A Merry Little Christmas

Chapter 17

Merry

Merry was in her element. She was enjoying being back at Merry and Bright for the Wetherley Festive Shopping event so much that she hardly noticed the dull ache in her back or that her shoes pinched her swollen feet.

The entire event had organised by the festive committee to bring business into the town centre in the run-up to Christmas between the official lights switch-on and the annual Christmas Eve gathering. Most of the shops around the market square were taking part.

‘It’s great to see you smile, Merry, you look like your old self,’ Fred boomed to make himself heard over the Christmas music. He sipped his second mulled wine. ‘I was a bit worried about you when Astrid and I popped round the other day.’

‘I am happy tonight,’ she replied. ‘When I’m at work, I feel like my old self too. This is my turf, Fred, I know what I’m doing when I’m here. It’s everywhere else I feel out of my depth at the moment.’

It was now six-thirty, half an hour past the shop’s usual closing time and the till hadn’t stopped ringing. Max and Harley were manning the counter between them; meanwhile, Woody’s gift-wrapping service was doing a roaring trade. Nell was taking the time to greet each customer and serving small paper cups of mulled wine or hot ginger and lemon tea. Merry and Fred were in the studio giving demonstrations on how to blend essential oils to create the perfect fragrance, in between making their Rose and Frankincense candles, which smelled amazing.

The shop looked, smelled and felt like Christmas. This was Merry’s happy place, which was why she found it so difficult to commit to a period of maternity leave. Maybe she’d feel different when they were in the new house and she’d have chance to put down proper roots for the first time. But, for now, the business was her priority, and this was where she felt compelled to devote her energies.

‘That doesn’t sound like you?’ Fred put down his cup, primed to concentrate on what she was about to tell him.

‘I just mean with becoming a mum, you know, and the house move and everything,’ she said vaguely. No need to go into detail with her father-in-law about her worries about Ray. He hadn’t got out of bed since Emily had left he’d lost his appetite and had been very confused and distressed yesterday when she’d popped in. She missed Emily dreadfully and wished she was still here to share the visiting with her.

Fred’s wiry eyebrows knitted tighter momentarily. ‘Not doing too much, are you? I hope that son of mine is making himself useful.’

‘He is.’ She’d taken Hilary’s advice about accepting help, or at least delegating the jobs she didn’t mind not doing. ‘He’s now in charge of the cooking and he’s forging ahead with the house renovation.’

The electricians were making good progress, which gave her renewed hope that the Robinsons weren’t too far away from moving in. She had been a bit alarmed when she’d heard her husband having a heated discussion with the kitchen fitters on the phone earlier this evening but didn’t get involved. She couldn’t risk getting into an argument moments before leaving to come to the shop. Not when he’d been worried about her working tonight.

‘Glad to hear it.’ Fred turned to greet a customer who was hovering near the door to the studio. ‘Hello, dear, would you like to see some candles being poured?’

‘Christmas Time’ by The Darkness came belting through the speaker. Merry tweaked the volume up; she loved this one.

She was singing along to the chorus so enthusiastically that it took her a moment to notice that Nell was standing beside her, hands on hips. Her cheeks were pink, and tendrils of her auburn hair had escaped from her bun. She’d looked too pale recently, perhaps things were starting to improve. Now the news had settled, Nell would feel able to tell her more about the fertility stuff. Merry wanted to ask, but Nell had closed down so completely last time she’d tried to discuss it that Merry was wary of upsetting her. Now she examined Nell’s expression properly, Merry wondered if the colour in her complexion might be down to being cross about something.

‘Everything OK?’ she asked warily.

‘I’m sorry, Merry, but this music just isn’t conducive to shopping,’ she whispered in her ear so as not to alert the woman who was examining the wax melter with Fred. ‘Two men just walked in and walked straight out again.’

‘They obviously have no taste.’ Merry wiggled in her chair to the music. ‘This is a great song. They aren’t our target customer anyway.’

‘Everyone’s our target customer when it comes to buying gifts for others.’ Nell pinched her lips together crossly, looking so un-Nell like that Merry was quite taken aback. ‘People are out tonight with Christmas presents on their mind. If they don’t buy from us, they’ll buy elsewhere. It’s as simple as that.’

‘Yes, I do know how Christmas shopping works,’ Merry replied. ‘I was enjoying the music, that’s all; I didn’t realise it was impinging on business.’ Merry took the top off a bottle of essential oil and inhaled before passing it to a woman who was hovering nearby. ‘Smell this. Bergamot is in our Mistletoe Kiss candle; gives it a citrusy kick. It took me ages to get the aroma just right.’

‘Pardon?’ The woman strained to hear over the music and Merry had to repeat her words.

‘See what I mean?’ Nell squeezed past Merry to the speaker in the corner and turned the volume down a touch.

‘That’s better,’ the woman said, relieved. She sniffed the bergamot oil. ‘Mmm, I’ll take one of those candles for the babysitter.’

Merry directed her to the display of Mistletoe Kisses and returned to Nell. ‘You see, another satisfied customer.’

‘This music would be perfect for a party, but—’

‘That’s because I did make it for a party.’ Merry’s eyes twinkled at the memory. ‘A party you came to and complimented me on the music. But this year, this is as close to dancing at a party as I’m going to get. Thanks to the baby, plus the lack of amniotic fluid we now have between us, all I’m allowed to do is shuffle about from chair to chair. In my head, I’m leaping about like a loon.’

‘I remember that party.’ Nell smiled reluctantly. ‘It was fun. But this is not shop-event music.’

A few days before Christmas last year, Merry and Cole had had a party, giving Merry the opportunity to introduce Emily to all her friends. They had all danced their socks off.

