by V, Krissy
Tully and Rory watch it under duress and they disappear into the kitchen to play cards or something.
“He’s very good looking Nolly, he seems to care a lot about you.” Bree says.
“I know he’s scrummy and I know he does. I was very lucky to have met him. You know he’s trying to change my mind about Christmas don’t you.”
“I do and how is that going?”
“Well I certainly feel more festive than I have done in years. I’m just worried it will all come crashing down on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when the memories are the strongest.”
I tell her about everything we have done this week. She keeps interrupting me. “I remember the Moving Crib, it was always so special when we went with Mam and Dad. I try to take the kids every year but they’re older now and don’t want to go.” She sighs and looks into the distance.
I then tell her about the trip on the Santa train and my visit with Santa. “No way, that is so beautiful and amazing. Did you bring the bauble with you that Santa gave you” she says looking amazed.
“I did” I say standing up and going to my handbag to take it out.
She takes it very gently out of my hands and then I can see a tear or two in her eyes. “Nolly it’s so beautiful, where did he get the photo from?”
I look at her and smile “you know where he got the picture from because you must have given it to him.”
She looks at me aghast “I didn’t have anything to do with it, I promise.”
Now I’m even more confused, but I don’t linger on it as I tell her about my present for him that I’m so excited about.
“That sounds lovely and very thoughtful” she says. X Factor is nearly over and the two men come back into the room, they look like they have been bonding. “We’re going to watch a movie if the two of you want to stay and watch it with us. You can stay over too, there’s more wine in the fridge.”
I look at Tully and he nods his head “That sounds like a great idea” I say out loud. We have a great night, lots of chatting and laughter and we don’t really see much of the movie. It’s midnight when we all decide to go to bed.
We climb into bed and Tully pulls me close. “Thank you for letting me join in with your family night. I’m going to take you to dinner with my family tomorrow, if you’d like to come along?.”
“I’d love that” I say very slowly and quietly as I fall asleep dreaming of Christmas shopping and buying presents for everyone.
Day 9
Sunday 20th December
I feel really groggy when I wake up and I’m bursting for the toilet but I can’t move, Tully has his arm really tightly around my waist. I lean back into him and sigh, it feels so good to wake up next to him. I really need a wee though so I whisper “Tully, you need to let me go.”
He moans in my ear “never, I’ve got you now and I don’t want to let go.”
I think he is asleep, so I giggle and then try to wriggle out from under his arm. The more I wriggle, the tighter he holds me. It feels good, but I need to get out of the bed. “Tully” I say trying to prise his arm off me.
“Morning Nollaig” he says smiling from ear to ear.
“Thank god you’re awake, I need to go to the toilet” I laugh. He smiles and moves his arm to let me get up.
After I have been to the toilet I walk back into the room and he is sitting up waiting for me. I climb back inside and lean up against him. “Did you enjoy last night?” I ask him.
“I did, Bree and Rory are great fun, I really like them.”
All of a sudden two kids come running into the room. “Come on breakfast is ready. Auntie Nolly come on.” They stop when they see Tully. “Breakfast is ready for you too” they say running out laughing.
“I think that means we need to get up then.” I say, climbing out the bed.
“I like Nolly, I think it sounds really cute.” He says laughing.
“Oh yeah I can just imagine “here comes Nolly and Tully” we will be the laughing stock” I say doubled up laughing. He laughs with me too.
We walk down to breakfast and then Bree asks “So what are your plans today? Any Christmas activities today Tully?”
He smiles and says “yes of course there are, we only have a few days left until Christmas. I am taking Nolly” he winks at me “to a Christmas market, they have one down in the Docklands. Then I am taking her to my Mam’s for a family dinner.”
“Ooh sounds nice” she says smiling at me.
We talk about what our plans are for Christmas and I tell them that I still don’t feel up to spending Christmas day with anyone. “We still have a few days left so leave your options open” Tully says.
After we get dressed we gather up our bags and then Bree drops us back to my house.
I go and change into something warm and layered, so that I can take something off so I am not too hot when we go for dinner. I drive into the Docklands and we walk to the Christmas Market. I can hear the music before we reach the market, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” is being sung by a choir and it sounds amazing.
I can smell all sorts of wonderful things, I can’t put my finger on them all though. We walk past lots of stalls, there are homemade gifts; gingerbread; Christmas cakes; Christmas puddings and then we walk up to the hot chocolate stall. They have syrups to go into the hot chocolate and I ask for one with gingerbread in it. It comes with a tiny gingerbread candy cane hanging off the rim of the cup. Tully asks for the same and his eyes light up as he tastes it.
It is so tasty and we stand in the middle of all of the Christmas things not talking just savouring the wonderful taste.
We walk a bit further when we have finished our drinks and there is a really old fashioned carousel, my eyes light up. I haven’t been on one of these for years, I look at Tully and he nods his head so we walk up and take a seat each on two horses next to each other. The music starts to play and we are both transported back in time to when we were younger. The horses start to move up and down as the carousel goes round. I laugh and throw back my head and look up to the top of the carousel. I feel five again and it’s a lovely feeling to be back to a time when I didn’t have a care in the world.
