All She Wants for Christmas

by Annie Claydon

  The denial came too late to be even slightly convincing, but his father let it go. ‘Someone’s going to have to tell me which of these slates will match what’s already up there. Since it’s her roof and she’s a damn sight prettier than you are, I reckon you’d better go and fetch her.’

  Matt opened the back door softly, to hear Beth describing how Josh had thought that yew berries were safe to eat. No doubt Mum had managed to extract full details of her job, where she lived, what she was doing for Christmas and whether she had any pets by now.

  ‘Oh, that poor woman.’ His mother looked up and saw him in the doorway. ‘Hello, darling. Beth was just telling me about your adventures last night.’ She turned back to Beth and leaned towards her. ‘You know, when Matt was about that age he was fascinated by astronomy and decided that he was going to spend all night up on the garage roof, stargazing. He got up out of bed and climbed up there and lay on his back, so no one could see him.’

  ‘Mother…’ Matt could feel the back of his neck reddening and Beth giggled. His mother warmed to her theme.

  ‘Anyway, when we found that he was gone, of course all hell broke loose. We looked for him everywhere, calling for him, and when he heard us he tried to sneak back down on the other side, away from the house. He fell and broke his arm and we spent all night in Casualty, getting it X-rayed and plastered. It was then that he decided that star-gazing wasn’t for him and he was going to be a doctor.’

  Matt tried to look annoyed, but the sight of Beth, her face full of laughter, disarmed him completely. She was luminous—almost joyful—and obviously having a good time. Maybe now she wouldn’t baulk at coming to his home when his mother was there, as she had done so inexplicably before.

  ‘Well, if you’ve quite finished with my youthful indiscretions.’

  His mother looked at him, her eyes softening. ‘There’s plenty more where that one came from, dear. I seem to remember that the years that followed were particularly fruitful in that respect.’

  He grinned at his mother. ‘And I suppose the age limit on parents embarrassing their children means nothing to you.’

  ‘Maybe I should fetch Jack. He might be interested in knowing about this age limit.’ Beth’s eyes were mischievous and she caught his mother’s eye, laughing with her.

  ‘Oh. Ganging up on me now?’ Matt couldn’t help a chuckle. Mariska had tried that one a few times but Mum had never quite been able to get on her wavelength, however hard she tried. ‘Anyway, Dad has requested the pleasure of Beth’s company.

  He wants to show you some roof tiles, so you can choose what you want.’

  She flushed a little more and jumped to her feet. ‘Oh. Does he? Yes, thank you, I’d like to help choose them.’

  Matt steered Beth firmly out of the back door. By the time they reached the shed, his father had cleared away the cobwebs from around the tiles, and held one up to the light for Beth to see.

  ‘What do you think, pet? Will that match all right?’

  Beth nodded uncertainly. ‘I think so.’ She shot a questioning look at Matt and he shrugged. He knew his father well enough to stay out of this particular debate. ‘Yes, it does. Will it be the right size, do you think?’

  ‘Where do you live?’ His father was rubbing his chin ruminatively.

  ‘Just on the edge of Easington. It’s the row of five cottages on the little road that runs behind the post office. Mine’s the one on the end.’

  ‘I know them. Very nice little places, solidly built. Yes, these will be just right.’ His father nodded his approval. ‘Take it outside now and just prop it up against the wall. We’ll see if we can sort out which of this lot are the best.’ He gave the tile to Beth and she didn’t move.

  ‘I can carry more than one.’

  His father chuckled and reached for another couple of tiles. Matt leaned against an old door, his arms crossed. If she kept this up, his parents were going to try and adopt her. Jack seemed to have noticed that there was something going on and bounced into the shed, receiving a tile from his grandfather and following Beth outside.

  ‘Right.’ His father straightened up and Matt noticed that there was a slight stiffness in the movement. He would have to enquire into that later. ‘We’ll take the rest, then.’

