Page 141 of Fe
“Hi, Mum.”
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yes. Sorry I worried you.”
“Is Ripley there?”
“He’s out of the car.”
“Fen—were you going to spend Christmas on your own in that empty flat?”
“Course not.” A permissible lie. “I wanted one last look before it was renovated.” He hoped she believed him. “And to collect my secret stash from under the floorboards in my room.”
“There weren’t floorboards in your room.”
“Darn it. Rumbled. Ripley’s on his way back. We’re about to go into Waitrose.”
“And everything is really all right?”
“Yes, providing Ripley doesn’t want me to stick my hand inside a turkey. Don’t spend a fortune on the call. I’ll speak to you tomorrow. Think Santa will still find me?”
She chuckled. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Ripley hadn’t been on his way back but a moment later, the boot went up and then down again. Fen joined Ripley and they headed for the store entrance. When Fen reached for a basket, Ripley stopped him. “We need a trolley. Want to push?”
Fen hooked his crutch over the handle and they headed into the supermarket.
“Any thoughts on what we should have tonight and tomorrow?” Ripley asked.
“Let’s see what’s on offer. They’ll be trying to get rid of stuff now. Pizza tonight? Do you want Christmas dinner or something different?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Christmas dinner’s nice but a faff to make and I’m still traumatised by once having to put my hand inside a turkey to pull out the insides.” He pretended to gag. “They were in a bag but…ugh.”
“Let’s not have turkey.”
Fen picked up a festive sausage wreath and Ripley put it back. “We can do better.”
He put two lobster tails in the trolley.
“I’ve never had lobster. How do you cook it?” Fen asked.
“It’s already cooked. Heat it up. Melted butter. Delicious. We’ll have roast potatoes and asparagus if they have some.”
Fen swallowed hard as Ripley walked around picking up item after item. Mince pies, shortbread biscuits in a tin that lit up, smoked salmon, lemon, mulled wine, nuts, crackers, cheese…
“Steady on,” Fen said. “The shops are only closed for two days.”
“We have a whole week together. Just us. No work. I don’t want to waste a minute of it shopping.” He added two pizzas. “Do we need a carrot for Rudolph?”
“Reindeer can’t eat them. Oats are their thing.”
“Why didn’t I know that?”
“Did you know their eyes change colour with the season?”