When it’s over, Tully helps me down and we walk around the rest of the market. Each stall we walk past is like a new memory hitting me in the chest and by the time we have walked past them all I’m crying.
“Why are you crying Nolly?” he smiles when he says my nick name. “I thought you would enjoy this.”
“I did enjoy it, it’s just everything reminds me of Mam and Dad and that makes me remember that I hate Christmas. I don’t think I can get past that Tully. It makes me so sad.”
“It’s not about getting past them, it’s about making new memories and treasuring them as much as you treasure your old memories.”
“I know, I’m trying.”
“I know you are, I’m trying my best to help you here.” He hugs me tight.
We stand there for a few minutes and then we walk back through the market, taking in the sounds, smells and sights of everyone chattering about Christmas. The choir are signing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” as we walk back to my car.
Tully directs me to his parents home, I feel really nervous and he holds my hand and takes me to the front door. His Mam is stood at the door and she welcomes me into the house with open arms.
The whole of his family are very welcoming and tell me that he never brings girls home and that I must be very special for him to have spent so much time with me and bring me home for dinner. I look at him and smile and he winks back at me.
I don’t have a drink and after dinner I take Tully back to his house and leave him there. I don’t really want to leave him but he has some things to do in the office and I have an idea forming in my head for the new chocolate. I kiss him goodnight and then I drive home.
When I get into the house I text him to let him know I arrived safe.
“I’m home safe and sound.”
“Good I wasn�
�t going to sleep until I knew you were home.”
“I really enjoyed today sorry for my meltdown at the market.”
“It’s fine and to be expected. If I’m pushing you too much just let me know!”
“No, no you’re not. I just need to accept what you are trying to tell me.”
“You will soon. I miss you next to me in bed, I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight.”
“You will and I’ll miss you too. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”
“Of course you will. I don’t have any plans for tomorrow as I have some stuff to do at work but I hope to see you tomorrow night.”
“That sounds perfect I have a couple of things to do too.”
“Night Nolly xx”
“Night night xx”
I climb into bed and dream of old fashioned carousels and hot chocolate.
Day 10
Monday 21st December
When I wake up this morning there are two things that run through my mind. The first is that Tully isn’t here with me and the second is that it is only three sleeps until Christmas.
As I’m laying in the bed I think about everything that has happened this week and I smile. I realise that I’m looking forward to my little Christmas treats that Tully keeps giving me every day.
I get up and go downstairs and make myself a mug of French Vanilla. I sit at the table with my hands wrapped about the mug. I breathe in the aroma and all of a sudden it hits me!
I have it, I know what I need to do. I ring Helena and Joey, I apologise for ringing so early. “Helena, I know the flavour of the chocolate. I need to go in today and get it right. Will you come in with me?”
She can sense the excitement in me “give me half an hour and I’ll meet you there” she says.
Joey reacts the same way. I hurry upstairs to get dressed and then run out of the door smiling. It’s only when I’m nearly at work I realise that I have Christmas FM on in the car and I‘m singing along. Tully must have changed it. I smile to myself when I think about him, I missed him this morning and I can’t wait to see him again tonight.
Stan, the security guard, is surprised to see me. “Hi Stan, Helena and Joey are coming in after me as well.”
“No problems Nollaig, have a good day.”
When I walk into the lab, the first thing I do is put the kettle on and wait for it to boil. Helena and Joey arrive just as I’ve finished making them both a cup of French Vanilla.
“Hi guys” I say hugging them both. “Thanks for coming in, I’m really excited.”
“We can sense that” Joey says laughing.
I hand them both a cup and they look at me strangely because we don’t normally drink in the lab. “Sit down, relax, wrap your hands around the cup. Smell the aroma and let your senses do the rest. I want to recreate that cup full of liquid gold into a chocolate. This is my favourite French Vanilla.”
They smile and do as I have asked and nobody says anything for ten minutes. They smile, make notes and only when her cup is empty Helena says “Nollaig I love it!”
I smile and Joey says “it’s heaven in a cup.”
“Yay, I’m glad you like it, now we just need to recreate it.” I laugh.
Helena and Joey look at me with big smiles on their faces, this is the pinnacle point for making a new chocolate. It’s the point where the three of us agree on the flavours and how to combine them so that they taste like the drink.
We set to work and come up with a few different ideas, but they are just not the same. So we keep making more.
After about 3 hours my phone beeps with a text, it’s Tully:
“Hey I’ve nearly finished everything at work how’re you doing?”
“I’m so excited, I think I’ve found the new chocolate flavour. We have come into work today to work on it and we haven’t got it right yet, but we’re nearly there.”
“That’s brilliant, can I ask what it is?”
“No it’s a surprise xx”
“I like surprises xx do you have any plans for tonight? I have something really fun to do if you’re free?”
“I have no plans. I don’t know how long I’ll be here though so it might be later tonight.”