  It took an inordinate amount of discussion to decide which tiles were best and Beth seemed determined to listen to everyone’s opinion. A decision was made, though, and as Matt carried the tiles through to his car, he saw Beth helping his father stack the rejects back in the shed, gently chiding him when he tried to carry too many.

  When they were finished, they all gathered in the kitchen, Jack tugging on Matt’s sleeve to remind him that he had something to ask. ‘Is it okay for Jack to stay tonight, Mum? Apparently he and Dad have something they want to finish.’

  ‘Of course, dear, you know we love having him. Are you two staying for supper?’

  ‘I think we need to get going.’ Matt shot a querying look at Beth and she nodded. The intimacy of their silent interaction always sent warm shivers through his body. ‘If that’s okay with you and Dad.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ His mother moved over to Beth and took her hands between hers. ‘It was lovely to meet you. I hope that I’ll see you again very soon.’

  It took them another ten minutes to reach the car, because Matt’s father had to engage Beth in a conversation about plumbing and then Jack had to say goodbye again. Finally Matt managed to wrest her from the grip of his family, and they started the drive back towards her cottage.

  ‘Your mum’s lovely.’ Beth was still suffused in the warmth of his parents’ welcome, and the way they had accepted her presence without question. ‘And your dad’s such a sweetheart.’

  ‘Hmm? Yeah, I’m very lucky to have them.’

  ‘Jack obviously likes being with your parents. It must be difficult for you when he wants to stay there instead of coming home.’ Matt had seemed a little preoccupied since they had left.

  ‘Sometimes. But Mum and I talked about it, and we both think it’s important that he’s not just ferried from one place to another like a parcel, to fit in with my life. He and Dad have been working on a model plane together for weeks now and I can’t drag him away from that just because it happens to fit in with my timetable. Jack knows how much I love him and that he always comes first.’

  ‘And that you’re there for the things that really matter. Jack was telling me about his school carol concert and how you and your mum and dad were clapping louder than any of the other parents.’

  ‘Of course we were. He was better than any of the other kids.’ Matt became suddenly tight-lipped. ‘And there are no excuses to miss things like that.’

  ‘No. And you only get one chance at it.’ One chance was all that Beth would have asked. Just the one, to dress up in her best clothes and watch her own child on stage. She wouldn’t have cared if it sang or signed the carols, she would have clapped until her hands were raw. ‘It’s great that your mum and dad are so involved.’

  ‘It’s a lot to ask of them at the moment, but when his usual childcare lady is better we’ll review it. Mum’s telling me that they want to fill in on a regular basis, and if that works for them it’d be great for Jack. I don’t want them to take on too much, though.’ He swung the car into Beth’s lane and it bumped along the uneven road surface. ‘We’ll see.’

  It was going to be dark in an hour, and even though Beth had been asleep for most of the morning it had already been a full day. Matt seemed to have accepted Jack’s decision to stay with his grandparents for the evening, and turned his mind to lesser but more immediate matters, carefully lifting the roof slates out of the boot of his car and stacking them in the front porch.

  ‘Never does any harm to have a few spares.’ He regarded the half-dozen slates with satisfaction and Beth noted that they were certainly a good match for the ones that were up there already.

  ‘No, it doesn’t. Are you coming in for a cup of tea?’ She didn’t want to kee
p him from anything important, and she had already had enough tea this afternoon, but the prospect of having him leave now was like leaving a film halfway through the action. After all the emotion, she wanted to sit quietly with him, talking about nothing for a while, let things come to some kind of conclusion.

  ‘Well, I was thinking of putting those tiles up for you. It wouldn’t take long and that extendable ladder you have would reach up there. We could get it done before the light goes and then you wouldn’t have to think about it any more.’

  He was trying to persuade her. This was a far cry from his usual attitude of riding roughshod over what she thought and doing what he reckoned was best. Was this yet another side of Matt that she hadn’t seen before?

  ‘Well—I don’t know.’ Beth had been about to accept his offer but a little voice at the back of her head was wondering how far she could push this.

  He made a gesture of helplessness that almost broke her resolve. ‘It’d be a minor miracle if you could get someone in to do it tomorrow. And it would set your mind at rest to know that the place is secure.’

