Page 27 of It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square
As we walk towards our respective houses, we see Angela hurrying along the pavement towards Christmas House. She’s carrying several shopping bags and Ben immediately rushes over to help her with them.
‘What a kind young man you are,’ she says, blushing a little, as Ben takes the heavy bags. ‘Your mother must have brought you up very well indeed.’
Ben doesn’t respond to this. He simply carries the bags with ease up the steps to the house. ‘Do you want them in the kitchen, Angela?’
‘Yes, please. Now where’s my key?’ As Angela climbs the steps she begins to rummage in her big patchwork handbag.
‘It’s all right, I have mine!’ I squeeze past the other two on the steps. As I’m about to put my key in the lock, the door swings open and Estelle stands in the doorway with her cane, Alvie at her side as always.
‘Goodness, quite the party we have here on my steps,’ she says, eyeing us all over the top of her glasses. ‘And I see you have my shopping, Mr Harris?’
‘I do indeed!’
‘Ben kindly helped me carry it up the steps,’ Angela says, walking past Estelle into the house. ‘The kitchen is this way, Ben.’
Ben smiles at Estelle and obediently follows Angela along the hall towards the kitchen.
‘How are you feeling now?’ I ask Estelle as I enter the house. ‘Angela said you were a little tired this morning?’
Estelle shakes her head. ‘Angela fusses far too much. I’m fit as a fiddle.’
‘Good. Good. I’m looking forward to hearing more of your stories tonight.’
‘I am very pleased to hear that,’ Estelle says approvingly. ‘I wondered after last night if I might have scared you off. I know my storytelling style can be a little off-putting.’
‘Nope, I’m raring to go,’ I tell her. ‘Can’t wait for the next instalment!’
Estelle nods.
‘Right, ladies, I must be off,’ I hear Ben say as he comes back down the hall empty-handed. ‘See you all soon. I hope?’ he asks, raising his eyebrows at me.
‘Would you like to join us for dinner tonight, Mr Harris?’ Estelle asks suddenly. ‘I have not thanked you properly for helping us with the tree. Without you, I fear it might still be stuck at the bottom of our steps.’
‘I wouldn’t want to impose,’ Ben says, glancing at me.
‘Nonsense, you will be our special guest for the evening. I like to find out about my neighbours, and it seems we have yet to be properly introduced.’
‘Then it would be my absolute pleasure,’ Ben says. ‘But I do have one condition.’
Estelle nods. ‘Yes?’
‘You must call me Ben – all my friends do.’
Estelle smiles. ‘Of course. It shall be so. I look forward to finding out much more about you this evening, Mr …Ben.’
‘And I you, Estelle,’ Ben says with a tiny bow of his head, which Estelle clearly enjoys. ‘I will look forward to it all afternoon.’
The dinner goes swimmingly. Ben is the perfect guest and arrives on time carrying a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers for his hosts. We enjoy lots of cheerful and interesting conversation over the most delicious dinner of homemade chicken-and-mushroom pie with potatoes and vegetables, and we learn a little more about Ben and how he came to be in Mistletoe Square.
‘It was very strange,’ he tells us. ‘The advert for the property appeared at just the right time. I don’t even buy that newspaper – I found it lying open on the seat next to me when I was on the Tube. The ad was circled in bright green pen or I might not have noticed it. I assumed I’d either be too late to apply, or they’d have had lots of applications – I mean this is Bloomsbury after all. But the estate agent who showed me Holly House next door said they’d had hardly anyone – so I snapped it up. The rent is very reasonable.’
Immediately, I want to ask him more – my advert was circled in green pen too. Did Ben also bump into the strange man with the briefcase? But Estelle begins talking about a good friend of hers who was a solicitor, and the conversation quickly moves on.
‘Angela,’ Ben says, after we finish our dessert of apple crumble and cream. ‘If I didn’t know Estelle relied on you so heavily, I would try and poach you to come and work for me. That dinner was amazing.’
Angela looks as pleased as punch at Ben’s praise. Her cheeks flush and she looks adoringly at him.
Ben certainly has a way with the ladies, I think to myself as I take another sip from my wine glass.The older ladies, anyway …
