Christmas in Peppercorn Street

by Anna Jacobs

  ‘Are we ever going to see them again?’

  Claire hesitated. ‘Well, Grandpa Tom has emailed me to ask that same question. He says they still want to be considered your grandparents. He says they’ve missed you dreadfully.’

  ‘I’ve missed them too. He was fun and Grandma Hilary was going to teach me to crochet.’

  ‘So you won’t mind if I invite them over for a small Christmas party?’

  ‘I’d love it. Will Luke be OK with that?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Oh, goody! And can we invite the people next door as well? Aunty Winifred – she told me to call her that – says she’ll teach me and Dee to make cakes, and everyone says she makes the best cakes of anyone.’

  ‘Angus and Nell, too.’

  ‘We already know some nice people here.’ Gabby snuggled down. ‘I’m glad we’re staying.’

  When Claire went downstairs again, she found Luke and Dee chatting in the living room.

  ‘Don’t vanish yet, Dee. I’ve just had an important talk with Gabby. She wants Tom and Hilary to continue to act as grandparents and they want it too. And she’s happy at the thought of a Christmas party, would like to invite them and—’

  Two faces lit up with pleasure.

  ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ Dee came rushing across to hug her. ‘You’ll do it, won’t you?’

  ‘And invite Winifred and Janey, too?’ Luke asked. ‘Not to mention Angus and Nell? And a few other people I know. I can arrange to have it catered so that it’s not too much trouble.’

  ‘No way. I enjoy cooking. We ladies will prepare the refreshments and you, sir, can sort out the drinks.’

  Dee came to thread an arm in Claire’s. ‘You and Gabby are the best thing that has ever happened to me and Dad.’

  ‘And you’re the best thing that’s happened to me since Gabby appeared in my world.’ Claire gave Dee a quick hug, something she’d started doing.

  Luke noticed the tears of happiness in Dee’s eyes before she turned and busied herself with some clearing up to hide them.

  The next afternoon the doorbell rang and Dee went to answer it. It rang again before she could answer it and she sighed at whoever it was. Why so impatient?

  When she opened the door, she wished she hadn’t done, because her mother was standing there smiling at her. Oh no! Dee knew that sort of smile. Her mother couldn’t have broken up with the new lover already, surely?

  ‘Darling, I’ve come to collect you.’ She waited and when Dee didn’t move out of the way, she pushed her gently back. ‘Don’t keep me standing on the doorstep. It’s raining in case you haven’t noticed.’

  ‘I’m not going with you,’ Dee said. ‘You dumped me here and it was the best thing you’ve ever done for me. I’m living with Dad from now on.’

  ‘Don’t be silly. We’ve spent most of our lives together. I made a mistake, I will admit, but I’ll make up to you for that and—’

  ‘I don’t want presents. I don’t want you to make up for anything. I just want to stay here.’

  Dee was backing away when she bumped into someone. She turned and saw it was her father, so flung her arms round him. ‘Don’t let her take me away, Dad. Please don’t let her ruin it all.’

  Angie glared at them both. ‘What have you been telling her about me, Luke Morgan?’

  ‘I’ve not been telling her anything. She’s got eyes in her head.’

  She rounded on her daughter. ‘Go and pack your things at once. I’ve found us a lovely new flat in London and—’

  ‘I’ve only just settled in at this new school. I’m not changing schools again. And I’m not leaving Dad and going with you.’

  Luke put his arm round his daughter’s shaking shoulders and moved her gently along the hall. He caught a glimpse of Gabby standing in the kitchen doorway, looking worried. ‘Go and tell your mother my ex has turned up, Gabby. We’ll have to postpone that shopping trip.’

  Then he took Dee and Angie into the living room and closed the door firmly. This was for him to sort out.

  Gabby stepped backwards into the kitchen and bumped into her mother, who was standing behind her, unashamedly eavesdropping.

  ‘It’s Dee’s mother. She’s come to take Dee away. Don’t let her do it, Mum!’

  ‘I can’t stop her. I’m not related to Dee.’

