Home for Christmas

Chapter 8

I’d barely finished drinking my first mug of tea when Jude knocked on the apartment door the following morning. I had got up extra early to have one final check that I’d got everything I needed for the Christmas fair at The Laurels because I was now feeling a little jittery about it, and the last thing I needed was to be faced with yet more of my temporary lodger’s moaning.

‘Jude,’ I sighed, ‘hey. What can I do for you?’

I’d opened the door just wide enough to acknowledge him, but not far enough to let out Tink, who was trying to nudge her way between my calves.

‘I know it’s early,’ he said, most likely noticing that I was still in my fleecy winter patterned PJs, ‘but I wondered if I might just have a word?’

‘Okay,’ I said, knowing I couldn’t really say no. Even though I wanted to. ‘Come in.’ I opened the door wider and reached for Tink’s collar. ‘Sorry if Tink makes a fuss. For some reason, she’s always excited to see you.’

I hadn’t meant for that to sound quite so sarcastic, but I was very much a ‘love me, love my dog’ kind of person. Unless you had a genuine reason not to be a cute canine fan – and alleged barking aside, Jude didn’t.

‘She’s fine,’ he said, coming right in and closing the door behind him. ‘Hello there, Tink.’

He bent to give her the attention she’d been hankering for since she’d first laid eyes on him, and then she rolled onto her back in complete submission. She normally only ever did that for me. I tried not to feel affronted.

‘Daft dog,’ Jude laughed as he gave her soft belly a rub.

‘She is that,’ I said, feeling myself warm to him a little more than I previously had. I didn’t suppose it was his fault that my soft-hearted hound was a pushover where he was concerned. ‘Can I offer you a coffee? Or tea? I was just about to pour myself another one.’

‘Tea would be great,’ he said, straightening up and looking around. ‘Thanks.’

He followed me over to the tiny space that was the apartment kitchen and watched as I poured his drink. I felt the weight of his stare. Not in an uncomfortable way, rather more self-conscious. It took all my focus not to overfill his mug.

‘A teapot.’ He smiled, his tone suggesting it was a rarity. ‘I can’t remember the last time I was poured tea from a proper pot. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually used one myself.’

Clearly in his world a teapot was unheard of, whereas in mine, thanks to the influence of my grandparents, it was an everyday piece of kitchen equipment.

‘Do you always use it?’ he asked interestedly.

‘Of course,’ I told him, repeating what my nanna used to say. ‘If something’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing properly.’

‘Even if that’s simply making a cup of tea?’

‘ Especially if that’s simply making a cup of tea,’ I repeated with emphasis. ‘It’s like setting the table for breakfast—’

‘You set the table for breakfast?’ he interrupted, his tone full of wonder.

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘and lunch and dinner. Though not in quite the same way up here in the apartment as I would in the house, because there isn’t the space.’

‘That’s partly what I wanted to talk to you about,’ he said, taking the mug I passed him and eschewing the sugar canister.

I glanced at the clock and thought it was a relief that I’d got up so early. If he had a lot he wanted to say, it would soon gobble up the time I’d allowed for checking and double-checking my stock and getting myself and Tink ready.

‘It really is a bit of a squeeze up here, isn’t it?’ he said, looking around again.

Rather than pack away the bits and pieces and cushions and throws I’d put out downstairs ahead of his arrival, I’d added them to the windowsills and the sofa, so everything was even more layered up than usual. All of that, combined with the extra boxes of fairies, made it an almost uncomfortable squeeze. Even for me.

‘It’s definitely cosy,’ I acknowledged. ‘Bijou would most likely be how an estate agent would describe it. I can normally keep myself confined up here during the rest of the year, but it’s a struggle now I’m dramatically increasing my stock in time for Christmas.’

‘Yes,’ Jude said, biting his lip and annoyingly looking even more attractive as a result, ‘about that. I really am sorry I moaned about those boxes and crates you’re having to stack in the hall.’

‘I appreciate the apology.’ I swallowed as I dragged my eyes away from his lips and graciously accepted his words. Given his previous behaviour, I certainly hadn’t been expecting to hear them.

‘And I’m also sorry that I didn’t really understand the sacrifice you were making in staying holed up up here for longer than you usually would be,’ he added.

His heartfelt apology and acknowledgement of his formerly dismissive attitude was quite a turnaround, and I wondered what had prompted it.

‘I saw Jeanie in the pub last night,’ he continued, providing me with an explanation, ‘and she filled me in on a few things.’

I felt a prickle of unease at the back of my neck.

‘Oh,’ I said, the sound a few octaves higher than I had intended so it came out more like a squeak than a word. ‘Did she?’ I added, having cleared my throat.

