Chapter 23
‘Well, our event poster’s drawn some attention in the shop,’ announced Dan. ‘We’ve started a list of those interested in coming along to the Christmas lunch, and there’s eleven on it already.’
‘And my Turkey and Tinsel in Tilldale fliers that I’ve posted through the village doors are working well, too,’ Lily added. ‘I’ve had nine interested and loads of enquiries coming in daily. My mobile’s been buzzing.’
‘That’s great,’ said Nikki.
‘Oh, and six of them are definite,’ added Lily. ‘I’ve saved the names in my phone, so Dan, if you can add them to your list …’
‘He’s making his list, and I bet he’ll be checking it twice,’ Andreas couldn’t help himself chanting.
‘Oh yes.’ Dan ignored his partner’s silly grin. ‘I’ll get on to that straight away. And Lily, keep me up to date on any future bookings, too. A definitive list is what we need.’
‘Of course.’
Tonight was the night for the Turkey and Tinsel planning session. Cath had been feeling a touch unsettled about seeing Will again. He had definitely been lying low since the Paint-a-thon, and she still hadn’t discovered what had happened last weekend between him and his daughter.
They were sat with glasses of mulled wine to hand around the large oak dining table at Lily’s house: a beautifully converted barn, set on a side lane in Tilldale village.
After joining in with the Paint-a-thon, Lily’s parents had at last conceded that the supper group seemed to be a good thing for her, and agreed to let them use their home for tonight’s planning meeting, whilst they headed off out to the theatre in Alnwick.
They’d seen for themselves how many mince pies Lily had managed to produce that day before school for the care home carol singing.
And they could tell how hard their daughter was working, juggling the restaurant weekend work whilst keeping up with her A-level studies.
She was indeed a girl on a mission. A big baking, cheffing mission.
‘Hmm, I wonder how many we’ll have at the event in the end?
’ Nikki mused. ‘Well, seventeen.’ She’d done the maths.
‘That’s very doable for a big Christmas dinner, but it’s bound to grow a bit more yet.
’ She glanced at her phone, slightly uneasy that she’d had to leave the boys home alone for the first time, with her eldest Hamish in charge.
Kev was off taking part in a local darts match, and the three boys were left for the next hour or two.
Their mother for once was glad for the diversion of the Xbox and a family bag of Doritos to keep them occupied.
Well, they’d had a healthy tea and done all their homework earlier, and she was only just down the road, she’d reasoned.
‘Umm, I may just have added to those numbers …’ Cath gave a small cough and an apologetic smile. She’d just this afternoon received the email from Julie at the home. ‘Hmm, well, kind of in a big way.’
Five sets of eyes were trained on her, with Dan piping up, ‘What have you done now, our Cath?’
‘Well, remember we agreed to invite some from the care home in Kirkton.’
‘Ah yes, of course.’ Dan nodded.
‘Well, I didn’t think to limit numbers when I first mentioned it.
Didn’t think that’d be fair. But after the great success of our carols and mince pies afternoon, it seems rather a lot of residents would now like to come.
Julie said some of the shyer souls have signed up too, after the fun of the sing-along and meeting us all. Well, it’s run away with itself a bit.’
Cath took a bite of a Stilton-and-walnut-topped crostini, one from a selection of tasty treats Lily had prepared, plus a sip of Merlot, thus postponing the inevitable confession.
‘Okay, so it’s kind of snowballed,’ Cath had to admit, the anxiety twisting in her gut.
‘When I got the email from manager Julie today, they’ve already booked the date, and reserved transport for it.
So, apparently there’s a group of sixteen residents—’ she said it quickly ‘—coming along, as well as two members of staff. So, I guess that’s kind of doubled the numbers.
’ She’d in fact spent the last few hours worrying about the revised costs, which was way beyond the fundraising from the raffle and donations so far.
The others stared at her for a second or two.
‘Eighteen extra people. Wow.’ Nikki’s eyes widened.