  ‘But I’ve only just found her. She’s my sister now! We’ve sworn it.’

  ‘I know. Let’s leave it to Luke, shall we?’

  But Gabby had thrown herself onto a chair and was sobbing loudly.

  In the living room, Dee was still clinging to him and Luke could feel her trembling. He indicated the sofa and Angie sat down on it, patting the place beside her and beckoning to her daughter.

  Dee went to sit on one of the armchairs across the room.

  ‘I’m taking her away from here and I’m never letting her near you again, Luke Morgan.’ Angie’s voice was vicious. ‘You’ve poisoned her mind about me.’

  He looked at their daughter. ‘What do you want to do, Dee?’

  ‘Stay here with you.’

  ‘I have custody,’ Angie pointed out, her voice acid sharp.

  With a big effort, he kept his own voice level. ‘I think by Dee’s age, they’re allowed to choose who they live with. I’ve spoken to my lawyer about that and he’s going to arrange for it to be made official.’

  ‘Well, if he hasn’t already arranged it, I’ve still got custody and she’s coming with me. I’ll make sure we overcome whatever brainwashing you’ve been using on her before you have time to go through any legal channels, believe me.’

  ‘I’m not stupid. I know how you’ve treated me,’ Dee said suddenly.

  ‘It was an emergency that made me bring you here.’

  ‘No, it wasn’t. You were dumping me for your new girlfriend,’ Dee said suddenly. ‘You’ve always ignored me when someone new came along. Only they don’t stay, do they? Because you’re too selfish to live with.’

  ‘Don’t you dare speak to—’

  Dee talked over her loudly. ‘Dad was really kind to me, even though I was grumpy and upset. And now, we’ve got a new family and—’

  Angie looked puzzled. ‘What do you mean by that?’

  ‘Claire is going to live with us and Gabby will be my sister for real. It was all going brilliantly till you came and I’m not letting you spoil it.’

  ‘You don’t have the choice. I’m your mother and I have legal custody.’

  ‘You keep saying that, but you never say you love me. You never care about what I want, only about how I can be there for you. Think I haven’t noticed how other families do things?’

  Angie’s mouth fell open, then she took a deep breath. ‘How dare you talk to me like that?’

  ‘It’s my whole life that depends on it, so I dare do anything.’ She looked across at her father. ‘You meant it, didn’t you, about wanting me here?’

  ‘Of course I did, darling. I want you very much.’

  Dee didn’t wait for him to say anything else but turned to her mother. ‘How are you going to get me to go with you?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I’ll fight you every inch of the way. Literally. I will not live with you again. You don’t care about other people, only yourself.’

  ‘We’ll see about that.’ Angie stood up and grabbed her daughter’s arm, trying to drag her up out of the chair.

  Luke stood up too, arm outstretched to stop her.

  But Dee tore herself away from her mother without his help. ‘Don’t, Dad. She’ll try to sue you if you touch her. But she can’t sue me.’

  She found herself looking straight into her mother’s face. ‘I’m the same height as you now,’ she said in amazement, then smiled. ‘And I’m fitter. You aren’t strong enough to drag me out.’

  ‘But if I go and pack your things, you’ll have to go with me when I take them away.’ Angie turned.

  Luke barred the way. ‘You’re not thinking straight. This is my house. I don�
�t give you permission to go anywhere else except this room. And if you try, I’ll have to be the one doing the dragging and calling my lawyer. I’ve listened to you ordering Dee about as if she’s only a possession, and I’ve tried not to interfere, because this is her decision. She’s decided she wants to stay here. And believe me, I’m delighted about that.’

  ‘You’ve bought her off.’

  ‘No. I haven’t.’

  ‘Well, she’s coming with me till it’s sorted legally, whatever it takes.’ Angie took her daughter by surprise, grabbing her by the arm and twisting it behind her back so that Dee yelled in pain.

  The door crashed open and Claire came in. ‘I wasn’t going to interfere, either, but I think you need a witness and not me. Fortunately Angus was in his garden so I called him in as well and we’ve been listening to you.’

  She stepped aside and their neighbour moved into place beside her.

