A Perfect Cornish Christmas

by Phillipa Ashley

‘It’s the name of the lady who runs the launderette. I like going in there. I’d like to climb inside one of the machines and see what happens when it goes round. I’ve got my own snorkel.’

  Troy sucked in a breath. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, son,’ he said in a voice of doom. ‘I know Rita and she wouldn’t want to have to fish you out from one of her machines. You might clog up the filter or spin round so fast, you get washed away to nothing.’

  Evie, Scarlett and Anna all burst out laughing but the boy stared at Troy as if he was an alien. His mum came to retrieve him.

  ‘What’s a filter? What would happen if I did go round and round in the machine? Would I really be washed away to nothing?’

  ‘You’ve gone and done it now, Troy. He’ll be driving his mum mad for the rest of the day.’

  Troy chuckled.

  ‘Shall we get on with some lantern making?’ Evie asked, taking Scarlett’s arm.

  She introduced Scarlett and Anna to the workshop leader, who showed them how to start making a basic lantern frame. Some of the creations were quite elaborate: a robin, a snowflake and an angel were taking shape alongside the simpler designs like stars and bells. A small group were even working on an octopus. With her craft skills, Anna was soon in her element, sketching out a design and helping Scarlett cut and form the willow frame.

  With her mother’s help, and guidance from the workshop leader, two hours flew by and Scarlett had amazed herself by producing a passable star. Anna had made a fish, complete with a fin and eyes.

  ‘That’s good for your first time,’ Evie commented.

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Anna?’ A red-cheeked woman in a turquoise kaftan spoke to Scarlett’s mum. ‘Fancy seeing you here. It’s Hazel. Hazel Guise. You remember me? I’m Lawrence’s eldest. Have you moved here permanently?’

  ‘No, I’m just staying with the girls at the manor.’

  ‘Your ’usband off the leash, is he?’

  Anna smiled weakly. ‘He’s at home.’

  ‘He’ll be down for Christmas though, I s’pose.’ A grin cracked Hazel’s ruddy face.

  ‘We haven’t decided yet.’

  ‘I was sorry to hear about your aunt Joan.’

  Anna sighed. ‘Yes, we all miss her a lot.’

  ‘I bet. My dad would have been heartbroken if he’d lived to see her passing.’

  ‘She was very upset when Lawrence died.’ Anna turned to Scarlett. ‘Hazel’s dad was Joan’s gardener and handyman.’

  ‘Oh yes … I met him a couple of times.’ So, this Lawrence was the man who Joan was supposed to have had an affair with.

  ‘Poor Dad. He just keeled over one day when he was working in her vegetable plot. She was devastated. We all were,’ Hazel said, her eyes glinting with tears. ‘She was so very fond of him.’

  Scarlett listened intently, wondering if Hazel knew what her father’s duties included.

  ‘I know. I am sorry.’

  ‘Oh, it’s been over ten years now but we still miss him every day. He was very close to Joan after my mum passed away.’ She looked wistful.

  ‘Sad to think there’ll be no more parties at the manor,’ she continued. ‘Back in the day, your auntie loved a do. There was always champagne flowing and all sorts of glamorous people getting up to all sorts of antics. My dad wasn’t a party animal himself, but he loved helping her set up the garden with tables and lanterns. He made sure the grounds were shipshape, though he reckoned not too many of the folk there were interested in his herbaceous borders, if you know what I mean. He always said you could hear the music in the town if the wind was right and my mum, God rest her soul, said he’d found some interesting stuff in his potting shed in the mornings after.’

  Hazel glanced around her and lowered her voice to what she obviously thought was a whisper. ‘A thong. Bright red it was, and not from Marks and Sparks, either. And a C-O-N-D-O-M.’ She raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Sounds amazing,’ Scarlett agreed, eager to hear more from Hazel, though her mother was tight-lipped.

  ‘Oh, it was! I never went but I overheard Dad telling some of his mates about it. Scantily clad folk running around the gardens, people smoking stuff you can’t get from the corner shop and he told me that he’d once seen a famous film star with a cabinet minister in his potting shed.’

  ‘Really? I didn’t know Joan knew big celebrities,’ Scarlett said, itching to hear every possible detail.

