Holly walked
around the lounge talking to the customers, as was her usual habit, she had a
less graceful gait than she used to but Steve still felt a great sense of pride
that he was her husband, and the reason for her lack
of grace was that Holly was pregnant, very pregnant.
It had been two
years since they had met and she had changed the course of his life entirely.
It was
Christmas again and Steve Berry had always had a dislike for Christmas, despite
all the jollity and faux fun, because unlike many of his Christmas mad friends
he had no happy Christmas memories to anesthetise him against the season.
His
childhood Christmases were memories he would rather have forgotten, so he never
trusted Christmas, he believed that shit lurked beneath the coloured lights and
paper chains.
That was
until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that Christmas
could also magnify joy and as a result Steve
had been cured of his Christmas phobia.
Due to Holly, Steve had
found himself working behind the bar in her Uncle Phil’s pub, the Pig and
Whistle.
He was still uncertain
quite how she managed to affect that, but affect it she did and during the ten
days working for her she had turned his life upside down and it culminated on
Christmas Eve with him wishing her a Merry Christmas at closing time and
kissing her.
Judging by the way Holly
responded Steve hoped that kiss on Christmas Eve might have been the start of
something but alas for him it didn’t lead anywhere.
Holly had indeed responded
to his advance and in fact had been hoping for it, but she knew it was far too
soon to throw caution to the wind.
The effects of the kiss
proved to be a slow burner which didn’t burst into flames until the early hours
of New Year’s Day
The two years since had
been very eventful, they became partners in January, engaged at Easter and
Married in September.
However, it wasn’t only
Steve and Holly’s fortunes that had changed over the preceding two years since
they had met, so had those of the Pig and Whistle.
It had gone from a rundown
dive to a thriving pub with a growing reputation as a gastro pub.
The restaurant had always
been busy right from the outset but when Steve and Stephanos were in the
kitchen it was good pub grub and no more because they didn’t have the
repertoire to take it to the next level.
However since Steve and
Holly had returned from their New Forest honeymoon the previous year with Chef
Simon Clarke the restaurant had really taken off.
Simon had been working as a
Sous Chef for an arrogant sadistic bully at the same country house hotel that
the Berry’s were staying at, but now he was a Chef in his own right and Steve
and Stephanos had grown as cooks under him, and this contributed to the general
business that night.
It was Christmas Eve and
Holly, despite being told to rest by Steve and everybody else was doing her
usual walkabout as hostess and as Steve looked at her he sighed because he was
so in love with that girl in the maternity dress.
Just like Christmas Eve two
years earlier it was snowing, not as hard, but enough not to want to make any
unnecessary journeys.
She had had a twinge or two
which she just laughed it off, she said the baby had been really active all
day.
“She’s dancing to the
Christmas songs” she said to Steve “she really likes the Puppini Sisters”
But by 9 o’clock in the
evening it was obvious the twinges were more than Christmas Dancing and she was
having contractions.
Luckily Clare Andrews was
dining in the restaurant with friends
“Get Doc Andrews” he said
to Petra
“Ok” she replied and ran
off while Steve and one of the regulars helped Holly in the private room at the
back of the bar.
“Where is she?” The Doctor
asked
“In here” Steve called
Dr Andrews threw her car
keys to Petra
“Can you get my bag from
the car please?”
“Yes doc” she replied
“Ooooooh” Holly exclaimed
through gritted teeth “that was a big one”
After Dr Andrews examined
her she said
“She’s definitely in labour”
“I’ll call an ambulance”
Steve suggested
“No, she’s too far along”
Clare said “the baby is going to be born here, and soon”
“I’d be happier if we got
her to hospital” Steve said
“So, would I” Dr Andrews
replied
“But she’ll never make it
to the hospital”
“She’s really too close?”
Steve asked
“Yes” Clare replied “so
under the circumstance, here is going to have to do”
“Upstairs it is then” Steve said “but the
first sign of an angel and three wise men and we’re calling an ambulance”
“This was certainly different
to all my previous Christmases’ Steve thought to himself as he said goodnight
to the stragglers and looked out the door, it was still snowing but still not
hard.
He locked the doors and
went back to where the staff were sitting, no one wanted to go to bed until the
baby had been born.
So they sat around a table in the bar until half past one when Noelle Clare Berry was born, trust Holly Berry to have the baby on Christmas Day.
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