‘I’m happy with it.’ Merry shrugged. ‘It puts people in a good mood to be able to sing along as they’re browsing. Anyway, we agreed to split responsibilities and I’m in charge of the playlist.’

‘You are the stubbornest woman on the planet.’ Nell threw her hands up. ‘As you say, you’re in charge of the music. I’ll get back to my own responsibilities.’

Merry’s heart sank as Nell stomped back into the shop. One minute they were OK, the next they were at loggerheads. What was happening to them? They never used to row about anything.

Merry watched from the studio as Nell went to open the door for some new arrivals, and in burst Astrid and Irena in a whirl of shopping bags, woolly hats and unrestrained laughter.

‘No prizes for guessing who that is,’ Fred chuckled, catching Merry’s eye over a customer’s bent head. He was allowing two friends to have a go at gluing down some wicks inside glass candle holders.

‘I’ll go and say hello. By the look of them, they may have had a drink already,’ Merry added, noticing Irena clutch onto Nell’s shoulder for support. Both of them looked a bit flushed. ‘Still, nice to see them getting on so well.’

Unlike her and Nell, she thought sadly as she went through to the shop. Astrid and Irena had got to know each other at Merry and Cole’s wedding last year. It was yet another bond between Nell and Merry, making them feel more like family than simply friends.

‘ Liebling !’ Astrid swooped on Merry, kissing both her cheeks. ‘What an excellent turnout. You and Nell must be so pleased.’

‘We are,’ Merry said, looking to Nell for her agreement.

Nell cupped a hand to her ear innocently. ‘Sorry? I didn’t catch that.’

‘The music is a little loud,’ Woody said, putting his hands gently over his ears. ‘I’m going to turn it down a tad.’

‘Party poopers, one and all,’ Merry declared resignedly.

Irena grabbed hold of Max, smothering her grandson with kisses. ‘And how is my football star?’ she said, pinching his cheek.

Max dutifully endured the attention and mumbled his response, while Harley sniggered at his plight.

Merry greeted Irena with a hug. ‘Glad you could make it. Are you shopping or browsing?’

‘Drinking, mostly, at a guess,’ said Max, miming knocking back shots.

‘Sadie was serving beef and sauerkraut canapés at the Bristly Badger,’ said Astrid, glassy-eyed. ‘ Lecker .’

‘We ate them with vodka.’ Irena hiccoughed. ‘Very more and moreish.’

Their German and Polish accents respectively were thicker than usual as they were tipsy and they looked like a comedy double act: Astrid tall and willowy in her habitual cape, and Irena short and plump in a chunky sheepskin duffel coat.

‘Here you go, ladies.’ Woody handed them both some mulled wine. ‘This should go down a treat.’

‘ Prost !’ Astrid bashed her paper cup against Irena’s. ‘Here’s to avoiding mumps.’

‘Mumps?’ Merry took an instinctive step back. ‘Should I be worried?’

‘Since when has mumps been a major concern at the retirement home?’ Nell asked, bemused.

‘Yes, several of our residents have mumps,’ Astrid said between sips. ‘Cheeks like fat rodents. There has been an outbreak of cases at the nursery and, of course, some of us have spent much time there recently. Poor kinder .’

The social team at the Rosewood retirement village had teamed up with the Wetherley preschool nursery for some joint Christmas activities. Fred and Astrid and their friends had been having a whale of a time talking to the littlies about what Christmas was like in the olden days, making stained-glass window decorations from sweet wrappers and teaching them some of their favourite carols.

A woman holding hands with her small son glanced up worriedly. ‘Mumps can be nasty. Especially for boys.’

Max and Harley gave each other a wary look.

‘Why specifically boys?’ Nell asked.

‘It’s rare but …’ She cupped a hand over her mouth and whispered behind it, eyeing up Harley and Max nervously, ‘I’ve heard it can make you infertile.’

‘Really?’ Woody leaned in closer. ‘How?’

‘Orchitis. Look it up if you dare.’ She mimed holding a large round object and turned to her son. ‘Come on, darling, let’s get you home.’

‘Aren’t most kids vaccinated against it these days?’ Merry asked.

‘Nell?’ Max gave her a pleading look. ‘I should leave too. I don’t want to catch mumps.’

‘Me neither.’ Harley touched his hand to his face uneasily. ‘I already feel a bit hot.’

‘I think you’ll have been vaccinated against mumps. You too, Harley,’ said Nell, distractedly. ‘But why don’t you call your mum to find out, Max, put your mind at rest.’

‘Are you sure? Because if I get mumps and can’t play football, I won’t be happy,’ Max warned.

‘It is nasty.’ Irena sucked in a breath while shaking her head solemnly. ‘Olek had mumps when he was about your age, Max. He was very poorly.’

‘Olek had mumps?’ Nell exclaimed with such alacrity that Irena flinched. ‘I didn’t know that.’

‘Gosh, how traumatic!’ said Merry. She had no idea if she’d been vaccinated or not. And did vaccines work forever anyway?

‘Olek did not have the vaccine.’ Irena grimaced. ‘I felt very bad about that. It was around the time we moved from Poland. We did not register with a doctor in the UK straight away and, somehow, I never got around to getting him jabbed. His balls swelled up like beetroot.’ She hooted with laughter. ‘His father kept making jokes about beetroot soup, poor boy.’

‘Poor Olek,’ said Merry. ‘I think I’ll get my baby vaccinated against everything. I know there’s a risk, but …’

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the colour drain from Nell’s previously pink face.

‘Traumatic, long-standing trauma,’ she murmured under her breath.

‘Nell?’ Merry asked, concerned. ‘What are you saying?’

But Nell didn’t appear to be listening. She put down her tray of mulled wine and walked straight out of the shop and into the street, as if she was in a trance. Merry was bewildered. What on earth was wrong with her?