Chapter 32
The day had started so wonderfully. Ed had been extra attentive and it was like he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
Not that Frankie had any complaints about that because he was very, very good with his hands, not to mention all the other delicious parts of his body, but in the end she’d had to kick him out of the bathroom and lock the door after he thwarted her attempts to take a shower, or rather made a second shower necessary.
She couldn’t turn up at his parents’ looking like she’d tumbled straight out of bed, after all.
The jumper fitted perfectly and the little snowman on the front made her smile every time she caught a reflected glimpse of it as she applied just a touch of make-up.
All those hours bored in front of a mirror in one dressing room or another had been worth it to pick up the right tips so she looked good while still retaining a natural appearance.
She set her lip brush down and gave her reflection a nod of encouragement.
Ed had been a brilliant distraction up until now but the nerves that had been lurking in the background all morning were really starting to make themselves felt.
By the time they reached his parents’ front door, Frankie was shaking with pent-up adrenaline.
Her body had gone into acting mode, converting her anxiety into the positive energy she would need to drive her through hours on stage or a long day of filming.
This wasn’t a performance, though, and the people on the other side of the door weren’t an audience, they were her friends and Ed’s family.
Their opinion mattered, because they mattered. He mattered.
‘You okay?’ Ed asked.
‘Give me a second.’ Frankie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then a second. Then a third. These are nice people, she told herself. Kind people.
When she opened her eyes, Ed was watching her with eyes full of sympathy and understanding. ‘Just be yourself, Frankie, and everything will be fine.’
Be herself? As if that wasn’t the scariest thing in the world.
Well, there was no backing out now, she supposed, gripping the bag of presents tight enough to make her fingers ache.
Ed raised his hand to knock on the door and there was no more time for pep talks because he opened it straight afterwards and she was inside and straight into a world of noise and chaos and laughter.
The hall was full of people and Frankie realised Rick and Anya must’ve arrived just before them because they still had their coats on.
Anya was trying to help Freya out of hers while the little girl danced on the spot, excitedly relaying all the things Santa had bought for her to an indulgently smiling Jago.
She was wearing red wool tights, a pink ballerina’s tutu and a very familiar-looking red jumper.
Frankie shot a look at Ed, who just grinned back at her.
When Freya finally wriggled free of her jacket, Jago swept her up onto one arm and kissed her cheek.
‘Shall I let you into a little secret?’ he asked the little girl.
Freya nodded, eyes wide. ‘When Santa came to visit us last night, he left some more presents for you here. Do you want to come and see?’
‘Yes, please!’ Freya turned to Anya. ‘Mummy! Mummy! Grandad says I’ve got more presents to open!’
‘Aren’t you a lucky girl?’ Anya replied as she unzipped her own coat and revealed yet another red snowman jumper.
Beyond her, Rick was helping Ma and Pa with their coats and Frankie grinned as she realised they were sporting exactly the same tops.
Anya turned and spotted Frankie, her eyes lighting up as she reached out to hug her. ‘Hello! Merry Christmas.’
Frankie hugged her back, feeling more relaxed by the second. ‘Merry Christmas.’ She unbuttoned her coat, parting the edges to show off her jumper. ‘Snap!’
Anya laughed. ‘Oh, thank God! I thought we were going to be the only ones.’ She glanced over at Ed, who was pulling off his coat to reveal his matching sweater. ‘Was this your idea?’
Ed raised his hands, all wide-eyed innocence. ‘For once I can definitely say it was nothing to do with me!’
There was a knock at the door behind them and he opened it to reveal Harry, Kat, Issy and Liam on the doorstep.
‘Oh my God!’ Kat exclaimed as she rounded on Harry with a glare.
There wasn’t much else she could do, given they were both carrying cling-film-covered trays.
‘I knew you were up to something with those stupid jumpers!’
‘Don’t blame me!’ Harry protested, nodding at Liam. ‘It was all his idea!’
‘Grass,’ Liam muttered with a roll of his eyes.
