Chapter 5
Alex looked at the paper bauble she had just finished making with a lone reindeer standing on a small hill.
Something simple like this was almost as popular as the more elaborate designs.
She glanced around her studio: a quarter of her stock was already gone and she was trying to make more and capitalise on the last-minute Christmas rush.
She nibbled her lip while she thought about what she could make next.
Her thoughts turned to St Nick. It would be lovely if she could give him a bauble instead as a thank you for all his kindness and generosity.
But what could she make for him that was specific to him in the same way his baubles were specific for other people?
She needed to know more about him even if she didn’t know who he was.
She grabbed her phone and reread his message. She hadn’t had a chance to reply yet as she’d had quite a lot of customers since she’d come back from her disastrous date.
She quickly typed out a reply, wondering if he would give her any more information as she had already used up her allotted clue for today.
Dear St Nick,
I can’t tell you how excited I was to receive your message today. I’m definitely up for the challenge. As you addressed me as Barnaby, you already know I love a good mystery. Are you a fan of cosy mysteries? If so, do you have a favourite TV show or book?
I also want to thank you personally for Zara’s beautiful bauble.
She was over the moon with it. Not only did it capture her love of roller skating but her favourite colour too.
Not many people would know that. I think that kind of eye for detail would make you a great detective too or at least an amateur one like me.
So what do I know about you so far? You live in Lovegrove Bay, and with a population of around five thousand people I bet I can narrow that down quite significantly.
You talk to a lot of people and you really listen to the answers.
How else would you know that Mr Malik’s son loves chess or that Mrs Kendall is a keen entomologist?
I speak to her quite regularly but we’ve never spoken about her love of insects before.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so excited to receive a bauble with a beetle painted on the side.
So your job probably brings you in contact with a lot of people.
Perhaps you are a milkman, a postman, a hairdresser, they always talk to their clients, or perhaps you work in a shop that sees a lot of footfall.
And I do think you’re a man. I think a woman would sign the gift tags with a female nom de plume, something like Mrs Claus or Elf Holly, not hide behind a male pseudonym, but maybe that’s just me.
Would you like to confirm or deny any of these things?
I do think you are incredibly talented and so very kind. You have brought joy to so many people and I want to thank you for that. Whatever happens at the end of this challenge, your anonymity is safe with me.
Warmest wishes,
Alex (Barnaby)
She read it through wondering if it was too many questions and assumptions but it was worth a try to get closer to unveiling the truth.
She pressed send. Then she noticed she had a reply from Pip.
Opening it to see what he said, she smiled to see that he had replied to her message about inventions for the future.
An all-seeing medical bed is a lovely thing to want for the future and says a lot about the kind of person you are. I’d still like to see a talking car like Kit from Knight Rider. What does that say about me?
By the way, I’ve phoned ahead to the Rhubarb and Crumble to let them know of your shellfish allergy for tomorrow night and I’ve asked if we can be seated in a quiet corner to try to avoid any cross-contamination from other customers. They said they’ve got just the spot for us.
Pip x
Alex smiled at how thoughtful that was. Conversely, she hadn’t heard a peep from Oliver since she’d messaged him about her allergy earlier that day.
Possibly he was busy and not had time to reply but now she had a niggle of doubt about dinner that night.
Some people could be arseholes about her allergy, she just hoped that Oliver wasn’t going to be one of them.
Alex left her house later that night and made her way down towards town, passing through Christmas Gardens on the way.
The cottage where Quinn lived looked cute as golden light spilled from the windows.
As two of the elves, she and Quinn were due to decorate it two nights from now, transforming the outside into something wonderful.
It was one of her favourite nights of the year.
Quinn had moved to Lovegrove Bay shortly after Liam’s funeral and Alex knew that was so he could spend more time with Zara.
He’d managed to get the house on Christmas Gardens for very low rent because for the month of December it was always taken over by Santa, the elves and as much Christmas paraphernalia that you could throw at it.
Quinn wasn’t even allowed in the house during the day once Santa had arrived.
