Chloe’s Cornish Christmas (The Blossomwood Bay #7)

Chapter Nineteen

It was the day of the Christmas tree decorating competition at the Dog delicate glass baubles in a rainbow of colours, fluffy garlands of tinsel also in a variety of colours –including luminous green and psychedelic pink – and a cat’s cradle of Christmas tree lights.

She had hoped to have the time to finalise a theme for their entry, to utilise one of the ideas Holly had shared with her, but she had been so busy making sure the cocktail night was a success that the tree decorating competition had taken a back seat.

‘Do you have any ideas for the tree?’ she asked Nick as she sipped her coffee and munched on a slice of toast and marmalade.

‘I thought we could maybe just throw everything that’s in these boxes at it on the basis that the more outrageously ostentatious and flamboyantly flashy the better. After all, it’s the philosophy Liz has chosen to engage when decorating the rest of the pub.’

Chloe stared at Nick in horror.

‘Really? Are you serious?’

Nick’s lips twitched. ‘Why? What did you have in mind?’

‘I thought we could come up with a theme, like snowmen I thought doing something different would be right up your street?’

‘Oh, it is, it is. I’m completely focussed on using all my artistic skills to win that silver trophy I’ve seen on Liz’s mantlepiece. It’ll look great alongside all the others on my bookcase back in Guildford.’

‘What other trophies do you have?’

Chloe saw her enquiry as the perfect opening to finding out more about Nick, and she intended to turn their conversation – as subtly as possible – towards his life beyond Perrinsby, a place, she reminded herself, that he’d told her he hadn’t visited for eight years. There must have been a reason for that and she wanted to offer him a listening ear, just as he had to her the previous night.

‘I have trophies for football, cricket, squash, basketball and volleyball, I have a collection of gold, silver and bronze medals for badminton, bowling and archery, and I have a bunch of framed certificates for scuba diving, go-kart racing, potholing, and completing the three peaks challenge. Then there’s the rosettes for clay pigeon shooting, pyrography, canine agility and orienteering.’

Chloe laughed. ‘Wow, that’s an impressive assortment of achievements.’

‘I told you I love a competition.’

‘Does that include work related accolades?’

‘Sometimes. Okay, let’s head over to the Dog it’ll be pretty, aromatic and tactile. Oh, and if we add these sleigh bells, we’ll have all the senses covered!’

She saw Nick roll his eyes and she knew she would have her work cut out to prevent him from “throwing everything at it” on the premise that more is more, instead of focussing on the aesthetics.

They parked in the pub’s car park and joined the procession of people who were heading towards the rear door that led straight into the snug.

‘Nick?’

‘Mmm?’

‘Why isn’t anyone else carrying boxes of decorations?’

Nick glanced at the crowd of people – among them Joe and Audrey, Hannah and Megan, Fran and Derek, and the couple she’d seen serving behind the counter at the Post Office – and simply shrugged.

‘I have no idea.’

When Chloe stepped into the snug she smiled as she inhaled the fragrance of crushed pine needles and burning wood from the roaring log fire, along with a top note of cloves and cinnamon from the warm mulled wine that Gordon was ladling into glasses and handing out to every new arrival. Conversation swirled, Christmas tunes played, but unlike the bar and lounge area of the Dog I know how to do a bird, a dormouse, a rabbit and a bat. I also thought we could add an apple tree theme, too, cut out shapes of apples and colour them green and red with the felt pens, as well as bottle shapes and write on your uncle’s cider names like we talked about and tie them onto the branches with the string.’

‘Sounds great, so let’s get on with it! Look, Fran and Derek have almost finished their tree!’

Chloe looked across the room to where Derek was stretching up to affix the star to the top of the tree, which had all the red baubles on the bottom, all the white baubles in the middle and all the green baubles around the top half of the tree. It was very effective, and she could tell that Fran was pleased with what they had created. She saw that Marissa from the chemist had chosen to go with red and white baubles with the candy canes, which looked good, too.

‘Chloe! Focus!’

She spent the next forty minutes working like a character from a movie on fast-forward as she created her origami animals and spherical apples and cut out a dozen bottle-shaped pendants from the brown paper while Nick took on the task of colouring them in and writing the labels. Then she arranged the fairy lights around the branches, followed by the tinsel, the green and white baubles, the snow-sprayed pinecones and holly, and finally, she attached the personalised decorations, smiling with delight when she saw the labels Nick had drawn on the cider bottles that not only featured a pig’s snout and a dragon, but also Martyn’s name written in curly font.

‘Five… four… three… two… one! Step away from your trees! You, too, Jake!’

When Chloe took a step back to survey their tree, she experienced a sugar-rush of nostalgia for all the times she and her sister had done the same when they were growing up. It was a tradition in the Campbell household to decorate the tree together, and to reminisce about the home-made knick-knacks she and her sister had made in previous years, laughing at the amateur attempts to create reindeer, which turned out looking more like monsters or aliens.

