Uncanny Love Tales – (026) An Avuncular and his Mentee

 

It was towards the end of September and I was sat in the lounge bar of the Cleddau Bridge Hotel in Pembrokeshire enjoying a pint when she walked in, I didn’t recognise her at first and I had to do a bit of double take.

She was still as beautiful as ever but her lustrous brown hair that used to be cut in a bob now flowed in brunette waves over her narrow shoulders and the business suit she customarily used to wear had been replaced by faded denim jeans, a pink top and a long flowing cardigan cut in the style of an Afghan coat with fake fur trim and bright brocade panels.

Hannah Castle looked so different from the young woman I had last seen 18 months earlier at our mutual friend Gary Yap’s Chinese New Year party.

Her eyes were sharp and intelligent behind her gold rimmed spectacles that sat on her aquiline nose, and with her finely chiselled features she was the attractive side of beautiful but only for the fact she wasn’t wearing a scrap of make up.

But despite the hair, the clothes and a lack of makeup the eyes and the smile could not be disguised.

It was a case of “what you saw was what you got” with Hannah just as it was the first day she walked into the office straight out of University.

That was eight years earlier and as the old man of the team at 33 I adopted the role of the avuncular and took her under my wing and showed her the ropes, and of course try as I might not to, and despite the 12 year age difference I fell in love with her.

There was no double take for Hannah, she recognised me instantly and beamed a broad smile and I realized as she walked towards me I was still in love with her.

“Tommy Flood!” she said “What are you doing here?”

She was never tall, but in her flat shoes she had to stand on tip toes and I had to stoop so we could properly embrace. 

“I had to see a client in Haverfordwest” I said “it ran on later than expected so I decided to put up here for the night”

In truth I always liked booking meeting late on a Friday and then I could stay at a local hotel for the night, two if it suited.

“Not Clive Morgan?” she said “I’ve been trying to nick him off you for two years”

“I know, keep your hands off, Morgan’s is my pension”

I said and we both laughed

“Anyway, what about you?” I asked “What brings you here?”

“My sister lives in Milford Haven” Hannah replied “and she’s just had twins”

“Wow Aunty Hannah” I said “that still doesn’t explain why you’re here”

“Because I’ve only been an aunty for five days and I’m exhausted”

She said and slumped down in her chair

“Oh dear” I said “No stamina, you youngsters”

“Honestly if I don’t get a good night’s sleep before I drive home I won’t make it” she explained

“So this is as far as you got?” I asked

“I so need a good night’s sleep” Hannah said and hugged the cushion to her chest and I was so jealous of that cushion

“Do you think you might stay awake long enough to have dinner?”

I asked

“It depends who’s paying” Hannah answered peering over the top of a cushion.

“My treat” I said and it really was a treat to see Hannah again and I knew in that moment I was hopelessly in love with her.

 

My hand was shaking as I was stood at the bathroom sink to shave and looked at my reflection.

Who was I trying to kid, since I’d last seen her 18 months earlier she hadn’t aged a day while I looked as if I’d aged 10 years, I stood less chance of getting than ever.

Despite my misgivings I shaved and showered and made the best of what I had, such as it was, and went downstairs to the bar to wait for her.  

When I got there she was already sitting at the bar perched on a barstool waiting for me.

Hannah was still wearing jeans, but she now wore a white smock top decorated with tiny pink roses and she was made up to perfection and was already halfway through a large glass of white wine.

“Hi” I said as I leant in and kissed her cheek.

As I lingered by her cheek, perhaps a little longer than I should have, I noticed the smell of her hair, which was freshly washed and was subtly scented with the fragrance of apples, while her skin exuded the aroma of coconut and I was in such close proximity to her that my senses were assailed by the scent of just a little too much Channel, which was unusual for her.

She was always subtle, or at least she had been.

“You look lovely” I said when I had come up for air.

“And you smell good enough to eat” I added to myself

“This is the only thing I had left that didn’t smell of baby sick” She confessed “but to make doubly sure I doused myself with perfume”

Well that cleared up that little mystery.

