Not Just for Christmas

Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

W hile everyone stared at Carla, Lewis felt a flutter of nerves as he waited to see what drama she was about to invoke, and how much he would regret inviting Erin to join their family for Christmas.

“What on earth is wrong?” his mum asked. “And what has it got to do with your dad?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Nicholas said. “Carla’s being dramatic as usual.”

“I’m actually not,” Carla said. “And I’m really not sure how you talked me into helping you with your crazy scheme.”

“What scheme?” Fiona asked, while Lewis’s gaze darted between them.

Carla kept her eyes fixed on her dad. “I don’t know why I let him talk me into helping with it, but he said he’d do it even without my help and somehow he convinced me it wasn’t such a terrible idea.”

“Carla!” their mum snapped. “Stop talking in riddles and explain properly.”

She put a hand to her chest and inhaled deeply. “Dad wanted to get Lewis a present. ”

“Me?” Lewis said, head snapping to his dad. “You bought me a present?”

“I don’t know why you look surprised. Is it so unusual for a man to buy his son a gift at Christmas?”

“It is for you,” Anna said. “Mum always chooses the presents. Please don’t say you chose mine as well?”

“What have you bought?” his mum asked, looking aghast at the idea. “And why didn’t you mention it to me?”

“Because I knew you’d say no. Any time I suggest what to get the kids, you always say no, so this time I thought I’d go around you.”

“What is it?” Lewis turned to Carla. “And why are you being so weird about it?”

“Because it goes against my principles, and it’s a terrible Christmas gift.”

“It’s what he wants,” Nicholas said.

“Oh, my goodness!” Carla tugged at the front of her sweater. “I should have just said no.”

“I don’t understand how it can be so bad,” Lewis said. “Can I just open it so we can all stop wondering what the heck is going on?”

“It’s not something you can open,” Carla said, wincing. “And you can’t return it. No matter what, you can’t return it.”

A flash of panic accompanied Lewis’s suspicion of what the gift was. There was no way his dad would do that, though. His stomach rolled. “ Dad? ”

“Open the door,” Nicholas said, waving a hand at Carla. “Let her in.”

“ Her? ” Lewis echoed.

“Bloody hell,” his mum said. “If you’ve bought him a wife, you’ve made a very grave error in judgement.”

His dad’s eyes sparkled as he chuckled. “Of course I didn’t buy him a wife!”

Lewis put a hand over his face as Carla reached for the handle. “Please tell me this isn’t actually happening?” he muttered, then grimaced at the sound of a high-pitched bark and the clicking of a dog’s nails on the kitchen tiles.

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” his dad cooed.

The room fell silent.

“Is there actually a dog in the room?” Lewis asked Erin out of the side of his mouth while peeking at her through his fingers.

Erin nodded. “She really is gorgeous.”

Taking a deep breath, Lewis removed his hand from his face and straightened up as he decided this couldn’t be happening. “Anyway,” he said. “What’s my present?”

“ What’s your present? ” his dad parroted mockingly. “The dog, of course. She’s called Molly. Isn’t that a lovely name?”

“You bought me a dog?” Lewis asked, rubbing at his forehead. “I hope this is a joke.”

“It’d better be a joke,” his mum said, her voice going as high-pitched as the dog’s bark. “Because you can’t actually buy someone a dog for Christmas.”

“Why not?” Nicholas asked. “He wanted one when he was little. He begged for a dog for years and you always said no. I thought it was about time he got what he wanted.” He looked at Lewis. “You said you wanted one a few months ago.”

Lewis steepled his fingers in front of his face, elbows resting on the table while he continued to avoid looking at the dog. “What I said is that I’d love a dog, but I don’t have time for one. Apparently, you switched off halfway through the conversation.”

“What were you thinking?” Fiona glared at her husband. “Of course he doesn’t have time for a dog. You know he works twelve-hour days in the hotel. When exactly do you think he has time to take care of a dog? And what is he going to do with the dog while he’s at work?”

“He can take her with him,” Nicholas said, then snapped his gaze to Lewis. “You can take a dog with you to the hotel, can’t you?”

Before Lewis could answer, his mum continued speaking. “You can’t just buy someone a dog without discussing it with them.” She shifted her chair back from the table and threw her hands up. “Sometimes it amazes me. How can I still be finding out how stupid you are after thirty years of marriage?” She turned her fiery gaze on Carla, who sat beside Anna with her head bent. “And what about you? How on earth did he talk you into going along with this?”

