Home for Christmas

Chapter 9

The rest of the time at The Laurels fairly flew by, and even though I’d sold so much of my stock, there were still all of the boxes, bags and crates to carry back into the house when I arrived home. Having just repacked it all into my car, and feeling absolutely exhausted, I wasn’t much in the mood to take it all out again. So when Jude rushed out of the front door to offer his help the moment I arrived back, I was very willing to accept.

‘Thank you so much,’ I said gratefully, as he added the last crate to the high stack in the hall. ‘You really are a lifesaver.’

‘It was no bother,’ he said kindly.

‘I had planned a trip to the pub tonight,’ I yawned, ‘but I’m far too tired. All I really want is a hot drink, a long bath and my warm bed.’

‘That sounds like the perfect combo.’

‘Or it would be,’ I remembered, ‘if I had a bath. It’s just a shower upstairs, unfortunately.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t object to you soaking in the tub down here,’ Jude said casually. ‘And I was going to order something in for dinner. Would you like to join me?’

Given how tired I was, I was certain I’d be useless company and was poised to turn him down, but then he mentioned wine and Saturday night TV and my resolve crumbled. What a surprising total turnaround our relationship was suddenly experiencing.

A couple of hours later, I was feeling relaxed and replete, and, with Tink asleep on the sofa between us, Jude looked to be in a similar state himself. I felt a rush of something when I realized that he seemed to be as happy about how things were turning out between us as I was. I tried to work out what that rush of something was, but I was too drowsy to fathom it.

‘Would you like me to open you another bottle?’ Jude offered, catching my eye.

We’d opted to drink lager in the end to go with the tasty Indian takeaway, and I knew I’d be asleep in seconds if I started drinking another one.

‘I’m going to say a very reluctant no,’ I told him. ‘But thank you, and thank you for a lovely evening, too. It really has been exactly what I needed after such a hectic day.’

‘Successful, though, from what you’ve said,’ he reminded me. ‘So worth feeling tired out for.’

‘Oh, absolutely,’ I agreed. ‘But now I really do need my bed. Thank you so much for looking after Tink today. It was a weight off my mind, especially when you turned up at lunchtime and she looked so happy. And thanks for the sandwich, too. That was as good as the takeaway.’

I really was in his debt now. Had someone suggested this would be how things were going to work out even just a couple of days ago, I wouldn’t have believed them.

‘It was my pleasure,’ Jude said warmly. ‘I feel like I’ve made amends for being so insensitive when I first arrived. Or at least made a start.’

‘You’re fine,’ I told him, standing up and stretching out my back. Dressed in my cosiest PJs and fluffiest dressing gown, I felt cocooned, safe and settled. ‘I forgave you the moment you explained to me how focused you are on telling the Wynthorpe Hall story and how badly you want to get it right.’

‘That’s still no excuse, though.’ He frowned, looking concerned.

‘You weren’t making excuses,’ I pointed out. ‘You were explaining your process.’

‘Well, that’s very generous of you,’ he said, switching the frown for a smile.

‘And you’ve been generous today,’ I told him. ‘You’ve gone above and beyond, and I’d like to repay your kindness.’

‘You don’t have to—’ he began.

‘I haven’t told you how yet,’ I pointed out.

‘Oh, that’s true,’ he gasped, pretending to wince. ‘Go on, then.’

‘Don’t worry,’ I said, laughing at his reaction. ‘I was only going to suggest I cooked you Sunday lunch. Unless, of course, you’re going to be working and won’t be able to stop?’

‘On a Sunday?’ he tutted, feigning shock. ‘Never.’

‘In that case, join me upstairs for a roast chicken dinner at one. Assuming I can get the bird in the oven up there,’ I added, trying to mentally size the dimensions up.

I’d ordered and frozen the bird on the assumption that I would be cooking it downstairs. I could conjure a few different dishes out of a large chicken from the butcher’s in town and always made stock from the bones, which provided the perfect base for soups or a risotto. Nothing went to waste. Or at least it didn’t when I had the space to use it. I should have thought about that before I got it out to defrost.

‘I’ll do that,’ said Jude. ‘Thank you. Though it might be easier for you to cook it down here if it’s that big a bird, mightn’t it? I caught sight of your oven in the apartment, and it is a bit of a tiddler.’

‘Oh, I couldn’t,’ I began, thinking that really would be an imposition. ‘I’ve already had a swim in the tub.’