“You smell delicious” I said “not a hint of baby sick”  

“Honestly?” she asked

“Honestly” I replied just as I caught the barman’s eye “Do you want another?”

“Hmm yes please” she replied and drained her glass

When the drinks appeared we made our way to the restaurant it was a walk we had done many times before.

It was a favourite of mine and we had stayed at the Hotel many times before and eaten in the restaurant more often than not.

But that was in the days when I was mentoring her in my avuncular role.

As we ate we talked about the old days and the people we both knew and how both our careers were going.  

However what I really wanted to talk about was her, the personal stuff, what she had been up to in her life over the 18 months since we had last met and the two years since we worked together.

“What about you?” she asked taking me by surprise

“What?” I replied

“What about you?” she repeated this time with more than a hint of a slur “are you spoken for”

To my amusement I watched as she appeared to rerun the question in her head and seemed alarmed by the realization of what she had actually said

“What I meant to say is… um… err… are you… erm…”

It amused me to watch her struggle and getting more flustered but I decided to put her out of her misery.

“I’m still single”

“Oh” she responded trying to appear indifferent “still not met the right girl?

“I wouldn’t say that exactly” I replied and didn’t elaborate, the truth of the matter was I had met the right girl but she didn’t want me.

“What about you?” I asked

“Still footloose and fancy free” Hannah replied

Dinner came and went as did desert and all the time our glasses were refreshed, but it wasn’t until we were having liqueurs that I plucked up the courage to say what was on my mind.

“I’ve really missed you”

She seemed both surprised and pleased by the revelation and I wondered if she heard me correctly or if it was just the wines effect on her processing ability

“I’m sorry” she replied

“Why did you go?” I asked “I never understood why you left”

“I had to” she replied earnestly

“But why?” I asked

“Because I knew how you felt about me” Hannah confessed

“You knew?” I asked aghast

“Yes”  

“You knew and you said nothing?” I asked angrily and she nodded

“That was cruel” I said and then there was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes as the waiter cleared the empty glasses from the table, and when he had gone she said

“I thought it was for the best”

The waiter hovered just out of earshot as we were the last two diners and he obviously wanted us gone.

“I think we have out stayed our welcome” I said and got up and Hannah followed suit

“Goodnight” I said to the waiter and headed towards reception

“Let me explain” Hannah said as she trotted behind me but I ignored her and pressed on along the corridor but she caught me up as I stopped to allow an elderly lady to go through the fire doors.

“I thought if I put some space between us, you would stop caring about me” she said from behind me and I span round on her

“You thought my feelings were so fickle, so insincere that they would just evaporate away if I couldn’t see you?”

“No” she said crossly

“I did it because I thought mine would”

“What?” I said doubting my own hearing

“I left because I was falling for you” she said

“And did it help?” I asked

“No” she said and fell in to my arms “I fell for you anyway”

“So you made us both unhappy” I said gently

“Yes” Hannah replied and began to cry

“Don’t cry honey” I said and she looked up at me through tear filled eyes and I kissed her, a kiss I had longed for, and dreamt of for eight years, and I was not disappointed.

 

After our long awaited magical first kiss we walked hand in hand to the door of my room where we kissed again.

I unlocked the door and pushed it open, Hannah paused in the doorway.

“Before we go any further I have a confession to make” she said

“You don’t have to say anything honey” I replied

“I really do” she insisted

“Ok” I replied a little concerned at what might follow

Hannah took a deep breath and blurted out

“I haven’t shaved my legs”

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS # 33

Twas the night before Christmas

And all thru the Grange

Not a creature was stirring

Which seemed rather strange

As they were party animals

And needed little reason

But it turned out they’d gone

To Mauritius for the season

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (017) The Good Life - Silly, But It's Fun

 

For those who are visiting from another planet the Good Life, Written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey was about a man who, on reaching his fortieth birthday, decides to give up the rat race and becomes self-sufficient.

