Christmas at Lock Keeper's Cottage

by Lucy Coleman

  ‘My darling, Immi, the love of my life. You met this crazy man, the one who breaks into song at the most inappropriate moments, and let him into your heart. A man who struggles to keep his dream of a career alive and yet you support me every step of the way.’ He pauses and we both swallow hard, exchanging a meaningful glance. ‘The day you came into my life everything changed in an instant. And now, well, we’re all rather taking it for granted you are going to say yes, and haven’t had second thoughts. The question I put to you again is, Immi Tolliman, you’re the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life. Marry me… please.’

  ‘Hmm. Decisions, decisions…’ I string it out for a few moments. ‘Okay. Hands up, everyone who thinks I should say yes.’

  Hands fly up in the air. Most of the group holding up both hands, which is cheating.

  ‘Did you offer bribes?’ I level at Gray, as he exudes an air of smug satisfaction.

  ‘Maybe. But you’re worth it, Immi.’

  I stand, pulling him up to meet me with my right hand, as he slips Grandma’s ring on the finger of my other hand.

  ‘Guess it’s a yes then, by majority vote,’ I concede.

  We hug and everyone claps, accompanied by a few whistles and some tentative tapping on the table. Valerie and Rona immediately push back on their chairs and rush towards us. Rona is beaming as we hug, but when she releases me and turns to Gray, I see that Valerie has tears in her eyes. She leans in to kiss my cheek and her voice is barely audible as she speaks.

  ‘If ever two people were made for each other, Immi, it’s you and Gray. I’m so very happy for you both.’

  I’m touched by her words, as I can see they’re heartfelt.

  ‘Aww… Thank you, Valerie. Dad would have been thrilled and so would Grandma. I found my Mr Right and I know that sets Tollie’s mind at rest for the future.’ To my horror, my bottom lip begins to tremble now, and she throws her arms around me. ‘Being alone, feeling lonely – even amongst friends – is a terrible thing and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.’ It’s hardly a whisper, but Valerie turns her face to look at me as our eyes well up.

  ‘Always know you are loved, Immi, because you truly are a beautiful person inside and out. Life hasn’t always been easy for you and you deserved better, so take heart. Nell will be wearing the biggest smile today.’

  Suddenly, there’s a jolt behind us that tips us slightly off balance and the spell of the moment is broken. Sucking in a deep breath, I look away as Valerie swipes her eyes with her hand. No one seems to have noticed us, as they are all too busy looking at Gray.

  ‘Eek! Careful.’ Tollie splays out his hands to steady the heavy, extended top, which has skewed a little as it sits balanced on the tabletop. Gray is on his hands and knees now, adjusting one of the blocks of wood beneath the table. ‘We need to keep this thing stable as, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for dessert.’

  There’s a tinkle of laughter before Gray stands, pointing to Tollie, and then to the garden.

  ‘Oh. Yes.’ Tollie immediately jumps up. ‘First things first. Feeling strong, Gray?’

  In the background ‘Good King Wenceslas’ strikes up and I can see I’m not the only one who thinks this is a crazy idea. Gray goes off to grab their coats, as Tollie slides open the patio doors rather gingerly. The snow is now stacked up at least fifteen inches above floor level and, while hardly any of it moves, the wind gusts, knocking in several large clumps. That blast of chilly air cuts through the cosiness of the room like a knife.

  ‘Guys, can’t this wait until it warms up a little?’

  Gray has already slipped on his coat and a beanie hat and is holding up Tollie’s hooded jacket.

  ‘By the look of it I think that could be quite a while. Shut the door behind us, but we’ll need you to give us a little direction.’

  I look at Gray as if he’s gone mad and as I rush to slide the door back along the runners, everyone gathers round.

  At the end of the decking area, under the edge of the overhanging canopy, is what looks like a pile of blankets. We watch as Gray uncovers the handle of a trolley and the two men tilt it back but not without some difficulty. They begin pushing forward bit by bit until it’s within three feet of the glass doors. That’s way too close for a barbecue – what are they doing?

  They untie the ropes securing the covers, and all of a sudden there he is in all his glory – it’s Bert!

  My hands fly up to my face in disbelief at what I’m seeing.

