Christmas at Snowflake Lodge

by CP Ward

  ‘And me to meet you. And, knowing him the way I do, I’m pretty sure Grandpa would be pleased to meet you too. After the life he’s had, I’m not sure anything would surprise him.’

  Mr. Dawes, with Muffin curled up on his lap as they sat around a table in the Victorian café an hour later, having picked up a lift on a sleigh as James took it for a test ride, could hardly contain his laughter. Beside him, neither Grandpa nor Dick was laughing, while James had made his excuses to go outside and check over the sleigh. Jessica half wished she had taken up his offer, even though the story Grandpa had related to Dick topped any of the excitement she had experienced so far during her stay at Snowflake Lodge.

  ‘I spent my whole life trying to replace her,’ Grandpa said. ‘You know how everyone has their perfect match out there somewhere, but so few people ever find them? She was mine, was Audrey. Oh, she was an oil painting, and boy, this picture, it takes me back. I don’t have many regrets, but that’s one. Audrey. Oh, Audrey.’

  Dick, much to Jessica’s surprise, gave him a pat on the back. Beside them, Mr. Dawes continued to chuckle.

  ‘And there’s me with the sheltered life,’ he said. ‘Wouldn’t change it, hearing all this. Nothing like a bit of peace and quiet, is there?’

  ‘I fell for her hook, line, and sinker,’ Grandpa said. ‘I gave her that ring because she was the woman I intended to spend the rest of my life with. It cost me a bloody fortune, but it was worth every penny. No chance I was ever letting her get away, but I did, didn’t I?’

  ‘What happened?’ Jessica asked.

  ‘It was a typical rich man, poor man thing. I met her while I was working on a TV show in the US, but I had a tour booked. I planned to finish the tour then go back to Audrey and make an honest woman of her. But my management talked me out of it. Told me I needed a celebrity marriage to push my career. I wasn’t having it, of course, but then I got the letter.’

  ‘What letter?’

  I received a letter from Audrey, telling me she no longer wanted to marry me. She had found someone else, and that was that.’

  Dick shook his head. ‘She loved you until the day she died, my mother always said. She tried so many times to write to you, but she never got a reply.’

  ‘I only ever got the one letter.’

  ‘At the TV station?’

  ‘No, in those days I was working all over the place. It was addressed to my flat in London.’

  ‘She didn’t know your address. It couldn’t have been from her.’

  Ernest looked up and sighed. ‘You know, now that you say it, you’re telling me what I always believed. I was just too naïve to follow up on it. My management would do anything to keep me on their path, because in those days they were earning as much from my contracts as I was. I didn’t figure it out until much later.’

  Jessica didn’t know what to say. On the one hand it was a terrible case of unrequited love which had been passed over, but on the other it was better late than never.

  Grandpa reached for the photograph again. ‘And this … this lady is your mother?’

  ‘Elaine.’

  Grandpa nodded. ‘My daughter. Is she…?’

  ‘I’m afraid she passed a few years ago.’

  ‘She never tried to contact me?’

  ‘I think she planned to one day, but she never got around to it. Her death was sudden. She had a heart attack while she was walking her dog.’

  ‘It’s all terribly sad.’

  ‘She loved you, though. We both did. We had all your DVDs.’

  Grandpa gave a tired shrug. ‘It’s not the same, is it?’

  ‘And you were an inspiration for my career.’

  Grandpa frowned. ‘Jessica said you were a private investigator?’

  Dick shook his head, then gave Jessica a little smile. ‘Not at all,’ he said. ‘I’m pleased to know I had you fooled. I’m a method actor. I’ve appeared in a few West End shows, and even had a bit part last year on Eastenders.’ He smiled. ‘I was “boy-in-background-on-a-moped”.’

  Grandpa gave a long sigh. ‘Following in your grandfather’s footsteps. Well, that’s something at least.’

  ‘With your permission, I’d like to tell everyone that I’m your grandson in an effort to further my career.’

  Grandpa burst into laughter. ‘Nothing would please me more. Let’s make sure we get a photograph just so people can see the resemblance. Jessica, do you have a phone?’

  ‘I’m afraid I dropped it in the hot spring.’

  ‘Oh. Mr. Dawes?’

  Mr. Dawes shook his head, scooped up Muffin and deposited her on the tabletop where she nosed disinterestedly at a plate of marshmallows. ‘Not got nothing modern but there’s the old antique Polaroid on the stand over there. Will waive the fiver fee we usually charge the customers since we can treat it as a tester.’

  Jessica turned to follow his gaze and saw an ancient wooden camera on a stand which she had assumed was part of the café’s decoration.

  ‘Does that thing actually work?’

  ‘It did last year, so I imagine it’ll be all right. Built stuff to last in those days, people did.’

  31

  Merry Christmas

  The days passed gently, with Christmas approaching like a vintage steam train out of the fog. Grandpa, determined to live the remainder of his life to the full, managed to cajole Dick into accompanying him, under the guise of family bonding. More often than not, when Jessica went looking for him, she was told they had gone snow-biking, cross-country skiing, or, even on one terrifying occasion where it turned out Grandpa was a mere onlooker, ice lake swimming.