The man having the midlife crisis is Tom Good (Richard Briers), who with the help and support of his long-suffering wife Barbara, (Felicity Kendal) turns his detached Surbiton home, into an urban farm.

This doesn't go down too well with their good friends and neighbours, Jerry Leadbetter (Paul Eddington) and his snooty wife Margot, (Penelope Keith).

The Christmas episode, “Silly, But It's Fun”, first broadcast 26th December 1977 is in my opinion the funniest Christmas sitcom ever made.

Most Christmas sitcoms highlight the most negative aspects of the day creating a kind of nightmarish microcosm of family life at Christmas.

The Good Life was the story of contrasts, with the Good’s making the best of the meagre resources they had, while the Leadbetter’s just bought the best of everything and lots of it.

In “ Silly, But It's Fun” Margo ordered Christmas to be delivered from Harrods on Christmas Eve but refused delivery when the tree was six inches shorter than the one, she had ordered.

As she rejected the tree, she also rejected everything else, including Jerry’s gin, under the impression that Harrods would redeliver Christmas including a tree of the requisite height for her later that day.

She was sadly mistaken and on Christmas Day she had to phone around cancelling all their Christmas engagements under the pretext that Jerry has Chicken pox.

Jerry was unperturbed at having political chicken pox but horrified when he discovered that there was no more gin.

Enter the Goods, who save the day by inviting the Leadbetter’s to their house for the day and a good time was had by all, they all got plastered on pea pod burgundy and played silly party games.

The moral of the tale being that you can’t buy Christmas you have to make it yourself.

The Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa – The Christmas Party

 

The beautiful Downshire village of Clerembeax St Giles was situated to the west of Abbeyvale located between Grace Hill and Bushy Down and on the outskirts was the Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa.

It was once the home the Clerembeax’s, who arrived in Downshire following the Norman conquests and stayed for a thousand years before the name died out following the death of the reclusive Marcus Clerembeax at the age of 96.

The current owner was Yvonne Labuschagne, who decided to open it as a Hotel and Spa.

The Spa was a good attraction, but it was crucial for them to maintain a high occupancy rate, however things were tough in the Hotel trade with the success of Travelodge, Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express and so places like the Palace needed to offer something extra to attract the guests, apart from the Spa. 

So, they put on novelty weekends, such as “Murder Mysteries” and in addition, they had a sizable Ballroom which was used for special occasions, high days and holidays, which boosted occupancy and Spa numbers at the same time, Christmas being a prime example, when there was great demand and grand Christmas function took place.

 

One of the guests at such an event was forty-seven years old Eric Price, who was widowed three years earlier, and immediately after his wife’s death he seemed to suddenly appear on the radar of the local spinster’s, widows and divorcees in and around his own age.

In fact, it all started at his wife’s funeral where he was buttonholed by two well-presented mourners who made it perfectly clear he could avail himself of them if he chose to do so, which he did not.

But three years after his dear wife was laid to rest, and only after repeatedly rebuffing the endless advances of even the most attractive of the local pursuing vultures, did he finally decide, out of desperation and loneliness to dip his toe in the water and began to entertain the possibility that he might once again share his life with another soul.

His friends suggested he start internet dating but that was a step to far in his opinion, he wasn’t going to try something if his heart wasn’t in in it.

His friends continued trying to persuade him to try it nonetheless but then one day he met Charlotte Euringer at a mutual friend’s garden party.

 

Now they were attending a party of a different kind and his hand was shaking as he was stood at the bathroom sink to shave and looked at his reflection.

“Who am I trying to kid?” he asked himself “I don’t stand a chance with her”

 

Despite his misgivings he shaved and showered and made the best of what he had, and dried, perfumed and powdered himself before he changed into his dinner suit, complete with cummerbund and bow tie, he was feeling rather nervous as he stood before his reflection and tied his tie for the fourth time and wished he worn a clip on.

“She’s not going to look twice at you anyway” He said to himself “She’s way out of your league for God’s sake”.

