Driving Home for Christmas

by Emma Hannigan

  ‘God, this is some machine, Clive,’ he said, with clear envy.

  ‘Isn’t she? I never tire of driving her. Which brings me on to you. Seeing as I have you on your own, I can let you in on a secret. You could be driving something similar yourself before too long.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘I’ve spoken with some of the senior partners,’ Clive said, navigating out of the car park and towards the nearby running track. ‘The announcement won’t come officially until January but I can tell you, totally on the QT, that you’re going to be offered a promotion.’

  ‘That’s amazing news,’ Joey exclaimed. ‘Christ, I’m made up.’

  ‘It’s well deserved, son,’ he said, as they pulled up at the track. ‘Not a word for the moment, mind.’

  ‘My lips are sealed,’ Joey promised. ‘Thanks for giving me the heads-up.’

  Clive grinned as he got out and grabbed his kitbag. ‘Watch this.’ He pushed the car door gently. As it neared closing, it slowed and the car automatically sucked it shut, with a soft click.

  ‘Deadly.’ Joey followed suit with his own door. ‘Sweet.’

  ‘Let’s get changed and I’ll whoop your arse,’ Clive said.

  ‘We’ll see about that,’ Joey said, rising to the challenge.

  Once they’d greeted the other runners and were on the track, it was starting to rain. All notions of not wanting to be there were firmly out. Joey was on a high. He was dying to tell Sophia about his imminent promotion. He could almost hear her squealing down the phone.

  ‘Right, lads, let’s get warmed up. It’s bloody cold this evening so we’ll get a good pace going,’ the trainer called, as the floodlights came on. ‘Don’t stand around or your temperature will plummet. Let’s get some stretches started.’ He clapped his hands.

  When they were ready to run around the track for the first time, Joey nudged Clive. ‘Smell you later, old man,’ he gibed.

  ‘Hey, I’m your boss.’ Clive swiped at him and missed as Joey bolted away.

  ‘Not on the track you’re not,’ Joey said, laughing.

  ‘You should be bowing to me, you young pup,’ Clive said, catching him up. ‘If it wasn’t for my hiring Sophia to do that team-building day last year you’d still be single and sad, not to mention slow. You should have more respect!’

  ‘Ah, sure you’re my guardian angel, Clive,’ Joey said, and tore off ahead of him.

  Joey managed to stay at the front of the pack for the entire session, enjoying every stride.

  ‘You’ll be hard to catch in race season,’ Clive said in the locker room afterwards.

  ‘I’m feeling pretty buzzed. I’ll have a quick shower and go find my girlfriend.’

  ‘How is she? I haven’t seen her for quite a while.’

  ‘She’s good, thanks. Training pretty hard herself. She’s planning on doing an Ironman this year so it’s fairly full on.’

  ‘Good for her. She’s a cracker. You’re a lucky guy.’

  ‘Ah, don’t I know it.’

  As soon as he’d showered and dressed, Joey called Sophia to see if there was any food in the fridge. He was famished and couldn’t bear the prospect of a bowl of dry pasta, which was her idea of dinner.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, sounding out of breath.

  ‘Hi, love. How’s it going?’

  ‘Good. Listen, I’m on the turbo-trainer in the living room.’ When she’d moved in he’d found it endearing that she placed her bike on the special stand, which meant she could cycle on the spot for hours on end. Now it alienated him and pushed him into the bedroom – alone.

  ‘Did you want something specific or can I talk to you in a while?’ she asked.

  ‘Eh, no. I was just calling to say I’m finished my run session.’

  ‘Great. See you in a while,’ she huffed.

  ‘Do you want dinner? I could stop and—’

  ‘Joey, I don’t mean to be rude but I’m pushing really hard here and I can’t talk on the phone at the same time. Get whatever you want and I’ll sort myself.’

  He knew it was totally off limits in the world according to Sophia but he had a mad urge for junk food. A call from Pippa sealed the deal.

  ‘Hey, bro,’ she said chirpily.

  ‘Hi, Pippa! How are things?’

  ‘Good! Where are you?’

  ‘Just finished training. I’m starving and I’m headed for a greasy dose of the chipper. Will I call in with some for you too?’ he asked. Pippa’s apartment was less than a five-minute walk from his place and on his way home.

  ‘I’d love that. Will you get me a double cheeseburger and garlic fries?’ she asked. ‘I’ve no money, though, so I’ll have to owe you.’

