The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (027) Christmas Tradition

 

On Wednesday, George drove to Woodside farm and picked up their Christmas tree while Gwen made up the spare bedrooms ready for the guests, and Molly and Danny spent their time wrapping presents in separate rooms so as not to spoil the surprises, then in the evening they threaded popcorn strings.

 

David Leggett was the first mate on the Empress Victoria and lived in a quiet suburb of Pipershaven and was expecting Christmas to be a rather dull, quiet, affair and lacking any festive cheer.

There was only to be him, and his wife Janis and she had stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was close to the end of her journey, she was unlikely to last more than a month or two and spent more and more time sleeping.

 

On the morning of the day before Christmas Eve Janis’s younger sister June Stonard called at the house, having caught the early ferry from St Pierre, as she lived in Saxvirdan with her husband.

She wanted to pop in and wish them both a Happy Christmas and a drop off some presents, but mainly it was to see her sister, on what was going to be her last Christmas.

 

George was back again the next day as it was time to put the tree up and for Molly’s traditional tree dressing, and just after 10 o’clock Gwen arrived with her daughters Maisie and Elsie who were very excited, they never got to go with her mum when she was working, and they were going to help decorate the Christmas Tree.

Had they known that snow was forecast later that day their excitement would have gone off the scale.

 

Ruth Weaver lived in the idyllic village of Mornington-By-Mere, situated in the beautiful Finchbottom Vale, with her husband Jack, and was very happy.

Unfortunately, Jack, who was a Sgt in the Downshire Light Infantry, was on a training exercise in Norway.

Rather than spend Christmas alone she accepted an invitation to spend Christmas with her sister and her nieces.

Ruth had been trying to get Gwen to move back to the mainland following her divorce, so she would be closer, but she didn’t want to leave Spaniards Creek.

However, she couldn’t deny that it was a lovely place to live, and the girls loved it.

The only thing that was missing was a special someone in her life and there was a light on that particular horizon in the form of Phil Holgate who had shown a good deal of interest in Gwen.

Hopefully, it might well bear fruit, if heavily encouraged by Ruth.

While she was packing for the trip, she had seen on the weather forecast that there was snow on the way, so she set off from Mornington earlier than planned and got the 11 o’clock ferry.

 

The tree was finished, and looked amazing, complete with candy canes and popcorn strands, they had all eaten lunch, and Danny was entertaining the girls while Molly and Gwen sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and chatting when Gwen’s phone rang.

“It’s my sister” she said excitedly.

“Hi Ruthy”

“Hi sis, where are you?” Ruth asked, “I’m at the house.”

“We’re up at Cliff Haven.”

“Where’s that?” Ruth asked.

“Last house on Cliff Top Road” Gwen replied, “I’ll get the girls we’ll be on our way.”

“Ok I’ll start walking and I’ll meet you halfway” Ruth said.

“We have to go” Gwen said unable to keep the excitement out of her voice “My sister’s here.”

“So, I gathered” Molly said and chuckled.

“Time to go girls.”

“Aww mum, can’t we stay a bit longer?” Maisie said.

“We’re having fun” Elsie Added

“Aunty Ruth is waiting for us” their mum said, and the decibel level went through the roof.

 

When Gwen and the girls were wrapped up in their outdoor clothes and said their goodbyes Molly appeared with a large Christmas gift bag.

“Here are a few things for you and the girls.”

“Oh wow, you shouldn’t have,” Gwen said, “thank you.”

“What do you say girls.”

“Thank you” they chorused. “Happy Christmas”

 

When she arrived, June found Janis was having a good day, but sadly it didn’t last, and by the evening she was in a morphine induced sleep.

Because Janis had been in such good spirits June stayed later than intended and missed the last ferry, so she stayed the night so she could get the first ferry the next morning to go back to the island.

 

When the girls saw their Auntie, they ran headlong down the hill shouting “Auntie Ruth, Auntie Ruth,”

And after the hugs and kisses they headed towards home.

“You can go and look at boats but be careful” Gwen said.

 

The light was beginning to fade as Phil started the engines of the Ocean Breeze.

The Water Taxi was a 40ft Downshire Duchy 22 Motor Launch which did thrice daily crossings from Spaniards Creek to Cabot Town on St Giles.

He also did seasonal pleasure trips round the islands or out to see the seals on the sandbanks, but that day he was preparing to leave Spaniards Creek for the last trip before Christmas when he saw Gwen walking down the hill with her kids and another woman who he assumed was her sister.

