Let It Snow

by Sue Moorcroft

  The children claimed her attention and Isaac noticed Andy nattering again while Lily flew around taking up the slack. Trying not to keep watching Andy as Tina appeared behind the bar to serve too, Isaac transferred his gaze to Lily as she grabbed an order pad and approached their table with a cheery, ‘Evening!’ to Isaac and a smile for everybody else. ‘Hello! I’m Lily. May I give you your menus?’ She passed out the folded cards, then said to Flora, ‘Would the children like some colouring things?’

  ‘Thank you!’ said Flora, smiling, while Jasmine and Jeremy said, ‘Yes!’ loudly and Stef said, ‘I think you mean yes please, don’t you?’ And, ‘Thank you, dear,’ to Lily.

  Menus were perused while Lily fetched small paper carrier bags for Jeremy and Jasmine, who took out small boxes of crayons and colouring booklets and began to discuss the pictures.

  The adults tried to converse above their heads but it was stilted. Flora and Dad were complimentary about the menu while Stef kept looking around commenting how small everything was compared to the cavernous Juno Lounge with its mezzanine at one end and giant light fixtures dangling from the beams high above.

  ‘Tell us how you’re getting on,’ she demanded of Isaac, turning her gaze onto him. ‘We’ve hardly seen you these last few months. You’re temporary here, aren’t you? Will you be working all over Christmas? Or do you shut Christmas Day? Surely no one needs to be at the pub on Christmas Day – they should all be home with their families.’ Her tone suggested that Isaac should be with his family too.

  Isaac had avoided his parents during the crisis at the Juno and in its immediate aftermath from a wish not to worry them, so he went straight to the question of Christmas. ‘Whether my job lasts as long as Christmas Day isn’t quite decided because the owner’s in Switzerland and hasn’t been cleared to come back to work. I think I’m likely to stay on into January.’ Isaac became aware that Lily, passing out menus at the next table, had stopped to glance at him. ‘The pub does open on Christmas Day and lunch is in the diary,’ he went on. Lily’s eyes widened before she returned her attention to her other customers.

  Stef’s eyes reddened. ‘I’d just hoped that with Hayley out of the picture we’d have a proper Christmas with you this year.’

  Isaac chose not to pick up on her slightly barbed comment about Hayley, understanding that his mum must be fed up with the way things were going in her life. Fifteen years ago, before Ray had become ill, they’d had good jobs and a roomy farmhouse to live in. They’d both worked on the farm, Ray working tirelessly in the fields and Stef providing meals for the farm workers and looking after the chickens and their few cows. Now Stef and Ray lived in a small house on an estate on the edge of a city. There was never enough money. No nice things. Stef, though she tried valiantly to hide it from Ray, chafed. She didn’t mean to take it out on everyone around her but picking fault was free entertainment.

  ‘Sorry, Mum,’ he said, meaning it. ‘I’ll do my best but there has to be a licensee near enough to call on. It’s the law.’

  Before Stef could reply, Lily turned to their table. ‘Are we ready to order?’

  ‘Burger, chips and a b’nana,’ Jasmine requested promptly.

  Lily grinned as she wrote it down. ‘Shall we save the banana for your dessert? Just have burger and chips for now?’

  Jasmine beamed and nodded and Lily noted everybody else’s wants briskly. Her hair today was plaited down the back of her head and looped in a shiny band. ‘I’ll bring your drinks right over.’ And she whisked away, disappearing through the counter flap in the direction of the kitchen.

  ‘Nice girl,’ observed Ray. Isaac was glad to hear him volunteering even such a short comment. He spent so much time inside himself, zapped by chronic fatigue. Generally, he reserved what energy he had for fighting his latest health crap.

  Isaac turned back to Stef. ‘This may be my last Christmas in the licensed trade. I’m looking for a more fun career.’ And he told them all about the courses he’d booked to open the door to jobs in the fresh air.

  Stef listened with visible interest. ‘Will it mean you being home next Christmas?’

  Isaac laughed. ‘I will if I can.’

  The drinks arrived, Lily wielding her tray as if it were a part of her. Jasmine and Jeremy dropped the crayons they’d been beginning to bicker over and fell on their Fruit Shoots with cries of, ‘Yeah!’ and ‘Yummmmmmm!’

