by Karen King
‘Lexi would tell you that it’s never too late.’
‘I know. Well, things are going to be different in the new year. I’m going to get out, join a few of the clubs Mabe has told me about, and I’m going to find Rocco.’
Two more glasses of brandy later, Joel let himself back into his own house, a sleepy Sweetie in his arms. He gently lifted her out and put her in her basket, she’d done her business in Lloyd’s garden half an hour ago, so didn’t need to go out again. She wagged her tail, without even opening her eyes, and snuggled down. Well, it looked like he was actually going to have his bed to himself tonight. That would be a change.
As Joel settled down into bed, Lexi’s image flashed across his mind. He went to sleep dreaming of her lips on his cheek.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Christmas Day
‘Wake up, Auntie Lexi!’ Toby shouted.
Feeling the mattress wobbling beneath her, Lexi rubbed her eyes sleepily and saw that Toby was jumping up and down excitedly on her bed. ‘Mewwy Christmas!’ he shouted.
‘Mewwy Christmas, Toby.’ She lifted herself up on her elbows and smiled at him.
Toby jumped off the bed, grabbed her hand and tugged. ‘Santa’s here. And Mrs Santa!’ Toby’s eyes were round with wonder.
Lexi grinned, her parents must have got up early to put their Santa outfits on. They always used to do that when she and her brothers were young. They must be really enjoying having Toby here. She glanced at the clock. Seven o’clock. That wasn’t bad; when they were young, she, Jay and Ryan would often have their parents out of bed at five o’clock in the morning. Although Toby was probably still suffering from jet lag, and had gone to bed late yesterday, so she was actually surprised that he was up and looking so lively.
‘I’m coming,’ she said, swinging her legs out of bed. ‘Can you pass me my dressing gown, please?’
Toby ran to the chair that the white fluffy dressing gown was draped over, and brought it to Lexi as she slipped her feet into her slippers and stood up. ‘Thank you,’ she said, taking it off him.
‘Same!’ Toby pointed proudly to his red pyjamas with white snowmen printed over them. Lexis pyjamas were red, too, and there was a big snowman on the front.
‘We’re almost twins,’ Lexi said with a grin. She slipped on the dressing gown and tied the belt at the front. ‘Is everyone else up?’
Toby shook his head. ‘Not Gwanny.’
At least she wasn’t the last one. She held out her hand. ‘Come on, then, let’s see what Santa has brought us.’
She’d placed her presents for everyone around the tree yesterday. Her parents always liked to pick up the presents one by one, then call out the name of the person the gift was for, and then everyone would watch as they opened it. It took ages for all the presents to be opened, but it was fun.
Her family were all in the lounge: her brothers and their partners with bed hair and sleepy eyes, all clad in dressing gowns and onesies, and her parents in their Santa and Mrs Claus costumes, ready for the grand present opening session.
‘We’re just waiting for Granny Mabe,’ Paula said, passing Lexi a mug of tea when she came in.
‘Thanks.’ Lexi clasped the warm mug in her hands and sat down on the sofa, by Ryan and Nell, who both looked very sleepy.
‘My Christmas doesn’t normally start this early.’ Nell yawned.
‘It does when you have children,’ Sonia told her.
If she was still with Ben, they would probably be tucked up in bed fast asleep, Lexi thought. Now, Ben was tucked up with Rosa instead.
She’s welcome to him. Lexi pushed any thought of Ben out of her mind. She was with her family. She needed to stop letting him creep back into her thoughts. Especially today.
‘Your parents look great in those outfits, though.’ Nell gave another yawn. ‘Do they always do this at Christmas?’
‘They did when we were young,’ Ryan told her. ‘I’m sure they’re enjoying making the most of Toby being here for Christmas.’
Lexi glanced over at Toby, who was sitting on Jay’s lap, looking impatiently at the door and asking every now and again when Granny Mabe was coming. At last, the lounge door opened as she ambled in, dressed in a snowman onesie and nursing a big mug of tea.
