Page 61 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
‘Hmm, something like that.’ She thought of the pieces of jewellery she had yet to finish, the success of which might well help her to decide what she was going to do in the future. And of course all that also depended on who would end up running Buchanans too. ‘I have a few decisions to make,’ she said lightly. ‘But yes, it will be quiet, they always are. How about you?’
There was silence for a moment and Daisy wasn’t sure that Kit had heard her question, but then he suddenly turned around.
‘Would you like to spend Christmas Day with me?’ he asked. ‘Here I mean…?’ He broke off, looking embarrassed. ‘Sorry, that just sort of came out. I had a bit of a speech all rehearsed, but...’
‘I’d love to.’ The words shot out of Daisy’s mouth before she even realised it was open. She stared at Kit, both of them looking rather surprised, until the corners of Kit’s eyes began to crinkle and a smile spread over his face. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘I’m glad.’
‘I should imagine that Christmas might be a bit different for you this year?’ she said.
Kit grimaced in reply. ‘We normally all go to Mum’s on Christmas Day but I really don’t think I could bear it this year. I can’t imagine it’s going to be the jolliest of occasions and it struck me that I could either do what I normally do and try to keep a low profile, or actually do something I might stand a chance of enjoying.’
Daisy blushed slightly. ‘If Lawrence wins he’ll be absolutely insufferable…’
‘And if I win, I’ll end up with a knife in my back,’ finished Kit. ‘If it’s Bertie he’ll just do what he normally does anyway which is to get sloshed and pretend we’re just one big happy family. Weird things, families…’
Aren’t they just, thought Daisy.
‘And yours won’t mind if you don’t spend the day with them? Sorry, I don’t even know where they live? Are they local?’
Daisy swallowed and looked at the bread she had just eaten, at the man who wanted to teach her how to cook, who had just offered to share his Christmas with her, and who wanted to be her friend – no,washer friend.
‘I don’t see my family…’ she began, her throat closing as if to keep the words from being said. ‘I have a brother, actually he’s my half-brother, but he doesn’t live near me and so I speak to him, but I haven’t seen him for years. It’s complicated…’ Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Kit had stopped what he was doing, and turned back towards her, his hands dripping water onto the floor. ‘Daisy, the other night when I walked you home, you mentioned your dad playing with you on the swings, but then you stopped as if you didn’t want to remember it. Did something happen? I don’t want to pry but…’
‘I was five when my dad left, and I haven’t seen him since. It wasn’t his fault, not really, he just couldn’t take the fighting any more.’
Daisy was trembling, but she clenched her nails into her palms and forced herself to speak. If she didn’t say these things now, she feared she would never say them.
‘Shortly after that my brother got taken into care, and I was left… with my mum.’ She sucked in a breath. ‘Until I was nine when I went to live with my grandparents at the lock-keeper’s cottage.’
Kit had taken two steps towards her. ‘What happened?’ he asked gently.
‘I had no one to look after me.’ She could feel the familiar wave of pain beginning to build within her, because the reality was that she’d had no one to look after her for years before that. She thought of the endless days when she had come home from school to an empty house, and an empty fridge. Or worse, her mother passed out on the settee. Because at least if her mother wasn’t there, there would be no angry shouts, no beatings as she came around, crazy for more booze or another hit. Even being cold and starving hungry was better than that.
‘I had no one to look after me,’ she repeated, ‘because my mother died from a drug overdose and so my grandparents took me in and they saved my life.’ A slow tear began to roll down her cheek. ‘Until I was seventeen, when they died, and I was alone again.’
20
Monday 16th December
Nine shopping days until Christmas
There was a moment when everything seemed to stand still, when Daisy held Kit’s look as if she couldn’t tear her gaze away. And then the next second she was in his arms, her head cradled against his chest as she gulped for air.
He didn’t say a word, but held her, rocking her gently, and it had been so long since anybody hugged her that she hugged him right back, letting the feeling of warmth fill her up. She didn’t think about what it might mean, only how it felt. Her tears flowed freely but she let them fall. She was safe here.
‘Daisy, I’m so sorry,’ he murmured, his lips against her hair. ‘I never knew…’
He didn’t say anything else, but his arms held her close until her past receded and her tears simply melted away. There was no need for them in the present. Not when she could finally begin to look towards the future.
Eventually she pulled away, amazed that there was a smile on her face. ‘I was going to apologise,’ she said. ‘But instead I think I should thank you. I’ve never told anyone about my family before.’
He smiled a little sadly. ‘Perhaps it’s just that I know what it feels like to stand in a room full of people and feel so utterly lonely. I don’t think I’ve ever fitted in, and I realised pretty early on that the things I wanted from my life were different from what other people did. But I always hoped that one day I would meet, not just someone who understood, but someone who was like me, who wanted the same things I did.’
‘Oh…’ Her hand hovered somewhere around her mouth.
‘And some while ago I asked Mum about you, about your family, and she gave me one ofthoselooks, you know the ones I mean… She said, quite rightly of course, that if I wanted to know more about you that I should actually askyou, not her. I’ve kind of been trying to pluck up the courage ever since, and when you mentioned your dad the other day, well, I think I just decided that perhaps now was the right time. Because I do want to find out more about you, Daisy. I want that very much indeed.’