  After a couple of appreciative sips of white wine, Stef turned back to Isaac. ‘So all we need is you to settle down and give us more grandkids.’

  Isaac refused to be ruffled. He gave Jasmine and Jeremy a pointed look. ‘You have the best grandkids in the world already.’

  Stef regarded them fondly, gently easing the Fruit Shoot bottle from Jasmine’s hand. ‘Don’t drink it all at once, lovie, or you won’t have room for a lovely burger.’ She turned back to Isaac. ‘But we need some more to carry on the name. Jeremy and Jasmine’s surname is Scrivens, like their dad.’

  ‘But there must be plenty of O’Briens in the world,’ Isaac objected. As he was neither on duty nor driving tonight he’d ordered a pint of Amstel and he took a long draught of it.

  ‘But not our family,’ Stef pointed out. If she’d stopped there then Isaac would happily have let the conversation drift onto other topics and felt that things were going OK. However, Stef obviously couldn’t resist harking back to exactly what had caused discord between them for the past several years. ‘Trouble was,’ she said, ‘you spent all that time with Hayley and kids weren’t on the cards, with her being a decade older than you.’

  Lily had returned to the next table to serve drinks, chatting as she did so.

  Perhaps out of embarrassment that she’d probably overheard, Isaac found himself saying tartly, ‘It was nine years and, next time, I promise to find a brood mare.’ Then he felt bad for letting his annoyance show and laughed, slinging his arm around his mum to give her a hug. ‘Hayley could have been younger than me and we might still not have had kids. People do make that choice. Anyway, as we’ve split up, it’s a good job we didn’t have any.’

  Then he saw Flora’s startled and hurt expression and cursed himself for being a thoughtless prat. He definitely needed to put a brake on his mouth. ‘I’m just going to check on something.’ He sought sanctuary by going behind the bar and out into the back. He was checking his phone for messages when Lily bustled in behind him carrying a pile of dirty crockery.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, sounding surprised to encounter him there. ‘Something wrong?’

  He looked up from his inbox. ‘Me. I’m finding nothing to do for a couple of minutes while I work out how to apologise to my sister for being negative about single parenthood when she’s a single mum and I love her kids to bits.’

  She took a step towards the kitchen. ‘They’re lovely children.’

  He agreed. ‘And Flora’s coped brilliantly since she discovered her ex-husband was using scuzzy dating sites while still married to her.’ He stopped, wondering what made him tell Lily things.

  ‘That’s awful,’ Lily exclaimed. Then added, ‘Dating sites aren’t all scuzzy though.’

  He cringed. ‘Crap. Have I just insulted you too? If you use dating sites then I’m sorry—’

  ‘Not me,’ she reassured him with a grin, moving off towards the clatter of the kitchen. ‘But look at Carola and Owen all loved up. They met on a dating site and Carola’s one of the least scuzzy people I know.’

  He slid his phone back into his pocket, saying drily, ‘I’m sure their site was respectable and allowed a lot of people to find love. But the one Billy used wasn’t respectable and it allowed him to find extra-marital sex.’

  She wrinkled her nose and resumed her course for the kitchen while Isaac, having given himself a timeout and a talking-to, made his way back into the bar. Unfortunately, the first thing his gaze lit on was Andy leaning on the bar and chatting. Beside him Tina served one customer while several others waited their turn.

  Isaac’s bad mood found
an outlet. He came up behind Andy and said in his ear, ‘Got a minute, please?’ and turned on his heel.

  After a few seconds Andy followed him into the back area wearing an expression that was both pugnacious and defensive. Isaac got straight to the point. ‘It’s great you’re on friendly terms with so many villagers and I’m sure that’s an asset to a village pub. However, you need to serve as well as talk, I’m afraid. I’m sure you don’t mean to leave the work to others, but that’s what’s happening.’

  Andy turned away dismissively. ‘Don’t worry about it, young man.’

  ‘Andy!’ Isaac’s voice cracked out so loudly that Andy swung around in surprise. He spoke his next comments softly in contrast. ‘Mr Tubb has left me in charge.’

  The older man began to bluster. ‘Harry Tubb’s been my mate just about all my life. He trusts me.’

  ‘In that case,’ Isaac said deliberately, ‘you’re letting him down.’