Given some of what had been said during our Galaxy-bar gorging and subsequent dog walk with Holly, I hoped Jeanie hadn’t filled him in too much. Our heart to hearts were carried out under the ‘what’s said between us stays between us’ banner, and I hoped Jeanie hadn’t forgotten that.

‘Yes,’ Jude said, ‘she did, and it made me realize that I’ve been so self-absorbed while I got started on the Connelly book that I’ve been in a sort of sealed bubble and acting like a prat as a result.’

I almost spat my tea out when he said that.

‘You obviously agree with that description,’ he laughed as I reached for the kitchen roll under the sink.

‘Your words, not mine,’ I said, smiling as I wiped my mouth.

‘But you’re not going to refute them.’ He grinned.

It felt like the sun came out when he smiled, and the whole apartment basked in the glow. I reminded myself that Jude now had just sixteen days left under my roof, which was long enough for a liaison should the urge to crank things up come over me. But I also had a whole heap of work to focus on, and the time spent shifting the parameters of our relationship and consequently falling behind with my work would not a merry Christmas make.

‘No,’ I therefore said lightly as I quickly looked away. ‘I’m not.’

‘That’s fair,’ he said, nodding. ‘I do know how I can sometimes get when I’m so focused on a project. I have a tendency to block pretty much everything else out. In my defence, I need to, though, in order to make sure I’m getting it all right. And for some reason, this complicated commission and the exasperating Angus who came along with it have got me wanting to get this book even better than right.’

‘I see,’ I said.

‘Hence the extra prat-like behaviour I wouldn’t usually succumb quite so intensely to,’ he added. ‘I really am sorry.’

I was in thrall as he said all that. I could understand him better now, knowing that he was a perfectionist, because I had a tendency to be one, too – where my work was concerned, anyway. I always strove to get my fairies as full of character as I could, and the fact that Jude wanted to do well by Angus, even though he plagued his heart out, made me appreciate his efforts and understand his immersion in the work all the more.

‘More tea?’ I offered, feeling shocked by the sensation of my heart skittering in my chest. My heart didn’t generally go in for skittering, but Jude’s passionate words, combined with the earlier lip biting, had made quite an impact.

‘There’s plenty in the pot,’ I added, because I wanted him to stay a bit longer, even though I didn’t really have the time to entertain him.

‘Do you really always make it in a pot?’ he quizzed.

‘Yes,’ I said again. ‘I do, and if you knew me better, you’d know I can make an occasion out of pretty much anything. Especially the everyday things we have a tendency to take for granted.’

‘Like making a cup of tea.’

‘My nanna always maintained,’ I told him, readjusting the skep-shaped cosy the pot was covered with as my heart finally began to settle back down, ‘that if you’re drinking a cup of tea, then you should take a moment to properly taste it, rather than knock it back while you’re on the go and without it touching the sides. And I’ve been more than happy to carry on with her wonderful way of thinking.’

Jude took a moment to consider that.

‘So what other everyday things do you make an occasion of?’ he asked.

‘Right now, I sadly have nowhere near enough time to tell you,’ I laughed, glancing at the clock again.

‘Well,’ he said, ‘now I’ve apologized for being so rude since I moved in, perhaps there’ll be a chance I’ll get to know you better and find out before I leave.’

I almost found myself wishing he would be around for Christmas – though not staying in the house, of course – so I could show him what an occasion I made of the festive season.

‘Well,’ I nodded, as thoughts of mistletoe came to mind, ‘perhaps you will, but for now I have to dash, I’m afraid. Which is a shame, given what I’ve just said about taking time over a cuppa, but I need to get ready to go to the care home fair. Was there anything else?’

‘There was, actually,’ he said, handing me his now empty mug. ‘I think you should leave Tink here today. I’m sure you’ll have enough to think about at the fair without worrying if one of the residents who loves her has spirited her away.’

Tink plonked herself on his feet and looked adoringly up at him.

‘But if I leave her here,’ I said, feeling my heart flutter again as he bent and fondly kissed her silky head, ‘and she starts barking, you’ll be interrupted. Though you won’t be working today, will you?’

‘I am actually planning to get some work done,’ he told me.

‘But it’s Saturday, Jude,’ I tutted. ‘You need to watch that. Work–life balance is every bit as important as making an occasion out of the little things.’

‘You’re working today,’ he pointed out.

‘That’s different,’ I said. ‘It makes sense for the fair to happen on a Saturday, and I’ll take Monday off to make up for it.’

He nodded approvingly at that.

‘You really have got it all figured out, haven’t you, Bella?’ He smiled again.