  The Yule Tree was felled without incident, with Grandpa thankfully being talked out of perching in the upper branches, that honour being bestowed upon an unfortunate teddy bear which was luckily caught by one of the Silver Tours group as it bounced out of the tree upon felling. In the days after, after dinner each evening, a section of the tree was burned in an open fire on the front patio, with assembled guests using its heat to roast marshmallows while the sound of Christmas songs filled the evening air.

  Jessica, still on duty, but having fixed most of the lodge’s damaged piping using old replacements she had found in a store room beside the car park, and with little to do other than shovel snow, began to feel a little left out. Kirsten spent most of her time with Mick, Ben and Phil were a proper item, and there was even a rumour that Barry had asked Mildred for a date after a drunken night at karaoke, and that Mildred, having at first refused, had agreed to be taken for dinner somewhere in Inverness over the New Year, providing that Christmas hats weren’t a required item of dress. When Jessica saw them together, there was certainly an awkwardness between them that she hadn’t seen before, but on one occasion she even heard Barry whistling, and that had to be a good thing.

  She was sitting in the dining room one evening, contemplating the event she had planned for tomorrow—the first skating trip for the Silver Tours group, including a sleigh ride, a meeting with Santa at the Grotto, followed by lunch at the Victorian café—when Theodora came wheeling over.

  ‘Jessica, dear, there you are. I’ve been trying to track you down for days.’

  ‘Sorry, I was just busy getting things ready for Christmas.’

  ‘I wanted to tell you, your grandfather explained everything to us. I know you knew the truth and didn’t say, but we’ve been around as long as many trees, we can handle it.’ She chuckled. ‘Wow, that old dog. What a player he was. He must have lived enough for ten people.’

  Jessica smiled. ‘Rather him than me.’

  ‘I wanted to let you know that the offer still stands. About the lodge.’

  Jessica felt a tingle of excitement. ‘The lodge?’

  ‘And its grounds. The ski run, the old train line, the lake, the hot spring. Everything. We’re old now, and we can’t run it like we used to. We have plenty of money. We’d like to slip quietly into the background knowing it was in good hands.’

  Jessica nodded
. ‘I understand. And I think your offer is too good to be true.’

  ‘So you’ll accept?’

  Jessica sighed. Then, with a wistful smile, she shook her head. ‘I’m very sorry but I can’t. I spent my whole childhood growing up in the shadow of two people who never had to work a day in their lives. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents and they’re not bad people, they’ve just never known what it feels like to work hard for what you have … and the satisfaction you feel when you achieve it.’

  ‘You’re turning down the offer of a multi-million pound property?’

  ‘Yes, I am.’

  Theodora looked at her for a long time. Then, her old mouth wrinkled into a smile, and she reached up to pat Jessica’s cheek with a leathery palm.

  ‘A lot of things have impressed me over the years, dear, but none more than you. I’m certain your grandfather—and your parents in their way—are very proud of you.’

  ‘My grandfather earned every penny of his fortune,’ Jessica said. ‘I like to think that I’m capable of earning every penny of mine.’ She reached out to pat Theodora’s hand. ‘However … I do have some suggestions for the lodge, if you don’t mind.’

  ‘I’d love to hear them.’

  ‘I think you could do worse than giving ownership or at least custodianship of this lodge to Barry … and Mildred. And Mr. Dawes, and all the others from disadvantaged backgrounds whom you’ve brought here to work over the years. And I would like to see it continue in the same vein. School groups, particularly from low income areas or special needs institutions … you have to share the magic of a place like this. And not just in the winter, but in the summer too. Expand the conservation projects and the nature schemes that were mentioned on the website … give a chance to people who don’t have one to experience a different way of life.’

  ‘Can you write all this down for me?’

  Jessica, snapping her mouth shut to stop her words falling over themselves, nodded. ‘I’ve already made some notes. And if it’s okay by you, for a couple of months of the year at least, I’d like to come up here and work. Lead the tours, teach disadvantaged kids how to ski, once I’ve got the hang of it myself, of course. And as soon as Kirsten’s experienced enough to manage my business in Bristol, I’d like to consider a full-time position.’

  Theodora smiled and patted her on the cheek again. ‘That would be most acceptable,’ she said. ‘I’d be delighted to have you around. Until I plop my clogs at least.’

  The skating excursion was a huge success. So much so that the head of the Silver Tours group requested that another trip be planned for after Christmas. Seeing the thrilled old-timers sliding about the ice and hearing their whoops of delight was something Jessica hadn’t expected to find so satisfying.

  Sitting beside her on the bench while a group of volunteers on ice skates spun the wheelchairs around, Mr. Dawes gave her a knowing grin.

  ‘Makes you happy, don’t it?’ he said. ‘That’s what Christmas is all about.’

  Jessica nodded. She wanted to say something, but she had a sudden lump in her throat, and anything she did say would have come out partially sobbed. So she just smiled and stayed quiet.

  The morning of Christmas Eve, she was ready for a couple of days of rest when James found her in the dining room.

