Chapter 35
‘Hello, everyone,’ said Brian from the radio, just as the blue brandy flames had died on the most enormous Christmas pudding.
In the absence of a microwave, Frank had had to steam it for hours.
It was the most beautiful pudding he’d ever seen, half-moon slices of oranges, and almonds and bright red cherries on the top bathing in a rich glaze.
‘… I just thought I’d bob on to see how you’re all doing.’
‘We’re all fine, Brian. And we hope you’re having a lovely Christmas,’ said Roo, raising her twice-refilled glass to him.
‘I’ve got my new socks on and my new slippers and tonight I’m going to be wearing my new pyjamas. Cath will be wearing her new dressing gown so we are going to look a right pair of bobby dazzlers.’
‘Oh, bless him.’ Elizabeth smiled at the radio. ‘What a sweetheart.’
‘We’re all snug and are going to watch A Christmas Carol. I see that Cinderella is on the TV on Boxing Day and I wish it were today. I enjoy Scrooge, but I do like a love story and I’m proud to say that.’
‘Good on you, Brian,’ said Elizabeth, also slightly squiffy now.
‘Anyway, the reason I’ve come upstairs is to tell you that the temperature is going to rise considerably over the next twenty-four hours.
You’ll have no doubt seen the start of the thaw this afternoon, but for anyone who is away from home because of the weather, well, you’re going to be reunited with your loved ones very shortly.
I wanted to bring you the good news. Now I’m off to have a mince pie so I’ll see you all tomorrow.
I’ll leave you with some more wonderful tunes of yesteryear.
This one is dedicated to my Cath and it’s called “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”. ’
There should have been a whoop of joy that the thaw was finally happening, though the snow was still thick on the branches of that nearby tree, but strangely, there wasn’t.
After the pudding there was cheese. No one had much room for it but, by the magic of Christmas, they found some for the excellent fresh selection that a cheese-loving chef had collated for the Ingleton party.
Cheeses with names like no other: Old Cardinal, Auchenshuggle Blue, Shepherd’s Warning, Christmas Truffle, Old Pennine, Ten Bells.
And it was obligatory to have a little of the train owner’s exceptional aged port to wash it down.
Though, just a little one because, as Roo reminded them, there was the talent contest to get through.
‘Any more alcohol and I’ll be telling you all my PINs and passwords,’ said Jane, going in for another cheeky sip. Mr Ingleton’s food and drinks people really knew their onions.
‘I am more stuffed than I have ever been in my whole life,’ said Roo, before apologising for the burp that escaped.
‘I can’t move,’ said Vincent, with the smile of a man in a state of bliss.
‘But I’m going to have to.’ He forced himself to his feet.
‘This lot won’t shift itself.’ He held up a flat palm at Frank.
‘Don’t you dare, you’ve done more than your fair share and you ain’t lifting another finger for the foreseeable. ’
‘Well, I’ll go and sort out the fire,’ said Frank. ‘Grace, would you come with me?’
While everyone else cleared the table, Frank walked off with Grace. She knew he didn’t need any help with the fire so she wondered what he might want her for.
‘Sit down, please,’ he said, when they were in the lounge.
He felt more nervous than when he’d brought a ring box out of his pocket to ask her how she’d feel about being Mrs O’Carroll.
He’d only got as far as the ‘Mrs’ when she dived on him, knocked the ring out of his hand and their big moment was spent hunting around in the shallows of a river for it.
‘That was nice what you said to Jane, about her staying with us, Frank.’
Nice maybe, but he hadn’t thought it through, though; he’d realised that as soon as the invitation left his mouth. Speaking for them as a couple when he wasn’t sure how much longer that would be the case.
Frank wrinkled up his nose, cringing. ‘I should have run it past you first.’
‘I absolutely don’t mind. It was the right thing to say. Kind.’
He hadn’t brought her here to talk about Jane though.
‘I bought you something for Christmas,’ he said.
‘I thought we weren’t…’ she said. ‘You insisted.’
He waved that away. ‘It’s just a little thing.’
He’d told her they weren’t doing presents because he felt, over the past couple of years, she’d just bought him anything for Christmases, birthdays, for the sake of something to wrap up.
It was another nail in the coffin of their marriage when he’d said it to her this year, to spare her the obligation.
She sat on the sofa when he handed over the small square box. She cracked it open to reveal a gold locket with her initial scrolled on the front. It was beautiful and it wasn’t ‘just a little thing’.
She lifted it out.
‘Open it,’ he urged her.
She used her fingernail on the clasp and when she saw what was inside, her breath caught in her throat. On the right was a familiar photo of Billy, her baby, his blonde hair lit by sunshine. On the left, Billy again, his face scrunched up in laughter, his eyes bright and shiny. It confused her.
‘Where did you get this picture of him? I haven’t seen this before.’ She tapped it gently.
‘It’s not him, Grace. It’s his daughter.’ He coughed away the dryness in his throat. ‘You wanted to see a photograph, well…’
He wasn’t going to give it to her but after what she said earlier, he put it in his pocket to keep there or offer up if the moment presented itself.
He saw Grace’s eyes travel from one side to the other.
‘They’re so alike.’
‘Yes, they are.’
‘She’s beautiful.’
‘She’s gorgeous,’ he said, gently.
Grace closed the locket and replaced it in its box. He half-expected her to hand it back.
‘Thank you. I’ll put it in my room. I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything, Frank.’
‘It’s all right.’
She stood up. A flicker of a smile twitched her lips, then she walked away from him in the direction of her cabin.