Page 24 of A Wish for Jinnie
‘Thanks, love.’ Ken appeared at her shoulder, closely followed by Mags.
‘Ooh, how lovely to see some new faces here on Christmas Eve,’ she enthused, her gaze taking in Hannah, Shona, and Jinnie. ‘We don’t get many visitors at this time of year, do we, darling?’
Ken’s face briefly crumpled before he kissed his wife on the cheek and gave Jinnie an apologetic look. ‘That’s true. Lucky we have three wise women to grace us with their presence, eh?’
Jinnie wasn’t sure about the ‘wise’ bit. Hannah was now guzzling her fourth glass, and giving Ed either a sports massage or a grope. Shona was swaying to the loo and casting lascivious glances at all the menfolk on the way, regardless of age or infirmity. Maybe she could get them out of here by seven, and spend the rest of the evening bopping around with Dhassim…
‘Penny for them.’ Suddenly Sam was there, his presence as welcome as a hot bath after a long day.
‘Not sure they’re worth that much,’ stammered Jinnie.
He ran a hand through freshly-shorn hair, a stray piece stubbornly sticking up like a horn. Jinnie resisted the urge to smooth it down, instead absent-mindedly flicking her own forward.
‘I let Peggy loose with the clippers,’ said Sam. ‘A bargain at a fiver, but I feel like Shaun the Sheep.’ He paused, squinting at Jinnie’s hair. ‘Whereas you look stunning. Great hair, great outfit. Now, where can a man get a drink around here?’
‘Hello! You must be Sam.’ Hannah appeared as if by magic, brandishing two glasses of mulled wine. A little slopped over the sides as she handed them over, hindered by her full body sweep of Jinnie’s boss. ‘My dad lovesAntiques Roadshow, cos he fancies Fiona Bruce, but I can’t recall many experts looking like you.’
Let the ground now split asunder and swallow up Hannah, and maybe Jinnie too.Jinnie took a sip, unable to look Sam in the eye.
A raucous laugh signalled the arrival of Shona, who entwined herself around Sam, coming perilously close to burying his face in her bosom. ‘Sam the man, I do believe,’ she simpered. ‘Pleasure to meet you.’
Much as Jinnie loved her friends, they often behaved like bitches on heat when faced with a new male of the species. Leaving them to fawn over Sam, she fetched another glass of mulled wine and piled a mini mountain of sausage rolls on a plate.
‘Here you go,’ she said, glad to see that Hannah and Shona had stopped examining Sam, and were now slumped in their seats.
‘Thanks, and cheers.’ They clinked glasses, Jinnie nobbling a sausage roll and cramming it in her mouth.
‘I am a total sucker for party food,’ she said, hoping she hadn’t sprayed Sam with pastry crumbs.
‘Me too,’ he replied, ‘which is why I have several frozen boxes lined up for tomorrow. Bung ’em in the oven, dish them up, rinse and repeat.’
Jinnie hadn’t asked what Sam would be doing on Christmas Day. She’d assumed he’d be spending it with Sean, or maybe other family and friends. ‘Aren’t you seeing your son, or someone…?’
‘In the legendary words of Joan Armatrading, it will be “Me, Myself, I.” Sean’s with his mum and her partner. I’ll see him on Boxing Day, hopefully, or thereabouts.’
Jinnie thought of her own plans, spending the day with family and adhering to traditions she was reluctant to let go of. She knew there would come a time when Wilma wasn’t around, or when she had a husband, children and a whole new set of Christmas rituals. Her throat seized up at the thought, and she swallowed a lukewarm mouthful of mulled wine.
The hands on the pub clock seemed to whizz by. People were still piling in, but it was time for Hannah and Shona to catch the train. Ed appeared, like a knight in shining armour, swinging car keys and offering them a lift to the station.
‘Love you,’ slurred Hannah, as Shona propped her up — or was it the other way round?
‘Love you too,’ replied Jinnie, blinking away tears she hadn’t expected. Could she wish for everyone she loved to be happy, healthy and with people they cared about? Or was that too much to ask?
As ‘It’ll Be Lonely This Christmas’ blared from the jukebox, Jinnie watched her friends leave. A headache threatened, her bed beckoned and she wanted nothing more than deep, deep sleep.
‘Leaving already?’ Sam appeared as she fetched her coat from the cloakroom by the main door.
‘I’m exhausted, and I need my bed,’ Jinnie said, reaching for her hooded, fur-lined coat. Sam unhooked it and slid it over her shoulders. For a moment they tussled, Jinnie’s arm failing to synchronise with the sleeve. Sam pulled her closer, his face inches from hers.
‘Merry Christmas,’ Jinnie breathed, inhibitions scattered to the winds. She aimed for Sam’s cheek, but her lips had other ideas. Like heat-seeking missiles they found their target and … boom!We’re kissing. And it feels pretty damn amazing.
‘Jinnie…’ Sam’s voice broke her reverie. Jinnie flailed her way to the surface, lost in the moment and unwilling to return to the real world. He was holding her hand, pulling her outside. But his demeanour was that of a caring parent escorting a belligerent child from a candy-fuelled outing, with a full-blown tantrum on the horizon.
‘Merry Christmas.’ They were already outside Jinnie’s home, the intervening minutes a blur. Jinnie didn’t know whether to drag Sam over the threshold (praying that Dhassim was already fast asleep), or accept that what had happened was a one-off. And throwing herself down on the pavement, fists pounding and screams echoing, wouldn’t change a thing.
‘Do you want me…?’Oh, what an ambiguous question. Except Jinnie knew that Sam was being the perfect gentleman, offering nothing more than to see her safely inside. Anything else was down to her fevered imagination.
‘I’m fine, thank you.’ Jinnie slipped her key in the lock, and opened the door. Sam walked away, hands buried deep in his pockets.