‘Of course you can,’ Jude insisted. ‘It’s your house, after all, Bella. Just let yourself in in the morning and make a start. I honestly don’t mind at all. In fact, if a roast lunch is on offer, I insist.’

‘In that case,’ I yielded, thinking of the extra worktop space and room around the table, ‘all right. I will.’

By the following morning, the chicken was fully defrosted, and I’d decided to go all out and make an apple crumble to serve with custard after it – or perhaps a little later in the afternoon if we were too stuffed. I thought I’d cook the crumble ahead of starting on the roast, and consequently it was quite early when I carried everything I was going to need down the stairs and let myself into the house.

Even though the rooms weren’t currently dressed exactly how I liked them, I still felt at peace the moment I crossed the threshold. The four walls contained my most treasured childhood memories, not all of them set around Christmas, and I loved that I had been able to keep so much of my grandparents’ legacy in place.

I might have knocked down walls to make much of the downstairs open plan, but the elements I loved were all still in situ. The kitchen, for example. I had painted the units soft sage green and replaced the worktops, but they were still the cupboards that Grandad had skilfully built. The Victorian fireplace, complete with patterned tiles, had been a find that Nanna had discovered at a local salvage yard, and my childhood bedroom, with a simple linen and curtain change, could easily be turned back into the room overlooking the garden that I had always loved.

Obviously certain things, such as the high-end bathroom fittings, had to be up to the standard my guests expected, but I hadn’t ripped out the things that made the house my home, such as the wonderful reclaimed claw-footed bath.

‘Leave him, Tink,’ I whispered urgently when I stopped daydreaming and realized that she’d made a beeline for the stairs.

Given how quiet it was, and how early, it was my guess that Jude was still in bed. I dithered for a few seconds, wondering whether to come back later, then decided to just get on with it, albeit without the radio or a podcast for company.

I’d gently softened the apples on the stove with a tablespoon of sugar and was just rubbing the butter into the flour for the crumble topping when I heard the bedroom door fly open, heavy footfalls on the stairs and a rousing chorus of ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin” getting closer with every step. Angus must have been having an impact on Jude, after all.

‘I didn’t have you down as a showtunes kind of guy,’ I said, my eyes still on the bowl.

‘Holy hell!’ Jude shouted, and my gaze lifted to find him frozen to the spot.

His hair was completely mussed up on one side, and he was wearing nothing but checked PJ bottoms. His feet were bare, as were his arms, which he immediately folded over his wonderfully toned chest.

‘Sorry,’ he said, looking embarrassed and very red in the face. ‘I had no idea you were here already.’

I suddenly realized I was staring at him and tore my eyes away. I tried to laugh the moment off, but the sound came out as more of a snort and I felt my own entire face flush.

‘Well, that evens us up on the mortification front,’ Jude laughed, making me blush even deeper. ‘Hang on.’

He raced upstairs again with Tink hot on his heels and came back down a few seconds later wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt, with his previously messy hair slightly, but nowhere near completely, flattened. His feet were still bare. They were very nice feet.

‘I thought I’d surprise you with an apple crumble,’ I said, by way of explaining my earlier than expected presence in the kitchen.

‘And in the process provide my cardio workout for the day,’ he said, reaching for the kettle. ‘Well, at least I won’t have to go for a run this morning.’

‘I did you a favour, then, really,’ I said, checking that I’d created the perfect crumble texture as I played along. ‘Because it’s icy out there. The near coronary I just caused you might have actually saved you a broken arm or leg.’

‘If I broke my arm,’ he said, looking genuinely horrified, ‘I wouldn’t be able to write or type.’

‘Or drive,’ I pretended to sob, making Tink wander over to find out if anything was really amiss. ‘And I’d be stuck with you for even longer.’

‘Perish the thought.’ Jude pretended to shudder.

While I washed my hands, he made us both tea. I told him how I took mine, and he managed to make it exactly how I liked it. It all felt comfortably companionable, and I wondered – with a fortnight still to go, and in spite of my previous misgivings about my burgeoning workload – if we should squeeze in a brief encounter.

‘That looks really great,’ said Jude, with a nod to the enamel dish I was spooning the apples into, along with a bowlful of foraged blackberries. ‘And it smells amazing, too.’