‘I suppose it says something about the Penrose men and their powers of persuasion,’ Issy said with a grin as she opened her coat to show that she too had been convinced to wear the same top.
‘Come on in, you lot,’ Jago urged, still holding Freya. ‘I’m not paying—’
‘To heat the whole street!’ the four brothers chorused.
‘Smart a—lecs,’ Jago corrected himself at the last minute, clearly conscious of little ears. ‘Take those into the kitchen,’ he added to Harry and Kat. ‘And see if you can prise your mother away from the oven for two minutes.’
‘I’ve got Ma’s trifle here,’ Rick said, holding up a supermarket bag-for-life.
‘Mum, Dad, come and sit down.’ Jago led his parents into a room on the left, still carrying Freya, and Anya followed. Immediately the hall began to feel less crowded.
‘I’ve got those things I bought for your parents,’ Frankie said to Ed, holding up the second bag she’d brought with her. ‘And the champagne needs to go in the fridge.’
‘Let’s all go through,’ Issy suggested. ‘We’ve got food as well.’
They all trooped into the kitchen to find Rachel wearing a white apron over a sparkly pink top and smart black trousers.
Her cheeks were red and strands of hair were already escaping the messy bun she’d tied on top of her head.
The room was hot apart from a blast of freezing air from one of the windows over the sink, which had already been opened.
The smell of roasted meat filled the air and Frankie felt her tummy rumble in anticipation.
‘Merry Christmas, Mum!’ Rick made a beeline straight for the fridge and put the trifle in a space on the top shelf.
‘Merry Christmas!’ Rachel smiled around at everyone. ‘Oh, you’re all here, how lovely.’
Frankie hung back as one by one the others approached to kiss Rachel’s cheek and wish her well.
She greeted them each with a hug and a happy exclamation as one after another they presented the food they’d brought with them.
‘These will be fine out of the fridge for now,’ Harry said as he placed his and Kat’s trays on the glass top of the oven.
‘They’ll need to go in about ten minutes before drinks to heat through,’ he added.
He lifted the corner of a large piece of foil covering a baking tray to reveal a beautifully, bronzed turkey.
‘You’ve done it already?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows at his mum.
‘What time did you get up this morning?’
‘Don’t ask! The beef’s in now and will be ready in’ – Rachel checked her watch – ‘about an hour and a half. I’ve set the timer so we can look at it halfway through and see how it’s getting on.’
‘Sounds good. What else needs doing?’
Rachel shook her head. ‘Nothing for now. I’ll need a hand with veg prep, but not until we’ve had drinks and nibbles and opened our pressies.’ She checked her watch again. ‘Hopefully, Helen, Ryan and the kids will be here soon and then we can get started.’
‘We’ve got drinks covered,’ Ed said, taking off the backpack he was carrying to remove the three bottles of champagne they’d brought with them.
‘It’s only enough for a glass each, probably,’ Frankie added.
‘But I couldn’t turn up empty-handed.’ She looked around for somewhere to the put the carrier bags she was holding but every surface was covered.
In the end she had no choice but to offer the one with the food in it to Rachel.
‘There are a few treats in here, but those aren’t for today.
They’re a gift from me to you and Jago. It’s all edible and I don’t want them getting mixed up with everything else. ’
‘That’s very thoughtful of you, but you needn’t have bothered.
’ Rachel took the bag and peeked inside.
To Frankie’s relief her eyes lit up. ‘Oh, you’ve been to the farm shop at Dillons!
’ She closed the bag again and reached out to draw Frankie into a one-armed hug.
‘Honestly, they do the best food. If I ever won the lottery, I’d do all my food shopping there! ’
‘You’d have to do the lottery to win it,’ Liam pointed out with a wry grin.
His mum laughed. ‘Good point!’ She held out the bag Frankie had just given her to Liam. ‘Put these out in the utility room for me, please, before they get scoffed.’
Liam opened it and took a peek inside. ‘You’re not going to share them with us?’