‘Wow, Chloe, I think we’ve totally smashed it!’ said Nick, pulling her close and almost dropping a kiss onto her lips until he remembered they were in a room filled with Perrinsby residents and took a quick, comedic step back, a move which didn’t go unnoticed by a smiling Fran.

‘I agree,’ said Chloe.

She was delighted with what they had created in the time allowed. It was quirky and unusual, with a personalised nod to the place they both had the privilege of staying at, which, in Chloe’s opinion, added an extra dimension.

As Liz handed round another batch of mulled wine and Fran followed her with a platter of mince pies, Chloe took the opportunity to scrutinise the competition, all of which were fabulous in their own right. Hannah and Megan had chosen a fairy theme and had used every ornament at their disposal along with brown paper hangings in the shape of fairies and elves, pixies and toadstools. Audrey and Joe had teamed together and had chosen a minimalist theme, producing an all-white tree with white baubles, white pinecones, and white tinsel. It was tasteful and elegant, like Audrey herself.

In contrast, Ryan hadn’t used any of the decorations in his box. Instead, he had spent his time with a pair of scissors and the brown wrapping paper to make long streamers which when hung instead of tinsel created a ripple effect around the tree’s branches. It was artistic and accomplished, something you’d see on display at an avant-garde London gallery rather than a family home or a Cornish village pub.

Now that the competition was over, the Christmas songs were ratcheted up and the room filled with Jingle Bell Rock and high-pitched chatter as everyone was ushered from the snug so that Greta could perform her judging duties in peace without any of the participants trying to explain the inspiration behind their “concept”. More mulled wine was poured, along with home-made eggnog, and the rest of the afternoon was filled with laughter and merriment until Liz called everyone back to the snug to hear Greta announce the winner.

‘Can I just say that I think this year has been the best ever,’ said Liz. ‘You have all excelled yourselves with your amazing creativity in the field of festive festooning. Greta has had such a difficult task deciding on the winner, so without any further ado, I’ll hand you over to her to announce whose name will be engraved to the trophy this year. Greta?’

A tall, slender woman in a green tweed skirt and matching waistcoat with a ruffle-necked white blouse stepped forward, the coveted silver trophy nestled in her hands. Her caramel-coloured hair had been styled into a neat bob, and her friendly features gave Chloe the impression of a local Brownie troop’s beloved Brown Owl.

‘First of all, can I ask you to show your appreciation for Liz and Gordon who’ve very kindly organised and hosted this competition for the last thirty years?’

Applause reverberated around the room, along with a few whistles too, then every eye rested on Greta as the audience waited with bated breath for her announcement.

‘Every single one of these magnificent trees has something for the onlooker to enjoy, from the red and white toadstools on the fairy dell tree to the icicles on the Snow Queen tree. As Liz said, it was a difficult decision, but the winner of this year’s Perrinsby Christmas Tree Decorating competition is…. this one. I loved the story that the tree told, from the origami trees and apple-shaped fruit to the ornaments in the shape of cider bottles with individually crafted labels and finished off with those wonderful origami woodland animals running around in the undergrowth. It’s so original!’

Chloe wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly so she simply stared at Greta, her jaw loose, until Nick hooked his arm through hers and they stepped forward, to a crescendo of applause and shouted congratulations, to accept the proffered trophy.

‘Oh my God! Well done, guys!’ said Hannah, rushing up to give Chloe, then Nick, a hug. ‘I adore your tree! You’re definitely worthy winners!’

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, but it was filled with good company, good music and copious glasses of wine and cider, and a beaming Nick who sat with the trophy on his lap until it was time to leave, reluctant to hand it back to Liz so she could have their names engraved on the front.

‘I’ve had the best night!’ said Nick.

Chloe laughed as they sauntered arm-in-arm across the village green towards the road that led to Fairholme Farm. They’d both consumed too many glasses of mulled wine to drive back home, and Mitzy needed the walk, too.

‘I’m glad I listened to you about the design, Chloe. You are a very talented Christmas tree decorator, and I think you should add interior design to your list of potential future careers.’

‘I think I’ll stick with my gin distillery but thank you for the vote of confidence.’

‘You’re welcome. As you know, I’m not crazy about all the over-the-top paraphernalia that accompanies the festive season – in fact, I haven’t had a Christmas tree in any of the places I’ve lived – but I have to admit, I’ve had lots of fun tonight, and it’s all thanks to you.’

Nick stopped and turned to face Chloe, reaching out to pull up the collar of her coat before leaning forward to place a kiss on her lips. It felt like the most natural thing in the world, and Chloe sent up a request to the director in charge of that day’s stage production, asking for the night to never end.