Home for Christmas

Chapter 30

Needless to say, I was thrilled for Mum and her partner, Henri, and in turn she was delighted for me and Jude. I couldn’t help but laugh about the fact that we then spent ages chatting about the men in our lives and both enthusiastically championing love, when just a few days ago I would have expected the exact opposite to happen.

That could have been the festive highlight of the year, but the next two days were in contention for the crown, as they were as idyllic as the days depicted in the many Christmas romance novels I borrowed from the library every winter.

‘Are you cold, Bella?’ Jude asked when he and Tink came to meet me in town on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.

‘Freezing!’ I said, as I stamped my feet and blew on my fingers, which still felt numb even though I was wearing thick gloves.

It had been a good idea to keep the Cherry Tree Café stall running for the morning, as between us, Lizzie and I had made the most of the last-minute, slightly wide-eyed and panicked Christmas shoppers, but it was bitterly cold. By the time Jude arrived, I really had had enough.

‘Was everything all right at the butcher’s?’ I asked him, as I stamped my feet again.

We’d walked into town together early, and then Jude had gone on to collect the meat order and a few extras to see us through the next few days. We’d done a big local shop the morning before and then spent the afternoon baking together, so we were pretty well stocked up. But as I’d told so many people to just drop in if they happened to be passing, I wanted to make sure I had something to offer them. We had considered making another gingerbread house, but with the time counting down, it would have been stressful trying to squeeze it in, and neither of us wanted that.

‘Yes,’ Jude said with a nod, then bent down to smooth down Tink’s coat, which had slipped as a result of her having a good shake. ‘The queue had snaked practically right around the building by the time I got there, but everything on your list was in the bags.’

‘And you carried it home all right?’ I winced, only then realising just how much there must have been to manhandle. Knowing how big just the turkey was, it must have been a nightmare. I should have thought of that and asked Jude to look after the stall while I collected the order in the car.

‘I didn’t have to carry it,’ he told me, and I felt relieved. ‘Bear was in the queue, too, and he gave me a lift back to the house.’

‘That was just as well,’ I laughed, now I knew he hadn’t had to walk. ‘Your arms would have reached the floor by the time you got back.’

‘I fail to see how that would have been funny,’ he pretended to pout.

I reached for the front of his coat, pulled him towards me and planted a kiss firmly on his luscious lips. The moment quickly deepened and even more quickly started to thaw me out and warm me up.

‘That’ll do, you two!’ shouted Lizzie, as she pulled the café door closed behind her and came over to join us. ‘You’ll put the customers off.’

I let Jude go with a very contented sigh and then looked around.

‘I don’t think there will be any more customers now,’ I said, taking in the deserted square. ‘Everyone’s got more sense than to still be out here in subzero temperatures.’

‘The café’s emptying fast, too,’ Lizzie told us. ‘Jemma’s getting ready to close up, and then we’re heading to the pub. Will you be going over? It’ll only take a minute to pack up here, as there’s practically nothing left, so you might as well.’

‘That sounds good to me,’ said Jude keenly.

‘Well,’ I said, checking the time on my phone, ‘I was planning to clean the house this afternoon…’

‘You’re going to do housework on Christmas Eve?’ Lizzie gaped.

‘I usually do,’ I told her. ‘I like the place looking perfect for when I get up on Christmas morning.’

I could feel another sudden rush of excitement bubbling up inside me when I thought about Christmas Day and the traditions it entailed. I wondered what Jude would make of my continuing the custom of putting out a mince pie and whisky for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer. Given that I’d now whipped him up into a festive frenzy strong enough to rival my own, I hoped that he’d be all for it.

‘And then you spend the morning opening presents and creating dust,’ Lizzie said wisely. ‘I’d leave the vacuuming, if I were you, and come to the pub instead.’

She made a very good point, and it was hardly as if the house was in disarray. I’d given everywhere a thorough clean when I’d finished decorating the tree, and Jude and I had been pretty much confined to the bedroom since his return.