 

At the precise moment that Eric was questioning the wisdom of pursuing such a beautiful woman, 45-year-old Charlotte Euringer was stood in front of her mirror looking at her reflection.

She was immaculately dressed in a full length green halter necked designer evening dress and she sighed when she slipped on a lavish faux fur shrug and left the room and knocked on the door across the hall where her best friend Daphne and her husband Geoff were staying.

“Wow” he said, as he opened the door “you look stunning”

“Bless you darling” she responded “but I’m scared to death”

“You shouldn’t be” he reassured her “Eric will trip over his tongue when he sees you”

“I wish I shared your faith” Charlotte said

“Come on gorgeous, come and talk to Daphne”

He stepped aside and let her walk past as he closed the door and she went straight to where Daphne was sitting at the dresser and she turned to look at Charlotte

“You look gorgeous”

“Do you think so?” she asked before adding, with panic in her voice

“What if he doesn’t like me?”

“But he does like you, you know he likes you, and he’s going to love you even more tonight when he sees you” Daphne said to her softly in response to her crisis of confidence

“I hope so” she replied forlornly

Geoff poured them all a glass of Champagne and Daphne massaged her ego while her husband plied her with drink, and half an hour later they left the room and headed towards the lift.

 

When Eric emerged from the lift, the reception was jammed with an array of stunningly turned out men and women, but he couldn’t see Charlotte anywhere.

However, while he stood on the periphery of the throng Geoff, Daphne and Charlotte arrived behind him and Charlottes heart skipped a beat when she first caught sight of his dapper upright figure.

“Hello Eric” She said warmly and the moment they made eye contact   all their previous doubts melted away.

 

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (003) The Girl in The Green Dress

 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 parents were alcoholics and each year their Christmas came in a bottle and thanks to his father, Steve’s came with a slap.

So, his childhood Christmases were memories he would rather have forgotten, but as he grew up he found that adulthood brought no relief and it always seemed to him that when shit happened at that time of the year, Christmas just magnified the misery.

For example, if someone dies at Christmas the very season makes it more keenly felt.

He could testify to that from personal experience, as his mother died on Christmas Eve when he was only 19.

He has no idea where his father was and quite frankly, he didn’t care, he never showed up for the funeral and he could have been dead as well for all he knew.

So as a result, he has never trusted Christmas, because he knows that horror lurks beneath the coloured lights, tinsel, and paper chains.

That was until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that Christmas could also magnify joy.

However, it wasn’t just Christmases that held horrors in his past, so did New Year’s Eve.

Steve wasn’t big on New Year’s Eve, it was not a time that held any deep significance for him, in fact he found the whole idea of it rather pointless, why did people make such a fuss over going from one year to the next.

That alone would have been reason enough for him to dislike it, far apart from the personal memories it evoked.

It was on one particular New Year’s Eve when he was six years old that his parents locked him in his room while they went off on a three day bender that still haunted his memories, but he had decided to try and put all of that behind him and with Holly’s help he was hopeful that he might.

Since the first day he met her she had helped to tame his demons, which all began when Holly temporarily took over running her Uncle Phil’s pub, the Pig and Whistle, a week and a half before Christmas, Steve had got blind drunk and ended up spending the night in the lounge bar.

When he woke up the next morning, she had a surprise for him.

“Good morning sunshine” Holly called as she crashed through the door wearing a dressing gown and slippers.

“Ow” he said “have some respect for the dead”

She put a mug of black coffee on the table in front of him and peered at his bloodshot eyes

“Blimey! Can you actually see through those?” she asked

“I hope you don’t drink like that when you’re working”

“Well I don’t need to worry about work until January” he said and sipped at his coffee

“Don’t you remember anything about last night?” Holly asked with a wry smile on her lips

He closed his eyes and replied

“I remember I don’t like Christmas”

“Anything else?” Holly persisted

“It was very busy, very noisy” Steve said but could remember nothing else

“Do you remember me saying I needed more staff?” she asked

“Yes, I do remember that” he replied

“Good” she said “because your it”

“What?” he said loudly and then winced

“You volunteered to work right through till New Year’s Eve”

“I can’t have” Steve said

“Well you did” She insisted and showed him a piece of paper detailing the fore mentioned offer signed by Steve.

