Page 29 of A Wish for Jinnie
‘Three … two … one… Happy New Year, everybody!’ Ken announced, his arm around Mags — who looked bewildered — and Jo on his other side. He kissed them both in turn, Jinnie noticing he lingered a little longer with Jo. Angela and Jamie were standing together, and everyone linked arms with the person next to them. Glasses were downed in one, the crowd kissing and hugging as they bade the old year farewell. The bagpipes were quickly drowned out by music from the TV, and the atmosphere was both festive and contemplative.
‘Happy New Year!’ The doors opened, and a tall, dark, rather handsome man walked in carrying something small and black, with a bottle of whisky tucked under his arm and a bag slung over his shoulder.
‘Ed!’ Mags rushed over, closely followed by Ken. A group hug ensued, the rest of the room cheering the late arrival. Tradition stated that a male of the species blessed with good looks would stride into the gathering just after midnight, bearing a piece of coal, a bottle of Scotland’s finest, some shortbread, and black bun — a dark fruitcake encased in pastry.
‘I couldn’t find any black bun, but I hope some leftover Mr Kipling will do the job.’ He winked at Ken, who relieved his son of his offerings and poured him a generous measure of something peaty and potent.
‘Cheers. Happy New Year to one and all!’ Ed raised his glass, his glance sweeping the room. It rested on Jinnie, fiddling with the stem of her glass. Then it moved to Angela, who looked down and shuffled awkwardly.
Sam was nowhere to be seen — had Jinnie inadvertently wished for him to vanish? No, that kind of wish didn’t work, and she felt a sudden urge to dash back to Dhassim and give him an enormous cuddle. He’d been super-sulky when Jinnie had said she was leaving him home aloneagainfor an event he couldn’t participate in. She had only been able to leave him with a relatively clear conscience by downloading every Jennifer Aniston film she could find.
‘Happy New Year, Ed.’ Jinnie clinked her glass with his, leaning in for a kiss. ‘Where have you been?’
‘Happy New Year, Jinnie,’ he replied. ‘Dad needed a tall, dark, handsome stranger, and as George Clooney wasn’t available —’
Jinnie laughed, and linked arms with him as the crowd assembled to sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. She turned to her other side, and realised that Sam was right next to her.
He hesitated briefly before taking her arm. As the song started — the bagpipe man giving it his all — Sam leaned over and whispered in her ear. ‘Friends?’
Could she do it? Pack away the errant feelings she had and just be friends? It had to be worth a try.
‘And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!
and gie's a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak' a right gude-willie waught,
for auld lang syne.’
The lyrics spoke of friendship and of days gone by. Jinnie hadn’t known Sam very long, but she was certain he would be a true and loyal friend. And those weren’t always easy to find.
‘Absolutely,’ she whispered back, ignoring the sharp pang of loss in her heart.
Chapter 29
‘Happy New Year, Dhassim.’
It was just after 2 am on January 1, and Jinnie had arrived home to find him snuggled up on the sofa watchingLeprechaun.Not his favourite actress’s finest moment.
‘Hmm, Happy New Year,’ he replied, muting the volume. ‘Although celebrating the start of another year isn’t a big deal when you’ve been kicking around as long as I have.’
Jinnie cosied up next to him and gave him the cuddle she’d thought about earlier. He reciprocated, Jinnie detecting a whiff of the Jo Malone bath oil Hannah had given her for Christmas. She really needed to buy him some cheap manly toiletries before he plundered any more of her expensive stuff.
‘Are you hungry?’ Liz had parcelled up generous portions of the venison pie and trifle before Jinnie left. They would keep for a day or two, as Jinnie was having lunch with her family later. Her mum and dad had been delighted when she said she’d make the trip, and Wilma would also be in attendance.
Dhassim eyed the food parcels with disdain. He sniffed the pie, his nose crinkling up, before moving on to the trifle. ‘I will partake of a small bowlful of that,’ he announced. ‘That macaroni cheese concoction you left was barely enough to feed a mouse.’
A mouse the size of a small bungalow, thought Jinnie.It had been a family size pack, on special at Janette’s because it was a few days out of date. Sighing, she served Dhassim half the trifle and a small helping for herself.
‘So, did you wish for something when the year changed?’ asked Dhassim, spooning the trifle in with barely a pause for breath. ‘If you did, you must repeat it so that we — he gestured to his WIFI, lined up neatly with the TV remote — ‘can work our magic.’
On the wish-making front, Jinnie was proving spectacularly hopeless. If Hannah had got her mitts on Dhassim’s lamp she would have had a list as long as her arm. No more leg or armpit fuzz (Hannah’s body hair grew at a terrifying rate). A hot date with actor Tom Hardy, preferably leading to marriage — the small matter of him already being married wouldn’t deter her. And a lifetime supply of vintage champagne, delivered to her fridge on a weekly basis. Those would be just for starters.
‘Nope, I didn’t make a wish.’ Wishing for things to be different between her and Sam was a non-starter. Anyway, Jinnie didn’t want to rely on a genie and his gizmo to find true love. Surely it was better the old-fashioned way; boy meets girl and sparks fly?
‘Do not fret, mon petit chou,’ replied Dhassim.
Great, now she’d progressed from a pumpkin to a small cabbage. Or was that a backward step? Too tired to reprimand him again, Jinnie gathered up the empty bowls and dumped them in the kitchen sink. She was due at her parents’ in nine hours, and sleep beckoned.