‘What do you think, then, Jude?’ Lizzie asked him as between us we made short work of packing up the stall. ‘Pub or chores?’

‘I think it’s up to Bella,’ he said diplomatically. ‘I know how much her Christmas traditions mean to her.’

‘Well?’ Lizzie said, turning to me.

‘I think this is one tradition I can forgo in favour of the pub,’ I said willingly. Everything else I’d reeled off to Jude just a day or so ago had been ticked off my to-do list, so now it was time for some festive fun with friends. ‘And as we walked into town this morning, I can indulge in a few glasses of Jeanie’s mulled wine to warm me up, can’t I?’

Jude laughed when I said that, and I remembered what had happened after the first quiz night.

‘Maybe just the one glass,’ I then quickly amended that to, and he laughed all the harder.

Was it really only a month ago that I had been battling with my feelings for him? It was impossible to believe I’d ever questioned them now, because they felt so natural and so right. Flings had been fine until the real deal came along, and Jude was every inch that.

‘Come on, then,’ Lizzie nudged me, pulling me out of my momentary reminiscing. ‘Let’s get this oilcloth folded and us all out of the cold. I reckon it’s going to snow.’

‘A white Christmas,’ said Jude, his face lighting up with the biggest smile. ‘How perfect would that be?’

‘So perfect,’ I said dreamily, and Lizzie rolled her eyes.

‘You won’t be saying that when it turns to slush,’ she teased.

‘Don’t spoil it!’ I tutted. ‘I’m imagining opening the curtains in the morning and looking out on a winter wonderland of my own. And I know Tink would love that, too, wouldn’t you, girl?’

As always, she woofed on cue, and I bent down and kissed the top of her beautiful silky dome-shaped head. She felt lovely and warm in her fleece-lined coat.

‘Have you got more of those kisses to spare for me?’ Jude asked, and I straightened again and kissed him, too.

‘Right,’ said Lizzie. ‘That’s the lot, and here’s Ben. He can help me carry the crates to the café, so you two can go straight over to The Mermaid—’

Before she had a chance to ask her partner for his assistance, he presented her with a sprig of mistletoe from his pocket and pulled her into his arms.

‘This Christmas kisses lark is catching,’ I laughed, but neither of them heard me, and Jude, Tink and I stole away and into the pub.

The warmth inside felt like a welcoming balm. I wasn’t sure if it was a result of the roaring log fire or the number of people still propping up the bar. I didn’t think I’d ever seen the pub so busy, but the place had become even more popular since Jeanie had arrived back in town, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

‘Merry Christmas, you two!’ shouted Archie, who was just pulling on his coat.

‘Merry Christmas to you, too,’ we said back.

‘Are you all leaving now?’ I asked.

‘Afraid so,’ said Molly, who didn’t usually come to the pub. ‘We’ve left Angus in charge of the little ones, so…’

‘Oh, right,’ I said, pulling a face. ‘In that case, I wonder who will be running rings around whom.’

‘Our boys are helping him, too,’ said Christopher, another Connelly brother. He and his wife, Cass, and their two sons lived quite a distance away, but mostly came to stay for Christmas.

‘So there are a couple of steadying influences looking out for Alby and Demelza,’ Anna said, hiccupping tipsily.

‘Mum said if we saw you two, we were to ask if you’d come to the hall on New Year’s Day,’ Jamie said, addressing both Jude and me, then looking puzzled. ‘She’ll have to text you what time, though, because I’ve completely forgotten.’

I would have loved to have said yes to any time, but knowing that the entire clan would still be in situ, I didn’t think Jude would be up for it. But I was wrong.

‘I think that would be wonderful, Bella, don’t you?’ he said, before I’d had the opportunity to graciously decline. ‘A wonderful way to start the New Year.’

‘It’s going to be quite a houseful,’ Archie said.

‘Hall full,’ Molly quietly amended.