 

“Hello Gwen” Phil called cheerfully as she walked past the boat.

“Hello” Gwen replied coyly and then continued towards the house.

“He’s cute” Ruth said, and Gwen sneaked another look over her shoulder as Phil steered the boat away from the quay, and the first flurries of snow began.

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.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (025) Gwen

When they went to Danny’s flat at the end of November and he mentioned he had a cleaner and Molly joked that they should get one, well after the first Sunday of Advent service the Vicar was having lunch with them, when Molly related the story and explained they didn’t think they really needed a cleaner, there were only the two of them most of the time, and they weren’t particularly messy, but it would have been good not to have to do it, and they definitely needed someone to do the ironing, neither of them liked doing that.

“It sounds like you need Gwen.” Arielle said.

“Who’s Gwen?”

“Gwen Loots, she cleans the Church and the Vicarage.” Arielle said.

“She’s a really hard worker, very reliable and she’s not a gossiper”.

The day after they got back from their Christmas shopping spree was Gwen’s first day.

 

It was back in the summer when Phil Holgate first saw Gwen Loots and it was love at first sight, he had just taken over the Water Taxi, the Ocean Breeze, from his uncle, who had to retire for health reasons.

He had just secured the boat and she was walking past after dropping her children at school, he had seen her passing in the opposite direction earlier.

“Hello” he said, and she almost jumped out of her skin.

Gwen was ordinary looking, with a small aquiline nose, and short brunette hair worn in a pony tail, she was also a very small woman, 5ft, early thirties, very slim, with a modest bust line, and narrow hips, very nice legs and small feet, for a grown woman anyway, and she was wearing a white vest top, a short blue skirt and flat shoes, and she ticked all of his boxes attraction wise.

As he had taken her by surprise, she was a bit flustered, and couldn’t manage a response, she just gave him a weak smile and hurried away, and his eyes followed her all the way until she was out of sight, and that seemed to set the trend because after that he would say hello and she would nervously smile and rush off, he didn’t think it was him, because she was always on the move at pace.  

 

Gwen Loots didn’t like her married name, but it was better than her maiden name, which was Boggs, she only kept her married surname because she didn’t think her maiden name was suitable for someone who cleaned toilets for a living.

She really loved Spaniards Creek though, but she wasn’t a native to the village or indeed the island, she was born in Northchapel and met Barry Loots when she was working in Abbottsford, and he brought her back to the island and they got married.

Ironically, she fell in love with Spaniards Creek and would never want to live anywhere else, and she thought it was a perfect place to raise her kids, Barry however hated it and was now living in Northchapel with another woman.

They had been separated for five years and divorced for two of those, and he hadn’t seen his children since they were two and four, and gave them no financial support, but the kids never went without because Gwen worked hard.

Which was why she didn’t engage with the good-looking guy on the Water Taxi, on that glorious summer day, she had no time in her life for relationships, her children were the priority in her life, plus she didn’t want to get hurt again.

She had seen him around and about the quayside, and on fishing boats and she liked what she saw.

Phil had spoken to her many times since the summer and he’d asked her out on numerous occasions, but she always said no.

It was no different on that bitterly cold December day when she was on her way up to a new client at Cliff Haven.

 

Molly and Danny were sitting in the conservatory enjoying the warmth from the winter sunshine, while working on Chapter 4, when there was a knock on the door.

“Hello” Molly said, to an unremarkable looking little woman, with short brunette hair sticking out from below her Woolen hat, wrapped up against the cold, with skinny legs and small feet, Molly estimated her clothes and boots probably weighed more than she did.

“You must be Gwen, come in out of the cold.”

“Wow your decorations are really…”

“Over the top?” Danny said.

“No, they’re great, my kids would love this,” Gwen said and laughed “But you haven’t got a tree yet.” 

“We’re not doing the tree until the 23rd” Molly replied.

“Sadly, she spent too many years in America, and living among them has affected her judgement” Danny said, and Molly punched his arm.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (024) Christmas Shopping

 

The day after they put the Decorations up, they got back down to work following their Christmas sojourn, and they settled down to what would 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 were making satisfactory progress with the new project on their very relaxed regime.

In fact, they did so well they had the promised chapters completed by the middle of December, without burning the midnight oil, the first three chapters which they had promised to submit to Max Parsons by New Year’s Day.