During the rest of the year, Quinn had full use of the whole house but once Santa arrived he was relegated to the rooms upstairs.
The elves had been surreptitiously decorating the ground floor of the house over the last few weeks but the children didn’t know that as the outside was still normal-looking right now.
Christmas Gardens was a large village green surrounded by a little white picket fence which had already been festooned with beautiful garlands of holly, berries and pine cones.
Quinn’s cottage stood proudly in the middle of it.
From September or October onwards it was also the place where all the children of the town would take their letters to Santa and quite often Quinn would get knocks on the door from little kids wanting to know if Santa was home.
He’d always tell them kindly that Santa was in the North Pole and he was simply looking after the house for him until he arrived.
Alex cut through the gardens and walked by the house wondering if she’d catch a glimpse of him.
She stopped when through a gap in the curtains she could see him, almost completely naked apart from a towel wrapped round his waist, soaking wet clearly having got out the shower as he talked to someone on the phone.
He had the most amazing body. Of course she knew that because she’d felt it whenever he gave her one of his wonderful hugs, but she’d never seen it in all its glory before.
It was toned and muscly and utterly captivating, she couldn’t drag her eyes away.
She followed the path of one of the droplets that traversed his chest and down across the hard plains of his stomach and suddenly had an overwhelming need to lick those droplets off.
She snorted with laughter at the thought of marching in there and doing just that and what his reaction would be.
She turned and hurried on before he caught her watching him.
Christmas Gardens was kind of at the back of where the main shops started, heading towards the seafront, and it wasn’t long before she reached the main part of the town.
Almost every shop and every house was already decked out in Christmas splendour, making her feel excited for the big day.
She loved Christmas, the decorations, the movies, the food, choosing the right presents for her now extended family.
Christmas Day would normally start with just her, Immy and Zara, but sometimes Quinn was there. They’d open the presents, play some games and then all make their way over to Violet’s for the Big Christmas Day Lunch. Despite Violet’s poor knitting skills, her cooking was to die for.
There were always lots of other relatives there too.
Last year she’d met Max for the first time, as he’d been in the process of moving to the area.
He had several jobs around town, always popping up in places where you’d least expect.
So it was no surprise when she pushed open the door at Alberto’s that he was there, serving behind the bar.
She waved at him as she unwrapped herself from her coat and scarf. He came over to talk to her.
‘Is that your date?’ Max said, gesturing to a guy seated at one of the tables.
Alex looked over and saw the man thankfully looked exactly like his photos. She waved at him and he waved back, although he didn’t smile.
‘Yeah, Oliver.’
Max pulled a face.
‘You know him?’
‘Unfortunately.’
‘Oh god, is he that bad?’
‘Well, maybe I just caught him on a bad day, but he was rude to Cleo at Sweet Escapes and there was no way I was standing for that.’
Alex let out a little sigh. Everyone had a bad day now and again and, while she couldn’t abide rude people, Oliver deserved a chance at least. She would go over there with no judgement or preconceived ideas about him.
‘Well, let’s see what he has to say.’
‘Just give me a wave and he’s gone,’ Max said.
She was just about to wander over when she spotted someone who looked like Violet at one of the tables at the back, but she was hiding behind one of the menus. She was with someone, although the restaurant was quite dark and Alex couldn’t make out who it was.
‘Is that Violet?’
Max looked embarrassed. ‘Umm, it might be. I can neither confirm or deny it.’
‘Is she here spying on me?’ Alex said, taking that as a yes.
‘No, I don’t think so, she’s having dinner with a friend.’
Alex peered over again. ‘A male friend?’
‘I’m sure there’s some kind of client confidentiality that forbids me from talking about other customers with you and, if there isn’t, I’m damned sure there is some kind of aunt confidentiality, as in I’d get a clip around the ear for talking about what she’s doing here with you. So I’m saying nothing.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Is she… on a date?’
Max’s eyes widened to comic proportions. ‘I don’t know why you’d think that.’