‘So the more the merrier.’

‘Perfect,’ I said.

‘Perfect,’ Jude echoed.

It took a while for the six of them to do the rounds before they left, and from what I could make out, Archie was issuing New Year invitations left, right and centre. I knew Catherine and Angus wouldn’t mind, though, and Dorothy certainly wouldn’t be fazed. She was always ready to serve up a feast at a moment’s notice.

The pub was only quiet for a few seconds when they all finally left, because Holly, Bear and Tim arrived almost immediately after. Holly had Jasper with her on a tight lead, while Bear had his docile bull terrier Queenie by his side without any restraint at all.

‘It takes the dogs longer to say hello to each other than it does us,’ said Holly, who had already got Jasper’s lead in a tangle with Tink’s.

‘You guys go and find us all a seat,’ suggested Bear, because the scene had the potential to descend into canine chaos, ‘and I’ll get the drinks in.’

‘I’ll give you a hand,’ offered Tim. ‘You can spare Jeanie for a while, can’t you, Jim?’

‘I don’t see why not,’ her affable uncle agreed.

Once the six of us, or nine if you included the dogs, were sat around a table and all enjoying whatever drink we’d opted for – my mulled wine was certainly hitting the coldest spots – I looked around our little group and felt a warm glow of contentment.

Holly and Bear had arrived in town as a couple, but Jeanie and I, even just a few short weeks ago at the pub Hallowe’en party, had been flying solo. And there was nothing wrong with that, of course, but seeing us now with our perfectly matched partners felt so special, and that wasn’t the wine talking. Well, not yet anyway.

‘Who fancies a singalong?’ Jeanie suggested once we’d all shared our plans for Christmas and had more drinks.

‘Me!’ said Tim, immediately jumping up. ‘You know I can do a cracking Mariah when the mood takes me.’

‘Oh crikey,’ Bear said with a grimace. ‘Please don’t say the mood’s taken him.’

The impromptu party was still in full swing when Jude and I looked at one another and both silently agreed that it was time for us to make a discreet exit. Tim’s dulcet (if you could call them that) tones followed us outside and into the square, where it had obviously been snowing for a while. Arm in arm, Jude and I slowly walked home, with Tink snuffling ahead and occasionally stopping to try to catch a slowly falling flake or two.

As always, the house felt like a comforting embrace when we stepped into it, and I was pleased that I had turned the heating up a degree or two. While I lit the fire and some candles, Jude went around and turned on all the fairy lights.

‘Is it too early for PJs?’ I asked him as he headed to the hot chocolate station.

‘It’s never too early for PJs,’ he said seriously. ‘Especially on Christmas Eve.’

‘I was hoping we were going to agree about that,’ I said, smiling, and ran up the stairs with him in hot pursuit.

A little while later, we were snuggled under a thick fleecy blanket in front of the well-stoked fire and tucking into the cheese, crackers and grapes I had definitely overstocked us with. Carols from King’s was on the television in the background, and with the curtains open, I could see it was still snowing. I let out a contented sigh, and Jude turned to face me.

‘Happy?’ he asked, looking into my eyes in a way that made me feel as though I was not only the most important person in the room, but in the entire world.

‘ So happy,’ it was easy to tell him. ‘You?’

‘Yes,’ he nodded. ‘Blissful. Not only have you gifted me back my love of Christmas, Bella, but you’ve healed my heart, too.’

‘And you’ve opened mine,’ I told him, feeling a wonderful excess of happiness and contentment welling up as he took our plates and put them to one side so we could snuggle up. ‘Being home for Christmas with you means everything to me, Jude.’

He drew me closer still and kissed me softly on the lips.

‘And for me, Bella,’ he said breathlessly, ‘being with you feels like coming home.’

He kissed me again, and I felt myself falling fathoms deeper in love with him. A part of me had always been away with the fairies, but now I was heading off on a brand-new adventure and I couldn’t wait to see where it took me.