Well, I probably had room left for another gingerbread snowman, but that was about it.
I paused as I approached the head of the table; Mrs Templeton sat there, surveying the neighbourhood as a whole, as she always did. I’d heard Holly earlier, saying to someone how much nicer the old woman had turned out to be than she’d expected, but I didn’t buy it. If anyone there was still likely to send me to the pound, I knew it was her.
Suddenly, as if she’d sensed my presence, she twisted in her chair and looked down at me, her face stern. I froze in place for a moment, wondering which way to run first.
Then, Mrs Templeton did something I’d never seen her do before. Ever.
She smiled.
‘You’re still here, are you?’ she said. ‘Well. I suppose we could come to a Christmas truce.’ She patted her leg and I moved cautiously closer.
Then she picked up a gingerbread snowman from the table in front of her and held it out to me and I figured, if I could make friends with Perdita, my furry nemesis, what was one more enemy turned friend? So I jumped up into her lap to enjoy my treat.
The sound of metal clinking against glass cut through the chilly air, and the conversations around me stumbled to a halt as everyone turned to look at Jack, standing beside the table with all the desserts on it.
‘Everyone? If I could just have a moment of your time,’ Jack said. He looked a little awkward, standing there with everyone staring at him, but then Holly moved beside him, holding his hand, and he smiled again. ‘I just wanted to thank you all for everything you’ve done to make the first Maple Drive Christmas a success.’
A cheer ran down the table and I barked my agreement.
‘We couldn’t have pulled this off without you,’ Holly added. ‘And it’s been just brilliant.’
‘It has,’ Jack agreed. ‘But there’s one person who needs a very special thank you for making any of this possible. And that’s our friend Claude.’
Me? I put my paws up on the table as all around me, the humans of Maple Drive burst into applause. Applause for me. Apparently it wasn’t just the neighbourhood animals that thought I was a legend.
‘If Claude hadn’t belly-flopped his way into Holly’s kitchen, we might never have become friends,’ Jack went on. ‘And if he hadn’t broken into Kathleen’s house, hunting for gingerbread, we’d never have had the idea for this Christmas celebration at all.’
‘Don’t forget the time capsule,’ Holly added. ‘It was Claude who found that, and brought Mrs Templeton into our plans.’
‘Speaking of which,’ Mrs Templeton said, ‘I’ve put the time capsule tin at the end of the table, along with some paper, pens and envelopes. I thought it might be nice to start a new Maple Drive time capsule, in memory of the occasion.’
‘What a lovely idea!’ Holly beamed, her whole being happier than I’d ever seen her before. ‘What do we need to do?’
‘Just write down your favourite Christmas memory, or a Christmas wish, and put it in the tin. We’ll bury it somewhere Claude can’t find it, then dig it up again in, say, five years?’
‘Sounds perfect,’ Jack agreed. ‘Which means there’s just one thing left for me to do.’ Reaching behind him, he picked up a plate from the dessert table, and walked towards me. My eyes widened as I realised what he was carrying. A whole house of gingerbread, with a little model of me at the front. ‘Claude, this is for you, to say thank you for bringing us humans together this Christmas.’
‘Just don’t eat it all at once,’ Holly warned, with a laugh.
I promised nothing. Suddenly I wasn’t so full any more.
They’d made me a house of gingerbread. They’d talked about me like I was important – not just to my humans, but to everyone on Maple Drive. I knew now that, wherever Daisy and Oliver were, Maple Drive was where I belonged.
And I always, always would.
I barked with happiness, as Mrs Templeton broke off a small piece of the gingerbread roof for me to eat.
Everything seemed to be going perfectly.
Until the sound of an approaching car cut through the conversation, and everyone fell silent as we waited to see who had come calling.
But deep down inside, I already knew.
It was my family, at last.
‘Hang on, slow down,’ Oliver cried, and Daisy instantly put her foot on the brake.
‘What? Why … Oh.’ She slowed the car right to a halt, and stared through the windscreen at the road in front of her.
Was that really Maple Drive?
‘What’s going on?’ Bella squeezed herself forward through the twins’ car seats to try and get a look.
