Chapter 28 #2
New Life Community Church was abuzz with activity.
In the centre of this circus were, of course, the two Christmas Ringmasters.
Resplendent in their own Santa and Mrs Claus outfits, with red glittery fabric and silver trim, Cheris and Carolyn gripped A3 clipboards from which they merrily called out announcements in line with the schedules they’d handed out.
Mary and Beckett missed a lot of the rehearsal, being in a Sunday school room that had been commandeered as the dressing room.
One after the other, cast members came to don their finished outfits, and each time Mary seemed to relax a little bit more as her creations were greeted with gasps, grins or stunned admiration.
She frequently would turn to Beckett, eyes wide with wonder. He’d smile back, give a nod of encouragement, or shake his head with a light-hearted eyeroll to say, ‘See?’
When the last cast member had slid into their Slug Santa outfit, and slithered backstage ready for their big number with the Boyband Santas, Mary turned to Beckett, grabbing his hand.
‘We did it,’ she breathed, eyes shining into his. ‘They were okay.’
Beckett gave her a sideways look. ‘They were not even close to okay. Bill reckons they’ll be the talk of the show. Moses is considering auctioning them off in the new year to raise money for the food bank.’
Mary grinned back at him, radiant, and Beckett wanted to pause this moment so he could imprint every detail in his mind forever.
‘Shall we go and watch the last few minutes? Sofia said Bob’s big break will come right at the end.’
They made their way around the side of the main hall, which was gradually being transformed into a giant Santa’s grotto by Moses’ auntie and the stage crew.
They were sticking pictures of elves at work on the walls, and underneath the huge tree was a growing pile of presents donated for vulnerable children.
There was even an animatronic elf set up as if loading a present into a wooden sleigh.
‘Is it me or does that elf look quite sinister?’ Mary giggled as they found a spot to stand near the back wall.
‘I wouldn’t want to come across one in a dark alleyway on Christmas Eve,’ Beckett said. ‘Apparently it was donated by a journalist from the local news, Bea Armstrong, who always covers the carol concert on her feel-good slot.’
‘Oh, they’re starting up again!’
Beckett was trying to be casual about it, as if he’d barely even noticed, but he and Mary were still holding hands. In reality, it was just about all he could think about.
He’d not kept holding her hand, in line with the friend-zone boundary, but he hadn’t let go, either, just sort of done nothing, and her fingers had definitely tightened around his as they’d weaved their way through the hustle and bustle.
Now, the lights dropped across the hall, leaving a single spotlight on a manger in the middle of the stage, where Beckett knew Bob was lying, even if all they could see from this distance was an occasional tiny arm waving about before disappearing again.
There was total hush for a few seconds, as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch, and then the voice of a small child drifted across the darkness.
‘Every year, children like us write letters to Santa Claus, asking for toys and things. A puppy or a new bike. But the real gifts of Christmas can’t be found in a stocking or under the tree. They’re something even Santa can’t bring down the chimney.’
Another child took over from the first one. They sounded about five. ‘The first ever Christmas presents were peace, hope and joy. Love like never did get seened before.’
‘A miraculous mystery, where the giver became the gift.’
‘And this gift is for all of us, for all time. Young, old, rich or poor…’
Gradually as the children carried on talking, more lights went up, revealing more people. They looked even better lit up on stage than they had in the dressing room.
‘Everyone is welcome and all are invited.’
‘Sounds like this place,’ Mary muttered.
‘But the gift doesn’t stop there. All of us can bring these gifts, free of charge, to those around us. Peace, hope and joy. I hope I get an Xbox, because I’ve been wanting one for ages, but instead of thinking about what you want for Christmas, why don’t you be a Santa?’
‘If everyone was a Santa, bringing the true gifts of Christmas, then it really would be a merry Christmas.’
At that, the stage lit up, the band began to play, and the cast went wild, belting out Shakin’ Stevens ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’.
Every person in the room stopped what they were doing to dance, clap and sing along.
Mary sang, but she held tight to Beckett’s hand as she swayed, so that their arms kept touching.
When the song reached its climactic finish, to enthusiastic cheers and applause, Mary turned to Beckett, a bashful smile on her face, and he needed no more confirmation that this was the sign he’d been hoping for.
He tugged Mary gently closer to him, and, moving slowly enough to spot the flash of horror should there be one, he bent down and kissed her.
* * *
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. After a brief, sweet kiss that sent Beckett’s heart tumbling into freefall, they both ducked their heads, hands dropping and stepping quickly apart as the main lights came on in the room, highlighting the dozens of people scattered about.
‘There you are!’ Cheris appeared, throwing glittery arms around Mary, jigging up and down a few times before one final squeeze and letting go.
‘The costumes are a triumph! If Santa Claus had delivered them direct from Christmas HQ, they couldn’t have been better.
