Page 47 of A Not So Quiet Christmas
Chapter 28
Telling myself I had better things to do than keep checking my phone to see if Oliver had replied, I decided to get on with some research. I still hadn’t found a reasonably priced storage and workshop facility ready for the new year; something I desperately needed for my venture to succeed. I grabbed my laptop off the sideboard, switched it on and signed in. But as I was about to hit the internet to try yet another search, a knock at the door interrupted me. My shoulders dropped. “Why am I not surprised?” I said.
Frank looked up from his prone position in front of the fire. Watching him put his head back down, I couldn’t believe how lazy he’d become since we’d landed in Little Leatherington. The only time he seemed to run anywhere of late was in his dreams.
Leaving him to it, I got up and went to answer, opening the door to find Lizzie and Seb waiting to greet me.
“We made you these,” Seb said. Standing proud, he held out a Tupperware tub for me to take. “Christmas cookies.”
“To say thank you for yesterday,” Lizzie said. “I don’t know when I’d have got my shopping done if you hadn’t looked after this one.” She ruffled the top of her son’s head.
I opened the plastic tub to see it packed with star-shaped biscuits, each covered in white icing and multicoloured sprinkles. “And very nice they look too,” I said to Seb, who puffed his chest out all the more.
“They taste good as well,” the little boy said.
I smiled. “You know what would go perfectly with these?” I asked.
Seb shook his head.
“Hot chocolate.” I turned my attention to Lizzie. “Fancy joining me?”
“Only if you’re not busy,” she replied.
Despite having a tonne of research to get on with, I thought about Jules, stuck in her chair, cut off from all human contact, apart from Harry. “Not at all,” I said. I stood aside for them to enter and while Seb headed straight for the lounge to see Frank, Lizzie followed me down the hall to the kitchen. I put the Tupperware down on the counter and began heating up the milk for our drinks. “So are you ready for Christmas now, then?” I asked.
“Thanks to you, I’m almost there,” Lizzie replied. “I’ve still got a couple of bits to pick up, but I’m not panicking. What about you? All organised?”
“I’d say so. With just me to think about, there isn’t much to do. As long as I have enough food in, so I don’t starve, that’s the main thing.” With the hot chocolate made, I handed Lizzie her cup and we headed through to join Seb.
Frank was on his back, with his tongue hanging out to one side, as Seb rubbed his tummy. “Can we get a dog, Mummy?” the little boy asked.
Lizzie scoffed. “That would be a no,” she replied.
“Why not?”
“Because I have enough to think about looking after you.”
Seb laughed. “You are funny, Mummy.”
Lizzie’s mobile began to ring and pulling it out of her jeans pocket a little smile crossed her lips. “Do you mind if I take this?” she asked, already rising.
“Of course not,” I said. Watching her hastily head out into the hall, I heard the front door open and close. Whatever the call was about, she definitely wanted to keep it private. Why else would she have gone out into the cold?
“It’ll be Barrowboy,” Seb said. “I’m not supposed to know. Mum’s trying to protect me. She thinks I’ll worry if she meets someone new. But Daddy’s got a special friend, so why shouldn’t Mummy have one too?” He wrinkled his nose. “At least, that’s what I think.”
I smiled. At only seven years old, Seb seemed to be an insightful little boy.
He stopped stroking Frank to look at me, pensive. “That’s not all that’s bothering her though.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. Seeing his concern, I wondered where his conversation was going.
Seb sighed. “She’s worried about Christmas. It’s our first without Daddy. It’ll be just the two of us. And I know she doesn’t have much money. Not like before, when Daddy lived with us. I think that’s why she does a lot of sums.”
I recalled my own childhood, remembering how hard it was for my mum to balance the books. As if making the money coming in stretch wasn’t difficult enough, Christmas only added to the pressure. I could still see the sadness on her face when I opened my presents because she hadn’t been able to afford much. She never meant for me to see her pain, of course. But it was there, behind her smile. As far back as I could remember I understood why that would hurt. While everyone at school seemed to be inundated with the latest brands, crazes, and technology, my presents didn’t compete. And boy did the other kids let me know it. Except for Jules. My one and only friend in the world, she didn’t tease. Although looking back, teasing didn’t seem the right word. Bullying was more like it. I didn’t care that they laughed at me, though. Mum’s lack of money made every present she bought me even more special. Year upon year, I prized every gift she gave me and listening to Seb, I was sure he would too when it came to Lizzie.
“Why are there no presents under your tree?” Seb asked. He rose and began searching under its lower branches.
“Santa doesn’t come for almost a week,” I replied.