  ‘Good idea.’ Luke turned to Angie. ‘Would you please leave my house now?’

  She looked from one person to another and saw nothing except disgust in their faces. ‘You’ll be hearing from my lawyer and you won’t win.’

  ‘This isn’t a contest. It’s Dee’s life that matters. Tell her again what you want, Dee. I won’t stop you if you want to leave.’

  Claire held her breath, waiting, almost sure what Dee was going to say but needing to hear it.

  Angus leant against the door frame, arms folded.

  Dee took a step backwards, wanting to put more distance between herself and her mother. ‘I don’t want to live with you again, Mum. I haven’t been happy for a long time and I’m very happy here.’

  The words seemed to echo in the room, and Dee saw the moment her mother started to believe her and Angie’s shoulders sagged.

  ‘But we’ve always lived together.’

  ‘No, we haven’t, Mum. I’ve lived in the same house as you and your lovers. But you mostly left me to my own devices. You provided whatever was necessary physically, but we weren’t together in the ways that matter most. I’m not coming back and I’ll run away if your lawyer tries to make me.’

  Luke’s voice was calm but firm. ‘I’ll show you out now, Angie.’

  She stood for a moment longer, then swallowed hard and walked out of the room, saying, ‘You’ll be sorry!’ as she passed him.

  Claire and Angus stood aside as she passed and she glared at Claire. ‘I suppose you’re his latest. Well, you’ll soon be out on your ear. No one lasts long with him.’

  As Luke walked out to the front door, Dee crumpled and began to cry silently. Claire went across and took her in her arms, not saying anything, just making soothing noises and rocking her slightly.

  ‘I did it,’ Dee said after she’d started to calm down.

  ‘Yes, but it hurt. She is still your mother and I’m sure she loves you in her own way.’

  Dee turned as her father returned and flung herself at him.

  Claire left the room quietly and went to the kitchen to tell Gabby what had happened.

  Angus was already there, talking to the child. He looked up. ‘All right now?’

  ‘Yes. Thanks for coming. Should we need a witness we’ll get back to you, if that’s all right.’

  ‘Fine by me. She’s a very acid-voiced female, isn’t she?’

  ‘Even worse than I’d expected.’

  Inside the living room, Dee was simply sitting on the sofa with her father, held safely in his arms, feeling warmly wrapped in his love.

  ‘She doesn’t understand,’ he said after a while.

  ‘She doesn’t try to understand,’ Dee corrected. She cuddled even closer. ‘I love living here with you and I consider Gabby my sister.’

  ‘She feels the same.’

  ‘She’s cute, isn’t she? Always blurting things out, laughing at things. She makes me feel happy.’

  ‘She captured my heart the first time I met her.’

  ‘And Claire? Are you going to marry her?’

  ‘I hope so. But leave the proposing to me, please.’

  ‘Don’t leave it too long then. It’d be good to feel certain of you both.’ She reached across to pull another tissue out of the box and finished mopping her eyes. ‘Phew! That was hard.’

  ‘But you’ve made me very happy.’

  ‘I meant what I said, you know. If any lawyer or judge tries to make me go back to her, I will run away.’

  ‘It won’t be necessary but I’m honoured.’

  She nodded. ‘That’s settled. Now, I’m hungry. And I want to make sure Gabby isn’t upset.’

  ‘You make a great older sister.’

  She gave him one of her cheeky looks. ‘I do, don’t I? I’d make a good step-daughter too.’

  Epilogue

  The Christmas party was to take place on Christmas Eve and start at five o’clock because of Gabby and Winifred, neither of whom were good at staying up late, being too young and too old respectively.

  Claire and the girls bought new outfits for the occasion and Dee took charge of her father’s wardrobe and told him what he should wear to look his best.

  She’d hoped that he’d have proposed to Claire by now, but there had been no signs of it and he’d told her firmly to butt out, that this was something a man organised for himself.

  Perhaps he’d do it at the party. Or after it.

