The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (026) Countdown to Christmas

 

They soon settled back down to their pre-Christmas shopping routine and settled down to what had become a familiar pattern.

Every day at the cottage, would begin with an appreciation of the decorations, followed by breakfast, and a productive morning on the book until lunch, then after lunch they spent the afternoon watching Christmas movies, and they made very good progress with the new project on their very relaxed regime which meant they would have no need to work for two weeks over Christmas and New Year. 

 

Gwen worked out perfectly, so Danny asked.

“What about getting a gardener?”

“No” Molly replied, “George wants to do the garden.”

Gwen had fitted in with them very well, so well in fact that they asked her to help them get the guest rooms ready for their Christmas visitors.

“I can only do two days next week” She replied.

“I have to go up to St Pierre to finish my Christmas shopping and the school breaks up on the 22nd so I have the children on the 23rd, and my sister is spending Christmas with us, but she doesn’t arrive until the evening.”

“Well, we’re driving up to Stephenson’s on Tuesday” Molly said.

“So, you can come with us if that helps.”  

“That would be great” Gwen said happily.

“And just bring the kids with you on the 23rd they can help us decorate the tree” Danny said.

“They’ll love that” Gwen said. “Thank you”

 

George popped in on Monday, on the pretence of discussing the Christmas Tree, but the real reason was to drop off Molly’s snow globe that he’d picked up from Sam Archer.

In the afternoon they watched “James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan in “Shop around the Corner”“

 

The next day they picked Gwen up after she’d dropped her children to school, and they drove up to Stephenson’s Supermarket in St Pierre.

“Thank you so much for this” she said, “I’m ever so grateful.”

“You’re more than welcome Gwen” Molly said.

“How would you normally get to and from St Pierre?” Danny asked.

“On the bus” she replied.

“With your shopping?” Molly asked.

“Yes, so it’s a bit restrictive” she replied.

“Well, you don’t need to hold back today” Molly said, and they all laughed.

 

It was three hours later when they drove out of the car park after having completed the Christmas shop and treated Gwen to lunch in the café and the Landrover was full to the gunwales and Gwen had taken Molly at her word, so back in Spaniards Creek Danny had to help her take all the bags to her house.