  ‘She knew a lot of famous authors,’ Anna cut in quickly. ‘And they probably brought some friends, but I’ve certainly never met any movie stars or politicians.’

  ‘No? Oh, well, things calmed down when Joan got older.’ Hazel winked at Scarlett. ‘I’m sure your auntie kept a lot of her wilder adventures secret from you two girls and your brother. Bet your mum has some stories of her own.’

  ‘A lot of it was probably gossip too,’ Anna said. ‘Though I don’t doubt your dad had some tales,’ she added hastily.

  ‘Oh yes, Dad never told me the actual names of the film star and politician but he dropped a few hints. One of them was in Mrs Thatcher’s government and the star was some bloke who’d been in a Bond film with Roger Moore.’ She giggled. ‘Probably just as well I never went myself, or I might have got into all sorts of trouble.’

  ‘Oh, look, Ellie’s here,’ Anna said with relief. ‘It’s been lovely to see you again, Hazel.’

  ‘Yes, we must catch up and have a good gossip about the old days.’ Hazel chortled and hurried off to join her grandkids around the octopus.

  Ellie caught their eyes and waved.

  Scarlett’s mind swirled. Could her father have been someone famous? An actor or author or – God forbid – a politician. But her mum did seem very keen to shut Hazel up. There was no way her mum would have shagged a cabinet minister, was there? Though with so much booze swilling around, not to mention wacky baccy and wild antics, she’d started to believe anything was possible.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ellie walked in on a scene of heaven – or hell – depending on your point of view. A giant paper octopus dominated the room, surrounded by hyper kids shrieking and laughing. Others were darting about with lanterns on poles, almost knocking over each other and their families.

  ‘Eh, mind my cap!’ Troy shouted as a ginger lad almost sliced it off with a paper fish.

  Parents were shouting at their offspring to ‘calm down!’ and a girl fell on top of another boy’s lantern, leading to wails of dismay and a heated argument between the families.

  ‘Hello!’ one of the festival organisers, Chloe Farrow, greeted her. ‘Mad, isn’t it?’

  Chloe’s toddler granddaughter was playing with paper.

  ‘Gan gan.’ She offered a chubby fistful of paper to Chloe.

  ‘Thank you, Ruby.’

  Ruby offered the paper to Ellie next.

  ‘I’m not sure Ellie wants that, darling.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Ellie replied, amused. ‘Thank you, Ruby.’

  Her dark brown eyes were so innocent and trusting. Ellie’s stomach clenched. Ruby dropped the soggy mess into her hands. ‘Oh, lovely. All warm and squidgy.’

  Chloe wrinkled her nose in apology but Ruby chuckled in delight. ‘It’s almost over. Lucky you,’ Chloe said.

  ‘Looks like I missed the best of it. That octopus is something else.’

  ‘Hmm. The Christmas parade will be fun but personally this whole pagan solstice thing reminds me a bit too much of The Wicker Man, though they don’t burn the lanterns at the end of the ceremony.’

  ‘You hope,’ Ellie said, laughing.

  ‘Hmm. We don’t want this lot going up in flames. It’s fun for the children before the rowdier stuff gets going.’ Ruby let out a huge yawn. ‘She’s shattered and so am I. Think we’d better get off home now. See you again soon.’

  Leaving Chloe to strap Ruby in her buggy, Ellie joined her mum and Scarlett.

  ‘I made an actual lantern,’ Scarlett said proudly, showing her a star.

&nb
sp; ‘That is … actually pretty impressive.’

  ‘Don’t sound so surprised!’

  ‘It’s lovely,’ Anna said.

  Troy grumbled up, adjusting his hat. ‘Bloody kids. One of them near brained me.’

  ‘They’re not that bad, Troy!’ Evie admonished him with a roll of her eyes. ‘Sorry, have to go. Hazel wants me in the kitchen.’ Evie waved at Hazel and went off at a surprising pace for someone with an artificial knee.

  ‘Little buggers. God knows what’ll happen when we get these creations near naked flames,’ Troy said, eyeing the hyperactive bunch racing around with their lanterns. ‘Aaron did well to keep away. These kids would drive him mad.’

  ‘Really?’ Ellie was puzzled.

  ‘Yes. I remember him saying on one of his trips home that he joined the army to get away from being saddled with a brood before he was twenty-five.’