‘I’m sorry, I never imagined …’ Cath floundered. ‘It seems our carolling doubled the numbers.’
‘Oh, that is a lot more. Plus, the extras we’re bound to get from the village from hereon in,’ remarked Dan, as he processed the news.
‘Ah, but look on the bright side, just think how much Mama used to love coming over for a Sunday lunch at ours,’ Andreas reminisced, a gentle smile playing on his lips.
‘It’d be a lovely tribute to her, to help the home and its residents, and after all they’ve done there for Mama … ’ His eyes glistened as he spoke.
‘We’re just spreading a little festive joy. It’ll be fine. We’ll work it out,’ said Lily positively.
‘It’ll be manic … but great if we can manage to pull it off,’ said Nikki.
‘We can’t really say no now, anyhow,’ added Will. ‘I’d hate to let them down. That’s the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve.’
‘I know, we can’t disappoint anybody by capping numbers at this late stage.
It’s just being kind, giving our time, and doing a bit of cooking.
’ Cath was trying to convince herself as well as the others.
‘And gosh, I know the extra numbers will make it more expensive, but I’m happy to shoulder the extra costs.
’ Cath didn’t have a lot of cash to splash, but it was for such a good cause, she’d willingly dig in to her savings.
She didn’t need to be spending on a roast turkey dinner for herself this year, after all.
‘No need for that, petal,’ Andreas jumped in. ‘We can share the expense. I can’t complain at all about giving some of those elderly residents a nice day out. And I do believe inviting them may have been my idea in the first place.’
‘Hey, I’m happy to help out financially, too,’ Will added.
‘And I’ve got some savings from my work.’ Lily was ready to donate to the cause.
Cath felt a lump form in her throat. Their kindness, their team effort, catching her emotions. ‘Oh, thank you so much. I’ve been so worried about telling you that.’
‘And I’ll raid the boys’ piggy banks,’ Nikki added with a chuckle. ‘No, it is an expensive time of year, but seriously, me and Kev’ll help share any extra costs.’
‘With more donations yet to come in, and perhaps the rural grant, we’ll hopefully not be too far short anyhow,’ Dan reminded them.
‘My Adam’s still got his sponsored run to do next Sunday on the fifteenth, too,’ added Cath, brimming with pride that he’d trained and committed to it. ‘He’s signed up for the “Christmas Bobble Hat Run” in Leeds, half marathon. I’m going to go down there to see him off, and cheer him back in.’
‘How fantastic,’ said Andreas. ‘We were chatting about that, weren’t we? Good for him.’
‘Ah, that’s great,’ agreed Will.
‘Brilliant.’
‘Hmm, our bash’ll definitely need a bit more co-ordination, being a bigger event now. The catering side of things especially …’ Nikki let that sink in. ‘And, we still haven’t got those ovens up and running as yet. But Kev’s still trying.’
They took a sip of wine in unison. That was a big issue, the hitch that might trip them all up. The planning session had just gone up a gear.
‘Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll find a way.’ Nikki saw the panic in Cath’s eyes.
‘We still have a bit of time to sort them out. And everything else is in place,’ Dan tried to reassure them.
In the lull thereafter, Cath caught Will’s eye across the table and gave a tender smile.
His own smile back seemed cautious, measured.
It felt bittersweet to be acting normally, chatting as part of the group, whilst their emotional distance weighed so heavily inside of her.
They’d been messaging, but he still hadn’t opened up about what had happened with Sophie.
Cath hadn’t held him close, not properly, for what seemed like a long time, their night of passion becoming a memory.
This holding back on his part was hurting her; but his situation was complex.
Was he hurting too? What are you thinking, my love?
‘Blimey, so there’s at least thirty-five to now cater for. We’re going to need a few extra turkeys to cook, aren’t we?’ Dan’s words brought her back to the Christmas dinner dilemma.