  ‘What… how…?’

  ‘We all chipped in,’ Fisher informs me, placing his hand on my shoulder and giving it a tweak. ‘And not only did Martin contribute, but he also did us a deal. The thing is, the guys want to know where you want him.’

  Tears are prickling behind my eyelids again, but everyone is looking at me expectantly, so I plaster on a smile over my look of genuine surprise. ‘This is too much, really. But I will admit, I was steeling myself for the day when Martin eventually sold Bert, because it would have broken my heart. Oh, guys – you are awesome and way too generous!’

  Both Gray and Tollie are naturally growing impatient, stomping their feet to warm their toes, as they wait for me to indicate where to stand Bert. Gray points his hand, shrugging his shoulders and indicating first left and then right.

  ‘He has to come inside.’ I raise my voice as I slide the door back a little, because Gray is shaking his head, unable to hear me clearly. ‘I know he’s a statue, but I can’t bear to think of him out in the snow.’

  Tollie looks upwards at the heavens, but Gray thinks it’s funny.

  ‘Okay, it’s your call. Stand back everyone.’

  After a bit of head-scratching, Gray knocks the precarious ledge of snow back out onto the patio and then folds one of the blankets in four. He drapes it over the step up to the threshold of the doors.

  Abe and Liam are closest, and they immediately rush forward to help.

  ‘Count to three and you push, we’ll pull,’ Abe instructs.

  ‘One, two, three.’ There is a lot of groaning and I can’t even imagine what Bert weighs.

  But he’s safely inside and no one strained a back, although the floor is wet and slippery now. I reach out to grab the other blanket sitting atop the mound of snow outside the door, then slide the door closed. I throw the woven tartan fabric down to sop up some of the melting snow; Gray and Tollie are now dripping all over everything.

  Gazing at Bert, he seems very happy, standing as a statement silhouette against a backdrop of almost pure white. I pat his back and Gray slides his arm around my waist to give me a loving hug.

  ‘You guys are mad, seriously mad,’ I tell him, but we have matching smiles and I can see he’s delighted with my response.

  The temperature in here has dropped at least a couple of degrees and while Valerie and I mop the floor dry, everyone else is fixated on the garden. The wind is really beginning to whip up and it’s now driving the piles of loose snow into drifts up against the fences and hedging. There’s very little to see in the dim grey light as the visibility grows worse by the minute.

  ‘Guess no one’s going anywhere real soon,’ Bernie mutters, mostly to himself. But Tollie and I hear him and I’m wondering how on earth we are going to accommodate everyone tonight. Abe and Ethel live closest, but that’s a good mile plus, further along the towpath, and it simply isn’t safe out there.

  ‘Who’s for charades after dessert? Let’s clear the dinner plates away and get serving. Then we can move the chairs over in front of the patio doors,’ I call out above the general background noise.

  It’s enough to get everyone moving.

  The ladies all head off to the kitchen area, while the men clear the plates from the table. Gray lingers for a few moments, scooping me into his arms as I hold out my left hand, tilting my head to take in the detail on Grandma’s ring.

  ‘It is beautiful,’ he remarks. ‘I hope today hasn’t disappointed you. Sharing the house and the cottage with thirteen of our closest family a
nd friends, and someone we’d never met before today, wasn’t quite how this was supposed to go. But I’m not at all unhappy and I hope you aren’t, either.’

  ‘Fourteen in total – you’re forgetting Bert.’

  ‘My sincere apologies, Bert. You love that chunk of metal, don’t you?’

  ‘I do. Almost as much as I love you, so be careful what you say.’

  24

  The Big Freeze

  After a couple of hours of games, I realise I don’t have enough bread defrosted to make sandwiches for everyone this evening.

  ‘Hey, anyone up for a Christmas pizza?’ I call out, and heads nod.

  Valerie, Sarah and Gray follow me across to the kitchen as I turn on the oven.

  ‘We’re going to need to use Tollie’s oven as well, or this will take forever. We can cut up the turkey legs for a festive topping. Gray and I will pop out to the freezer in the outhouse. Then we can figure out how we’re going to carry the hot pizzas across once they’re cooked.’

