Chapter 14
As soon as Thea walked back into the living room, all eyes were upon her. Tristan, who never could resist needling his twin sister, raised an eyebrow.
‘Secret meetings in the kitchen, sis? Have you finally let Nick Saint out of the friend zone?’
‘Eww!’ Cora squealed, glancing up from the Spotify playlist she was compiling to try out her birthday present. ‘That’s gross, Uncle Tristan!’
‘No,’ Thea shot back, feeling more defensive than she should have.
She thought fast, realising that her family were intrigued by the way she’d hustled Nick out of the room, and she needed to give them at least a brief explanation, or they’d be on her case for the rest of the afternoon.
‘He’s, er, asked me if I’d help out at the shop for the late-night shopping event next Tuesday.
He was moaning about being short-handed when I, er, popped in there last week and he’s obviously hit the panic button and is pulling in all hands to help. ’
‘Why you, though?’ Tristan asked. ‘I mean, isn’t it a bit odd just to grab random customers to help out at a moment’s notice?’
Thea’s mind went into overdrive. She didn’t want to ’fess up to the extra job right now, not in front of the children, and the inevitable conversations this would raise.
‘I, er, happened to mention I’d done some shop work years ago, and I guess he remembered.
He’s desperate for an extra pair of hands, with Annabelle and Jamie being out of the country and his folks being off their feet, so I said I’d help out for the evening. ’
‘He’s desperate for something , all right!’ Tristan grinned. ‘Any excuse to spend a bit of time with you, I reckon.’
Thea rolled her eyes. On the whole, she’d been delighted when Tristan had fallen in love with Charlotte.
He’d always been a little too serious for his own good, keeping his thoughts and emotions strictly in check, even with her, for most of their lives.
Charlotte had brought a little levity and fun into his life and altered his outlook on things.
The inevitable result of this was that he tended to joke around a whole lot more than he used to, and while this was mostly lovely to see, it did mean she was often the target of his good-natured teasing.
It was as if, now he’d finally found someone, he wanted Thea to hurry up and do the same.
‘Shall we light the candles?’ Thea asked, making a very obvious subject change.
She hurried back to the kitchen and grabbed the matches and focussed her attention on the cake.
After the obligatory round of ‘Happy birthday’ singing, and the wish making, and then handing round the carefully cut slices of Lorelai’s exceptionally moist and rich chocolate sponge, Thea felt that the attention was away from herself and back onto Cora, where it should be.
‘So, what are you going to put on your shopping list to spend your birthday money on?’ she asked as she tucked into a generous slice of cake.
‘Dunno yet,’ Cora replied through a mouthful of her own cake. ‘Genevieve’s got this lush Carolina Herrera perfume – the bottle’s in the shape of a shoe – I might get some of that, if we’re gonna go up to Cribbs Causeway.’
Thea suppressed a sigh. This current generation of teens was so much more brand aware than she’d ever been.
The advent of social media and the internet meant that they were bombarded with products every hour of the day, on every platform they visited, and it made the job of a parent both daunting and potentially very expensive.
But at least Lorelai’s gift of cash would help to soak up some of that expense.
‘And maybe Genevieve could come with us? And we could go for lunch?’ Cora’s hopeful expression made Thea’s heart lurch.
‘Let’s think about it during the holidays,’ she said.
It was her standard response when she wanted more time to work things out.
Thankfully, term ended on 20 December this year, so she’d have finished her fill-in shifts at the farm shop before the school holidays started.
She hoped she could bluff her way through the next couple of weeks without Cora or Dylan discovering her extra job.
She’d managed to persuade them she’d been at appointments and running errands for the first couple of days this week, to explain her absence from home when they’d finished school, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep it up for the next couple of weeks.
It wasn’t that she was ashamed, as such, but she hated the thought of them being worried about money, especially so close to Christmas.
If Nick offered her a more permanent gig for the new year, then she’d own up to it.
Lorelai might be a different matter, however.
She imagined herself diving behind the counter if her grandmother popped into the shop and realised that just wasn’t going to work.
She resolved to let Lorelai know about it when the time was right.
Tristan and Charlotte could be kept in the dark, though – she didn’t want to provide more ammunition for her brother, who’d only tease her about working with Nick.
The party went on for another hour or so, before Tristan and Charlotte said their goodbyes.
