Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The snowstorm barrelled in at ten thirty on the evening of Christmas Eve. I felt like I had been given some much-needed respite, as Christmas Eve turned out to be lovely.
As Ben and Tom were not working, I invited them both for drinks and nibbles in the afternoon. I also invited Rosie, and Ben’s mum.
Grandpa tried to invite Dorothy, but she declined telling him that her daughter, Kay, was upset over the engagement news. I hadn’t told him about Kay turning up on the doorstep the previous day as I believed it would have upset him. To my surprise I heard him telling Dorothy to stay strong and that they would be together soon. He told her they were the eighty-something versions of Romeo and Juliet.
My proudest moment was paying for Derek to arrive by taxi and Layla rushing down the steps to hug him. It made tears spring to my eyes. We all helped Derek and his crutches into the house. I’d agreed with Layla he could stay until Boxing Day.
I made an array of nibbles from marmalade glazed pork bites, sausage rolls, chicken wings and a variety of my finest stacked turkey sandwiches to my own mince pies and Chocolate Yule log.
Layla and I set up a buffet table in the east wing and covered it with Christmas decorations. Rosie agreed to be my little helper and she served everyone a mince pie.
Aunty Bev oversaw the drinks and created her own version of a Christmas punch which didn’t look appetising as it had a gloopy consistency and was the colour of volcanic lava. When questioned Aunty Bev said she had got carried away with making a sugar syrup. She reckoned it tasted amazing and claimed she’d used a full bottle of Grand Marnier, a bottle of vodka and some ginger ale to give it what she referred to as a ‘festive thump.’
I told Grandpa not to touch a drop.
After nibbles we all played charades. Ben and I sat together, and I liked the way he draped his arm across my shoulders. We sang Christmas songs and Rosie performed a solo by the Christmas tree whilst holding little Zac’s hand.
It was one of the nicest Christmas Eves. I got so much pleasure from seeing Grandpa in fits of laughter with Tom over a sherry, Layla giggling at Zac giving Derek a squashed handful of Yule log, Ben’s mum dabbing a tear at Rosie being a grown-up waitress, Aunty Bev knocking back her Christmas punch, and Ben kissing me under the mistletoe.
For a short time, I forgot about Maddie’s unhappiness, Frank’s actions, their marriage, Grandpa’s engagement and my mother and Aunty Karen in Tenerife. Aunty Bev had made me promise that I would put fictional updates on the family WhatsApp. ‘Tell them what they want to hear,’ said Aunty Bev. ‘Say Grandpa is in a chair with a blanket over his legs and hasn’t touched a drop of booze.’ She grinned. ‘Also say I have been quiet all day and it’s been boring.’
I followed her advice and we both giggled at the number of likes. Aunty Karen replied to my update on Grandpa with:
Glad to see things have calmed down and Dad is being cared for properly.
If only she knew the truth, I thought looking up at a drunken grandfather, wearing a flashing reindeer hat, doing the hokey-cokey with a tipsy Tom and an excited Rosie.
Everyone loved the fact Aunty Bev had been quiet. Petra, Aunty Bev’s snake-breeding daughter was the only one to question why her mother was unusually quiet. Her comment was dismissed as my mother replied saying:
Petra, it’s a blessing when your mother is quiet.
If only she knew the truth, I thought looking up and seeing Layla and Ben help a drunken Aunty Bev, who was giggling to herself, back to her room.
There had been many photos shared on WhatsApp of Christmas Eve in Tenerife. Aunty Karen kept adding comments that my mother was spending most of her day in the hot tub and next to Gary’s best friend Max, along with several shocked face emojis. Aunty Bev told me she secretly fancied him.
Aunty Karen had decided to wear a pink bikini which clashed with her sunburn. She’d updated everyone to say she was not speaking to Uncle Robert, who had been more interested in Max’s twenty-something daughter, once she revealed she was a hairdresser.
Fay was clearly not doing any nursing work as she kept sending heart emojis to all my mother’s photos.
At teatime everyone left for their own Christmas Eve celebrations. I think I will always remember Ben helping a drunken Tom down the snowy drive.
Before he’d left, Ben and I had shared a kiss in the new kitchen which looked amazing. ‘Will I see you tomorrow?’ Ben asked, as we came up for air.