You are a blessing sent from heaven. You have to stick around forever now, because nobody can come close to those, and I’m not sure we can come up with a plot including Racing Pigeon Santa and the Very Hungry Camel every year. ’
‘Maybe get the big night over with before we start talking about next year.’ Mary laughed before her head tilted as she tuned in to a familiar wail. ‘Oops – that’s Bob. I’d better go and fetch him.’
She gave Beckett a shy smile, unable to meet his eyes, and slipped through the hubbub to the stage.
‘Looks like all your Christmases came at once.’ Cheris gave Beckett a wink and a hard jab with her elbow before bustling off on more Christmas Twins’ business.
He fetched Gramps from where he was lecturing some teenage lads on how to saw MDF, and, once Mary had checked all the costumes were safely hanging on a rail in the dressing room, they headed out.
It took a while to weave their way through a gauntlet of compliments and congratulations before finally reaching the car park.
The atmosphere in the car crackled like Christmas Eve. Gramps and Bob both fell asleep before they’d reached the city boundary, but as they left the glow of multicoloured lights for the dark of the countryside, Beckett still had no idea what to say to the woman he’d just kissed.
‘Well done,’ he said, cringing as he made what was about the inanest comment possible, under the circumstances.
‘Are you talking about the costumes or the kiss?’ Mary teased, leaning against the back-seat window.
‘Is it normal to give feedback on a first kiss?’ Beckett asked, because his brain was still floating on a deliriously happy post-kiss cloud and incapable of coming up with anything better.
‘Well, no. It isn’t normal to kiss your best friend and then make no comment at all. Someone had to mention it.’
‘Yeah. I was waiting until we were alone.’
Mary was quiet for a while before answering.
‘Now all I can think about is whether the kiss was well done. Are you waiting to talk about it because it was terrible? I promise I won’t make things awkward if you want to pretend it never happened.’
Beckett couldn’t help a bark of laughter. ‘Are you serious? Did you miss the tiny hearts flying around my head? Was it only me who heard the orchestra? At the very least, you must have seen my goofy grin.’
‘So… you don’t regret it?’ she asked quietly.
‘Um.’ Beckett tried to come up with a response that didn’t include blurting how he’d been wanting to do it for weeks. Recently, to the point where he’d barely been able to think about anything else. ‘Only if you do. If I misread the situation, or you thought it was awful…’
Mary leaned forwards and gently poked his shoulder. ‘Maybe I didn’t see your grin because I was still dazzled by the fireworks. Or did you not spot those?’
Beckett’s insides dissolved into mush.
‘I haven’t messed up our friendship?’
‘You’ve totally messed it up. There’s no way we can stay friends after a kiss like that,’ Mary said, incredulous. ‘If you’ve no intention of performing more non-friendly gestures, I’m going to be extremely cheesed off.’
He resisted the urge to pull over right there in the middle of the woods and perform a non-friendly gesture. A baby was present, after all.
He settled for a corny ‘Duly noted’, and they drove for a few minutes in silence, before resuming a conversation about the rehearsal, Beckett’s half-hearted attempts to find an independent carer, and Gramps’ more recent nightly escapades. Attraction hummed through every word.
They’d agreed that Beckett would drop Mary and Bob off and head straight home, but Beckett’s heart began thumping wildly as they approached Mary’s drive. He’d obviously be walking her to the door, carrying Bob inside. She’d been very clear how she felt about a kiss goodnight.
Only then, he saw another car parked in the driveway. A black Lexus.
He sensed Mary stiffen behind him. Glancing in the mirror as he slowed to a stop, he caught her mouth dropping open in shock, eyes fixed on the shadowy figure of a man leaning against the car.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked. ‘Do you know this person?’
Mary was already clambering out of the door.
Beckett hastily unclipped Bob’s seat and followed her over to the other car.
‘What are you doing here?’ Mary asked, her tone brittle.
‘You blocked me. I was worried about you. We knew the baby must be born by now. I had to know whether you were okay. Both of you.’
‘Really?’ Mary stuck her hands in the pockets of her fake-fur coat. ‘You weren’t that bothered back in April, when you called my son an irresponsible mistake.’
‘You had a boy?’ the man said, his voice full of emotion.
‘Yes,’ Mary snapped, but it was a half-hearted retort and Beckett could see her shoulders dropping as her initial anger drained away. ‘He’s got your eyes.’
The man jerked his head back. Mary couldn’t look at him.
And then he stepped forwards, wrapped his arms around her and she fell against him, both of them sobbing how sorry they were.
Beckett carefully walked over to the cottage and placed the car seat containing Bob in the porch.
He had no idea how he got back to the car. It felt as though the earth had tilted on its side. Everything was wrong and he had no centre of gravity any more.
Mary had become his centre of gravity.
And now he’d lost her, a mere moment after they’d begun.