‘Hooray!’ Toby cheered. ‘Can we have our presents now, Santa?’
‘Merry Christmas!’ Granny Mabe said as she sat down in the armchair that had been left vacant for her.
‘Merry Christmas!’ everyone shouted.
‘Right, are you all ready for your presents?’ Santa Craig shouted.
‘Yes!’ they all chorused back.
He turned to the pile of presents placed around the tree and picked up one covered in Santa Clauses. ‘This one is for Toby!’ he called.
Toby clapped his hand. ‘Mine!’ he shouted, scrambling off his dad’s lap and running over to retrieve his present. They all watched as he opened it, his face breaking into a huge smile when he saw the dinosaur game Lexi had bought him. ‘Look!’ he squealed, running to show his parents.
Mrs Santa Paula picked up another present and called out to Ryan. He was delighted when his present turned out to be a metal detector. Nell smiled at his delighted expression. ‘I thought we could go detecting at weekends – you never know, we might find some treasure,’ she said.
There was lots of fun and laughter as Santa Craig and Mrs Santa Paula took it in turns to call out the presents one by one, and lots of squeals of delight from little Toby.
‘We were right to book an extra suitcase for the flight back,’ Sonia said, looking at the pile of presents surrounding Toby, who was now sitting on the carpet playing with a very noisy fire engine.
When all the presents had been opened, they had breakfast and a glass of Buck’s Fizz, then took it in turns to use the family bathroom to shower and get dressed. Everyone wore Christmas jumpers – apart from Paula and Craig, who kept on their Mr and Mrs Claus outfits. Even Toby had a cute Santa jumper.
‘It’s like a flashback to when we were all kids, isn’t it?’ Jay remarked as they sat around the table playing a noisy game of Monopoly whilst dinner was cooking.
‘Exactly the same, none of you have grown up,’ Craig jested.
‘Who’s the one dressed as Santa and sulking because he’s losing?’ Ryan retorted, and they all burst out laughing.
As Lexi looked around at her family, she thought that she hadn’t been this happy for a long time.
The only thing missing was Ben. She’d received another text from him that morning, wishing her a Merry Christmas and telling her how much he missed her. She thought of the early Christmas dinner she had planned for them, and the presents she had bought for him. She shrugged the thoughts from her mind. She would get over Ben. It would take a little time, but she would do it. Meanwhile, she was enjoying this break with her family.
When the game was finished – Sonia won, to her delight and the groans of the men – Lexi went upstairs and took out the Christmas jumper she’d knitted for Ben. Her brothers had already all got one, so she was planning on wrapping it up as a present for Joel and giving it to him tomorrow. She knew that he had jested with Lloyd that he would never wear a Christmas jumper but hopefully, he would join in as her brothers and her dad would be wearing their Christmas jumpers again. She also had a present for Lloyd, a new pair of slippers. She’d noticed that his current ones were wearing out and was worried about him tripping up, so had checked out his shoe size one day when he’d changed into his slippers and gone into the kitchen to make a drink. She’d been planning on giving the presents to them both tomorrow, not wanting to give them earlier in case they thought that they had to get her a present back.
She wondered how their preparations for Christmas dinner were panning out. If only Rocco would turn up, she thought, but he had probably got plans to spend Christmas Day with his own family. Perhaps he would come to visit Lloyd another day. She hoped so. She’d love it if he came before she went back home.
; When she went downstairs, Ryan and Jay were out in the garden testing out the drone that Nell had bought Ryan for Christmas. Toby was asleep in the armchair, still clutching the cuddly penguin that Lexi had bought him, and Sonia and Nell were sitting on the sofa, chatting over a bottle of wine. ‘Come and join us, we got a glass for you.’ Nell pointed to the empty glass on the coffee table.
‘Thanks, I will. I’ll just check that Mum and Dad don’t need any help in the kitchen first.’
‘We’ve offered, but they’ve kicked us out,’ Nell told her.