‘Yes, I would love to see you tomorrow.’
We had another passionate embrace, and I sent a silent prayer of thanks to Olivia for matchmaking me with such a fantastic kisser.
Grandpa retired early to his annex which was sensible given he had drunk far too much sherry with Tom.
Layla put Zac down and we both cleared away. She then went to bed, leaving me to prepare the food for Christmas Day. As I was peeling a mountain of potatoes, I noticed that it had started to snow again. Giant snowflakes were tapping the French windows and trying to get my attention. It was going to be a proper white Christmas. The wind started at about ten in the evening and raced around the manor house whistling and howling.
I finished the veg prep at eleven and as I cleared away the power went, plunging the house into darkness. ‘Bugger,’ I said, turning on my phone light. I had no idea whether Frank and Maddie had candles. After doing a grid-by-grid search of every cupboard, I found a box of candles and matches. If the power hadn’t come on by the morning, we still had candles.
With the aid of my phone light I took out a selection of meats from the freezers as they would need to defrost overnight. There was an old stone larder next to the fridges. It would be perfect for the dairy stuff if the power didn’t come back on in the night. After I went through all the freezers to see what could be salvaged and stored in the larder. Sadly, a lot of the frozen food was going to be wasted if the power didn’t return.
To my dismay the power had not come back when my alarm woke me at six.
I pulled on a sweatshirt and found my slippers. I crept downstairs using my phone light to guide the way. Humphrey leapt out of his basket and danced at my feet with excitement. This dog loves chaos. ‘Merry Christmas, Humphrey. If you trip me over, no one will eat today.’
I checked my phone. The wifi was down, and I had one lonely bar of phone signal. Maybe it was just the power to the Manor House that had gone down? I wondered whether anyone else was without power. In a cupboard I found a kettle which could be heated up on the gas hob. At least I could have a cuppa before everyone got up. I lit the Agas, made sure they had enough wood and checked my timings.
Layla appeared first. She shone her phone light at me huddled in the kitchen. ‘Happy Christmas, Rachel. What a day for the power to go!’
I got up and hugged her. ‘Merry Christmas, Layla. Cuppa?’
She nodded. ‘Zac’s still sleeping. I leant over to switch on my bedside lamp and there was nothing.’
‘I wonder whether it’s just the manor house. Anyway, we have candles and two wood burning Agas so we should be okay. I just hope they can get the power on soon.’
Layla checked her phone. ‘It’s still early, but give it an hour and I will walk into town to see whether anyone else is affected.’
‘Let me put the meat in first and I’ll join you.’
She turned to me. ‘I haven’t bought anyone presents.’
‘Layla, don’t worry. No one is expecting presents.’ I went to my bag in the corner. ‘I did get you a little something as I think you’ve had a hard year, and you deserved a little treat. Also, I still feel bad for the west wing situation.’
‘Rachel, you shouldn’t have,’ she gushed staring at the little wrapped box.
I placed my hand on her shoulder. ‘I’m going to make sure you will not be homeless again, Layla. We’re going to get you sorted.’
She threw her arms around me. ‘Thanks, Rachel.’
‘Don’t worry about anything today, Layla. Even though we don’t have any power, we are going to have a fabulous Christmas Day.’
She tore away the paper and opened the little black box. ‘Oh, Rachel.’
‘I hope you like them.’
She grinned. ‘They are gorgeous.’ Lifting the little dangly gold earrings she held them to her ear. ‘I am going to look so fancy… in the dark.’
We both laughed and I gave her a hug. ‘I am so glad we met this Christmas, Layla. I know we’re going to be friends.’
She nodded. ‘I have had such a lovely time. You and your grandpa are so funny and kind. I am glad you didn’t take any notice of me about the Denise and Ben thing. You and Ben make a great couple.’
‘I have put my trust into my best friend who tried to set us up initially.’
Layla smiled. ‘Good for you.’ She leaned in and whispered, ‘Beverly is a bit of a handful, though.’
‘You’re not alone with that thought,’ I quipped.
It was then Grandpa appeared in a bright red Santa outfit and a wonky stick-on beard. ‘Merry Christmas,’ he bellowed, making Layla and me laugh.
As he got closer, we could see he hadn’t done up his tunic or belt. ‘There’s no power so I had to do some guesswork in the dark,’ he explained.