‘Almost,’ I acknowledged.

My feelings for him were now a bit of a muddle after this conversation, but otherwise I generally tended to have a handle on what I was doing.

‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘Tink won’t disturb me, if you’re happy to go along with what I’ve got in mind.’

‘Which is?’

‘That you leave her downstairs with me,’ he then completely surprised me by saying. ‘When you’re ready, just bring her down and she can spend the day in the house with me for company.’

‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Well…’

‘That way, you’ll know exactly where she is and she’ll have someone to feed her at her usual time and let her out into the garden if she needs to go.’

‘That’s very kind of you,’ I began, ‘but…’

My words trailed off as he sat on the floor to give Tink another fuss and she instantly became putty in his hands. I supposed that settled it, then.

‘All right,’ I agreed, as I looked at them both. ‘I’ll leave her with you. Thank you, Jude.’

Given that my head was abuzz with the sudden turnaround in Jude’s demeanour, his passionate words about his work, his subsequent apology and his generous offer to look after Tink, it was a miracle I didn’t forget anything or make a mess of setting up my stall at The Laurels. My darling Tink was my everything, and I had to have complete faith in someone before I handed her over, so that was some measure of how quickly my feelings towards Jude had been transformed.

Trying to shake thoughts of him out of my head, I stood back to look at the layout of my stall.

‘Oh, Bella!’ Mandy gasped, when she caught sight of me and the pretty tableau I had created. ‘This is so beautiful, and you totally look the part, too.’

‘The dress felt right for today,’ I said, giving her a twirl.

It wasn’t the full-on fairy get-up that I loved to wear at home, but it wasn’t far off. Thanks to the workshop successes and subsequent release from my mortifying high school experience, I’d made a real effort to look like a fitting salesperson for my fairies. I’d gone for a full-skirted dress with a bolero cardigan that always made me feel good. Jude had said he liked it, too, when I’d dropped Tink off. There he was again, drifting into my thoughts…

‘There’ll be no mistaking who this table belongs to,’ Mandy said, again taking me and the stall in.

I set about snapping pictures of the table for my social media accounts and website, and I had to agree. The snowy wonderland theme, with LED-lit twig trees at either end and a blanket of faux snow laid out beneath, was perfect. The fairies hanging on the trees were secured by clear thread and really looked as though they were flying, and the ones sitting in small groups were obviously chatting about all things magical.

I hadn’t put out too many, because I didn’t want to crowd the space, but I had more stock in boxes under the table, ready to replace any who winged their way to new homes.

‘Thank you, Mandy,’ I sighed happily. ‘I hoped that keeping the backdrop predominantly white would show off the different fabrics I’ve dressed the fairies in, and I think it works.’

‘It really does,’ said Mandy, giving my arm a squeeze. ‘In fact,’ she said, stepping forward and picking up one of the largest fairies, who would look perfect on the top of a small festive tree, ‘can I reserve this beauty?’

‘Really?’ I gasped.

It was one of the most expensive I’d brought along, and to be honest, I hadn’t thought it’d sell but would instead give me the opportunity to show visitors what my commission pieces looked like.

‘Really,’ Mandy said firmly. ‘I’ve had my eye on her right from the moment you unboxed her.’

‘Well, that’s fantastic!’ I beamed. ‘I’ll pack her away again.’

‘No, don’t,’ she said. ‘I can see she’s an important part of the display, so pop a reserved sign on her and I’ll collect her at the end of the day.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Absolutely. Just don’t let anyone walk off with her.’

‘I won’t,’ I promised, rushing to rummage through my supplies for a card I could make a reserved sign out of. ‘She’ll be here waiting for you when it’s time to pack up.’

I had a feeling that life with Mandy would mean that this fairy was going to be one of those who didn’t get packed away with the rest of the decorations after Christmas. I knew there were quite a lot who stayed unboxed, and it made me so happy to think of them being on display and part of their homes all year round.

‘Wonderful,’ Mandy said as I carefully placed the small, handwritten sign on the fairy’s tulle skirt. ‘And the sign might even be good for business,’ she suggested. ‘Create a bit more demand. Not that I don’t think you’re going to attract enough.’

‘We’ll soon find out,’ I said, feeling nervous again. ‘It’s almost time to open the doors.’

‘Oh goodness, I’d better get on,’ Mandy gasped. ‘No Tink today?’ she asked before she left.

‘No,’ I said, hoping my canine friend was okay. ‘I left her at home in the end.’

‘Probably for the best, because I reckon it’s going to be busy.’

There was just enough time for me to do a quick round of the rest of the stalls ahead of the doors being opened, and then a keen influx of rosy-cheeked Wynbridge residents hurried in and we were off.