Lexi could believe that. The kitchen was her parents’ domain on Christmas morning. ‘In that case, pour me the wine.’ She grinned, plonking down beside Nell. ‘We’ll gang up on them after dinner and make them sit down while we clean up the kitchen, deal?’
‘Deal,’ Sonia and Nell agreed.
Lexi picked up the glass of wine Nell had poured her. ‘Now, how are you two coping with my brothers?’
‘It’s a work in progress,’ Nell said with a grin. ‘Mind you, the metal detector and drone will keep Ryan occupied for hours. They were genius presents, even if I say so myself.’
‘Jay’s got a drone, too, at home. I bought it for his birthday. They’ll be taking videos with them and having a competition to see who takes the most unusual one.’
‘That is so like them,’ Lexi agreed, remembering how competitive her brothers had always been.
‘Had you and Ben been together long?’ Sonia asked her. ‘Don’t answer if it’s too painful to talk about.’
‘Over a year,’ Lexi told her. ‘We met in September last year and video-called each other every day during lockdown. We got on so well that Ben moved in after lockdown eased, so we’d been living together for a few months.’
‘So, it was a fairly new relationship, then. It’s awful that he’s cheated on you like that, but you really are better off without him.’
‘I know. We were “comfortable” together, we jogged along okay, but there was no real passion. I can see that now. I guess that’s why he went off with Rosa.’ She turned to Sonia. ‘Now, do tell us more about Canada. I’m already planning my visit for next year.’
‘So are we,’ Nell told her. ‘You could travel with us. It’d be fun.’
‘Thanks. I’d like that. And by the sound of it we might have Granny Mabe joining us, too, if she gets wind that we’re going over.’
‘As long as she doesn’t start yarn-bombing the airport,’ Nell said.
They all laughed.
It had been a long time since he’d looked forward to Christmas, Joel thought. He’d got up and switched on the lights on the Christmas tree, then given Sweetie her present from Lexi to unwrap. It had surprised him when Lexi had given him a present for the little dog, but he had to admit that it was fun watching her opening it – a squeaky bone – then watching her excitedly play with it. He wished Lexi was here to see it, too.
Joel picked up the Christmas wrapping paper that Sweetie had scattered all over the lounge in her eagerness to unwrap her present, and shoved it in the bin, then went to put the oven on to cook the turkey crown. He’d taken it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost yesterday morning. Lloyd was coming around for one o’clock, so there was plenty of time for the turkey to cook. He’d wrapped up a small bottle of whisky as a present for Lloyd, and had pulled up an armchair by the fire for him to sit on.
He wondered what Toni’s Christmas plans were. When they were together, they had always got up late, opened their presents, then gone off for Christmas lunch, followed by a party at one or other of their friend’s houses. And the same on Boxing Day. He was sure she would find some friend to put her up and a party to go to. Toni was one of those people who could always wrap people around her little finger. It had worked with him enough times. She might even have made it up with Drake. Even if he had agreed to give their marriage another try, Joel knew that Toni would have soon been off again. He wasn’t go-getting enough for her. And he was past wanting to try. Life was a lot more peaceful without Toni in it. So was Christmas. He’d spent last Christmas alone, as had many other people, thanks to the Covid restrictions, treating it just like any other day. This year, though, he felt ready to have a bit of company. He was actually even looking forward to going around to Lexi’s parents’ house tomorrow. They were a friendly family, and as he was going to be in the village for a few more months it would be good to get to know people.
The snow had stopped falling now, but was quite thick on the ground. He didn’t want Lloyd falling again, so Joel decided to go around and collect him. Just as he grabbed his coat, someone knocked on the door. Lloyd was standing on the doorstep.
‘I was about to come for you. I was worried you might slip,’ Joel said as Lloyd stepped into the hall and Sweetie bounded out to greet him.
‘Mabe bought me some snow grips for my shoes,’ Lloyd slipped off his shoes and turned them over to show him. ‘She’s got some herself, and said they’re really good for gripping the snow and ice.’