“That doesn’t count” he said “I was pissed”

“It’s legally binding” Holly stated “It’s notarized by a solicitor”

Steve stared at the signature

“Sam Culver?” he said “he’s not a solicitor he’s a forklift driver”

“Be that as it may, but he has still witnessed your signature on this contract” she said coolly

“Contract?” he said in disbelieve

“Contract” she confirmed

“Oh, please you’re not really going to hold me to this?” Steve said waving the “contract” in her direction

“You start tonight” she informed him

“Oh God I’ve sold my soul to the Christmas fairy” he said with his head in his hands

“I prefer Christmas angel” she said “But I’m not the one with tinsel in my hair”

So that was that she had produced a contract he had signed the night before agreeing to work for her until New Year’s Eve.

However despite his initial misgivings he had thoroughly enjoyed it and 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.

They were then snowed in at the pub for Christmas day and after exchanging presents they kissed again.

In the week that followed there was good deal more kissing as day by day the headed inexorably towards New Year’s Eve.

But he had a sense of foreboding as his normal dislike for the occasion was magnified this year because it marked the final day of his contract at the Pig and Whistle and could also mark the end of Holly’s Tenure at the pub and maybe even their budding relationship.

Although he didn’t like it, it was a good earner for the pub and as the takings had not been optimised on Christmas Eve due to the snow storm, added to the fact that the figures had been disappointing in the interim as well, it was unarguable that a good New Year’s Eve was vital.

With this in mind, Holly and Steve had been at the Cash and Carry all afternoon stocking up on vital supplies.

“Right that’s the lot Hon” she said

“Are you sure that’s enough?” Steve asked facetiously

“That’s enough lip from you” she said and kissed him.

And that simple kiss, a symbol of their familiarity, was a milestone moment for although they had kissed many times in that week since Christmas Eve they had only ever kissed when they were alone and certainly never in public. 

“If we sell that lot tonight, I’ll be over the moon” she said although there wasn’t any chance that that might actually happen even if they did have an extension until 1.00am.

Steve normally spent New Year’s Eve at home in his flat, watching a DVD and hiding from the world.

But this year was going to be very different.

 

At least on New Year’s Eve there were none of the annoyingly jolly Christmas songs, there was only one annoying New Year’s song and that was usually confined to midnight.

There was a steady trade in the bar, far more than Christmas Eve, but not exactly record-breaking numbers, and most of the supplies they had bought earlier would remain unsold, but just after 9 o’clock the numbers swelled and continued swelling until the place was absolutely banging.

There were seven of them working that night but on six at any one time behind the bar and they were rushed off their feet.

The staff and a hard core of the regulars were in fancy dress,

Debbie was a French maid, Stephanos was in a toga, Clare was a witch, Ausra was a Gypsy, Petra was a clown and Steve was a pirate, while Holly, as was her custom, was dressed immaculately, on this occasion as the Emerald Lady in a wonderful green dress adorned with a garland of holly leaves and around her neck was the holly leaf pendant that Steve gave her for Christmas. 

By the end of the night he had to admit that he hadn’t enjoyed a New Year’s Eve more, even though his feet were killing him.

When the last of the punters had been ushered out the door and the bolt shot at 1.25 am, Holly said

“Thank God for that, put the kettle on” and then she kicked off her shoes.

Everyone pulled together and gathered up all the glasses and cleared them to the kitchen and then Steph and Clare brought out the drinks on a tray

“Where are the others?” Holly asked

“They’re loading the glasses into the machine” Clare replied “You know what Steve’s like”

“Tell them not to worry” she said “We’ll do it in the morning”

Holly frowned and then corrected herself

“We’ll do it in later this morning”

So, they all sat together drinking their tea and coffee and laughing at the exploits of one or two of the more enthusiastic punters.