‘I haven’t the foggiest idea,’ Daisy said, her voice faint.
For some reason, the entire population of Maple Drive seemed to be having dinner in the middle of the road. Wearing their coats, mostly. And there was a Christmas tree at the far end. And tinsel and bunting on sticks. And … were those lights on the houses? They weren’t turned on, so it was hard to tell in the daylight, but Daisy was pretty sure they were.
‘We were only gone two days.’ Oliver shook his head in amazement.
‘Nobody mentioned this on the Find Claude page,’ Bella said.
‘Can you see Claude?’ Jay called from the back seat, trying to push past his sister.
‘Not yet,’ Daisy said, soothingly. ‘He’s probably at the house, Jay. I wouldn’t worry. Come on, we’ll go and look.’
Sliding the car up to the kerb, she parked, watching in her rear-view mirror as her parents did the same just behind them.
Stepping out of the car was almost like stepping onto a movie set, one of those films they only showed at Christmas, where everyone came together in the end to celebrate something or somebody. Except Daisy and her family were late to the cinema, and they hadn’t got a clue what had happened to cause this.
As they moved closer, people at the nearest end of the table stood up to welcome them, beckoning them closer and grabbing more chairs from who knew where to squeeze around the table.
‘You’re back!’ A man with dark, neat hair and a welcoming smile approached them, hand out stretched. ‘Claude will be so happy.’
Daisy took the man’s hand, trying to place him. Wait, wasn’t he the postman? Hadn’t Bella said he’d found Claude?
‘Is he here?’ she asked in a rush. ‘We’ve been trying to get back ever since we realised he wasn’t with us, but the ferries were cancelled and then we couldn’t catch a train back through the tunnel until this morning, so we ended up staying in Calais last night and … sorry. Do you know where Claude is?’
Jay was at his side in an instant, at the sound of Claude’s name, and Bella wasn’t far behind him. Leaving Oliver and her parents to deal with the twins, Daisy looked up hopefully at the postman, who grinned.
‘Of course! He’s the guest of honour at today’s festivities. And I should warn you, he’s discovered a love of gingerbread. Look, there he is.’ He pointed down the table, and Daisy followed his finger, casting her eye across the gathering until she saw him.
Those ridiculous, wonderful black ears. That white wrinkled face. Those warm eyes. Their Claude.
But why on earth was he sitting on Mrs Templeton’s lap?
‘Holly, this cake is just divine!’ A tall blonde in a white coat and suede boots, who didn’t look like she’d ever eaten cake in her life, cornered Holly by the dessert table, leaving Holly scrambling to figure out which house and family on Maple Drive she belonged to.
Maybe number 4? The … Welwoods, was it?
‘Thank you,’ she said, smiling graciously, because even though Mrs (possibly) Welwood was the third person in the last ten minutes to compliment her on her Christmas cake, the pleasure was still very real. And unexpected.
‘You must make my husband’s fortieth birthday cake this year,’ the blonde went on. ‘It’s in March, so we’ve got some time. I’ll put together some ideas for themes, and you can just let me have your price list when we know what we’r
e looking at, okay?’
‘Um, I’m sure that will be fine,’ Holly said, wondering what on earth a person was supposed to charge for cakes. Normally she just made them for her friends and family who, if she was lucky, paid her back for the ingredients. An actual commission was outside her realm of experience.
‘In fact,’ Mrs Welwood went on, ‘perhaps you can help me out with one or two other aspects of the party planning. Like the decorations – you’re so wonderfully crafty, aren’t you? And maybe the theme. I’m sure you must have a great imagination. So that would help you with the invitations and so on …’
‘Mrs Welwood,’ Holly said, praying that was actually her name. ‘Are you asking me to organise your husband’s fortieth birthday party for you?’
‘Oh, yes please.’ Her face collapsed into a relieved smile, and suddenly she didn’t seem so tall and intimidating. ‘And call me Sharon, won’t you? The thing is, I don’t have the faintest idea where to start, and you did such a wonderful job organising all this!’
