‘I’m good to go.’ I have my overnight bag that I was very grateful for. My nice dress is safely packed away and I’m in my more customary jeans and jumper.
We jump into the car and Ken whisks me back to the farm. Bev opens the gate. The dogs hurl themselves at me as if I’ve been away for six months. Little Dog runs round and round in circles chasing his own tail in excitement. I step in front of Betty Bad Dog before she wees on Shelby’s shoes again. They’ll all be attached to me like limpets today in case I have the audacity to want to go anywhere without them.
‘Look,’ my friend says as she greets us. ‘All is just as you left it.’
‘I owe you one, my co-conspirator.’ Shelby hugs her.
Bev gives me side-eye. I can be in no doubt about what she’d like that ‘one’ to be. Naughty lady.
I kiss Shelby goodbye, embarrassed to have so many onlookers. ‘See you Wednesday,’ he says. ‘Don’t forget.’ Then he’s in the car and gone.
Bev and I watch him leave.
‘Was it utterly romantic?’ Bev asks.
‘It really was.’
‘And did you shag each other ragged?’
I laugh at her, outraged. ‘You’re so very rude.’
‘I’m so very jealous,’ she says.
‘Thank you for being sneaky enough to organise it.’ I link my arm through hers as we walk to the caravan. ‘I think it did us good to spend some time together.’
‘You’re seeing him on Wednesday?’
‘I doubt it.’ My heart sinks. ‘It’s opening night and he wants me to be there. But I can’t go out two nights in a week. I can’t put upon you again.’
‘You can,’ Bev says. ‘You know I don’t mind.’
But it’s not just that. I don’t mind seeing the panto, though it’s not really my thing. The after-show party is another matter. Since meeting Shelby, I’ve only been to a couple of social gatherings with his actor friends, but I’m so out of my comfort zone. I’d rather stick pins in my own eyes.
‘I did begin to think whether we might need a full-time manager on site.’
‘Blimey.’ Bev stares at me, aghast. ‘That’s radical for you.’
‘I know. But Shelby’s not comfortable here and, he’s right, there’s a massive house down the road standing empty.’
‘This is your life,’ she says. ‘You’ve worked so hard for it. Don’t rush into anything.’
‘I won’t. I have Lucas to think about, above all else.’
‘Lucas should be Shelby’s responsibility. He seems to be quite happy to have abdicated that and handed parental duties over to you.’
‘I don’t mind,’ I counter. ‘I’m hoping that if I hold the fort for now, it will be easier between them when Lucas is a bit older and more tolerant.’
‘He was fine last night, our lovely boy,’ she says. ‘A bit moody but that could be down to anything.’
‘Aurora didn’t show up?’
Bev shakes her head. ‘No.’
‘I can’t tell you how much I missed him.’ One night away from him is too much. I wonder whether he would consider spending a few nights at Homewood Manor for Christmas. It looks so beautiful in its festive garb and Shelby has gone to a lot of trouble. Though I think I already know what the answer would be.
‘He’s up in the fields, but I’ve asked him to be back in the yard as soon as he can. The Christmas tree is coming any minute. I thought we’d gather the students around to watch. Might get them in the Christmas mood.’
‘Most of them are already completely hyper.’
‘I’m feeling a little buzzy myself,’ she admits. ‘First Christmas together with Alan and I’m looking forward to it.’
‘That will be lovely for you.’
‘Will Shelby definitely be at home too?’
I nod. ‘He said so. Panto finishes on Christmas Eve.’
And I get a little unexpected thrill of excitement myself. It will be our first Christmas together – me, Shelby and Lucas. After so many Christmases spent alone, I can’t wait. I want to make it wonderful for us all.
Chapter Thirty-One
I just have time to drop off my bag, fuss the dogs and swig down a quick cup of tea before a huge truck pulls up at the gate. Bev is already there with all the students gathered in the yard, so I dash outside.
I know the mayor said he’d donate a tree to us, but I hadn’t expected anything on this scale. It’s a bloody good job that Bev did bulk-purchase fairy lights. The entire flat-bed of the lorry is taken up with an enormous pine tree. The students go into a frenzy of excitement. So do the dogs.
Behind the truck is the mayor’s car. He parks up and jumps out, grinning as he comes towards me.
‘I never expected anything like this.’ I feel slightly over-whelmed.
His eyes are bright, excited. ‘You like it?’
‘I love it. Thank you so much. Bev must have known. You won’t believe how many lights she’s bought.’
‘I hope you’ll let me stay and decorate it with you.’
‘We’d be delighted to have you. Can I offer you some tea?’
‘Let’s get this beast unloaded,’ he says. ‘Once it’s in place, with all its branches intact, I can relax.’
And I admit that I hadn’t even considered where it might go. At that moment Lucas arrives. He has his hood up and his hands jammed in his pockets. It’s a cold morning and will have been even chillier up in the fields. His breath is making clouds in the air.
I nod towards the tree. ‘Look at this! Where do you think we should put it?’
‘Wow. That is one bad motherfucker of a tree,’ he says, gazing at it slightly wide-eyed.
‘Lucas!’
He shrugs. ‘We should put it by the barn where the nativity will be. We can secure it to the building, so it doesn’t blow over if we get a gale.’
‘Good plan. Do you want to help?’
‘Do I have a choice?’
‘Not really. Make sure it’s far enough away from Anthony and the alpacas so that they can’t eat it.’
It’s a beautiful specimen and will not be improved by any of our lot deciding that it’s a buffet lunch. The mayor holds out a hand to Lucas and they do a fist-bump and a grab handshake. ‘Good to see you again, mate.’
Lucas isn’t weird with him, which is a good sign.
Then Alan appears and together with the truck driver, Lucas and the mayor, they all unload the monster fir tree. With much heaving, grunting and shouting, they position it in the yard near the barn. When it’s up, it looks even more beautiful, full and lush. The scent of pine from it is fresh and invigorating. The kids are enthralled and take loads of photos for social media. When it’s fully secured, Alan climbs to the very top of our longest ladder and winds the lights down from the top.
‘I told you we needed all those,’ Bev says to me. ‘I had a premonition. It’s the gypsy blood in me.’
It’s the shopaholic in her, more like.
In all the commotion, I notice that Lucas and the mayor are chatting away on the far side of the yard. If only he had such an easy relationship with his father.