Very soon there was only Holly and Steve left and he asked

“Do you want another tea?”

“I’d rather have a proper drink” she replied “You could join me if you’re staying over”

He nodded and went behind the bar and returned shortly with two glasses of wine.”

As they sat together drinking, she said

“My feet are so sore”

“Put them up here” he said tapping his knee “I’ll rub them for you if you want”

“Oh yes please” she said and put both stocking feet on his knee

“Hold up” he said “one at a time”

“Oh, that’s really lovely” she said as Steve began massaging her little foot, and that was as all he got out of her for the next twenty minutes until he was halfway through her other foot when she said.

“You’re a free man now”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked

“The contract” she said

“It was only up to and including New Year’s Eve it’s now New Year’s Day, so you are free to return to your old life”

“Good” he said sharply, and Holly baulked at the force of the word.

“Because now I am here because I want to be”

And Holly’s face broke into a broad smile and she kissed him

 

They made love for the first time in the early hours of New Year’s Day and as they lay entwined in the semi darkness Holly said.

“We make a good team; we could run this place together”

“What about Phil?” Steve asked

“Ah I may have misled you regarding Uncle Phil” she confessed

“In what way?”

“He’s not coming back” she said

“Why not?” Steve asked

“He’s ill” Holly replied sadly

“How ill?”

“The “he won’t see another Christmas” kind of ill”

“Oh” he responded, “so he’s not on holiday?”

“No” she admitted “I am in the process of buying the pub from him”

“That’s a big step” he said

“I know” she agreed “but I have years of experience in Hospitality and you’re a good accountant”

“So, you only want me for my numeracy” he said

“No, I want you for your foot rubs” Holly corrected him

“Ok then it’s a deal” he said and sealed it with a kiss.

Which was a prelude to them making love again.

But Steve paused briefly and said

“You do realize what would happen if we were to marry?”

“What’s that?” she said pleasantly surprised that his thoughts had already strayed to the question of marriage

“You would become Holly Berry”

“I could live with that” she said and brought the discourse to a passionate conclusion.  

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (002) The Girl in The Christmas Dress

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 parents were alcoholics and each year their Christmas came in a bottle and thanks to his father, Steve’s came with a slap.

So, his childhood Christmases were memories he would rather have forgotten, but as he grew up he found that adulthood brought no relief and it always seemed to him that when shit happened at that time of the year, Christmas just magnified the misery.

For example, if someone dies at Christmas the very season makes it more keenly felt.

He could testify to that from personal experience, as his mother died on Christmas Eve when he was only 19.

He has no idea where his father was and quite frankly, he didn’t care, he never showed up for the funeral and he could have been dead as well for all he knew.

So as a result, he has never trusted Christmas, because he knows that horror lurks beneath the coloured lights, tinsel, and paper chains.

That was until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that Christmas could also magnify joy.

 

He 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.

There were scabs as yet unpicked regarding Steve Berry that needed to be attended to before she completely let down her guard.

Holly considered him to be a work in progress and she thought he had potential, but he still needed work however there was certainly hope for him.

 

The other event that occurred on Christmas Eve was a prolonged snowfall which resulted in them being snowed in.

Holly was due to go to lunch at her cousin’s house on Christmas Day but as she lived 30 miles away and it was not possible to make the journey safely with the amount of snow that was laying.

Steve was due to spend the day alone not celebrating Christmas at all, but Holly invited him to spend the day with her instead as he hadn’t risked driving home the night before.

He would have been quite happy to have slept on one of the bench seats in the lounge bar as he had once before, but Holly insisted, he use the spare room.

So that was how Steve Berry came to celebrate his first ever Christmas and why he was sitting at the bar on Christmas morning nursing a cup of coffee in the same clothes he had been wearing the night before.

“Morning” he said as she appeared behind the bar

“Happy Christmas” Holly said and reached over and kissed his cheek.

