Page 79 of A Merry Little Christmas
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The school Christmas show – and particularly Shrek and Donkey, played by Will and his best friend, Daniel – was going down a storm.
Penny, beside me, had a huge smile on her face and tears in her eyes as her son, dressed in green as the eponymous ogre, beckoned the whole cast on stage to sing the final song. A rousing rendition ofI’m a Believerbegan, and Will was now encouraging us all to join in – although encouragement was barely necessary. The audience was already singing along, a clear sign that they’d enjoyed the performance as much as we had.
I leaned towards to Caleb, who was sitting on my other side. ‘Will’s been amazing. He’s a real star!’
He smiled and squeezed my hand. ‘I’m a very proud uncle.’
‘I can’t wait to see his face when you give him his surprise.’
‘I think he’ll like it.’
‘Iknowhe will! And he thoroughly deserves it for being so brave and auditioning for the part – especially after the threats from that horrible bully.’
‘It’s one in the eye for that scumbag bully Lewis Hatcher.’
‘Definitely.’ I’d spotted Lewis in the chorus looking sulky. He’d clearly had his nose put out of joint, with Will pipping him to the post for the main part. It served him right that Will was getting all the glory!
It was hard to believe Will was the same shy and troubled boy I’d first met just a month or so ago. I’d have liked to think I might have played a small part in his transformation from shy loner to popular star of the school Christmas show. But really, I suspected it was all down to Will himself, for adjusting hismindset on life and choosing to focus on the light rather than the darkness...
I’d read that surrounding yourself with friends was one of the best ways to defeat a bully, and if that was true, Lewis Hatcher had better watch out!
According to Penny, the bullying appeared to have stopped. Not that Will would have told her, even if it hadn’t, she admitted to me. But going on how happy and carefree he was these days, it didn’t seem as though he was troubled by anything much at all – including Lewis Hatcher. Will had clearly bounced back fairly quickly from his terrifying experience at the hands of his kidnapper, which was testament to his strength of character and the solid support from the people closest to him – especially now that his dad was back living in the family home.
Penny and Tom had decided to give their relationship another go, much to everyone’s delight, especially Will’s. And so far, judging by the roses in Penny’s cheeks and Tom’s smiles – he was sitting on Penny’s other side, enjoying the panto – things seemed to be going very well indeed.
My hands felt raw with clapping so hard. And now the show was ending, so we all trooped out into the entrance hall to wait for the star of the show to join us!
Will came out at last with some of his friends from the show, and we gave them a round of applause and said how much we’d enjoyed the show.
‘Got something here I thought you might like,’ said Caleb, handing Will an envelope.
‘What’s this?’ he asked, opening it up, while Daniel and some other boys looked on with interest. Will’s eyes opened wide. ‘What? No! Really?’ He looked in delighted amazement at his uncle. And then he was showing Daniel. ‘I get to ride on a race track in aLamborghini!This is sick!’
‘It’s certainly a step up froma model of a Lamborghini,’ I said, raising my voice deliberately as I watched Lewis Hatcher slink by. He’d been hovering on the fringe of Will’s group and I’d quietly pointed him out to Caleb.
Will picked up on what I was doing, and he joined in. ‘Who needs a model when you’ve gotthe real thing?’ he called, just loud enough for Lewis to hear.
‘Something tells me Will has the bullying problem licked,’ murmured Caleb in my ear.
I smiled up at him. ‘I think you might be right.’
EPILOGUE
‘I didn’t think we’d make it here,’ I confessed, smiling up at Caleb.
We were walking under a leafy archway that winked and sparkled with fairy lights, part of the spectacular Christmas illuminations at Jingle Bell Forest. The way ahead was lit by a host of shimmering pink and purple stars that glowed brightly against the velvety black sky.
‘You thought I wouldn’t know the way here?’ He squeezed my hand. ‘You don’t have much faith in my internal satnav.’
‘No, I didn’t mean that literally. I meant there was a time when I thought we were losing each other... drifting apart. And it was scary.’
He sighed. ‘I know. But that whole trial thing is behind us now. I gave evidence and thankfully justice has been done.’
‘You were so brave the way you were determined not to give in to the threats and attempts to intimidate you.’
‘Aw, shucks. It was nothing.’ Smiling, he slipped his hand round my waist and pulled me against him for a kiss. I melted against him and we stopped there for a while until we heard voices behind us.