Cath had already been doing the sums, and the shopping list.
‘And we’ll have a mountain of veggies to peel.’ Nikki was thinking practically.
‘And we’ll need gallons of gravy.’ Will was in the zone, too.
‘And plenty of pigs-in-blankets,’ added Andreas.
‘Stacks of stuffing.’ Dan picked up on the alliteration. It helped ease the mood.
They couldn’t help but raise a smile at that point, as well as their glasses. ‘In for a penny, in for a pound,’ said Nikki, pulling out one of her nana’s old phrases.
‘Oh, and are we doing a pudding?’ Lily asked. ‘Or some kind of sweet treat for afterwards?’
‘Piles of pudding,’ quipped Nikki, which was followed by a group groan.
‘That could be your domain, our budding young pastry chef, if you’re happy to?’ suggested Andreas, quirking an eyebrow.
‘Seriously, we need a detailed event plan, gang. That’ll be key to our success,’ announced Cath. ‘Allocation of tasks and responsibilities that we can do ahead of time, and then for the day itself.’
‘Oh, get you.’ Dan grinned. ‘Getting all bossy and masterful there.’ He gave her a wink.
She felt the heat of a blush, and daren’t look at Will. If only. ‘You can never be too organised.’ The schoolteacher in her was back at the fore.
‘And yeah, I’m happy to get a pudding sorted,’ agreed Lily. ‘A little something to rustle up for a mere thirty-five guests, lol.’
‘Well then, before we get in full planning mode, top-ups, anyone?’ Nikki passed the remaining bottle of red around the table. ‘This calls for refreshments.’
‘Mmm, these are good.’ Will was tucking into a crostini topped with smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives.
‘The brie and cranberry ones are lovely, too,’ said Nikki.
‘Simple but effective.’ Lily gave a grin.
‘I’ve been at school all day, so this was rather last-minute, I have to say.
A quick trip to the village stores and I soon got sorted.
Didn’t I, guys?’ The three of them shared a smile.
‘And Andreas here has helped me create a festive foodie wreath board with crackers, grapes, olives, cheese and chutneys. I’ll just fetch it through.
It looks ace. I took a couple of photos, and I’m going to show the guys at the restaurant. It’s such a fab, yet simple idea.’
‘Oh, I can’t wait to see it, Lils,’ said Nikki.
Lily was soon back. ‘Ta-dah!’
It looked amazing: a circle of savoury treats on a dark-green rocket base.
‘Wow, how clever. Love it!’ said Cath. ‘It’s almost too good to eat.’
‘Almost …’ Dan helped himself to some grapes and a chunk of blue cheese.
‘Well then, twenty-second December is going to be one hell of a busy day,’ observed Nikki.
‘It is indeed, and the few days leading up to it, too, what with the food shop, all those veggies to peel,’ said Cath, adding to herself, and probably most of the next two and a half weeks building up to it. The call to action had begun.
*
It was past ten o’clock, and time for the short walk home.
Andreas and Dan were chatting away at the threshold to the barn, thanking Lily for her and her parents’ hospitality.
Will was loitering outside in the frosty night air, along with Cath and Nikki.
Waiting to say their group goodbyes. Will should, in theory, head off in the opposite direction to Cath from Lily’s place, but Cath was hoping he might offer to walk her home, wanting to claw back some intimacy between them.
Will seemed to be hanging back, but then of course, the lads stepped in, offering to see the two ladies home.
It made sense geographically, but no sense at all to Cath’s hopeful heart.
The evening had been a busy one with lots of group chat, and all the event organisation, so there hadn’t been much chance for personal talk.
‘Night, then.’
‘Night.’ Leaving Lily’s frost-dusted front garden, and back at the main street where they’d split off to go home, she and Will shared a careful hug.
Cath could sense that something was off kilter.
He had a heaviness about him. Will then gave the hint of a sigh as Cath turned to go, catching at her heart, before she then caught up with the others.