Now it was not the kiss he was hoping for and it was not possessed of the passion that accompanied the embrace of the night before but that simple peck on the cheek held within it, hope.

“God its cold in here” she said

“Yes, there was a power cut during the night, and it knocked the boiler out” he said

“I’ve relit it, but it’ll take a while to warm up”

“This was not the Christmas day I had in mind” Holly said putting the collar of her dressing gown up

“Nor me” he added

She was supposed to be dining on a sumptuous feast at her cousin’s house, while he was supposed to be in self-imposed exile at his flat.

“Do you want a drink?” he asked

“Oh yes please” she replied, and Steve got up and went to the kitchen returning a few minutes later with a steaming mug of tea

“Thanks hon” she said and winced at her involuntary over familiarization and quickly went on

“I don’t know what we are going to eat today” Holly said

“We will need to ferret in the freezer”

“I didn’t know ferret was traditional Christmas fare” Steve said

“You know what I mean” she said, “Can you cook?”

“A bit” he replied

“Good because I’m rubbish” Holly admitted

Steve actually undersold himself when he said he could cook a bit, he could in fact cook very well, exceptionally well.

 

Steve not being a traditionalist, or a fan of the season could certainly make something out of what was on hand in the kitchen.

Holly however wanted to have a roast lunch, with all the trimmings, but after they checked the freezer, they had to rule out a roast dinner as the joints would never have defrosted in time, but there were alternatives.

The fresh vegetable stores were limited but more than sufficient for two people.

Although she couldn’t cook herself Holly was determined to help firstly by peeling the potatoes and carrots and then by getting out of his way so he could get on by taking herself off upstairs to get ready for the day.

 

While Holly was gone Steve finished preparing the food and he was pleased that he had achieved something to suit Holly’s traditional wishes at least in part.

He had just reached the point where he could safely leave the kitchen and get showered and shaved when Holly reappeared, and he was stopped in his tracks.

She looked stunning, her mousy hair, washed and styled was adorned with Christmas slides and she was wearing a white wool dress decorated with poinsettias.

And her shapely legs were covered by black tights with motifs of bows and parcels.

As he looked at her, he thought to himself that he’d like them to be stockings rather than tights, but nice legs were nice legs regardless of what they were sheathed in.

“Wow” Steve exclaimed

“Wow” he repeated, and Holly blushed

“It’s a Christmas dress you know” she said

“I don’t care” he said

“But you don’t like Christmas”

“It’s growing on me”

“Good” she said “you won’t mind wearing this then”

“When would he ever learn” He asked himself as he now had to wear another blessed Christmas sweater.

“Where do you keep getting them from?” he asked

“They’re Uncle Phil’s” she replied “I buy him one every year”

“I’ve never seen Phil in a Christmas jumper” Steve said

“No nor have I” Holly agreed

 

Steve went upstairs, showered, and shaved, and returned to find Holly had laid a table in the lounge bar, complete with festive serviettes, candles, party poppers and crackers.

On the CD player the Puppini Sisters were in full voice and his natural aversion to Christmas music was tempered by the fact he caught Holly singing and dancing along with the music.

He stayed out of sight in the doorway so he could enjoy the spectacle as long as possible but when she eventually became aware of him, she blushed redder than the poinsettias on her dress.

“How long have you been standing there?” she said suddenly flustered and began fussing with the table.

“Long enough” Steve replied

“You should have said something” Holly said as she headed towards the kitchen

“What and spoil the show” he replied as he followed close behind

 

Holly carried on with the table while Steve checked the oven and ten minutes later, he was transferring everything to serving dishes which Holly took to the table.

All he had left to do was make the gravy and get the Yorkshire puddings out of the oven.

Christmas dinner was as traditional as he could manage given the limits of the provisions available.

It was Holly’s turn to say “Wow” as he served Chicken breast wrapped in bacon, served with Roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, peas, stuffing, and Yorkshire pudding.