‘Here we go,’ Roy, the person set up next to me, said loudly. He had a stunning selection of turned-wood items on offer. ‘Good luck, everyone.’

We were all rushed off our feet right from that moment, and at one point I was struggling to keep up with replacing fairies on my ever depleting display. My nerves had no chance of making their presence felt, because I thrillingly didn’t have a moment to consider them.

I soon discovered that the peg fairies I’d hung on the tree were the fastest to fly off. As the quickest to make, they were the cheapest, too, and I began to realize just how many more I was going to need over the next few weeks in the run-up to Christmas. I could imagine they’d sell like hotcakes at the school fair. That said, it wasn’t only those that sold well – the medium-sized winged beauties were popular, too, and I even had a couple of serious-sounding commission enquiries.

‘Here you go, Bella,’ said Helen, when I thought the doors had been open for just minutes rather than hours. ‘Elevenses.’

‘Elevenses?’ I frowned as I waved another fairy off. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Just after half past eleven, actually,’ she said apologetically. ‘It’s taken me a while to get to you.’

I gratefully took the tea she offered and a couple of rich tea biscuits.

‘Sorry about the biscuits,’ she apologized. ‘You know what this place is like. The good ones always go first.’

‘I’m actually rather partial to a rich tea,’ I told her. ‘So these are just what I fancy. Thanks, Helen.’

I didn’t have time to chat further, as someone was looking very interested in the fairy that Mandy had reserved. I explained that I had a couple more like it at home and that there were photos of them on my Insta page. Ten minutes later, I had another reservation for one of them, and I was feeling a heady mix of proud, excited and exhilarated. Selling direct was nowhere near as scary as I had previously thought it might be.

There was a brief lull in visitors around lunchtime, and I took the opportunity to telephone the house to ask Jude how he and Tink were getting on. There was no answer the first time I tried. Or the third. Or the seventh. And by that point, I was getting a bit jittery and wondering if I could ask one of the other stallholders to keep an eye on my fairies while I dashed back to the house to make sure all was well.

I had just made up my mind to do that, when Mandy bustled over.

‘You’ve got a visitor,’ she told me, looking thrilled to deliver the news.

‘A visitor?’

‘Two, actually,’ she elaborated. ‘They’re sitting under the pergola. Grab your coat and go and say hello, and I’ll watch your stall.’

I pulled on my red coat and wrapped my scarf around my neck before rushing out.

‘I’ll only be a minute!’ I called over my shoulder.

‘Take your time!’ Mandy called back. ‘I would.’

I raced towards the pergola and caught sight of Tink on her lead and wrapped in her warmest coat. She was ecstatic to see me, and I felt myself relax as Jude stood up with a smile on his face.

‘We thought we’d bring you some lunch, in case you didn’t have time to get anything,’ he said kindly.

He looked every inch the Hallmark hero in a dark coat with the collar turned up, and my heart chose that moment to misbehave again.

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ I said, fussing Tink and then taking the cherry-patterned bag Jude held out.

‘Well,’ he said, grinning, ‘it’s lunchtime, and someone recently told me that you should make an occasion of everyday things.’

‘In that case,’ I said, finding myself smiling back, ‘thank you very much.’

I opened the bag and looked inside.

‘It’s the festive veggie sandwich from a place called the Cherry Tree Café,’ Jude told me. ‘According to the woman behind the counter, who recognized Tink when I poked my head around the door, it’s a favourite of yours.’

‘It is,’ I said as my tummy rumbled in anticipation of eating it. ‘That’s really thoughtful of you, Jude. Thank you.’

‘You’re very welcome,’ he said. ‘And now we’ve seen you and dropped it off, we’ll head home, shall we, Tink?’

She barked at that, and I hoped that was the first noise she’d made.

‘How’s the work going?’ I asked.

He pinned me with another look, and I felt myself go warm in spite of the weather.

‘I decided to take the day off,’ he said, slowly pulling his gaze away from mine as he stepped out from under the pergola and untangled Tink’s lead.

‘Not because of Tink, I hope?’ I asked.

‘Nope,’ he said, ‘she’s been asleep most of the morning. It was because of that person I mentioned before.’

‘Oh, I see.’ I nodded, trying to stave off another smile.

‘They said I needed to be mindful of my work–life balance, so that’s what I’ve been doing. Being mindful.’

‘That sounds like some good advice,’ I called after him as he moved away.

‘That’s what I thought!’ he called back.

Oh dear , I thought as I watched him walk off with Tink happily melded to his side. If I wasn’t careful, I might find myself diverting my attention and falling behind with my work after all.