  Ellie laughed but was dismayed. She was hardly at the stage of discussing a family with Aaron but if he was so against kids, it was unwelcome news to her.

  ‘You had two of your own, including Aaron, and they didn’t turn out too badly,’ she said, trying to make light of his comments.

  Troy chortled. ‘Aye, I did that, maid. Eh!’ Troy cried out as the ginger boy bumped into him once more, knocking his cap clean off again. ‘Mind me hat, you terror!’

  Ellie retrieved it from under a table and handed it back.

  Troy muttered something about ‘little devils’ before Evie beckoned him over to the kitchen area.

  Scarlett joined Ellie again. ‘Everything OK? Ready to go?’

  ‘Yes, I think so.’

  ‘You look tired.’ Scarlett peered at her hard.

  Ellie rolled her eyes. ‘It’s been a long day.’

  ‘Lantern making’s hard work and I’m high on the glue fumes too.’

  ‘Have you and Mum been OK?’ Ellie asked, thinking Scarlett looked happier than she’d seen her for a few days. Despite the chaos, the session must have been good for them both.

  ‘Yeah … No shouting, anyway.’ They both spotted their mother, admiring the octopus, surrounded by excited kids.

  ‘Mum looks happy,’ Ellie said, with relief.

  ‘She’s in her element.’

  ‘She loves kids.’

  ‘Yes,’ Scarlett said wistfully. ‘Shame her own have given her so much trouble.’

  Ellie shared a wry look with her sister, and while her mind was on children, it was in a different context. Troy’s comments, however tongue-in-cheek they might be, had put a different spin on her relationship with Aaron. They had made her realise how hard she’d fallen for him, with little real insight into what he felt about the fundamental and vital things that mattered to her.

  Scarlett nudged her. ‘Oh, look. Aaron’s here.’

  Aaron waved from the door and started to make his way over. Ellie hadn’t expected him and would, until a few minutes ago, have had to stop herself from doing a happy dance at the surprise.

  Suddenly, shrieks filled the air as the ginger boy and two mates sent a pile of lanterns clattering to the floor. The kids who’d made them started crying and one boy lashed out at the ginger wrecker. Anna tried to intervene but the parents dived in, adding to the chaos. Ruby Farrow started to wail loudly, and another baby joined in with the chorus.

  Aaron reached Ellie with his hands over his ears. ‘Jesus, I’m glad I didn’t turn up earlier. It’s hell on earth in here. Kids, eh? Who’d have ’em?’ he asked, wincing as the volume ramped up.

  Ellie forced a smile but her heart ached as much as her jaw. ‘Yes. Who?’

  Chapter Eighteen

  As the first week of December rolled by at an alarming pace, the Porthmellow shops went into full-on festive mode. There was a carol concert on the quayside, and a festive farmers’ market in the Institute with crafts and local foods. Jude took Scarlett to an illuminated National Trust house with stunning gardens that stretched down to the estuary. The blooms and trees were lit in jewel colours, the early flowering camellias and pale branches glowing in the lights.

  It was beautiful and something she’d never have done back in Birmingham. If there was ever going to be a romantic moment, this was the opportunity, but Jude had kept things on a friendly level, never hinting he wanted to take things further.

  Scarlett couldn’t help feeling that every Christmas tradition or activity, small or large, had a bittersweet edge. It soon became clear that Anna planned to stay over at the manor at least until Christmas, which meant her father would be spending the day with Marcus and his family. Anna also announced she was joining the watercolour class in the village. While pleased that their mother had something to divert her from her worries, Ellie had told Scarlett that it was another clue that she planned on staying at Seaholly – and away from their dad – longer than they’d hoped.

  Scarlett wasn’t sure how she felt about Anna staying on. Part of her wanted everything to go back ‘to normal’, which could never be. Part of her wondered if her parents were better off making a clean break. As time passed, the tensions between her and her mother hadn’t really eased, but with the three of them living together, she’d had to try to curb her frustration for everyone’s sake.