“What no starters” Holly said tongue in cheek as she lit the candles and Steve opened the wine, then they pulled the crackers and she made him wear a paper hat.

For dessert he served apple pie and ice cream after which they watched the Queens speech and as soon as the speech was over Holly switched off the TV

“What now?” he asked

“Now we sit and talk” She replied

“You mean “talk?”” Steve said

“Yes”

“Do we have to” He said

“How are we supposed to learn about each other if we don’t talk?”

Holly replied

“So, what do you want to know?” he said resignedly

“Your childhood” Holly said with great interest

“What about it?” he replied

“Well, it’s not just Christmas that was unhappy was it?”

“No, it wasn’t” he replied, and Holly settled back to let him unburden himself

“It wasn’t just Christmas, it was Easter, Halloween, birthdays and New Year’s” he elaborated and paused to take a drink

“You see my parents were alcoholics, when I was young they managed to somehow keep it under control but once I got to school age I pretty much raised myself, which is how I came to learn to cook because if I didn’t cook I didn’t eat”

They had spent a very pleasant Christmas day together, snowed in at the pub, and the last thing he wanted to do was regurgitate the unpleasant moments of his life, particularly as he had been doing his best to forget them, but once he started he couldn’t stop and by the end of it he was exhausted as they sat in the gathering darkness.

Holly was largely quiet throughout and just added the odd word of encouragement and support.

But it was Holly who broke the short period of silence.

“How do you feel?”

“Surprisingly good” he responded

 

Despite his feeling unburdened there was an awkward silence, so Steve disappeared down to the kitchen to make them a snack.

He wondered if he should have held back and if he had unnerved Holly with his honesty.

When he had finished with the snack, he put it on a tray and carried it upstairs to the lounge where Holly greeted his arrival with a smile.

 

“God that was good” Holly said after consuming his offering with relish

“Every cloud has a silver lining” he said referring to the reason he learned to cook,

“There is always a positive” Holly said “you just have to look for it”

“Well that’s what I plan to do” he said and cleared the plates away

“I’ll pour us another drink” He said

 

When he returned, she was sitting with a Christmas present on her lap and she was smiling broadly.

“Happy Christmas” she said as she handed him the gift

“What’s this?” he asked

“Well open it and find out” Holly answered

“I wasn’t expecting a present” he said

Steve sat down and squeezed the package

“Oh no not another Christmas sweater” he said, and Holly giggled as he tore the paper open, but when he had removed all the paper and unfolded its contents, he saw it was indeed a sweater but not a novelty Christmas garment but was plain blue cashmere.

“That’s fantastic” he said enthusiastically “I love it 

“Try it on then” Holly insisted and stood up and took hold of the blue cashmere while Steve removed the Christmas jumper he was wearing and then they swapped.

As Steve pulled the cashmere over his head Holly held the novelty one, he had just removed, up to her nose and inhaled his scent.

“That looks great” she said when it was on

“It feels it” he said, “can I keep it on?”

“Yes” she said and held the other one to her breast

He walked over to the tree and plunged his hand in between the branches which was perhaps testament to the progress that he had made over such a short period of time that he had actually bought her a present, which he removed from its hiding place and said

“Happy Christmas”

“When did you put that there?” she asked

“This morning” Steve replied

Holly ripped the paper off like a mad woman until she was left with a little blue presentation box embossed with gold relief. 

She looked at it in wide eyed wonder, it was jewelry, and from a quality jeweler.

She took a deep breath and then opened it and she gasped.

“It’s lovely” she said as she took it out the box and held the gold pendant in her hand.

It was in the shape of a holly leaf with her name engraved on it.

“I love it” she said “put it on for me”

Steve took the pendant from her and when Holly turned her back to him, she reached back and scooped her hair out of the way while he fastened it, then she rushed over to the mirror, stood on her tiptoes and looked at herself and admired the pendant.

“I really love it” Holly said and let out a squeal and then for the second day running they ended the day with a passionate kiss.