  ‘What’s new?’ Joey said. ‘I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.’

  ‘I’ll have the telly on and the kitchen paper ready,’ she said.

  For all her faults, at least Pippa would be genuinely happy to see him. Sophia would probably be on her turbo-trainer in the middle of the living room for the next hour.

  A text came through from Pippa when he was at the counter ordering his food: Can you get chips for Skye as well? Cheers.

  Joey tried to remember if he’d met Skye. Knowing Pippa, she could be anyone from a new best friend to an orphaned hedgehog she’d found in the car park that evening. Either way, he ordered another bag of chips. She might be a bit of a messer but at least Pippa wouldn’t lecture him about how many grams of fat he was consuming or how junk food would negatively affect his training the following day.

  In the lift on the way up to Pippa’s apartment he felt as if he was going to pass out with hunger. The door was on the latch so he let himself in. ‘Knock, knock!’ he called.

  ‘Hello,’ said a girl, long hair pulled back off her face in two plaits.

  ‘Hi there,’ he said. ‘You must be Skye. I’m Joey, Pippa’s brother.’

  ‘I’m Pippa’s new flatmate.’

  ‘Cool. I didn’t even know she was getting someone to join her here, but that means nothing where our Pip’s concerned.’ He dumped the brown-paper bag on the kitchen counter.

  ‘Pippa’s in the shower but she’ll be out in a minute,’ Skye said shyly.

  ‘How do you know her?’ Joey asked, as he rooted in the kitchen for plates.

  ‘I met her through Lucy and we were in New York together last week,’ Skye explained.

  ‘Did you enjoy the trip? Knowing Pippa, you were up at the crack of dawn waiting for the shops to open. She’s a force of nature when it comes to spending.’

  ‘We didn’t go too crazy, but it was fun,’ Skye said. ‘It’s so much cheaper there that it’s hard not to buy stuff just for the sake of it.’

  ‘I can’t say I’m mad about shopping, but I’m a bloke so there you have it,’ Joey said.

  ‘Hiya!’ Pippa was in her pyjamas. ‘That smells amazing, thanks, Joey.’ She kissed his cheek. ‘I presume you’ve met Skye and vice versa.’ She popped a chip into her mouth.

  ‘Sure did,’ Joey said, tearing into his burger. ‘God, this is angel food!’

  ‘I could be a real cow and take a photo of you right now and mail it to Sophia,’ Pippa said, winking.

  Joey rolled his eyes.

  ‘Who’s Sophia?’ Skye accepted a bag of chips.

  ‘My girlfriend,’ Joey said, with his mouth full. ‘She’s a personal trainer and very intense when it comes to this kind of thing.’

  ‘Joey would be sleeping in the shed if she knew he was eating this,’ Pippa said. ‘She only eats organic healthy stuff and pasta, pasta and more pasta. Total pain in the arse.’ She made a face.

  ‘She’s also my girlfriend, Pippa!’ Joey was shocked. ‘Don’t be so rude about her.’

  ‘She’s bloody uptight and you know it,’ Pippa said. ‘I’m polite to her face, that’ll do. Besides, she doesn’t make any bones about the fact that she can’t stick me, so feck her.’

  Skye giggled as Joey looked at Pippa with narrowed eyes. ‘She likes you just fine,’
he said. ‘You’re just being nit-picky.’

  ‘Yeah, sure!’ Pippa said sarcastically. ‘He has to come here to stuff his face because she’d beat him with that burger if he brought it home.’

  ‘She probably would, you know,’ Joey conceded. ‘It’s actually worth having to pay for this one’s dinner rather than go home with it.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘When did you move in, Skye?’

  ‘Just today,’ she said.

  ‘It was all a bit spur-of-the-moment,’ Pippa interjected. ‘I needed a lodger. Skye needed a place. Jigsaw fitted, so here we are.’

  ‘Right.’ Joey nodded. ‘Tell me about your trip – was it amazing?’

  ‘It was fine,’ Pippa said, making it clear she didn’t want to get into a chat about it.

  ‘Are you all right?’ he asked, looking at her intently. He knew Pippa was either up to or hiding something.

  ‘Of course. Why?’ Pippa said, busying herself with the chip wrappers. She flicked a glance at Skye. That meant she wasn’t going to discuss anything in front of her new lodger.