The dish had belonged to Nanna and was part of a set of half a dozen in all different sizes, which I used all the time. I kept them in the apartment when the house was rented out.

‘My nan used to add a handful of oats to the crumble,’ Jude told me. ‘I think it was her way of trying to get some goodness into me. I was a picky eater when I was a kid.’

‘I can do that if you like,’ I said. ‘I’ve got oats.’

‘No, don’t,’ he said. ‘I want to try yours exactly as you’d usually make it, Bella.’

‘Why don’t you go and have a shower?’ I suggested, feeling warmer than I usually did when he said my name. ‘And then we’ll have breakfast before I start on the rest of the prep.’

‘How very domestic,’ he laughed, picking up his mug and heading for the stairs.

‘Not really,’ I teased. ‘I just think you need to do something with your hair.’

When Jude came back down again, he prepped the veg while I got on with roasting the chicken and potatoes and making the stuffing. I also made an extra effort with the table, setting out my favourite napkins from Norwich designer Lottie Day and adding candles alongside the condiments.

‘This looks wonderful,’ said Jude, when it was all finally ready and served up. ‘Far better than a lap tray on the sofa.’

‘Nothing wrong with a lap tray if the occasion calls for it,’ I said, carrying over the gravy boat. ‘But Sunday dinner deserves to be celebrated, in my opinion.’

‘I agree,’ he said, nodding as he poured us both wine, and I gave him a look. ‘All right,’ he conceded, ‘I agree now that you’ve reminded me, and my nan would be delighted about that.’

Noises of appreciation aside, we ate mostly in silence, then unanimously agreed that the crumble could come later.

‘Leave all that,’ Jude insisted, once I’d given Tink a little chicken and gravy in a bowl and was about to start stacking the dishes. ‘I’ll clear up. Everything can go in the dishwasher, can’t it?’

‘Everything apart from the carving knife and fork,’ I told him.

I’d inherited those bone-handled beauties, and they were handwash only.

‘In that case,’ he said, ‘you set a match to the fire, then find a film for us to watch and I’ll tidy up.’

‘Don’t you have anything you need to be doing?’ I asked.

I was surprised he wanted me to stay longer, especially given that he’d left Wynthorpe Hall because he couldn’t cope with the hubbub. Though to be fair, Tink and I weren’t a patch on the noisy Connelly clan.

‘I’m sorry,’ Jude said, looking embarrassed. ‘I haven’t, but you probably have, haven’t you? I didn’t mean to presume that you’d want to stay.’

‘I’ve actually only got two things I need to do today,’ I told him. ‘The first is make a few notes about what I need to start restocking from tomorrow, and the second is that I mustn’t forget to go to the pub this evening. You’re very welcome to join me there, by the way, if you’d like to.’

There was a meeting of Christmas committee volunteers happening in The Mermaid, and of course, being a fully paid-up team member and festive fanatic myself, I simply had to be there. It was the first meeting of the season and long overdue in my opinion, but I supposed we’d soon be organized. We usually were.

‘The first of those two things sounds rather like work to me,’ Jude teased.

‘Very laid-back work, though,’ I said, reaching for the remote. ‘The sort I can easily do while watching a film.’

‘In that case,’ he said, opening the dishwasher door, ‘I’ll let you off.’

Though we were feeling rather full from lunch, we still managed a bowl of crumble and custard apiece for an early dinner before heading off to The Mermaid. It had been a wonderful afternoon, and when we set off on foot into the clear, cold evening and Jude insisted he take Tink’s lead and we linked arms, I couldn’t deny that my heart skipped yet another beat.

It wasn’t a sensation I usually experienced when I was heading into short-lived liaison territory, and that made me start to question what it was that I was actually feeling.

‘Well, well, well,’ Jeanie said, beaming, when we arrived at the pub, flushed from the chilly air and laughing about something, ‘look at you two.’

I quickly took a step away from Jude. Trying to unpick my feelings as we’d walked along had thrown up a wholly unexpected explanation.

‘Well, well, well,’ I batted back, when I realized who she had been leaning across the bar to talk to, ‘look at you two.’

Jude looked as confused as Tim.

‘Touché,’ said Jeanie, taking a step away herself. ‘What can I get you both?’

‘Do they always talk in riddles?’ Jude asked Tim.

‘Yep,’ he said, ‘if you and Bella have hooked up, then you’d better get used to it.’

Jeanie burst out laughing, and I went bright red.