 

The next morning Molly and Danny were sitting on the sofa in their pyjama’s when he had a text from his brother Sam.

“Damn” he said.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s Sam confirming their flight details.”

Sam was his brother who lived in Australia with his wife Emma and three children, and back in the summer, Molly suggested they invite them to Cliff Haven, things snowballed from there and it became a Christmas trip.

Molly was looking forward to meeting them very much, but she had hoped they could have Christmas to themselves.

“Why Damn?”

“I just realized I haven’t got their Christmas Presents” he said.

“I normally order them stuff online.”

“Oh, I can feel a shopping trip coming on” Molly said and giggled.

 

They decided on Abbottsford and took George, Katie, and Nikki along for the ride, the Harrison’s wouldn’t normally both leave the island at the same time because of the livestock, but they had taken on another shepherdess to help out, by the name of Hayley Stock.

Danny was happy with the arrangement as it meant George could do the driving.

They took the Landrover over to the mainland and then swapped it for something more stylish and comfortable in Pipershaven.

They were spending the night at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, courtesy of Molly, so they drove there first, where they had a long leisurely lunch with publisher Max Parsons, then that evening they saw a play at The Empire Theatre and had dinner at The Wooden Slipper.

 

The next morning, fortified by a good breakfast, they drove to the multistorey car park at the Phoenix Shopping Centre, and it was jammed and when they reached the main concourse that was busy too.

“Oh wow” Molly said, “It’s heaving.”

“It is rather” Katie agreed.

“Have you been shopping here before?” Nikki asked.

“Yes, but I’ve never been here when it’s like this before” Molly said and grabbed his arm and held on for dear life.

“Or looking like this.”

The centre had been dressed for Christmas in tinsel and foil and twinkling lights almost since the beginning of October.

“I’ve never done crowds before” Molly whispered.

“Well, there are a lot of things you had never done before that you seem to have mastered quite nicely Molly” Danny said, and she went as red as a Santa Suit and giggled.

It was only two weeks until the big day and although she had never had a lot of gifts to buy, she had always got them bought promptly so Molly was unaccustomed to leaving it so late.

She liked to get things done early, but she had gotten distracted, not that she was complaining, but this was the first Christmas she had had to buy presents for someone special.

It was not a new experience for Danny, but it had been an exceedingly long time, but now they both had someone special to buy gifts for.

 

They all split up, George and Katie went off together down the escalator and Nikki went in search of the art store, leaving Molly and Danny to go around together.

They soon got all the gifts for the old staff at Lakeside, Danny’s brothers’ family, Katie, Nikki, and George, so he told her it was time for them to go off on their own.

Molly began to speak but Danny interrupted her.

“You’ll be fine,” he said, and Molly nodded.

“So, take a deep breath, look around, and remember where you are, and we will meet back here in an hour and a half” Danny said.

“Why can’t we go round together?” she asked sounding exceedingly small.

“Well not really” he said, “as we’re buying surprise gifts for each.”

“Oh yes I see what you mean” she said, and he took hold of her hand and kissed her which gave her strength.

“Ok then back here at 12.30” he said, and they went their separate ways.

He already had her main present taken care of, so he was buying the extras, so his first stop was Crazy Chocolatiers where he bought her a box of handmade truffles.

Then he went in search of the little extras, and it was the stocking fillers that took the time, those little things that made Christmas morning extra special.

 

Molly was a little apprehensive when she watched Danny walk away but she took a deep breath and said to herself.

“It’s just another new experience.”

Because her grandfather was overprotective, she never experienced the commercial side of the holiday, other people did all of that she just got to enjoy the presents, frivolity, and festivities.

So, no need to go Christmas shopping, buying wrapping paper or gift tags.

She was raised to celebrate Christmas, to a great extent with a traditional Christmas dinner, and going to the Church services, and the religious side of the season was especially important to her.

She thought everything she had experienced with Danny was new and fresh and rather wonderful, so she decided to embrace the occasion.

However, having never done Christmas shopping before, buying presents and treats was totally alien to her and she didn’t know where to start, until she passed a dazzling shop window that held her totally entranced.

 

Danny knew that Church, faith, and a love of books were an important part of her old life and her new, so he found a gift that ticked all those boxes.

 

Molly’s last port of call was a Lingerie Shop, “Silk and Lace,” where she bought herself some new underwear, and as she left, she giggled because she thought it was as much a gift for him as it was for her.