‘Absolutely not! They’re my special gift from Frankie and far too good for you.’ She smiled at Frankie, who returned it, relieved she’d got one thing right so far. ‘Okay, you lot,’ Rachel continued. ‘Out of my kitchen, please.’ She made a shooing motion towards the door.
Ed took Frankie’s hand and led her into the hall, where they shed their coats.
‘I’m glad your mum likes her gift,’ Frankie said as they stepped aside to let everyone hang up their things.
The hooks were already full so Rick loaded everyone’s coats into his arms and carried them upstairs to put out of the way while they entered the room where the rest of the family were waiting for them.
Frankie’s fears about where they were all going to fit were immediately alleviated when she took in the size of the room.
It was a large, open-plan lounge that had been extended to the side into a garden room where an enormous Christmas tree stood in the corner.
A substantial pile of presents sat under the tree and Freya was on her knees in front of them.
Anya perched on the edge of a chair beside the tree, holding out a parcel to her daughter. ‘Careful with this one,’ she cautioned.
Freya nodded and placed it on top of the nearest pile. Something caught her eye and she crawled forward. ‘This one’s got my name on it! And this one,’ Freya said, pointing to two parcels wrapped in jolly Santa paper.
‘This one has too,’ Frankie said, kneeling beside her and pulling the crocheted teddy hat she’d wrapped for Freya out of her bag.
‘For me?’ The little girl’s eyes went wide.
Frankie nodded and held it out to her. ‘Do you want to put it under the tree with the rest of your presents?’ Freya took the gift like she’d been handed a great treasure and placed it carefully under the tree.
‘What do we say?’ Anya asked in a firm but gentle voice.
‘Thank you!’ Freya chorused to Frankie.
‘You are very welcome. You did such a great job with that,’ Frankie told her. ‘Will you help me put these out as well?’
One by one she handed the gifts she had brought to Freya, who placed each one under the tree. ‘There’s one here for you, Mummy!’ Freya announced when she spotted Anya’s name on a label.
‘Lucky me!’ her mother replied, directing a smile at Frankie.
‘It’s just a little something to say how much I appreciate your friendship these past weeks.’
Anya’s smile turned a little misty. ‘There might be something under there with your name on it too.’ She patted the seat beside her. ‘Have you worked out when you’re leaving yet?’
Frankie nodded. ‘I had a look online and there’s a decent service on the second and third. I just need to book a ticket.’
Anya put an arm around her shoulders. ‘It’s not going to be the same without you. You’ll come back and visit us some time, won’t you? Maybe in the summer like we talked about the other night?’
Part of her longed to say yes, of course she would be back, but the rest of her wasn’t so sure.
What if this was no different from the hothouse of life on set, where proximity forced friendships to bloom quickly but once they were exposed to the cold reality of life outside the artificial environment they withered?
Frankie would leave and life here would go on without her.
As it should, as would hers. Her friends would change; she would change.
Not in huge ways but their lives would diverge away from this special moment and they’d never quite come back together in balance.
These four lovely women had expanded their group to admit Frankie, but once she was out of the picture, they’d close ranks again, and she’d be on the outside looking in.
Frankie glanced across the room to where Ed was laughing at something with his brothers.
What if they changed the terms of their arrangement and tried to extend their relationship beyond the new year?
She hadn’t missed the way his eyes had lit up when she’d said his new phone case meant he’d have no excuse not to keep in touch.
Hadn’t missed the way her heart had flipped when she’d realised he’d thought she’d meant stay in touch with her rather than his family.
Experience had forced her to correct his assumption.
She’d never kept a long-distance relationship alive for more than a few months.
No, best to say goodbye to Halfmoon Quay altogether.
She had too few good memories to want to risk the ones she’d been making here.
She offered Anya a non-committal smile. ‘It’s going to be a very busy year, so I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.
’ The lie tasted foul on her tongue, but what else could she say?
The front doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of Chloe, Matt and their parents and the ensuing bustle and happy chaos gave Frankie the chance to move away before Anya could ask any more questions she didn’t have the answers to.
Or rather, the only answers Frankie had were ones she didn’t like.