Escape to Willow Cottage

by Bella Osborne

  Beth texted Jack to let him know she had escaped, and he and Doris arrived as she was knocking the snow off her wellies.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Beth,’ Jack said, giving Beth a gentle kiss on the cheek that took her slightly by surprise and made her blush.

  ‘And to you,’ she said. Their eyes fixed intently on each other for a second before Doris jumped up and very nearly knocked her over. ‘Oh, and to you too, Doris!’ She gave the dog a fuss as Jack brought her in. He whipped out a small towel and wiped the snow off Doris and dried her paws.

  ‘Wow, I’m impressed. I hope you’re as well house-trained,’ teased Beth.

  ‘Couldn’t risk ruining your new carpet,’ said Jack. ‘And you’ll have to wait and see if I’m house-trained or not.’ There was a flicker in his eye and she wasn’t sure if it had been a wink. She wanted to demand an action replay but he had already kicked off his shoes and was heading into the kitchen with two more bottles and a large bag. Doris went charging into the small living room and completely misjudged everything with all the people, a half-completed Lego set all over the floor and a large tree. She careered into everything and everyone.

  ‘Doris!’ yelled Leo as she trampled over his Lego instructions and then trod on and skidded off the shiny surface of the presents by the tree.

  ‘Argh!’ shouted Carly as Doris clambered across her and the sofa. Ernie managed to save his tea and avoided any spillage but the might of Doris was too much for the Christmas tree as she sideswiped it and it toppled over, luckily missing everyone.

  Beth surveyed the devastation as Jack ran to her side and Doris looked about her in amazement as if to say, ‘Who made all that mess?’

  ‘She looks even bigger from this angle. You could put a saddle on her,’ said Carly, making room as Doris trotted past her. At first Carly didn’t seem to notice that she was leaning towards Ernie but when she did she stood up quickly. ‘I’ll give you a hand with the tree.’

  ‘No, you’re okay. I’ll put it straight,’ said Jack, lifting the tree and the stand upright.

  Doris sat next to Beth and watched as Jack put the tree back together. She gave Beth a forlorn look. ‘I know you didn’t mean it,’ she said, as she rubbed her head and Doris rested her face against her leg.

  Once Beth was happy that everything was under control in the kitchen and the living room had been put back in order, she handed out drinks to everyone and announced a toast. ‘To friends and family, wherever they may be.’ Everyone nodded and clinked glasses. Even Ernie had a small glass of fizz; he didn’t look impressed when he tasted it, but he raised it to the photo of Elsie and Wilf all the same.

  ‘Presents!’ said Beth, and Leo dived towards the gifts which now looked slightly scraggy thanks to their encounter with Doris. Leo read out the labels and passed them round. Jack produced some gifts too and handed his out, and a frenzy of opening commenced. Doris started to bark; she was very excited by all the noise and especially the large ball-shaped present that Leo had placed in front of her.

  Leo had a similar-shaped present from Jack. Unsurprisingly it was a new football.

  ‘Because she keeps putting holes in your others,’ explained Jack.

  ‘Cheers,’ said Leo, and he gave Jack a spontaneous hug. Jack became a little awkward but he looked touched as the embrace ended. Leo helped Doris unwrap her present, which was a large red ball.

  ‘It’s indestructible,’ said Beth, and Jack nodded his approval.

  ‘Well, if anyone can prove that wrong it will be Doris,’ he said. Leo immediately donned his coat, hat and wellies and took Doris outside to road-test her new present.

  Beth carefully unwrapped her gift from Jack. It was a slate house sign that said Willow Cottage. ‘I love it, thank you,’ she said and she meant it. And for a moment she held his gaze.

  Jack was taken aback by his canvas print of a photo Beth had taken of Doris in front of the willow tree. ‘Wow, you never told me you’d taken this,’ he said, beaming broadly.

  ‘Duh, that would have been a rubbish surprise,’ said Beth, and she was pleased with Jack’s reaction and watched him as he kept eyeing it. Carly pulled faces when she unwrapped an idiot’s guide to the Internet from Beth but was very pleased with her sparkly picture frame that Beth had embellished herself. Ernie was surprised to get another present and was again overcome when he opened a small version of the Elsie and Wilf photograph also in a sparkly frame. He pointed at his and back at the original on the windowsill but couldn’t seem to find the words. Beth gave him a brief hug, which he self-consciously reciprocated.