  Joey raised his eyebrows in a silent question. Pippa shook her head and put her hand to her face in a phone shape, indicating she’d call him another time.

  Joey finished his food and pulled a toothbrush from his inside pocket.

  ‘He has to brush his teeth and wash his hands and face now so Sophia won’t go on at him,’ Pippa explained.

  ‘I think it’s kind of nice that you care about her that much,’ Skye said. ‘You obviously want to keep her happy so you go to a lot of trouble to be the boyfriend she expects.’

  ‘Precisely.’ Joey grinned. ‘I’m the best boyfriend on the planet!’

  ‘More like the biggest sap going,’ Pippa teased. ‘I can’t say I’d be bothered being with someone who was so bloody bossy.’

  ‘Sophia’s not that bad, Pippa,’ Joey said, and made for the bathroom.

  ‘Yes, she is,’ Pippa shouted, as he brushed his teeth. Joey chose to ignore her.

  ‘Okay, ladies, I’m off,’ he said a few minutes later when he ducked back into the kitchen. ‘Nice to meet you, Skye.’

  ‘You too.’

  ‘See ya.’ Pippa followed him to the door. ‘Hope Sophia doesn’t smell the vinegar and make you run around the park for the rest of the night.’

  ‘Shut up!’ Joey was unable to hide his grin.

  By the time he’d walked the short distance to his own apartment he was feeling kind of nervous but in an excited way. He was dying to tell Sophia about his promotion.

  ‘Hello?’ he called, as he went in. All the lights were off and the place was freezing and for a moment he thought Sophia had gone out. He switched on the hall light, then the one in their bedroom, and jumped as she sat bolt upright in the bed, screaming.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she spat. ‘Couldn’t you see I was asleep? I’ve had a full day and I’m up early. Have a bit of consideration, will you?’

  Joey was stung. ‘I came back to what looked like an empty flat. Sorry for existing,’ he said, turned the light off and backed out the door.

  As he flopped onto the sofa, chucking his training bag on the floor, he shoved his hands despondently into his jacket pockets. He fancied Sophia, and she certainly knew how to keep him on his toes. Any other girls he’d gone out with had bored him after a while so he’d ended up dumping them. But Sophia’s selfishness was becoming too much.

  He’d been in flying form earlier. His job couldn’t be going better, he was loving the training, and he’d really enjoyed popping in to see Pippa and what’s-her-name. Joey had to face facts: it wasn’t right that every part of his day was great until he got home. Something had to give. He didn’t want to be forced into a position where he had to choose between his family and his girlfriend. But it looked horribly as if that was on the cards. He knew which he’d choose if a gun was held to his head. He just didn’t feel ready to go there yet.

  9

  Ding Dong

  Merrily on High

  Pippa was all set to fall into bed. The burger and chips had been delicious, but now she felt like she’d a bag of quick-drying cement inside her.

  Skye was boiling the kettle in the kitchen so Pippa padded in to join her. ‘I’ll have a peppermint tea,’ she said, groaning. ‘You only had chips so you’re probably not as bunged up as I am.’

  Skye was sitting at the table, looking guilty.

  ‘What?’ Pippa stopped dead.

  ‘I’m really sorry, Pippa. I wasn’t prying, honestly,’ she said.

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘I was looking for a teaspoon and when I opened the drawer over there I couldn’t help but notice the pile of bills with bright red “overdue” stamps all over them.’ Skye patted the spare chair beside her. ‘Want to sit and tell me what’s happening?’

  ‘Oh … Right … I suppose so. I didn’t want you to know all this stuff. I’ll get it sorted. I’ve just got a bit behind with things, that’s all. It’s nothing to stress about.’

  ‘Pippa, I know I’ve only just moved in, and I hope we’ll be able to live together in perfect harmony and all that,’ Skye smiled, ‘but I don’t agree that overdue bills aren’t worth stressing over. They’re not going to go away. Also, if I’m going to be living here, I need the fundamentals like electricity and heating. Call me narrow-minded, but I’m afraid that’s the way I am.’

  ‘I know this all looks really bad,’ Pippa confided, ‘but I’m in a bit of a pickle, as you’ve seen. I’m good at getting myself out of awkward situations, though. Ask Joey! He’s always saying I’m a jammy cow.’

  ‘That may be the case,’ Skye said gently. ‘But I don’t conduct my life that way. I work for myself so I need to make certain I’m not left short.’