“That’s fine, what I want us to do starts at nine this evening xx”
“Perfect, will I collect you or will you collect me?”
“I’ll collect you in the car if that’s ok?”
“Sounds intriguing. Talk later”
“It sure is xx”
I wonder what he has planned for tonight, I’m sure we have done everything Christmassy that there is to do around Dublin. I smile to myself thinking about him.
“Earth to Nollaig” Joey says laughing. “Come on we want to get this one right so we can all go home.”
I shake my head and concentrate once again on the chocolate. It’s another two hours before we find the right flavour and consistency and then we pour it into a tray of moulds and put it into the high speed fridge that we have in the lab for cooling the chocolates down so that we can taste them.
While that is in the fridge we tidy everything up and put everything away, we are quite certain that this is going to be perfect.
We sit chatting and I tell both of them about my week with all my Christmas dates, they are delighted for me.
“I’m glad he’s trying to help bring back the magic of Christmas for you, it’s such a shame to be on your own at your age, your Mam and Dad wouldn’t want that for you at all Nollaig.” Helena says.
“I know, but it still hurts and the worst two days are still to come. I will admit I feel a lot more festive than I have done in over five years.”
“That’s such a great achievement and if you don’t gain the Christmas spirit all in one year then next year it will be easier because the seeds have already been planted.” Helena says.
Joey looks at me and says “I’ve never seen you smile as much as you have this last week Nollaig, you look radiant and I like the look on you. I really do.” He moves around the table and hugs me, it is quite out of the blue and very unusual for him to do.
I can feel a tear coming to my eye and I hug him tighter “thank you Joey that is so nice that you noticed.” I wipe my tears away and the buzzer goes on the fridge.
We all stand there looking at each other and I smile. I walk over to the fridge and open the door slowly. I take the tray out and put it down on the table. I turn it upside down and push the chocolates out onto a plate.
I look at them and they look lovely, but they need something else to finish them off, so I go over the cabinet and pull out a pot of vanilla sugar and I pour that into a bowl and roll the chocolates in the vanilla sugar. Perfect!!
Well they look perfect anyway, they are in the shape of a cup and saucer and are covered in vanilla sugar.
We all take one and we have our official grading sheets out, we have to grade on different qualities ie taste; texture; sharpness; bitterness; likeability; saleability and then we have to write a description of what they taste like. We do this with all the chocolates we make and only some of them are taken for mass production.
“Ok” I say looking at the two of them, I am so excited I can’t wait “3-2-1-GO.”
We all take a bite and close our eyes, we savour the flavour in our mouth and then feel for the texture of the chocolate to see is it smooth enough. We all scribble down our grades and comments, I am beside myself with excitement, for me this is perfect!
It is smooth, it has the smell of coffee, but only slight as we know that a lot of people don’t like the coffee flavour chocolate, so it is only a hint of coffee. The vanilla hits you a few seconds after putting the chocolate in your mouth and then the chocolate flavour takes over. After it has been swallowed you get the vanilla even more so. I smile and see what they think, they are smiling too.
“I think we have a winner” Helena says showing me her sheet. Joey passes me his too and we have all put the same numbers down for each of the sections.
We brainstorm th
e description for another hour between us and we come up with “French Vanilla - A chocolate that is smooth and elegant and brings out the inner child in all adults.”
We all hug each other because this has taken us weeks to come up with the perfect flavour. We know that it will be the New Year before we can start selling it, but that is perfect, we like to bring out a special edition chocolate at New Year.
Helena and Joey leave to go home and I check around the lab until I find what I am looking for, it’s a small round box that looks like a bauble. I find some tissue paper and I lay the remaining 6 chocolates, covered in the vanilla sugar into the tissue, fold it over the chocolates and then pull the top together and tie the string for it to be hung on the tree. I am going to give this to Tully and hope that he likes it. I’m sure he will do as he loves my French Vanilla’s.
I look around the lab and turn the lights off and drive home to get ready for tonight. When I get to the house, I see a note from a courier saying there was a parcel left in my neighbours house. I go and knock on their door, Mr Fredrick comes out “Hi Nollaig, are you here for your parcel?”
I smile at him “Hi Mr Fredrick. Yes I am, I’m so excited. It is a Christmas present for my ….. my boyfriend.” It makes me all warm when I say that Tully is my boyfriend, I hadn’t really thought about that before.
“Here it is” Mr Fredrick says. “I hope he likes whatever it is as much as you will enjoy giving it to him. It’s good to see a smile on your face Nollaig.”
I reach out and take the present and then hug Mr Fredrick with my spare arm. “Thank you and hope you and Mrs Fredrick have a happy Christmas.”
He waves at me as I walk back down his drive. I am so excited and when I get into the house I go about making sure the present is hidden.
I don’t know where we are going tonight, but he told me to dress warmly so I do. He turns up bang on time to collect me and then we drive down the M50 towards Dundrum. I think maybe we are going late night shopping but he makes another turn off towards Rathfarnam. I get excited because he won’t tell me where we are going and then after a couple of turns, he pulls into Marlay Park.