“I don’t know,” Carla said without looking up.

“You work in a dog shelter, for goodness’ sake. You, of all people, should know a dog isn’t an appropriate Christmas present. I didn’t think they even let people take them right before Christmas.”

“They usually don't, but I swore she was going to a good home, and I promised…” She glanced nervously at Lewis and then away again. “I promised a donation.”

Lewis choked on a humourless laugh.

“You should have talked some sense into your dad,” their mum said.

“I know that,” Carla snapped. “But he was very convincing that it was a good idea. He fed me this story about how great it would be.” Her eyes darted to their dad. “Tell them what you said about why it was a good idea.”

“It’s a good idea because he’s always wanted a dog,” Nicholas said matter-of-factly.

“That’s not what you said,” Carla complained. “You said because Lewis is always looking after everyone else and never does anything for himself. And a dog would be a nice thing for him. And you also said that if he had a dog, he’d have to walk it, so he’d have to take more time off work.”

“Yeah,” Nicholas said. “That was my argument. And I think it’s a good one. You think you don’t have time for a dog, but I think if you have a dog, you’ll have more time.”

Lewis took another deep breath and slid his eyes to Erin. “I’m sorry. I was expecting them to be a quirky kind of weird, and not just plain insane.”

“It is a really beautiful dog,” she told him. Slowly, he turned his head and looked down at the eager face looking up at him. He’d always loved border collies and she really was beautiful with her sleek black and white coat and intense brown eyes.

“She’s lovely,” he said, managing to keep his voice level. He was sure that if it wasn’t for Erin’s presence he’d currently be in a shouting match with his dad. Which was a depressing thought since he never argued with his dad, and neither of them were prone to shouting. Plus, it would be weird to argue with a man dressed as Father Christmas.

“She’s five years old,” Carla said. “She was owned by an elderly lady who died a month ago.”

Lewis reached down to Molly. She sniffed the back of his hand before nudging her face against it. “Hi,” he said, stroking the silky fur on her head. In response, she nuzzled against his palm.

“I have her dog bed and bowls and everything,” Carla said. “It’s in the back of my car.”

“What do you think of her?” his dad asked.

Lewis couldn’t even bring himself to make eye contact, so he concentrated on Molly instead. “She’s beautiful.”

“I knew you’d love her. Having a dog will be good for you. You’ll see.”

Anger coursed through Lewis’s veins and he struggled to keep his hand relaxed while he stroked Molly.

“I can’t keep her,” he said, his jaw so tight it was painful. “It’s a huge commitment and a decision that people should make for themselves, not have thrust on them.” Entwined with his anger, he felt a spark of guilt, because he knew his dad would have had the best of intentions. He’d have been excited to give Lewis what he obviously thought was a brilliant present. Presumably he’d been expecting Lewis to be enthusiastic.

“I told you,” Carla said tearfully. “I knew this was a terrible idea.”

The sight of Carla’s tears made Lewis’s guilt intensify even more. Maybe he should just slap on a smile and pretend to be overjoyed with his gift, as was the standard procedure at Christmas. Giving dogs as gifts definitely wasn’t standard procedure, though.

“I thought you might react this way,” his dad said.

“Then why the heck did you do it?” his mum shouted, asking the question Lewis had been about to ask.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” his dad said. “Keep Molly with you for a couple of weeks and if she’s too much we’ll take her. I’d be very happy to have her.”

“Oh, I see!” Lewis’s mum screeched. “Is this your elaborate scheme to get a dog for yourself?”

“No,” Nicholas said. “Because I think after a couple of weeks, Lewis will want to keep Molly.”

“It’s not even about what I want, ” Lewis said. “It’s not fair to the dog. I work too much. She’ll never get the attention she deserves. I just can’t have a dog.”

“We can do a dog share,” his dad suggested happily. “Whenever I have time, I’ll come over and take her for a walk.”

“Let’s do it the other way,” Lewis suggested. “She lives with you and I walk her from time to time.” He actually liked the sound of that. All the fun and none of the responsibility.

“No!” his mum shrieked. “Why is no one consulting me about this?”

“I’ll take care of her,” Nicholas said. “You’ll hardly even notice her.”

His mum waved a dismissive hand in front of her face. “Oh, I am sure! ”

“You’ll have to have her for the next week,” his dad told him. “We’re driving over to your Auntie Bernie’s tomorrow, so she’ll need to stay with you until we get back.”