‘Well, Mrs Templeton did a lot of it …’
Sharon shook her head. ‘No. We’ve all been watching you, making sure she didn’t get carried away, bossing everyone about. You’re the one who made all this a success. You and that gorgeous fella of yours …’
‘I wouldn’t say Jack’s mine exactly,’ Holly said, hoping Sharon would put the pinkness of her cheeks down to the cold. ‘But really, I’ve never organised a party before. I’m sure I can manage the cake—’
‘And I’m sure we can manage everything, together. I’ll pay you, of course. And once it’s the huge success I know it will be, I’m sure all my friends will be lining up to hire you too!’
Holly considered it. The extra money would be super useful for paying the mortgage – and making headway towards paying Sebastian back his half of the deposit. If she could do a few parties, plus her craft stuff, and start saving, she could own that house free and clear eventually. It really would be hers. Her home.
She looked up and down Maple Drive, and saw Jack leading the McCawleys towards where Claude was sitting with Mrs Templeton. She saw Kathleen, regaling half the table with stories from her youth, her travels. And she realised, this was where she wanted to belong.
Maple Drive was home. And Sharon Welwood’s party was the first step towards making sure it could never be taken away from her again.
‘I’ll do it,’ she said.
Sharon clapped her hands together and grinned. ‘Brilliant! I’ll call you in the New Year and we’ll get planning, yeah?’
‘I’m looking forward to it already,’ Holly said, surprised to find that she really was.
‘Holly?’ Kathleen beckoned her over, and Holly went, obediently. ‘Rebecca here, from number 7, was just asking about your bunting, dear. She’s looking for some for the new nursery. Do you take commissions at all?’
Holly looked at Rebecca, her pregnant stomach pressing up against the table, then glanced up at the string of Christmas bunting hung between the bamboo canes on the table. They were fun and quick to make, looked impressive, and she could do it in front of a telly in the evenings, when she was feeling lonely.
‘I absolutely do,’ she said. ‘We’ll sit down soon and talk about exactly what you want,’ she added, talking directly to Rebecca. She hadn’t met her before, but if she lived in Maple Drive then Holly was already predisposed to like her.
Rebecca beamed. ‘Oh, that would be lovely! I haven’t had much of a chance to get to know people on the street since we moved in, and it seems like you and Jack are the heart of Maple Drive! You two must come over for dinner sometime.’
‘Brilliant,’ Holly said, but something about the woman’s words tugged at her heart. You and Jack. Except there wasn’t a Holly and Jack, really, was there? They hadn’t even kissed. She’d thought he might kiss her the night before, but he’d just smiled at her and waved from the doorway.
And there was still a very strong chance that he’d be leaving, and soon.
Would Maple Drive still accept her as one of their own if Jack left? She hoped so.
No, wait. That was wrong.
She would make it so.
This was her home, her place, with or without Jack. And the people here admired her talents, wanted to get to know her better. They liked her, just as she was. Soon, she’d be able to use her hobbies to pay back Sebastian and earn her home back. And she would make the community she’d always been looking for here in Maple Drive, even if Jack did leave.
It was just … she really hoped he’d decide to stay.
I stared across the table at Daisy and Oliver, Bella and Jay, Granny pushing the twins in their double buggy and Grandad following with Petal on her lead. All walking towards me.
I didn’t know what to do. My heart pounded too hard and too fast in my chest, and I felt like I might throw up the gingerbread I’d just eaten. A huge part of me just wanted to jump down and run to them, but another, even bigger part was too scared.
Scared that they weren’t back to stay. Scared that they hadn’t missed me like I’d missed them. Scared that they’d forget me again, the next time something interesting came along.
I knew I could survive without them now. I had other people, people who stayed, who fed me, who cared about me.
But I knew in my heart, the McCawleys would always be my real family.
I just wished I could believe that I was family to them.
‘So, you made it home, then,’ Mrs Templeton said, her hand still resting on my back as the others approached.
Daisy smiled, but she looked tired – more tired than I’d seen her since the twins were new, even. ‘Finally, yes. We’ve been trying to get back to our Claude ever since we left!’
Was that true? My heart started to rise, until I could almost feel it in my throat.