  The refreshments were prepared partly by the girls under Claire’s supervision, with a few things bought in, as well as two cakes from Winifred. Claire enjoyed making a few dishes of the sort she’d not been able to afford for two years, showing the girls how to make them.

  It was wonderful to see the two of them working so happily together, with Gabby’s face showing utter concentration as she iced some small cakes and decorated them with faces.

  Dee was following Claire’s instructions with equal care as the put together some savoury nibbles. When the doorbell rang, she said, ‘Oh, bother! I can’t answer that.’

  ‘I’ll get it,’ Luke shouted.

  ‘Phew! Thank goodness. I’ve nearly finished these now. Don’t they look nice?’

  Luke stood in the doorway, smiling to see his daughter so engrossed in what she was doing. But he kept glancing down at the Christmas card that had arrived. He recognised his ex’s handwriting and was worried it would bring more threats and take the edge off their Christmas enjoyment.

  When Dee had finished making the nibbles, he said, ‘It’s a card for you. It’s from your mother.’

  ‘Oh. Will you open it for me? I’m all sticky.’

  ‘It can wait till your hands are clean.’

  Her eyes were pleading with him to open it for her, but he shook her head. ‘The lawyer said she won’t be able to take you away from me. It’s safe to open it.’

  She wiped her hands on her apron and took it from him.

  Gabby came to stand beside her, as if to offer moral support and Dee steeled herself visibly to tear it open. She read it, swallowed hard, then read it again.

  Looking up, she smiled sadly and said, ‘She’s made it up with that woman and since I’m not acting like a proper daughter to her, she will not appeal to the courts about leaving me here. I’ve made my bed and I won’t find it as comfortable as I expect.’

  ‘What a mean-spirited thing to say!’ Claire exclaimed. ‘She’s acting like a spoilt child.’

  Dee walked across to the kitchen bin and dropped the card and envelope into it. ‘I’m not letting her spoil my Christmas. Or my life.’

  She was quiet as she helped finish the preparations, then cheered up visibly as she and Gabby went upstairs to change into their new clothes.

  By the time they came down, she was smiling again. ‘Will you take a photo of us, Dad? I want to put it up on my page online.’

  The photo was duly taken and came out so well, Claire immediately decided to have a good copy made to stand on the mantelpiece.

  ‘I’m still angry at your ex,’ Claire said to Luke as they in turn went up to change into their party
outfits.

  ‘She’s like that. Fancy sending such a letter by courier on Christmas Eve.’

  When she came out of the bedroom, he was waiting for her and let out a soft whistle of appreciation at her appearance. ‘You look good enough to eat.’

  ‘So do you. Dee has excellent taste in clothes.’

  He grinned. ‘Better than me, that’s sure. I’d never have chosen this shirt, but it looks OK, doesn’t it?’

  ‘It looks great.’

  When they went into the living room, both girls applauded.

  Then they had some non-alcoholic punch before the guests arrived and toasted one another with it.

  It seemed to Claire that the girls had a secret, but it was the season for secrets so she didn’t try to find out what they were planning.

  Then the guests started arriving and the party got under way, with young Millie also sporting a party dress. The toddler lasted only half an hour, then fell asleep curled up on the floor beside the Christmas tree, whose lights had fascinated her.

  Such nice people, Claire thought, watching as they mixed together easily, chatting and then finding someone else to talk to. She exchanged delighted glances with Luke every now and then.

  Only one person had been left out and Helly soon let them know she wasn’t having that by sneaking in when someone left the door open, nudging first Luke then Claire, after which she began slobbering happy kisses on any part of her people she could reach.

  Luke fumbled in his pocket. ‘I have a treat for her, because she brought us together.’

  Helly swallowed the dog treat in one gulp and condescended to accept a second one, which was made of hide and hard enough to keep her busy for a while.

  They and their guests laughed and the party continued.

  At seven o’clock, Luke took Claire’s arm. ‘Have you got a moment?’

  ‘Is something wrong? The food’s OK, isn’t it?’

  ‘The food is wonderful. I have something to show you. It won’t take long.’

  He took her into his office. He was looking so nervous she wondered what the matter was.