  ‘I’ll give you a few minutes, then I’ll hang around by the front door.’ Sarah looks at Valerie, who is already pulling out plates and piling them on the island.

  ‘We’ll get everything set up,’ Valerie adds. ‘Just be careful, you two. The last thing we want in this weather is for anyone to twist an ankle, or worse.’

  Gray and I head into the utility room, which is now the temporary cloakroom. With a bobble hat pulled down to my eyebrows, the padded hood on my jacket pulled over the top, and my trusty snow boots, it’s not exactly glamorous, but my fiancé still leans forward to kiss the end of my nose.

  ‘You look so cute,’ he murmurs.

  ‘Cute? Seriously? Come on, fingers crossed Tollie’s winter freezer delivery includes enough pizzas to feed everyone. We’ll use up the last of that monster of a turkey, but at least there’s still some leftover pork for tomorrow.’

  Stepping outside, we quickly discover that the snow is several inches higher than our boots. Snow is supposed to be fun, but this is just cold and wet. It’s difficult to see without constantly blinking, as the wind blows the hard, crystal flakes straight into our faces. It stings and it’s relentless. The brick-built outhouse is only fifty yards away, but it’s in the opposite direction to the cottage.

  We trudge along in silence and it’s slow going. Gray fumbles a little as he unlocks the hefty wooden door and when it finally releases, he stands back, encouraging me inside.

  ‘Flip, that wind is cold,’ I moan, glad at least of the shelter.

  Scanning the shelf-lined walls, I take a mental inventory. If this weather doesn’t break, at least we have lots of tinned soup and baked beans. All we are likely to run out of is milk, and maybe bread, after a few days.

  Gray has already lifted the lid of the big chest freezer and is moving things around to get to the pizzas.

  ‘How many do we need? They’re pretty big. You could almost set up a shop with the stuff you have in here. I guess it’s an advantage at times like this that you have to bulk buy to get a delivery,’ he calls out over his shoulder.

  ‘At least six. Yes. The delivery van driver has to trolley it down from The Bullrush Inn car park, so Tollie orders three months’ worth of food at a time.’

  After a little more foraging he begins handing out boxes to me.

  ‘Might as well have them all as there are seven here, but two are pepperoni. How many loaves of bread?’

  ‘Two. I know Tollie still has bread in the cottage. Can you grab a couple of packs of butter, while you’re there?’

  It’s quite a pile and I sort around for two large cool bags and begin dividing up the goods. When we make our way back outside, the wet is beginning to soak up the legs of my jeans and my skin smarts a little as the seams rub as I walk.

  ‘Give me the key for Tollie’s and I’ll see you in a bit,’ I shout across to Gray. The wind does its best to drown out the sound of my words. He nods, throwing the keys up into the air. Miraculously, I manage to catch them, giving him a thumbs-up before we head off in different directions.

  This isn’t quite the romantic evening I’ve envisaged. I’d hoped that Gray and I would get a chance to have some alone time together, enjoying a long, carefree Christmas walk. I imagined us talking excitedly about the plans for the cottage as we basked in the joy of our special day. But here we are, worrying about having enough slices of pizza to fill everyone up.

  By the time Gray returns, I’m unboxing pizzas and he hands me a parcel wrapped in silver foil.

  ‘You’re missing the festive bit.’ He grins. ‘Courtesy of Valerie.’

  ‘She’s been wonderful, hasn’t she? I was so stressed about everything, but she sorted me out and calmed me down. We’re coping and everyone seems to be in a fine festive mood.’

  ‘We will need a bigger kitchen,’ he reflects as I throw open the oven door to pop in the first pizza.

  ‘Ah, well, yes. On that very subject, and don’t get cross, but your mum has given us five thousand pounds as an engagement present.’

  He stops, turning to look at me and shaking his head.

  ‘It’s her savings – that’s utterly ridiculous. We have no idea whether she’ll be left with enough equity to buy a place when the house is sold. I don’t trust my father to do the honourable thing. And until I know what’s happening with my own work situation, I might need to dip into my nest egg to help her out, anyway.’ There’s a tenseness in his voice that is hard to hear.