That should have been it but as she was about to get on the escalator her eye was drawn to the jeweller’s window.

“That’s absolutely perfect” she said, and her eyes fixed on the prize.

 

They were to meet back where they had started at 12.30, Danny was there first and Molly trotted up about five minutes later.

“I thought I’d lost you” Danny said.

“Sorry, I lost track of time” she said, “I got a bit carried away.”

“I can see” Danny replied and smiled at the beautiful redhead loaded with bags.

“Once I got started, I didn’t know how to stop” Molly said and giggled.

“I love you” Danny said and kissed her, then they went into the Phoenix Espresso to have a drink and wait for the others.

Then they had a very jovial journey home to the Island, and they were all incredibly pleased with their purchases.

 

The first task after returning was to wrap and pack the gifts for her American friends and when they were done George arranged to have them sent to Colorado.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (023) Deck the Halls

 

The next day was December the 1st and a much brighter day so they got George to help put up the Christmas decorations, George elected to do the outside, which was good news for Danny because he didn’t have a head for heights, hanging the garlands was as much height as he wanted and even then he let Molly stand on the steps and he handed her the decorations.

“I love Christmas decorations.” Danny said.

“Me too” she said, “But I’ve never put them up before.”   

“What, never?” he asked with surprise.

“Never” she confirmed.

“Why not?” he asked.

“As I said before we never put decorations up at Lakeside” she said.

“What about the tree?”

“Well, the whole household decorated the tree, the day before Christmas Eve, and we all had our own special ornaments, that we put on.”

“And before that?”

“Well, Rebecca the housekeeper and her husband Ross put up the wreaths and holly, we all had our own Advent calendars that we put up at the beginning of the month” She explained.

“But Grandfather wouldn’t have coped with this many decorations.”

“I don’t understand that” Danny said, “Do you think maybe it made him feel sad, reminding him of a happier time, I suppose that would make me feel sad.”

“I don’t know really” she mused “You could be right.”

“But you love decorations?” He asked.

“Oh yes”

“And you love these decorations?” he asked.

“Oh yes, they’re special because we bought them together.”

“They make you feel happy? he asked.

“Very” she replied, “I wonder….”

“What?”

“Do you think it may be because I remember subconsciously when I was a child in this cottage?” she asked.

“That’s possible” he said, “Because it gives you a connection to your mum.”

“I know” she agreed and beamed a radiant smile.

 

When they were finished the cottage was generously decorated and they were incredibly pleased with the result.

There were coloured lights, candles, novelty ornaments, garlands, tinsel, bells, stars, and baubles everywhere.

“Goodness me” Molly exclaimed when Danny switched the main light off so they could get the full effect.

In deference to her tradition of not decorating the tree until the 23rd they left it until later,

Danny always went overboard with the decs at Christmas, so he was keeping up the tradition and he was pleased that Molly was as enthusiastic as he was.

“When do we have to take them down?” Molly asked.

“Not before the 6th of January” he replied.

“Awesome” she said, “Let’s go and see how George is getting on?”

“Haven’t you finished hanging those lights yet?” Danny asked.

“I’ll hang you up if you’re not careful.” George retorted.

“We’ll give you a hand” Molly offered.

“I’ll hold the ladder.” Danny said.

“Wimp” Molly teased.

“It seems he can only write about the hero” George said, and he and Molly roared with laughter.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (022) The Christmas Sojourn

Cuddling in the afterglow after some very vigorous lovemaking in her room, Danny suddenly said  

“Where are the Decorations?”

“What Decorations?”

“The Christmas Decorations from Lakeside” Danny said.

“They’re in my wardrobe.” She said and got out of bed and slipped on her robe and went to the wardrobe and returned with a shoebox.

“Here they are.”

“Is that all of them?” Danny asked.

“Yes, why?”

“It’s not a lot, is it?”

“What do you mean?” asked Molly.

“Where are the garlands, the bells, the stars?” he asked.

“We never had any of those” she confessed.

“Right, we’re going to my flat tomorrow to get all my decs.”

“Why tomorrow? We’ve got weeks to go before we need them”. Molly said.

“What do you mean weeks, when do you put yours up then?”

“We decorate the tree the day before Christmas Eve.”

“Nothing until the 23rd?”

“Well, we put wreaths, and Advent calendars up at the beginning of the month obviously” she explained.