  ‘You’re not busy, are you?’ he said, flashing her a wink. ‘I need an elf.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t worry, Barry’s got a costume. He was going to do it, but I talked him out of it.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘I have to go and get the children’s group from the Edinburgh orphanage. Their train arrives in forty-five minutes. We like to pick them up in style.’

  ‘And, um, you’ll be wearing…?’

  ‘I’ll be an elf too, of course. The big man doesn’t appear until tomorrow. We’re just underlings.’

  The thought of seeing James in an elf costume thrilled Jessica more than perhaps it should have. She laughed. ‘Go on, then. Why not?’

  Twenty minutes later, James emerged from behind a screen dressed in a skintight forest green elf costume, with a little pointed hat perched on his head. Jessica covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh, while at the same time feeling frustrated at how impressed she felt with the way the muscles on his shoulders and legs stretched against the material.

  ‘We’ll put ski jackets on until we’re in sight of the station,’ he said, cheeks flushed. ‘Otherwise we’ll freeze to death.’

  ‘It’s fetching,’ she said, covering her mouth. ‘It definitely suits you.’

  He held up a plastic bag. Something green glittered inside. ‘Your turn.’

  Outside, Mr. Dawes was keeping an eye on the six reindeer harnessed to the sleigh. Other staff and guests clapped and cheered as James and Jessica made their way through the lobby and out of the main doors. James, who had gotten over his initial embarrassment, waved and smiled at the crowd. Jessica, horrified by how tight the suit was, gave a shy wave as she hurried after him, out of the main doors and down the steps to where the sleigh was waiting.

  ‘Let’s go,’ James said, climbing up to the driver’s seat and helping Jessica up beside him. ‘Are you ready?’

  Jessica nodded.

  ‘Yah!’ he shouted, snapping the reins. Mr. Dawes stepped aside and the reindeer set off, bells jingling as the sleigh raced across the snowy car park.

  Even though she had been staying at the lodge for more than three weeks, it was still her first time to ride on the sleigh, and she had her heart in her mouth as James expertly guided the reindeer around corners, the deer running far faster than she had expected. By the time they reached the main road—still blanketed with snow and impassable to regular traffic, she was just about able to enjoy it. And by the time they reached the nearest town twenty minutes later, she was about ready to label it the best form of transport ever.

  Passersby, wrapped up against the cold, clapped and waved as they passed. James and Jessica waved back, responding to cries of ‘Merry Christmas!’ and posing where they could for photographs. A few minutes later they reached the little train station and pulled into a spot where a cone had a laminated sign taped to it which read, ‘Reserved for reindeer parking’. As the station master pulled it out of the way, he called up to them, ‘Ten minutes to the train. It’s on time this morning.’

  ‘That was epic,’ Jessica said, as the reindeer settled. ‘I’ve never experienced anything like it.’

  ‘Just think how those kids are going to feel,’ James said. ‘That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?’

  Jessica nodded. ‘It is.’

  There was a short pause, then James said, ‘You know, I heard you were planning to come up here and work. Mr. Dawes told me.’

  Jessica felt her cheeks glowing again. She had wanted to tell James about her decision, but there had never felt like a right moment. Whenever she saw him it was for something related to work.

  ‘I thought it might be fun,’ she said.

  ‘I’m, um, happy to hear it.’

  ‘It had nothing to do with you,’ Jessica blurted, immediately feeling like an idiot, and then realising at the same time that in a small way, it did.

  ‘Of course not,’ James said quickly, looking away, idling tugging at the reins. ‘I wouldn’t want you to do anything because of me. But … if you did … I wouldn’t mind.’

  Jessica nodded. She glanced at him, caught his eye, then quickly looked away. ‘I wouldn’t mind either,’ she said, but instead of words, all that came out was a dry croak.

  ‘You know, I heard Barry was taking Mildred out somewhere in Inverness. There are a couple of nice restaurants there.’

  Jessica wanted to say something witty about Nessie steaks, but she definitely hadn’t inherited her grandfather’s way with words. Instead, all she said was, ‘That sounds nice.’

  They both looked at each other and nodded. Jessica felt something press against her hand where it lay on the bench, and she looked down to se
e that James’s glove had closed the gap, and the outside of his glove was pressing against the outside of hers. It felt hopelessly romantic.

  A train horn blared. Both jumped, nearly head-butting each other.

  ‘That’s the train,’ James said.

  ‘I know it is,’ Jessica said.

  ‘It’s coming.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘So, it’s a date?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Inverness?’

  Jessica met his eyes. ‘Yes,’ she said.

  ‘Good.’

  The train horn blared again as it pulled into the station. Moments later a crowd of children began pushing through the exit gates, ignoring the shouts of a teacher to be orderly.

  ‘No way!’

  ‘Cool!’

  ‘Wow!’

  Jessica glanced at James again. He was watching the children with a small, satisfied smile on his face. ‘Merry Christmas,’ she whispered.

  James didn’t look at her, but his hand closed over hers and gave a gentle squeeze.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Jessica,’ he said.

  I'm glad I found you this Christmas - an uplifting sweet romance set against the magical backdrop of Christmas.

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