  ‘Hey, it’s just a quiet period. You know that. The work will pick up again and we’ll manage. When Rona took me aside to give me the envelope my first reaction was to say no, too. But it means a lot to her, Gray, and you will offend her if you refuse. And before you say anything, put yourself in her position. She wants to do this for us, and it makes her feel good. We don’t have to spend it – we could set it aside to help her out when she moves to Aysbury, but we don’t need to tell her that.’

  He begins to peel off his coat and we stand, looking at each other’s soggy jeans. The water lines have now soaked up above our knees.

  ‘Are your legs cold?’ I ask.

  ‘Frozen,’ he declares, rather grimly.

  ‘Slip off your jeans. I’ll turn up the heating and we’ll dry them off on the radiators. It’s hardly likely anyone is going to interrupt us, is it?’

  It turns out to be a task that is easier said than done, involving a lot of hopping around on one leg and pulling, then coaxing, but the relief is incredible.

  ‘My teeth are literally chattering, and I can’t seem to stop them,’ I admit.

  ‘Mine, too. Give those to me and I’ll spread them out over the heat.’

  ‘Do you fancy a glass of wine?’

  Gray nods. ‘Perfect. I’m enjoying this little spell of peace and quiet. Is that an awful thing to admit when everyone has been so generous? I would have bought you Bert as a present myself, but his price tag was a little on the hefty side.’

  ‘I didn’t actually want people to buy us presents. This was supposed to be low-key. Like our wedding.’

  As we sit down, bare-legged, at the small Formica-covered table, we clink glasses.

  ‘Here’s to us, sitting together in what will be our new home! And grateful thanks for the people we have around us. And the fact that even in the middle of a blizzard we are blessed with the means to keep everyone fed. Let’s not worry about money right now, Gray. Let’s just be thankful for what we do have, beginning with each other.’

  ‘Oh, Immi – the love of my life. You make my heart sing with notes my mind could never compose.’

  And with that he begins humming, and nothing else matters, because everything is right in my little world as Gray leans in to kiss me.

  ‘It might be my imagination, but is Fisher avoiding Valerie for some reason?’ As Ethel helps me stack the dishwasher, she casts an eye in their direction.

  ‘I think he’s being careful, given that Liam arrived on her doorstep without warning.’ She gives me a meaningful glan
ce and I raise my eyebrows, as she realises what I’m referring to. Fisher is doing the right thing in giving Valerie some space. A strained relationship with an estranged son has to be managed carefully and now is not the time to introduce a third party.

  ‘Of course! Well, thank goodness for that. It’s all gone well, though, hasn’t it?’ Ethel gives me a little nod and a big smile. ‘You’ve done us all proud, Immi. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun at Christmas. I don’t think you’re going to get away with a quiet little wedding, though, as today has been all about you doing the running around. Folk will want to make sure it’s all about you two guys on the big day.’

  I shrug it off. ‘It’s been the best Christmas I’ve had in a long time. I like the buzz, the chaos, and the fun. It makes me feel as if I’m finally living my life and reminds me that everything is about to change.’

  ‘It’s going to be a wonderful start to the new year. Are you keeping Bert inside permanently?’

  I half turn to stare across at him.

  ‘Of course. He’s a member of the family now. He’ll be moving into the cottage once the sitting room has been spruced up. Bert is going to stand in the corner, next to the fireplace.’

  ‘Ah, lovely, Immi. You so deserve your happiness with Gray. What else can I do to help? Have you thought through tonight’s sleeping arrangements?’

  Suddenly there’s a loud click and the lights go off, plunging the room into total darkness.

  ‘Don’t worry, everyone. Stay where you are. It’s probably just a blip on the consumer panel and one of the circuit breakers has tripped.’ Gray’s voice rises up in the gloom.

  One by one, out come the phones, acting like little torches to check everyone is okay. Tollie and Gray make their way out to the utility room. I run upstairs to glance out of the side window and there isn’t a light to be seen. There’s little doubt that this is a power cut.

  ‘Everything is in darkness. It’s not just us,’ I call down over the bannister rail.

  A flood of light appears at the bottom of the stairs and the outline of Gray’s face peers up at me out of the shadows.