Mabe really was a character, Joel thought.
Lloyd rummaged in the shopping bag he was holding and held out a parcel.
‘Merry Christmas!’
‘Merry Christmas and thank you.’ Joel took the present off him and closed the door. Lloyd took a pair of worn slippers out of his bag and slipped his feet into them, then felt in his bag again and took out another present. ‘And this is for Sweetie.’
Sweetie danced around his legs and barked, as if she understood what he had said.
‘Thank you.’ Joel held the door open. ‘I’ve got a little gift for you, too. I’ll give it to you in a moment. Do you want a cuppa or a tot? Dinner will be another half an hour or so.’
‘I’ll have a cuppa, thanks. I’ll save the tot until later, otherwise I’ll be falling asleep.’
‘Go through into the lounge. You can give Sweetie her present if you want, while I make the tea,’ Joel told him.
When he joined Lloyd with a mug of tea each a few minutes later Sweetie was chewing happily at a rubber bone, the Christmas paper it had been wrapped in now in the bin.
‘That’ll keep her occupied all day,’ Joel said with a smile. ‘And it’s a lot quieter than the squeaky toy Lexi bought her, which she’s been running around with all morning!’
The two men exchanged presents, Lloyd was delighted with the small bottle of whisky, as was Joel with the flask Lloyd had bought him. ‘Just what I need,’ he said.
‘I thought you might appreciate it with you working outside,’ Lloyd told him.
They had a pleasant day, chatting easily and then watching a film on the TV. Lloyd fell asleep at one point, and Joel took the opportunity to go to the front door and check the street. It had suddenly occurred to him that if Rocco turned up and his father wasn’t in, he might go away again.
You told him you lived next door but one, he’d give you a knock.
He kept an ear out for a knock on his door or ring of his bell all afternoon, but none came. It was only Thursday that he saw Rocco, very short notice, he reminded himself. Hopefully, the man would think about Joel’s words and come to visit his father before New Year.
At just gone six, Lloyd rose from his seat, thanked Joel for a splendid day, and said he was off home. Joel suggested he call for Lloyd the next day so they could walk to Lexi’s together, explaining that he didn’t want to take the car as he would be having a drink.
‘That’s very kind of you,’ Lloyd said.
‘I’ll walk you home now, Sweetie could do with a bit of exercise,’ Joel told him.
Once Lloyd was safely home, Joel took the little dog for a short walk, then opened a bottle of beer, sprawled out on the sofa, and settled down for an evening in front of the TV. Sweetie jumped up beside him, snuggled up and went to sleep.
He’d enjoyed today, Joel thought, as he gently stroked the sleeping dog. And he was looking forward to tomorrow. And to seeing Lexi again.
Lexi texted later that night. How did your
Christmas lunch go? Did Rocco turn up?
He replied: Sadly, no. But we had an enjoyable day. And Sweetie loved her present, thank you. Then he added: Looking forward to tomorrow.
Me too ☺
Joel smiled as he read Lexi’s text. For the first time in years, he was actually enjoying Christmas.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Boxing Day
It had always been a tradition in the Forde household that the men in the family did the cooking on Boxing Day, while the women either went to the sales or put their feet up. No one fancied a trip to the shops today, so the women plumped for having a drink and catch up in the lounge instead.
‘Remember, you’re all banned from the kitchen. If you want something, you have to knock on the door,’ Craig warned them as the men took to the kitchen to cook – Jay even took Toby with him, much to both Toby and Sonia’s delight. ‘I cook, too,’ he said. ‘Bye, Mummy!’
‘Bye!’ Sonia waved happily.
Paula reached for a bottle of wine. ‘Anyone want a glass?’
‘Yes, please!’ Nell said with a smile.
‘Me too! I must make the most of my child-free morning,’ said Sonia. She took the glass of wine that Paula offered her. ‘I’m so grateful that Jay was brought up to cook and do his share of household chores.’