  It would. The voice told her that she could take this a step further if she wanted to, though. ‘I could help you with it.’

  He hesitated and then a grin spread across his face. He had lost this particular battle and even though it was probably a new experience for him he didn’t seem to mind that. ‘That would be good.’

  They carried the ladder through to the front of the house, and Matt extended it to its full length, leaning it against the wall. With his height, he could reach the gap in the roof easily. They secured the base of the ladder in the hard earth and Matt showed Beth how to lean against it to steady it while he climbed. The hammer and roof nails that he had borrowed from his father were placed within easy reach, along with a couple of the best slates, so that she could pass them up to him.

  The job didn’t take long and Beth spent most of the time with her eyes fixed on Matt for any signs that he might fall. He seemed quite at home up there, working always within the range of his reach, never looking in any danger of falling or dropping something on her head. And the view wasn’t bad either.

  He gave a final shove with the handle of the hammer to see whether he could dislodge the tiles and pronounced them well and truly fixed. As his eye began to rove across the rest of the roof, Beth called a halt to the proceedings.

  ‘Come down now, you must be freezing. I’ll make us both something to eat.’ That sounded suspiciously like an order, and he blinked down at her, but started to make his descent.

  ‘Sure?’

  This was ridiculous. That was meant to be her line. ‘Yes, come along. You need to eat.’

  She stood back to allow him to climb down the final rungs of the ladder. His smile was almost mocking as he folded the sections of the ladder back together again and watched her gather up the remaining materials from the ground, putting them away neatly.

  ‘I’ll stack the rest of the tiles in the back garden for you. If that’s okay.’ He was definitely making fun of her now and Beth bumped against him, giving him a friendly shove.

  ‘I think that will be just fine.’

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  SHE had pulled some home-made pasta sauce out of the freezer and thrown it into the microwave to defrost. Nothing fancy, but it was filling, nutritious and didn’t take too long. The dining-room table was covered with her papers and books, all filed neatly in piles according to subject and importance, so she called through to Matt to ask whether trays in the sitting room would be all right with him. His answer floated through from the sitting room but he didn’t appear in person and Beth wondered what he was doing in there.

  When she carried the food through, it appeared that he had been uncharacteristically doing nothing. He was still sitting on the sofa, watching the lights on the Christmas tree in the gathering dusk. He hadn’t even moved to switch the overhead light on. She jabbed at it with her elbow and he seemed to snap out of his reverie, jumping up and flipping the switch for her.

  ‘Here, let me take that.’ He relieved her of the loaded tray, so that she could go back to the kitchen to fetch her own food. ‘Smells wonderful.’ He waited for her to finish with the Parmesan cheese and sprinkled some on top of his piled dish. Opening one of the bottles of chilled lager that she had brought in, he filled her glass and then set about demolishing the pile of pasta in front of him.

  They ate in companionable silence. He seemed as hungry as Beth was and polished off the large bowl of pasta before she had finished her smaller one, setting the tray to one side and picking up his glass. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he leaned back, a picture of relaxed contentment.

  ‘Thanks, Beth—that was great.’ His eyes were watching her intently and Beth wondered whether she had tomato sauce on her face.

  ‘What?’ She brushed her fingers across her lips speculatively.

  ‘I was just thinking…Well, I wasn’t thinking anything, really. That’s just so nice sometimes.’ His eyes flicked around the room and settled on the Christmas tree. ‘I love a bit of sparkle at this time of year. Seems to make the dark evenings worth it.’

  Beth abandoned her fork and laid her tray down on the floor in front of her. ‘Doesn’t it just? Makes you feel that everything’s all right with the world, even though you know damn well it isn’t.’

  ‘There’s enough that’s right to make it worthwhile.’ His irrepressible optimism again. ‘Josh will be home for Christmas if he keeps up the improvement.’

  ‘That’ll be nice. One of the best presents that James and Marcie could ever have.’

  Matt nodded. ‘What about you? You’re staying here this Christmas.’