They were Bristol bound tonight and meeting with some of Charlotte’s work colleagues for a Christmas meal.
Term had ended the day before, so it was a good chance to get together before the Christmas season got into full swing.
As they left, Charlotte grabbed Thea for a quiet word in the hall.
‘Don’t let Tristan rile you up about Nick,’ she said.
‘He’s always suspected that Nick carries a torch for you, and you know what he’s like when he thinks something, it takes an army to persuade him otherwise! ’
‘I know.’ Thea smiled ruefully. ‘But he’s wrong. Nick and I are just friends, and that’s all we’ve ever been. I’m not ready for anything else, and even if I was, I don’t think Nick wants the kind of baggage I’m carrying.’
Charlotte crooked an eyebrow. ‘Baggage?’
‘I come with a couple of non-optional extras!’ Thea smiled in the direction of Cora and Dylan, who were both now immersed in a game of Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch.
‘But he’s great with the kids,’ Charlotte said. ‘I mean, whenever he’s been part of the group, he seems to get on really well with them.’
‘Saving a few penalties is one thing,’ Thea replied. ‘But taking them on full time is a lot more responsibility. I don’t think he’d have a clue!’
‘You never know until you try,’ Charlotte said, then held up a hand in apology. ‘I’m sorry, I’m getting as bad as your brother. Ignore me. It must be the time of year. I’ve been watching a lot of Hallmark and FilmFlix Christmas movies since December started, and they’ve obviously gone to my head.’
‘I never had you down as the cheesy Christmas romcom type,’ Thea said in surprise. ‘I thought you were far too clever for all of that rubbish!’
‘Oh, I’m rather partial to a seasonal love story,’ Charlotte laughed.
‘And don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
There was one that came out a few years ago with Finn Sanderson and Montana de Santo that I can’t help watching on repeat – God, what was it called?
Oh, that’s right, A Countess For Christmas .
Cheers me up every time. Makes me believe that, with a bit of mistletoe, anything’s possible. ’
‘Well, that’s as may be, but I’ll stick to watching Christmas romcoms rather than trying to star in them!
’ Thea laughed. She said goodbye to Charlotte and Tristan and then set to tidying up the plates and the remainder of the cake.
Perhaps she’d take a slice in for Nick when she had her next shift at the shop.
‘Well, that went well,’ Lorelai remarked as she brought through the rest of the crockery and helped Thea to put it in the dishwasher. ‘I can’t believe Cora’s officially a teenager! Doesn’t seem like yesterday that you brought her home from the hospital.’
‘I know.’ Thea smiled. ‘I remember you saying that the toddler days, and then the primary school ones, would pass in the blink of an eye, and you were right.’ She flipped the switch on the kettle to make her and her grandmother a last cuppa.
Now was the time to let Lorelai know about the job, she figured, while the kids were still racing each other on the Switch and they were alone.
‘Nick’s a nice boy, isn’t he?’ Lorelai said, just as Thea was drawing breath. ‘I wonder why some girl hasn’t snapped him up by now.’
‘He’s hardly a boy any more!’ Thea laughed. ‘He’s as old as I am.’
‘He seems to like you,’ Lorelai continued.
‘As a friend,’ Thea said firmly. ‘We’ve always been friends, Gran. As a matter of fact, I’m doing him a favour in the shop. That’s why he popped round.’
‘Oh, yes?’ Lorelai said. Thea rather got the impression that she was working hard to keep that neutral tone in her voice. ‘What’s that, then?’
‘I’m, er, filling in on my days off while Annabelle and Jamie are away,’ she said. ‘Just until Christmas.’
‘That’s good of you,’ Lorelai replied. ‘Well, if you need me to keep an eye on the children while you’re helping out, let me know. I don’t have anything major planned in the run up to the holiday, so feel free to ask.’
‘Thanks, Gran.’ Thea leaned forward and kissed her grandmother on the cheek. ‘I appreciate all that you do for us.’ She was relieved that Lorelai didn’t give her the third degree about her finances.
‘I know you do,’ Lorelai replied. ‘But if you find yourself under a sprig of mistletoe with our Mr Saint this year…’
‘Gran…’ Thea warned, but she was smiling. She couldn’t help but be amused by what she imagined Nick’s reaction might be if he was ever caught under the mistletoe with her. He’d been nervous enough, asking her to work the late-night shopping evening!