Page 1 of A Merry Irish Christmas
1
‘Can I help you with anything?’
Mary had been staring at a display of cookware on the fifth floor of Macy’s, paralysed by indecision, for almost ten minutes when the sales assistant approached her – Ted, according to his name badge, a tall, handsome young man with a sharp haircut.
‘I don’t know. Is cookware a good gift?’ She looked up at him uncertainly.
‘Depends who it’s for. Are we talking parents, friends…?’
‘It’s for my boyfriend’s parents.’
‘Ah, in-laws. That’s a tricky one.’
‘Well, they’re not exactly in-laws, but…’
‘Same vibe, essentially.’ Ted nodded. ‘Same pressure, same desperation to please. Are they into cooking?’
‘That’s the trouble, I know practically nothing about them. I have no idea what they enjoy doing, what their taste is like, what stuff they have…’
‘You’ve never been to their home?’
Mary shook her head. ‘I’ve never even met them.’ Since they’d retired, Greg’s parents had spent almost their entire time travellingand they’d rarely been home in the last couple of years. ‘But we’re going to stay with them for Christmas.’
‘Ooh, no pressure, then,’ Ted said with a sympathetic smile. ‘I remember how nervous I was when I met my boyfriend’s folks for the first time. But it’s exciting too, right?’
‘Yes, totally,’ Mary said brightly, trying to match Ted’s enthusiasm. If she was honest, she wasn’t as thrilled at the prospect of meeting Greg’s parents as Ted seemed to expect. Just tamping down her disappointment that she’d be missing Christmas with her family in Dingle was using up all her reserves of good cheer. Actually looking forward to it would be too much of a stretch.
‘Okay, so whatdowe know about them?’ Tim clasped his hands in a businesslike way that said he was prepared to be helpful.
‘Um… not much. They’re pretty well off, so I doubt there’s much they actually need.’
‘Why not ask your boyfriend what they’d like?’
She’d tried that, but Greg hadn’t been much help. ‘He just says I’m overthinking it and they’ll be happy with whatever I get them.’
‘Well, I’m sure he’s right. I mean, they raised your boyfriend, so you know they’re good people, right?’
‘I suppose.’ Was Greg a good person, though? He was good-looking, and good at his job, but she wasn’t sure ‘good’ was an adjective she’d use to describe him personally.
‘How about we go at it another way? What do you want this gift to say?’
‘Um… I haven’t thought about it like that. What would this casserole say?’ She pointed to a large Dutch oven in a beautiful berry shade.
‘Fix my dinner?’
Mary laughed. ‘Not really the message I want to send.’
‘Yeah, cookware probably isn’t the way to go.’
‘I’m looking more for something that says: “I’m nice, please like me”.’
‘Well what about a nice gourmet food basket? Everyone likes food – nice wine, some chocolates. I’d say that’s a sure-fire way to endear yourself to anyone. We have a lovely range on the ground floor.’
‘That’s a great idea.’ She was about to pick up the shopping bags at her feet when her phone buzzed in her pocket. ‘Sorry,’ she said to Ted as she pulled it out and opened a message from her friend Gina:
I’m early, but no rush. Got a table at the back.
Mary glanced at her watch. It was still a quarter of an hour until they were due to meet for lunch, but she was glad of the excuse to escape and postpone this decision.
