A Merry Little Christmas

Chapter 9

Nell

‘I’ve only ever made one candle and that was from a kit,’ Woody confessed, after Nell had told him about the upcoming workshop. ‘And I would probably have had to pay someone to take it off my hands, rather than sell it.’

Nell giggled. ‘At least you’re honest.’

They were at either end of the sofa in the flat upstairs. But with the Christmas tree aglow, the flames from the fire and the twinkle of lights along the mantelpiece, they could see each other well enough. Nell should be thinking about going home, but she was warm and cosy and didn’t want to. Not yet.

‘But, in my favour, I am a professional event organiser so what I lack in expertise, I can make up for in pizzazz.’ He did a little shoulder shimmy. ‘Your students will be raving about their experience to all and sundry. Repeat bookings virtually guaranteed.’

‘In that case,’ she said, tearing into the bag of crisps from the welcome hamper, ‘what could possibly go wrong?’

They’d already drunk the wine from it, and they’d made headway with the bottle of Fleurie that Woody had brought with him. She was feeling an awful lot more cheerful since chatting to him.

‘Quite,’ said Woody, taking a neat sip from his glass. ‘Plus, it’s only a small group. I’m used to handling events for several hundred people. Christmas, as you can imagine, is normally mayhem.’

‘I’m surprised you were able to take time off then.’

She was very curious to know what had brought him here, especially after overhearing that conversation with his husband, Spencer. It was obvious that something major was going on, but rather than pry, Nell was letting him unfurl his story in his own time.

He pulled a cushion onto his lap and hugged it. ‘Long story, but I quit my perfect job recently because … well, because I had plans for the new year, which would have involved me being at home for a while. The plans have changed, and I tried to get my job back, but my boss had already replaced me, so …’ He shrugged. ‘I’m footloose and fancy-free, and at your service for as long as you need me. There were lots of Airbnbs available, but I saw the opportunity to work in Merry and Bright and knew instantly that this was the one for me.’

‘I’ll drink to that.’ Nell chinked her glass against his and thought how serendipitous it was that he’d arrived just when she needed not only some help in the shop, but a friend too.

They both took a slurp and made an exaggerated ‘Ahhh’ noise, making each other laugh.

Nell’s phone rang and she flushed with shame when she saw it was Merry. She should have called her back after putting the phone down on her. What must she be thinking? This was a time to pull together, not have silly arguments. Merry needed her more than ever right now.

‘Excuse me a sec, I need to take this,’ she said to Woody, scrambling to her feet.

‘Take your time,’ he replied. ‘I’ll put some music on.’

‘Hey, Merry, I’m sorry about earlier,’ Nell moved to the window overlooking the market square below. It was dark now, but the Christmas lights lit up the square and surrounding shops, the tall Christmas tree sparkling magnificently in the centre, giving the town a magical glow.

‘Yeah, I know, we got cut off,’ Merry replied, ‘No worries. I was going to call you back, but then Astrid arrived, and we went to the new house.’

Nell breathed a sigh of relief; Merry hadn’t even realised that she had hung up on her. At least that saved her an awkward apology. ‘It’s been busy here too. Woody arrived. Our Airbnb guest. We’ve been having a glass of wine while I show him around.’

She blinked to clear her vision, noticing that she was quite tipsy. She couldn’t drive home. Maybe she’d stay on Woody’s sofa. He was fun and easy to be around, and she hadn’t told him any lies, which meant no matter how drunk she got, she wouldn’t be able to spill any beans. By contrast, she was finding it hard to be around Olek at the moment, which was so very sad.

She watched Woody trying to pair his phone to the Bluetooth speaker and giggled. It had been ages since she’d had a dance and she suddenly really wanted to. She’d definitely stay. Olek was fetching Max from football training, so he wasn’t at home anyway.

‘Oh, are you drinking again?’ Merry asked.

It may have been innocently meant, but Nell was extra sensitive at the moment and easy to rile.

‘Yes, why not?’ she said, keeping her voice light. ‘No reason not to now, is there?’

‘You lucky thing. I’d kill for a glass of wine right now.’

Nell bit her lip. ‘I’d hardly call it lucky. I’d rather be pregnant, given the choice.’

‘No. Sorry. Of course.’ Merry sounded very meek. ‘Oh please don’t be cross, Nell, I’m so fed up with everything. And now I’ve had another row with Cole. Anyway, I was just ringing back about the candle-making workshop.’

‘If you’re going to give me another lecture about me not being up to the job, don’t. Cancel it or don’t cancel it. Up to you.’

‘I was going to say that of course you can run it; it makes perfect sense,’ said Merry, sounding hurt. ‘I’m very grateful to you for stepping in.’

‘Thanks,’ Nell was mollified and regretting jumping to conclusions. ‘I won’t let you down.’

‘We haven’t got a lot of choice really, other than cancel.’

The phrase ‘damning with faint praise’ sprang to mind, but Nell knew what she meant. ‘If we cancel at short notice, people might be too annoyed to rebook, and we don’t want that.’

‘Absolutely,’ Merry agreed. ‘I’ve worked so hard to build this business, I mean, we have, that I’d hate to damage our reputation. So I’ve had a brilliant idea; I can join you via Zoom. You can set up your laptop in the corner of the studio and I’ll be there virtually to help you, give you some guidance if you get stuck. Answer tricky questions, that sort of thing.’

Nell’s jaw fell open. She could just imagine Merry butting in every few seconds with helpful suggestions. She meant well, but it would undermine Nell’s meagre confidence to have her friend there in the background. ‘That’s very kind of you, but I don’t think that will work, Merry. Far better if—’

‘Oh hell,’ Merry interrupted. ‘I’m sorry, Nell, but Dad’s care home is trying to get through. I’ve already spoken to him once today and he wasn’t well. I’ll catch up with you soon. Thanks for being understanding about the Zoom, I think it’ll be brilliant.’

‘Brilliant?’ Nell muttered once the line had gone dead. ‘That’s not quite the word I’d use. But I guess we’ll soon find out.’