  ‘What did you get from Fergus?’ asked Beth.

  Carly disappeared to rummage in her handbag and Beth followed her. Carly pulled out a gold box and took it into the kitchen where Beth watched her open it. Beth could feel her pulse rate quicken as the lid came off. Carly took out a piece of paper and shook the box to see if there was anything else, but that was it. She read out the handwritten message.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Carls. Embankment Pier at eleven a.m. I love you. Fergus xx’

  Beth looked over Carly’s shoulder to check the message herself. ‘Was that eleven o’clock today, then?’

  ‘I guess so but he wasn’t there, was he? He’s stuck in Ireland so that was pointless.’ She folded up the note and placed it back in the box.

  ‘What do you think the present was?’ asked Beth. She couldn’t picture what was near Embankment Pier apart from, very obviously, the Thames.

  Carly shrugged and looked up at the ceiling as she thought. ‘I don’t know. There’s nothing open on Christmas Day apart from a few restaurants. I bet it was Christmas dinner out somewhere. Yeah, that’d be it.’

  ‘Oh well,’ said Beth as she put an arm round Carly, ‘never mind. You can be my kitchen slave instead.’

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Christmas dinner was held on Simon’s borrowed paste table, which was sturdier than most and well disguised by tablecloths from the tearoom. The chairs were on loan from Jack and Beth had borrowed two large serving bowls from the pub. But, wherever it was from, when it all came together it worked. There was plenty of food for everyone and they all joined in and wore their paper hats out of the crackers. By the time they all pushed their pudding bowls away, everyone was looking decidedly stuffed, which was exactly as it should be on Christmas Day. Leo was keen to watch a film on the new mega television so he made good his escape.

  Ernie stood up and all eyes followed him. ‘Thank you,’ he said, pointing to his bowl and then stroking his scarf.

  ‘You’re very welcome, Ernie,’ said Beth as Ernie went to put his coat on. Jack jumped up and pointed after him to indicate that he’d see him out. She watched as Jack chatted to Ernie in the hall and they very formally shook hands before Ernie ventured into the swirling snow outside. Jack rejoined the adults, got more wine from the fridge en route and topped up their glasses.

  ‘Have you left your boyfriend for good this time then, Carly?’ asked Jack as Beth gave him a stern look.

  ‘He’s visiting a sick relative in Ireland.’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Jack, pouring wine into Carly’s glass.

  ‘To be honest we needed some space,’ said Carly, ‘time to re-evaluate things.’

  ‘Sounds like you’ve been reading self-help books to me.’

  Carly frowned. ‘I might have been,’ she said. ‘Ugh,’ she added dramatically, ‘he spends all his time on this stupid computer game and talking to other nerdy people about it. It’s taken over his life.’

  ‘Which game?’ asked Jack, now looking a lot more interested in what Carly had to say.

  ‘Minecraft.’

  ‘Sound,’ said Jack, nodding with approval.

  ‘Do you play it?’ asked Beth, a little smirk escaping at the thought of Jack being into kids’ games.

  ‘Yeah, but not seriously. I dabble now and then. It’s quite complex with all its different servers, dimensions, worlds, mining and crafting.’

  ‘It is!’ said Carly. ‘S
ee, I told you.’ Carly turned to Beth. ‘How am I meant to understand conversations about zombie pigmen in the nether. It makes no sense at all. I mean who has a T-shirt with I’m The Ghast Blaster on it?’

  ‘They were a big seller this Christmas but I like this best,’ said Jack sheepishly, as he lifted up his Christmas jumper to reveal a blue T-shirt with two eyes and a large square red mouth lined with white teeth.

  ‘Squid!’ shouted Carly, pointing at it in alarm.

  ‘iBallistic Squid, to be precise,’ said Jack. ‘He’s a Minecraft YouTuber as is The Ghast Blaster but nobody knows who The Ghast Blaster is. It’s this big mystery.’

  Beth was looking blankly at him. ‘It was all over social media, did you not see it?’ asked Jack. Beth and Carly shook their heads.