  Beth had hoped that the admission had escaped his attention. ‘Yes. My parents are staying in America to spend Christmas with my brother and his wife.’ She grinned. ‘So she’ll be getting a bit of an introduction to the Travers family Christmas games.’

  ‘And you’re not going as well?’

  ‘No. I don’t have much time off over Christmas and I’d prefer to take a few weeks off in the spring and go then.’ Beth forced a smile. ‘I’ll miss our family Christmas, but this year’s as good as any to make the break.’ There had always been an unmarried aunt or two who came for Christmas when she was a child, someone who had nowhere else to go, and she didn’t want to turn into one of those.

  ‘So what are you doing? I thought I heard you say you weren’t going to Marcie’s.’

  ‘No, I’m not. They need to be on their own this year, just the four of them. I thought I’d go to the hospital on Christmas Day. There’s something very special about spending the day with the kids there.’

  ‘Why don’t you—?’

  ‘I’m really looking forward to it.’ Beth cut him short. She wasn’t going to risk having to say no to the offer of the one Christmas that she really wanted. ‘So what are you doing? Are you going to your parents’?’

  Matt shook his head. ‘No, it’s all down to me this year. I got a bit sick of playing the wandering addition that got taken in somewhere and Jack and I decided to have Christmas in the new house. I’ve got my parents, my sister and her family all coming over on Christmas Day.’

  ‘That’ll be great for Jack. A proper family Christmas.’ Beth stopped herself. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean that. It can’t be. Not without his mother.’

  ‘Well, it’ll be different, anyway.’ Matt’s mouth twitched downwards for a second. ‘Mariska used to like to go out for lunch somewhere smart on Christmas Day, and so Jack’s used to spending the day on his best behaviour.’

  That sounded a bit dull. Beth couldn’t think of a suitable reply.

  ‘Anyway, this year’s going to be about what we want. I’m going to try my hand at a full Christmas dinner and just hope it’s not too much of a disaster.’ His tone was almost defiant.

  ‘They’ll love it. Anyway, I can’t imagine your mum would let you burn the turkey.’

  Matt grinned. ‘No. Or my sister.
I was thinking of barricading the kitchen door, but my sister will just climb in through the window and start stirring something.’ He grinned. ‘When she and Mum get together they’re quite a force to be reckoned with. Both think they know what’s best.’

  ‘Which would make you the odd man out in your family?’

  He chuckled, laughter lines replacing the stress that had appeared in his face. That smile was like a strong drug, and Beth was way past the point of just saying no. ‘Actually, I am. I’m the one who listens to reason and always does as he’s told.’

  ‘Right.’ Beth focused her eyes on the window to make her point. ‘Those pigs flying around up there are looking very festive with tinsel around their trotters.’

  Matt laughed out loud, throwing his arm across the back of the sofa in her direction. ‘Okay, you win.’ He didn’t move his hand, but his finger strayed just enough to brush her arm. ‘If I disagree then you’ve just proved your point anyway. So I’ll just have to be man enough to know when I’m beaten.’

  This was past endurance. If the strong, capable Matt wasn’t tantalising enough, his surrender was beyond any imagining. She saw a glimpse of those delights deep in his blue eyes, and almost choked on a rush of sudden need for him. Beth pulled away, knowing that she could no longer breathe with him this close, and picked up the tray from the floor, stacking the plates on it to carry them through to the kitchen.

  Matt followed her. Without asking, he picked up a tea towel and waited for her to fill the sink. ‘So tell me. Which of the Travers family Christmas games are your favourites? I can do with a bit of a steer for what to do after lunch on Christmas Day.’

  ‘All of them.’ Beth turned the taps off, swirling her hand around in the hot water to froth up the detergent. ‘Dad loves charades and he always cheats by signing behind Mum’s parents’ backs.’

  ‘Making use of an unfair advantage, eh? They never learned signing?’

  ‘A bit, when I was little. They’re not very good at it.’ She handed him a plate. ‘I like Monopoly. Adult Monopoly is great.’