‘We haven’t,’ I said loudly. ‘Jude’s just staying at the house, Tim. Of course we haven’t hooked up. We’re not together, as in together together… we just…’

‘All right,’ said Jude, his hand clutched to his chest. ‘I think he gets the idea, Bella. We’re not together, and quite clearly the idea of that is abhorrent to you.’

‘No,’ I said, making even more of a mess of the situation that Jeanie had caused. ‘I wouldn’t mind us being together – that is, not being a proper couple, because that’s not really my… Oh, for pity’s sake,’ I groaned as Jude grinned. ‘I know what I meant. We’re no more together than you and Jeanie are, Tim.’

‘Oh, we’re together again,’ said Tim, giving Jeanie a look that was so smouldering it would have turned most of the women in Wynbridge weak at the knees.

Jeanie rolled her eyes.

‘She just doesn’t know it yet,’ he added, sounding rather frustrated.

‘I’ll have a Coke, please,’ I said to Jeanie, drawing a line under the conversation.

‘Same,’ said Jude. He handed me Tink’s lead and pulled out his wallet. ‘I’ll get these.’

‘No—’

‘I insist,’ he said, ‘as a thank you for lunch and dinner.’

‘Lunch and dinner,’ Jeanie commented as she filled our glasses.

‘I’ll grab us a table,’ I said, eager to get away before it all kicked off again.

‘Don’t go too far,’ Jeanie called after me. ‘The meeting will be starting soon.’

‘What meeting’s this?’ Jude asked when he’d carried our drinks over.

‘There’s a Christmas committee volunteer meeting happening tonight,’ I told him as I shrugged off my coat.

It was warm next to the fire, but that didn’t stop Tink lying with her nose practically in the grate.

‘Oh god,’ Jude groaned, sounding appalled. ‘At least I’m not going to be in town long enough to get roped into any of that.’

I looked at him sharply.

‘What?’ I said, and swallowed, feeling even warmer than I had before, if that was possible.

‘Christmas,’ he said with a shudder. ‘I hate it.’

‘You hate Christmas?’ I squeaked.

‘With a passion,’ he practically sneered, sounding even more like Scrooge than Dickens had intended. ‘I’d happily bypass the whole of December and skip straight to January if I could. The whole thing is a farce as far as I’m concerned. Something that once had meaning now hijacked by commercialism, and don’t even get me started on—’

‘Excuse me,’ I cut in, leaving him mid-rant.

‘What’s up?’ Jeanie asked when I reached her. She was talking to Tim again but broke off when she spotted me. No doubt troubled by my stricken expression.

‘It’s Jude,’ I told her, with as much pathos as the announcement warranted. ‘ He hates Christmas .’

Tim hadn’t been able to grasp why that was such an issue, but Jeanie instantly did.

‘Oh, Bella!’ she gasped. ‘Whatever would your grandad say?’

‘I know!’ I practically sobbed.

Grandad wasn’t known for doling out advice, but there were two bits of wisdom he had always been keen to impart. The first was that you should never be friends with someone a dog took a dislike to, and the second was that you should never trust someone who didn’t love Christmas. Jude was safe as far as Tink was concerned, but the Grinch thing was a blow.

Of course, there could be a million reasons why a person might not be fond of the season, but as far as Grandad – the only man I had ever completely trusted – was concerned, if Christmas was off the list, then so were they. I might not have taken his insight quite so deeply to heart had my stepdad not happened to hate the festive season.

The scar of his still-unexplained abandonment cut deep, especially as it had taken everything Mum had to put her faith in him after what had happened with my biological father.

‘You wouldn’t think it to look at him, would you?’ Jeanie later whispered as we sat at the opposite end of the pub with everyone else on the committee and Jude stayed with Tink next to the fire.

‘No,’ I whispered back. ‘I might have thought it was a possibility when he first moved in and was grumpy all the time, but now I know him a bit better—’

‘Are you two in agreement about that then?’ Jim’s stern voice suddenly boomed out.

‘Yes, Jim,’ I said meekly, having almost leapt off my chair.

‘Yes, Uncle Jim,’ Jeanie politely added.

I had no idea what we’d potentially just agreed to or signed up for, but I hoped it wasn’t to be Santa’s elves again, because the outfits were really itchy.