  Jack blinked repeatedly in dismay and started fiddling with his iPhone. ‘Here you go. This is one of his videos. He plays Minecraft and explains insider tips and tricks, then posts it on YouTube. But unlike most of the other YouTubers you don’t see his face so people all over the world have fallen in love with his voice.’

  He handed the phone to Carly. Beth casually leaned over her shoulder to watch as the game popped up and a little pixellated man was wielding a pickaxe. The YouTuber’s voice oozed from the phone – it was a slow melodic purr of a voice with a lilting accent. ‘I’m looking for resources in the nether, in particular ghast tears …’

  ‘Fergus!’ squealed Carly and Beth together.

  The revelation that Fergus was an Internet sensation dominated the rest of Christmas Day discussions; carrying on through more wine, clearing the table, the washing up, evening television and finally brandies in front of the fire. Throughout this Carly had been trying in vain to elicit a response from Fergus. The last text she’d received on Christmas Eve read:

  I WILL see you Xmas day. Hope you like ur present F x

  Finally Carly rang his mum in Ireland and Beth and Jack could tell by the frequent blinking and headshakes that things weren’t going well. When she’d finished the call she came in and slumped onto the sofa. Jack handed over her refreshed brandy glass.

  ‘He was on the last ferry out last night. It was coming into Liverpool. There are no trains today so she has no idea how he was meant to be getting to London. And he’s left his phone charger in Ireland so he’s most likely run out of battery by now.’

  ‘Bugger,’ said Beth eventually. ‘He did know you were coming here though, didn’t he?’

  Carly shook her head. Beth and Jack both gave her confused looks. ‘I thought if I told him I was coming here he would try to persuade me to stay at the flat in case he made it home, which he was never going to do, and then I would have been all on my own for Christmas.’

  ‘But he did make it,’ Jack stated, and received a harsh stare from Carly.

  ‘We don’t know that,’ she said. ‘He could still be in Liverpool.’

  ‘He’s a famous YouTuber so I’m guessing he’s pretty loaded. He’d be able to find a way of getting from Liverpool to London,’ said Jack, as he took a sip of his brandy and breathed out the fumes slowly.

  ‘Loaded?’ laughed Carly. ‘I don’t think so. He might be famous on the Internet but he doesn’t make any money.’

  Jack was looking at her quizzically. ‘He has over seven million followers and his own app. Every time someone watches a clip on YouTube, or upgrades on the app, he gets paid. I think you’ll find he’s earning far more than you or I ever will.’

  The stunned silence was only interrupted by a large crack from the last log on the fire as it gave way and crumbled into the red glow of the hearth.

  ‘Oh,’ said Carly, jumping up and going for a rummage in her handbag. She came back with an envelope. ‘I just remembered this. It was in our letter box. I guess it’s a Christmas card.’

  Beth regarded the innocuous white envelope now on her lap. She recognized the writing instantly. It was from Nick. Jack and Carly had started talking about exactly how much money Fergus might be making, so Beth quietly slid the envelope down the side of the sofa cushions. She would deal with that another time.

  Jack and Doris stood up and stretched when Carly announced that it was now 12.05 so it was officially Boxing Day and Beth went to make herself busy in the kitchen. She wasn’t sure why but she had drunk quite a bit since lunch and she didn’t want to make a fool of herself if he did the cheek-kissing thing again. Jack strode into the kitchen with Doris at his side.

  ‘Happy Boxing Day!’ Jack said, as he pulled Beth into a hug. He hugged her for a little longer than she was expecting. He’d drunk quite a bit too. He eventually stepped back but still had hold of her arms, perhaps to help keep his own balance. ‘Thanks for a brilliant day, we loved it.’ He nodded towards Doris as he spoke and she lifted her tired head as if in agreement.

  ‘Good, I’m glad. Take care, it’ll be slippy outside,’ said Beth, trying to turn away. Jack still had hold of her arms and she instinctively went to pull free. As she almost toppled backwards, Jack grabbed Beth and stopped her from falling. Beth’s heart was racing and she was feeling uncomfortable sensations like the many times that Nick held on to her a fraction too long to show he was in control. Beth knew Jack wasn’t Nick but her body was reacting in exactly the same way. Now their faces were uncomfortably close and Beth’s pulse was racing for a number of reasons. But when she looked into Jack’s eyes it wasn’t fear she felt at all, but an undeniable attraction.