  Face turning a dull red, Andy stalked over to where the staff members hung their coats and snatched his down. ‘You can take my name off the rota until Tubb gets back.’

  ‘Noted.’ Isaac watched while he struggled into his coat, saw him from the premises and strode back into the bar area. Quietly he said to Tina, ‘Andy’s going home and says he’ll be off the rota until Mr Tubb returns. Can you and Lily manage, or shall I give you a hand?’ From the corner of his eye he watched Lily race past with a plated meal in each hand.

  Tina rolled her eyes. ‘We’re OK for now. I’ll give you a shout if we get desperate.’

  ‘Great.’ Isaac had made a mental note to gently challenge Tina tomorrow on why she hadn’t had a word with Andy herself but decided to leave it for now. Lily was quick and Tina, although she looked as if she strolled everywhere, got work done. Then, as he turned, he saw, waiting for him at the counter flap, his sister.

  Passing through, he hugged her. ‘I’m such an idiot. I let Mum wind me up. You’re the best mum and your kids are the best kids. I didn’t mean to imply that you’re letting Jeremy and Jasmine suffer for Billy clearing off.’

  Colour touched Flora’s cheeks but she waved his apology away. ‘I know you said it in a different context. You love the kids.’ She hesitated. ‘I wanted to talk to you about something else. Have you got any bar work going? I was going to sound you out more subtly but I heard what you just said to that lady—’ she glanced at Tina ‘—and thought I’d better register my interest before you got anyone else.’

  Isaac stared at her, drawing her slightly to one side to let Lily bustle through and begin serving the customers waiting at the bar. ‘How will that work with the kids? Is Billy having them? Or moving back in?’ His heart sank at the idea of the latter. Billy hadn’t been a particularly hands-on dad and he’d made a bloody fool of Flora.

  She shook her head. ‘No, my friend Willow’s moving in with me. She’s a single mum with a girl and a boy, like me. She’s moving into the spare room, her son will move in with Jeremy and her daughter with Jasmine. We’re each going to work part-time and share the babysitting. We’ve got to do something because Billy’s got himself sacked from work so he has no real income, so he doesn’t have to pay for the kids and Willow’s ex has done a runner. It’s a nightmare, Isaac. When you were living with us and paying me board that money made all the difference.’

  Around them, people laughed and chatted. Isaac stared down in dismay at his sister’s embarrassed expression. ‘I didn’t realise or maybe I could have got a job where I didn’t live in.’

  She set her mouth obstinately. ‘We’re not your responsibility. I’m happy to work my way out of trouble.’

  Hating Billy with fresh force, Isaac said, ‘I’ll ask Mr Tubb as soon as I can get hold of him tomorrow. Do you need money to be going on with?’

  She laughed. ‘Why? Have you got any?’

  ‘Some,’ he replied honestly. He wasn’t yet in a position to know what would be left after coming to agreement with HMRC and he’d paid for his courses and his living expenses while undergoing them, but he was pretty confident it would be ‘some’. He had regular income while he was working here.

  She gave him a hard hug. ‘I’ll keep you as a last resort.’

  When they returned to their table in time for Lily to bring over their delicious-smelling meals he helped Flora break the news of her altered living arrangements to their parents and be very reassuring that of course it would work out and it was really quite an exciting and fun solution to Flora’s problems.

  Stef’s sharp gaze saw straight through the good face Flora was putting on things and she saddened. ‘Oh, Flora, I’d help you if I possibly could. But with living on benefits and caring for your dad—’

  ‘You’ve got your hands full already,’ Flora agreed reassuringly. ‘I’ll be fine if Isaac can get me a couple of shifts a week here. Willow will share the rent and utilities so you don’t need to worry, Mum.’

  Stef nodded but Isaac was uncomfortably aware that if the Juno hadn’t fallen on its arse he would have had more in the bank to help his sister if she needed it.

  Isaac Skyped Tubb next morning, Wednesday. His absent boss’s face loomed on the laptop screen. ‘Andy’s been texting me,’ he began before Isaac could raise the subject.

  Not shocked to hear it, because if Andy was a buddy of Tubb’s then getting his retaliation in first was an obvious strategy, Isaac told Tubb frankly about his issues with the older man, wondering whether he’d be believed. He was the unknown quantity, after all.