“But Grandfather didn’t like too many decorations.”

“Well Avery can’t spoil the fun anymore” Danny said,

“So tomorrow morning I’m going to take you to the mainland, and we will bring Christmas back with us.”

Danny would accept no argument and they set off first thing the next morning so they could catch the first ferry from St Pierre.

 

Once they left the ferry, they drove straight to his flat in Applesford stopping only for coffee.

“Why is your flat always so tidy?” she asked.

“I have a cleaner come in once a month” he confessed.

“We need to get one of those” she said, “It would leave us more time for canoodling.”

“I thought we did quite well on the canoodling front” he said.

“There’s always room for another canoodle” Molly said and kissed him seductively.

 

After Molly had contented herself to their mutual satisfaction they returned to the lounge and Danny went to a cupboard and returned carrying two large boxes.

He put one on the floor in front of Molly and the other in front of him and they opened them simultaneously.

“When did you last put these up” Molly asked.

“4 years ago, I’ve been away every Christmas since” he said, “These are all looking a bit tired aren’t they”.

They only had a small pile of items put aside that they both liked well enough to take back to the island with them.

“We’re going to have to go to Emmaline’s.” Danny explained.

“What’s Emmaline’s?” 

“Emmaline’s Christmas Emporium” he replied.

“It’s an all year-round Christmas store, in Sharpington?”

“In Sharpington?”

“Yes”

“Oh, I like Sharpington” Molly said excitedly.

“We’ll stay the night at the Seaview” he suggested.

“Or two” she added “Can we stay here tonight though?”

“Sure, we’ll have to order takeaway though, I’ve got no food in.”

“Ooh can we have pizza?”

 

The next morning, they drove to Sharpington through torrential rain, but the sun was shining, albeit hazily, when they reached the coast.

After checking into their rooms, they walked along the promenade to the parade of shops and next to Doily’s Bookshop was Emmaline’s Christmas Emporium.

“Wow!” Molly exclaimed as they walked through the doors, and her eyes were like saucers.

Once inside Molly was like a child in a sweetshop at the end of rationing.

She didn’t know where to look first, Danny had to rein her in a number of times otherwise she would have bought the whole shop.

Nonetheless they probably bought far more than they really needed when they left the shop by mid-afternoon.

To save having to take everything back to the Hotel they arranged to pick it up the next day on their way home.

“I’m starving” she said.

“What do you fancy?” Danny asked.

“A burger will do to fill the gap” Molly replied.

“Ok there’s a good burger place round the corner.” He said and took her hand.

When he looked through the steamy windows Danny saw a familiar face, Sam Archer, the guy who made the snow globe for Molly’s Birthday, sitting at one of the tables, which was a surprise.

He pushed open the door and let Molly go ahead of him but took hold of her arm as he said.

“Hi Sam.”

“Oh, hello Mr Nigh….”

Danny cut him short by saying.

“This is Molly”

Then to Molly he added.

“It’s Sam who made your snow globe.”

“Really?” she asked and shook his hand “I’m so pleased to meet you.”

“Were you happy with it?” he asked.

“I absolutely love it; you are so clever” she said gushingly.

“Thank you, but I can’t take all the credit.”

“Oh?”

“It’s me and my brother Harry.”

“Well, I look forward to meeting him, and it was lovely to meet you, but I need to spend a penny.”

She said and rushed off.

“Have you heard from Nikki yet?” Danny asked.

As part of her art Nikki often flew her drone above the landscape to film inaccessible places, and wildlife, she used it originally to assist them to locate strayed sheep, but the art side was a bonus.

So, Danny asked her to film Cliff Haven from every conceivable angle, without Molly realizing.

“Yes, she emailed it to me today,” Sam replied, “I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

“Great, it was good to see you again mate” he said and shook his hand and then went to join Molly who had just emerged from the loo and was looking at the menu behind the counter.

 

They didn’t stay a second night because the rains returned overnight with a vengeance, so the next day they collected the boxes from Emmaline’s and took a slow drive back to Pipershaven, where they had to check into the Mablethorpe Spa Hotel because the ferries were cancelled.

They got back to the Island on St Andrews Day, following an extremely uncomfortable crossing, and had a very lazy day watching trashy Television.

WHEN THE GARLANDS ARE HUNG

 

When the garlands are hung

And the tree is well dressed

It’s to celebrate Christmas

Not a fictitious Winterfest