Lewis exhaled all his breath and was about to complain about how this seemed like a carefully contrived plot, but Erin reached down to stroke Molly and her hand met his in the soft fur. He wasn’t sure it was intentional until she wrapped her fingers around his palm and gave a firm, reassuring squeeze.

He met her gaze, and his annoyance at his dad dissipated. “Fine,” he said after a moment. “I’ll take her for a week, but after that she’s living with you.”

“I’ve yet to agree to that,” his mum said, her tone of voice sending a jolt of amusement rippling through him. He’d been fairly sure that at some point he’d regret bringing Erin to hang out with his family, but he’d been certain it would be Carla or his mum to embarrass him, not his dad making things awkward.

After the slightly intense atmosphere about the dog situation, Christmas with Lewis’s family was pretty much how Erin had expected it to be. They pulled crackers and read the naff jokes aloud, then ate the delicious roast turkey dinner while wearing the brightly coloured paper hats. Following that, they moved to the living room and Erin watched as they exchanged gifts. She’d never really considered how revealing the giving of presents could be.

Carla gave little bags of homemade fudge, and slabs of chocolate bark that she’d iced people’s names into, while Anna gave more practical gifts – a variety of winter hats and scarves. Lewis’s parents gave each of their children a selection of gifts ranging from useful household items to indulgent spa vouchers. One of Lewis’s gifts from them was a beautiful sketch of his cottage drawn by a local artist .

A few comical presents were thrown into the mix too, including a dish scourer in the shape of a sheep for Nicholas that everyone seemed to find hysterical. Apparently there was some story behind it which Erin didn’t quite figure out.

When it came for Lewis’s turn to distribute goodies, Erin watched eagerly to see what he’d chosen for his family.

For his dad, he gave a book – some autobiography from someone Erin had never heard of but which Nicholas seemed chuffed with. Then came his sisters who he gave beautiful handmade silver earrings, apparently from a local jewellery shop which they loved. His mum was equally thrilled to receive a necklace in a similar style.

“I think I’ll put the kettle on,” Nicholas said, pushing himself out of the armchair, then immediately straightening his red velvet jacket. “Time for Christmas cake, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Fiona said. “But there’s one more gift first.” She pointed under the brightly lit tree in the corner. “Pass that to Erin.”

“You got me something?” Erin’s lips twisted in confusion. “You didn’t know I was coming until this morning.”

“It’s nothing much,” Fiona said, but looked fairly pleased with herself, nonetheless. She gave an encouraging flick of her wrist. “Open it up.”

Erin glanced at Lewis beside her, who was stroking Molly – the dog looking completely at ease as she lay on the couch with her head resting on his thigh. Lewis raised an eyebrow at Erin’s gift, seemingly as surprised as she was. Intrigued, she carefully tugged away the tape and peeled back the paper. The object in her hands was heavy so she wasn’t overly surprised when she unveiled the large, scented candle.

“Thank you,” she said, keeping her features in a smile as she raised it to her nose, noticing as she did, the blackened wick and the surrounding dip where the wax had already melted and hardened again .

“Mum!” Carla shrieked, slapping a hand against her forehead. “Could you honestly not have found something that wasn’t blatantly already used?”

“I didn’t have a lot of time,” Fiona said.

Carla rolled her eyes. “So you just snatched the candle from the coffee table and wrapped it up?”

“It smells lovely,” Fiona told Erin. “And there’s plenty of burn time left. You get a lot of use out of these big, chunky candles.”

“Thank you,” Erin said, her entire body shaking as she chuckled.

“I’ll get the Christmas cake,” Nicholas said, standing once again.

“We’ll get going,” Lewis said. “I should get back and see what’s going on at the hotel.”

“I’m sure the place is falling apart without you.” Anna’s tone was mocking but her features were full of affection as she looked at her brother.

“We have to transfer Molly’s stuff from my car,” Carla said, standing while Lewis nudged the dog from his lap.

“I’m bringing her back here in a week,” Lewis said to his dad in the hallway.

Nicholas insisted he’d be happy to have her, which sent Fiona into another unconvincing rant about how she didn’t want a dog.

Erin had to stifle a grin at their bickering while she pulled her ankle boots and coat on. Spending Christmas with someone else’s family was actually far easier and much more entertaining than spending it with her own family.