  Once upon a time, she’d been eager to hit the shops and festive markets with her friends, scouring the stores for the perfect gift for friends and family. Her enthusiasm for Christmas shopping had all but faded away this year, despite the novelty of being able to hunt for gifts in Porthmellow’s quirky galleries and shops, but it had to be done. So far, Scarlett had bought some Cornish gin for her father along with a canvas print of St Michael’s Mount by starlight, taken by a famous local photographer. She’d got a voucher for a meal at Gabe’s restaurant for Ellie, and a framed painting of a seaside scene for Marcus and Heidi. For the boys, she decided to book a lesson with the sailing trust in the hope it would lure them down to Cornwall at some point and remind them of happier times.

  She’d found some quirky bits and pieces for her swimming club friends back in Brum and hoped to get back there before or shortly after the holidays to hand them over in person.

  However, as yet, she hadn’t found anything remotely appropriate for her mum. Everything she looked at in the shops; jewellery, paintings and art, seemed loaded with links to Porthmellow.

  She didn’t want to inadvertently pick something that might remind Anna of her affair.

  Buying something for Jude, of course, was almost impossible. She didn’t know if he’d get her anything and besides, with his keen interest in the environment, she wasn’t sure she should get him anything new at all. But giving him a ‘second-hand’ item, even if she could think of or find something suitable, seemed well … a bit mean.

  He’d been busy with his end-of-term student assessments at the college, but they’d been out for a drink together and she’d helped him read the final proofs of his foraging book. They always laughed and joked and seemed to be so in tune, but so far he’d never attempted to take things further.

  Perhaps, she thought, that should be their Christmas present to each other – it was the one she wanted most. A great big recycled box with a note in it saying: Shag me before I go mad with frustration.

  She might have laughed at herself, but actually it wasn’t that funny any more.

  With only two weeks to the Solstice Festival, it was time to plan what they were going to wear. Even if Scarlett was hardly in the dressing-up mood these days, she felt obliged to make an effort for Jude’s sake, and to generally not be a party pooper.

  She and Ellie headed up to the manor’s attic to scour it for costumes. They switched on the strip lights, illuminating boxes, bags and trunks piled up under the eaves. Auntie Joan had loved dressing up. Even towards the end of her life, she’d always donned a ‘posh frock and bling’ at the slightest opportunity.

  Scarlett remembered the conversation over what Joan should be laid to rest in. Their mother had decided on Joan’s favourite red silk evening gown, though Scarlett and E
llie had decided they preferred to remember her as she was in life, rather than see the body. Her father had gone with their mum instead. He’d been a massive support to her mum, with all the arrangements. He’d been the one dealing with the tough, emotional stuff … which made it all the more poignant that they were apart now. She decided to try and persuade him to come for Christmas again, even though she didn’t hold out much hope of him agreeing now that Anna was definitely staying on.

  Right now, however, she had a more immediate concern: her solstice costume – and Jude.

  Dust flew as Ellie delved enthusiastically into crates of old lampshades, bric-a-brac, and even more books and clothes. Scarlett decided to broach the subject of Jude’s reticence as they looked through the crates.

  ‘I’m going out of my mind with frustration. I don’t know what’s wrong with him,’ she said, closing the lid on a box of videos that should have gone to the tip long before.

  ‘Maybe he’s waiting for you,’ Ellie suggested, peering into a stained packing crate.

  Scarlett sneezed and had to blow her nose with a red and white spotted handkerchief she’d grabbed from a box. ‘There’s no way I’m going to make the first move and risk being humiliated,’ she said, once she’d recovered from the sneezing fit.

  ‘I do know how you feel. It was the same with Aaron.’ Ellie pulled out a black jacket from the crate.

  ‘So how did you – um – get over it?’

  ‘We were in the shed. He was chopping wood …’ Ellie held the jacket close, as if it was Aaron. She had a dreamy look in her eye. ‘I don’t know who made the first move. It sort of … happened.’

  ‘OK. I get the picture.’ Scarlett half-wished she hadn’t asked. ‘It’s as if Jude is holding back from me and I don’t know why.’

  ‘It will happen. Jude strikes me as a shy, cautious guy.’

  ‘Unlike his father,’ said Scarlett, eyeing an impressive cobweb over Ellie’s head.

  Ellie curled a lip. ‘Exactly. So be grateful he isn’t another Hayden.’ She held up the jacket; a riding-style velvet affair. ‘How about this for the Solstice Festival? It’s too small for me and anyway Drew wants us all to go as pirates.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Yippee, I can’t wait.’