  If she’d had her wits about her, Pippa thought, she’d have dumped those bills in the wheelie bin outside.

  ‘I used to do my website designing part time and work in a coffee shop to boost my money, but last month I quit waitressing and went into designing full time.’

  ‘Cool! And it’s obviously going really well if you managed to go to New York and still have money to pay the deposit and first month’s rent here. You do have that cash, right?’

  ‘I told you I’d give it to you and I will,’ Skye said firmly. ‘Once we establish that I’ll have a place to live.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I get it. With lights and heat and all that.’ Ugh, Pippa thought. She was doing it again. Skye was lovely but she was a bit of a mammy. Still, beggars couldn’t be choosers and she needed to put up or shut up right now.

  ‘How far behind are you with the rent?’ Skye arched an eyebrow.

  ‘Who told you I was?’ Pippa pouted like a toddler.

  ‘I guessed. Wouldn’t take Einstein, in all fairness,’ Skye added.

  ‘Listen, if you can give me the deposit and your half of this month’s rent I’ll be bang up to date. The landlord is a real stickler for payment so I’ve never let it slip until this month.’

  ‘Honestly?’

  ‘Cross my heart and hope to die,’ Pippa said, licking her finger and making a cross sign on her chest.

  Skye grinned. ‘I haven’t seen anyone do that for about ten years!’

  ‘I’ll drop the rent off tomorrow and go down to the job centre straight afterwards. I promise I’ll get myself together.’

  ‘Pippa, I’m not your teacher or your mother,’ Skye said. ‘I just need to make sure I’m not going to use all my savings and end up homeless. I’d rather not spend Christmas in an alleyway alone.’

  ‘Won’t you be going home to your family for Christmas?’ Pippa asked, flushing with mild embarrassment that Skye had picked up on what she’d been thinking.

  ‘Nah. We don’t see eye to eye so I’ll be sticking around here. Sorry, I should’ve mentioned that.’ She was cringing. ‘Is that cool?’

  ‘You’re not planning on sitting here by yourself, are you?’

  ‘Well, yeah, I was. Is that a problem?’


  ‘Don’t do that, Skye. Come down to Huntersbrook with me,’ Pippa said automatically.

  ‘Huntersbrook?’

  ‘My family home in Wicklow. There’ll be a gang and a ton of food. My folks would be furious if I didn’t insist on you coming. Joey will be there too so you’ll know him and me.’

  ‘You’re really sweet to offer …’

  ‘So you’ll come?’

  ‘Leave it with me,’ Skye said.

  ‘Listen, you’re helping me out here so at least let me repay the compliment. You can’t sit here like a sad loner on Christmas Day!’

  ‘I hadn’t viewed myself like that.’ Skye burst out laughing.

  ‘What are you going to do? Ram half of a cracker in the door and pull the other end? Seriously! Come! Please!’ She wasn’t the most wild and wacky person Pippa had ever met, but she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the poor girl here by herself at Christmas. She found the image horrendous.

  ‘On one condition,’ Skye said.

  ‘What’s that?’ Pippa asked.

  ‘That you’ll try out a job I’m about to get you,’ she said, looking mischievous.

  ‘Sure! What is it?’

  ‘My aunt Sue called me today to see if I could give her a dig-out over Christmas in her clothes shop. I saw the way you operate in shops when we were in New York and I reckon you’re the perfect candidate.’

  ‘Sounds great!’ Pippa said instantly.

  ‘I had to say no because I’ve quite a bit of work on but Sue is really good to me and has kind of looked out for me over the years,’ Skye explained. ‘My parents were into home-schooling and living an alternative life but I wanted to live in Dublin so Sue took me in for a while. She was the voice of reason on my behalf with my parents.’

  ‘She sounds great,’ Pippa said. ‘Where’s her shop?’

  ‘It’s Boutique Belle on Grafton Street,’ Skye said. ‘Have you heard of it?’

  ‘Have I heard of it?’ Pippa shrieked. ‘That place is the Mecca of fashion in Ireland! I’ve drooled outside the window so many times! And the owner’s your aunt?’ Pippa couldn’t hide her surprise. And she was wildly impressed. Here was Skye, the most unassuming and laidback girl, and all the while she was related to the owner of Boutique Belle. It was almost too good to be true. ‘Doesn’t she have a host of fashionistas and wannabes queuing up to work there?’