  ‘Are you okay?’ asked Jack, his voice breathy and his gaze fixed on her lips.

  Beth took a deep steadying lungful of air. ‘Yeah, sorry. Too much alcohol. I think we all need to sleep it off.’ She raised a smile and tapped his arm gently.

  Jack blinked hard and let go of Beth. ‘Okay.’ He didn’t look certain but he gave her a brief kiss on the cheek and left anyway, whispering his goodbyes to an already sleeping Carly who had nodded off on the sofa. Beth wasn’t sure what had just happened between her and Jack, but she knew that it could go no further.

  Beth walked back into the living room and was about to wake Carly when her mobile chirped and she sprang awake. It was a text from Fergus:

  So I’m guessing that you’ve left me then. F x

  ‘Shit,’ said Carly.

  Beth left Carly exchanging frantic text messages with Fergus and went to bed. She didn’t hear Carly come up, but was aware of a bum nudging into her back at six the next morning so Carly had evidently turned in at some point. Beth lay still for as long as she could and then decided she needed coffee so padded to the kitchen. It was tranquil and dark outside and it had stopped snowing, but there was still a good layer of the stuff on everything.

  She thought back to the previous day. She had enjoyed it far more than she ever thought she would. Leo had been pleased with his presents, and the television had been a deciding factor in how much he enjoyed Christmas. It had been lovely for her and Leo to spend it with Carly, and she’d liked having Ernie and Jack there too. She dwelled on thoughts of Jack for a moment; he was easy company and, almost without her noticing, he and Doris had become a part of her life.

  She warmed her hands on her mug. There was something about Jack, something that was pulling her closer to him. Now was not good timing. She was fresh out of an abusive relationship and had no plans to stay in Dumbleford long-term, so she needed to make sure she kept Jack at arm’s length.

  A yawning Carly broke Beth’s thoughts as she flopped onto one of the chairs and made it screech as it juddered across the kitchen floor. They were adding their own marks to the patina, thought Beth.

  ‘How are things with you and Fergus?’ Beth was scrunching up her shoulders as she asked the question.

  Carly pouted. ‘We’re okay.’

  ‘But are you still together?’

  Carly smiled for the first time. ‘Yes, we’re all sorted on that front. We’ve both been idiots but this new year that’s just a few days away is going to be our year.’

  ‘That’s terrific, I’m really pleased for you both
,’ said Beth, giving her a hug. ‘What about not meeting him at Embankment yesterday?’

  ‘He said not to worry about it. We can do it some other time.’

  ‘That’s a relief then.’

  Carly nodded. ‘Fergus is such a sweetheart. Thankfully, he understood why I’d hot-footed over here for Christmas.’

  ‘What’s the plan now?’ asked Beth.

  ‘I need tea and then I’m going back to London.’

  ‘But there’s no trains today,’ pointed out Beth.

  ‘I know. Fergus said to get a taxi. Turns out Jack was right, Fergus is loaded.’

  ‘You’re kidding me?’

  ‘Nope, he admitted it all in our marathon text exchange last night. He knew I wasn’t interested in the gaming so he never mentioned it.

  ‘I’m really going to make it work this time, Beth. No more dreaming about proposals and weddings, I’m focusing on the two of us being happy just as we are,’ said Carly, and she looked like she meant it.

  So much for keeping Jack Selby at ‘arm’s length’, thought Beth when she found herself with his arm casually draped round her waist on New Year’s Eve. In fact, Jack’s arm had made its way round her waist a number of times during the evening. They had spent the whole time together in the overflowing pub. Granted, she had been working but Petra was a great boss and Beth and the other bar staff had each managed to catch breaks throughout the evening. Petra had even closed the bar temporarily so that everyone could join in the countdown to midnight. Leo and Denis barrelled into the bar just in time and made their way to their respective parents. Leo squeezed in between Jack and Beth as the count reached its climax.

  ‘… one, zero! Happy New Year!’

  Beth picked Leo up and kissed him. He was always the first person she kissed at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Even when he had been a baby and had been sound asleep, he was always her first kiss of a new year. Leo quickly squirmed away and he and Denis disappeared again. Petra was next with a hug and kiss for both Beth and Jack followed by one of her theatrical winks.