With the festive calendar confirmed and me bowing out of a couple of my usual duties at the switch-on because I was going to be selling my fairies on the Cherry Tree Café market stall, Jim drew the meeting to a close. I was still going to be busy, though, because I’d volunteered to organize and compère the pub’s Christmas quiz night. I knew I had truly slayed the public spotlight demons if I was willing to do that. That said, it had already been agreed before I volunteered that, being such a fan of the season, I shouldn’t be allowed to take part because I’d doubtless get all the answers right.

‘You love Christmas,’ Jude numbly stated when I returned to our table.

‘Sorry?’

‘You love Christmas,’ he said again. ‘I heard the furore over there when the quiz night came up, and you’d hardly be at the committee meeting and looking happy about helping out if you were a Grinch like me, would you?’

The words spilled out of him in a rush.

‘I suppose not,’ I said with a tight smile. ‘It’s true. I do love Christmas. As far as I’m concerned, it really is the most wonderful time of the year.’

‘And Wynbridge is all set to turn into Christmas Town soon, isn’t it?’ he said, almost savagely. ‘Worthy of a setting in a made-for-TV Christmas movie?’

‘Yep,’ I said, dropping my hands in my lap. ‘You’ve got it in one.’

‘Thank god, I’ll be gone by December,’ he muttered, and I tried to pretend I hadn’t heard him.

‘Another drink?’ I suggested brightly, as my feelings for him slid back to close to where they had been before his passionate apology and dog-sitting duties.

‘Yes, please,’ he said, pushing his glass across the table. ‘Rum and Coke this time, if that’s okay.’

‘I’ll join you,’ I said, because I felt like I needed it as much as he did.

I’d been at the bar no time at all before Holly arrived. She looked rather tired, but happily so, and then I remembered that Bear was finally back.

‘Where is he, then?’ I asked her. ‘Where’s that giant of a man who’s responsible for your eye bags?’

‘Hey!’ she tutted, her hands flying to her face.

‘Over there,’ Jeanie pointed. ‘Talking to the man who’s broken your heart.’

‘What?’ gasped Holly, my teasing comment forgotten. ‘Jude’s done what?’

‘Oh, ignore her,’ I said, looking crossly at Jeanie and then back at the two men again and narrowing my eyes. ‘He’s done no such thing. You should know me well enough to know that I don’t combine men and my heart.’

I’d told Holly, not all that long after we’d met, about how Mum had been left heartbroken twice when I was a child and how, when I’d grown up, I’d decided to keep all relationships with the opposite sex on the right side of casual as a result.

‘Bella!’ called Jude, beckoning me over and sounding happier than he had when I’d left him. ‘Come and meet Bear. He’s the fella I was telling you about who had the right idea about pared-back living.’

That had to be the coincidence of the century – their paths crossing again in Wynbridge. It was almost as unbelievable as me having started to develop a deeper than usual fondness for someone who then declared they hated Christmas. If I found out next that Jude didn’t believe in fairies, then I was sending him straight back to the Connellys.

‘You seemed to be enjoying my maximalist aesthetic earlier,’ I said to him tetchily. ‘Hey, Bear,’ I added, giving him a smile. ‘How’s life on the road been treating you?’

‘You already know each other?’ Jude laughed. ‘What are the odds?’

More like, what were the odds of him knowing Bear than the other way around. I should have made the connection when Jude previously mentioned someone living in a horsebox. There couldn’t be that many people around who did that.

‘He’s my friend Holly’s partner,’ I explained.

‘It’s been treating me really well, but now I’m ready to hibernate with Holly for the winter,’ Bear said, answering my question as his voice filled the pub. ‘I’m looking forward to moving into the railway carriages—’

‘The very packed and colourful carriages,’ I couldn’t resist adding.

‘Until early spring at least,’ he finished up.

‘Bear!’ Holly called him from the bar.

‘I’d better get my order in,’ he said, patting Jude on the shoulder and knocking a couple of inches off him. ‘Let’s catch up in the week, yeah? I’d love to know how that project you were working on when we met panned out.’

‘Yes,’ said Jude, looking a little crestfallen to have discovered that the man he’d thought lived the entire year on the road with minimal possessions was looking forward to staying put and being surrounded by all manner of ephemera for a few months. ‘That’d be great.’

‘Bella can give you directions,’ Bear said, moving off.

Given what Jude had earlier said about Christmas, I was tempted to set his satnav to take him straight to the North Pole.