Then Jay yelled, ‘Claude!’ and dashed towards me and, without even realising I had done it, I jumped down from Mrs Templeton’s lap and raced to meet him half way.
The little boy’s arms linked around my neck as he held me close, my front paws on his shoulders, pressing myself as close as I could. I was trembling, I realised – and so was Jay. Tears landed on my fur as he whispered, ‘I missed you so much, Claude. We never meant to leave you, you know. We’ve been trying to get home to you ever since. It wasn’t Christmas without you there with us.’
Suddenly, the last of my fears faded away, floating off into the frosty air as Bella and Oliver and Daisy all knelt down to pat me and pet me and tell me they loved me, too.
We were a family once more. And I knew in my heart that they’d never leave me behind again.
As evening crept in on Maple Drive, Daisy sat back in the chair Jack had found for her, Jay curled up in her lap while the twins snoozed in their buggy beside her. On the floor, Claude was keeping her feet nice and toasty. Over by the Christmas tree, she could see Bella sitting with Zach Templeton, dipping her head and tucking her hair behind her ear, and she thought Boys, already? But that was a problem for another day. Another, less perfect day than this one.
Oliver dropped a kiss onto her hair, resting his hands on her shoulders as they listened to a collection of neighbours singing Christmas carols while Dr Roberts played along on someone’s keyboard that had been dragged outside.
‘Well. If we’d known Christmas in Maple Drive would be like this, we never would have insisted on you coming out to the chateau!’ Daisy’s mother dropped into an empty chair beside her. ‘Your father’s on his third plate of food, and I just had the most interesting conversation with one of your neighbours. Why didn’t you tell us what we were missing out on?’
‘Because we didn’t know,’ Daisy admitted. ‘Maple Drive … it’s never been like this before.’
‘I honestly thought we had the wrong road when we arrived,’ Oliver said. ‘I can’t imagine what changed here this week to make this happen.’
‘I think you can blame it all on Claude.’ They all turned as a woman in a bright red coat spoke, smi
ling gently as she bent down to rub between Claude’s ears. Claude perked up for a minute, then settled back down again. ‘Sorry, I don’t think we’ve really met yet. I’m Holly. I live across from you at number 12.’
‘Lovely to meet you,’ Daisy said, frowning. ‘But how could Claude have made all this happen?’
Holly laughed. ‘Oh, he’s had quite the adventure while you’ve been away!’
Bella approached, Zach following behind looking besotted. ‘It’s true, Mum. Look! Jessica from number 3 videoed this from earlier and put it up on the Find Claude page.’ She held up her phone so they could both see Jack the postman, talking about Claude and presenting him with a gingerbread house.
Oliver shook his head. ‘I still don’t understand. He’s just one little dog!’
‘Tell us about it?’ Daisy asked. ‘Please? Only … we’ve missed him dreadfully. It would be nice to know what he’s been up to without us.’
With a nod, Holly took a seat beside them. ‘I heard you were trying to get back to him, the whole time?’
‘We were,’ Daisy said. ‘I can’t believe we managed to leave him behind in the first place! We think he must have jumped out of his cage in the boot to chase a cat or something.’
‘Probably my Perdita,’ Holly admitted. ‘But, you’ll be amazed to hear, they’re friends now!’
Oliver reached for his wine glass. ‘Clearly, this is quite some story.’
‘It is,’ Holly agreed. ‘And it all started when Claude squeezed his way through Perdita’s cat flap and into my kitchen …’
Daisy settled back in her chair, ready to listen. The sky was starting to darken, but the garden heaters that had been brought out were keeping everyone warm. She was with her family, with her community, and Claude was safe.
It was the perfect Christmas, after all.
It had been an almost perfect day.
Jack had heard from just about everyone there how much they’d enjoyed themselves, how they’d always wanted to get to know their neighbours better but hadn’t known where to start. There was a feeling of hope filling Maple Drive that Christmas Day, and Jack liked to think he’d played a small part in helping that hope grow. They’d even had a smattering of snowflakes earlier – not enough to drive everyone indoors, but enough to add a frosty white coating to the hedges and shrubs of the front gardens of Maple Drive.
Claude's Christmas Adventure Page 19