  Tubb gave a wintry smile. ‘I’ve already rung Tina and she confirms Andy’s been taking the pee.’

  Isaac nodded, liking that Tubb had sought other insight on the situation rather than taking just one person’s word. ‘He says he doesn’t want to be on the rota till you return.’

  Tubb frowned, looking restless. ‘Can you find enough cover for him until the New Year? Lily’s trip over here in December means you’ll be down another three or four shifts because she’s taking ten days. I could have a few words with Andy – but it’s you who has to work with him.’

  ‘He’s made it plain he doesn’t wish to work with me and someone did approach me for a couple of shifts a week,’ Isaac said slowly. ‘My sister, Flora. Her only relevant experience dates back to the student bar at uni. She’s bright and pleasant, though. I know she’ll work hard.’

  Tubb’s gaze sharpened. ‘Does she know the pay’s modest?’

  ‘I haven’t discussed that with her.’ He gave the bullet points of the difficult situation in which Flora found herself. ‘She just needs enough hours to give her some financial breathing space,’ he finished abruptly, feeling angry about Billy all over again.

  Tubb sat back. ‘OK. Let’s offer her 50p over minimum hourly wage. But I can’t promise two shifts every week once we’ve cleared New Year. It goes dead for a bit.’

  Isaac murmured his thanks. ‘Erm,’ he hesitated delicately. ‘But when you return, if Andy wants his job back, then what for Flora?’

  Tubb gave an even more wintry smile. ‘I don’t think we’ll invite him to our side of the bar again.’

  ‘I’ll tell Flora she has a job.’ Isaac made a note on his phone then, ‘On the subject of New Year, do you know yet how long you’ll want me here for?’

  ‘Janice wants to be here in Switzerland for Christmas and Ona could have her baby any time from mid to late December anyway. And my brother Garrick’s living here too now and I haven’t spent Christmas with him for years.’ The look in Tubb’s eyes was half hopeful and half challenging.

  Isaac considered for a moment, fidgeting with his phone on the desk, remembering his mum’s despondence over not seeing him on Christmas Day. He knew she was struggling with the unfairness of life. ‘You want me here to keep the place open on Christmas Day?’

  There must have been a loud note of uncertainty in his voice because Tubb sighed. ‘Put it this way, if you can’t then those who’ve signed up for the usual Christmas lunch will be disappointed. I can’t take over the rein
s again unless the doctors say so. My girlfriend would give me hell.’ He said the word ‘girlfriend’ bashfully. Isaac smothered a smile. He knew from various members of staff that Tubb and Janice had worked together for years and then suddenly fallen for each other last Christmas, surprising the whole village. Tubb, divorced for ages, had fallen like a ton of bricks. Tubb cleared his throat. ‘I thought you’d planned for being available into January.’

  Isaac nodded. ‘I had. It’s my parents.’ He explained his father’s illness and his mother’s mood.

  ‘Got it.’ Tubb picked up a pen and rolled it between his fingers. ‘Your family’s invited to Christmas lunch as guests of the pub, if that helps.’ He checked his watch. ‘Get Lily to tell you about the lunch because she was there last year. You’ll see why I don’t want to shut – some people don’t have other places to go.’

  ‘Leave it with me.’ Isaac would at least get paid a solid sum for Christmas Day and if he could invite his parents and Flora and the kids then maybe they’d have a great time. He hoped so, anyway.

  Once a few other operational matters had been covered they ended the call and Isaac first rang Flora to tell her she had a job, eliciting a whoop of relief and a profusion of thanks, then went online. Black Friday deals were already making an appearance though it was only mid November so he went onto the Mountain Warehouse website and looked at down-filled coats for his parents. Neither of them had looked warm enough in what they were wearing last night and this was going to be a cold winter, by all accounts.

  As if to bear him out, a news alert flashed on his phone screen: Brrritain brrraces itself for cold snap!

  He pressed ‘buy now’. He should be glad of his uncomplicated family. His mum’s occasional moroseness was nothing in comparison to the way Lily had to walk the tightrope between her families.

  Chapter Seven

  ‘Are you free tonight? Or is there any chance of you swapping shifts so you can be?’ Zinnia’s voice was cheerful and excited over Lily’s phone.