimes a good idea to push yourself out of your comfort zone. You just never know what might happen if you do.

Some of the older folk are getting right into things, competing with two children that now remain in the game. Glancing at my watch I realise twenty-five minutes have passed and there is still no sign of Kian. I’m not exactly sure I will be able to keep the children entertained if he takes much longer. What do I know about kids? I think to myself with a feeling of rising panic. It’s not as if I even have any nieces or nephews, the only interaction with children being at Bentham’s. Deep breaths, just go with the flow.

We are down to eight people on the floor, so I pause the music for a little longer, eliminating two at a time. They are all poised in various positions, the ones who have been called out are walking slowly back to their chairs, rubbing their backs. Just then, Kian walks through the door.

‘Bloody hell, have I stumbled upon rehearsals for “Thriller”,’ he says, his eyes wide and Audrey and I burst out laughing.

TWENTY-SIX

‘Everything okay?’ I ask Kian as he places a bag full of parcels down on the floor. An old guy moves then and Audrey pronounces him out of the game much to his disappointment.

‘Sure, yes, I just ran into someone I know,’ he tells me. Am I imagining it, or does he look a little stressed?

‘Right. Well, the good news is the kids have all been fine but I think they are ready to go outside again and run around,’ I tell him, thankful that there have been no incidents in his absence.

‘Sure thing.’

‘Maybe when they come back inside, they can have a game of pass the parcel. Something nice and calming,’ I suggest.

‘Sounds like a plan.’ He grins. ‘Then we can light the candles on Bella’s cake.’

A couple of the people on the floor move then and are asked to sit down, protesting that Kian made them turn around when he walked through the door. Finally, we have joint winners in Gerald and the birthday girl, Bella. Gerald receives a tape measure, and Bella a bath bomb, which was left over from the pensioners’ gift bags.

‘It seems like everyone is having a good time, so maybe you were right all along,’ I tell Kian when I finish refreshing drinks.Elsie is actually beginning to loosen up a bit after her second sherry and is kind of chair dancing, moving her body from side to side and smiling.

‘No sense in worrying over things you can’t control.’ He gives what I think is a bit of a forced smile, and I wonder whether everything with him really is okay?

‘I guess not.’

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