Chapter Twenty One

‘ D o you like my antlers?’ Pippa leaned down towards Robin from her position on top of Harry’s shoulders as she waved her felt antler headband towards her face.

‘I do. I think they’re great.’ Robyn grinned up at her as the band began playing the music to another carol and the crowd of people following them down the hill towards the beach began singing along once again. The whole street was packed full of local residents and visitors, right from one side of the road to the other, each holding a lovingly decorated paper lantern above their heads, the glow from them illuminating the thatched cottages as they passed.

‘Oi! Careful with your lantern, Pippa sweetheart.’ Teresa straightened her daughter’s lantern as Pippa settled back on top of Harry’s shoulders. ‘You’ll poke someone’s eye out with that if you’re not careful.’

‘Sorry, Mummy.’ Pippa shot her arm up as high as she could, the light from her lantern lighting up her grin. ‘Is that better?’

‘Perfect.’ Teresa nodded towards Harry. ‘You’re getting in some good practice there, aren’t you?’

Harry glanced up towards Pippa and chuckled. ‘Yes, I suppose I am. Although if I hadn’t agreed to Pippa’s wishes, then I’m not sure I’d be alive to see the birth of my own child.’

Teresa laughed. ‘That’s probably true. I’ll ensure Gavin takes you out for a drink to thank you!’

Harry grinned. ‘No need, but I certainly won’t turn down a drink, whatever the excuse.’

‘Umm, remember that promise you made me?’ Diane wrapped her arm around Harry’s waist and looked up at him, a smile dancing across her face.

‘Ahh.’ Slumping his shoulders, Pippa leaned forward before tapping him on the head until he righted himself again. ‘Sorry, Pip Squeak!’

‘It’s Pippa, not Pip Squeak.’ Pippa humphed, crossing her arms, her lantern swinging precariously close to Harry’s forehead. ‘Mummy, why does he always call me Pip Squeak?’

Chuckling, Teresa pulled up her daughter’s wellie boot, making sure it wasn’t about to fall off. ‘It’s a nickname, Pippa. You know that. You have nicknames for Harry, don’t you?’

‘Nicknames? More than one? Should I be worried?’ Harry grimaced.

‘Yes, you should be, Uncle Harry. You should be very worried because if you call me Pip Squeak one more time then I’m going to make get Hudson, Rueben and Toby to tickle you until you can’t breathe.’

‘Gulp. That’s me told...’ Harry paused dramatically, ‘Pip Squeak!’

Pippa drew in an audible breath. ‘That’s it! On Christmas Day when we all go round to Nanna Elsie’s for Christmas dinner. We’re going to tickle you again and again and again.’

‘Now, I’m for it.’ Harry laughed.

‘Anyway, back to the promise you’d made me.’ Diane spoke between singing the chorus to Hark the Herald Angels Sing .

‘I had hoped you’d forgotten about that.’

‘Let me guess, Harry has promised not to drink while you can’t?’ Teresa pointed at him.

‘Exactly.’ Diane rolled her eyes. ‘I knew he wouldn’t make it.’

‘I will.’ Harry grinned at Diane before turning to Teresa. ‘You can tell Gavin I’ll have an orange juice. Is he still joining us on the beach after his overtime?’

‘He sure is.’ Teresa nodded and turned to Robyn. ‘You’ll love the atmosphere on the beach.’

‘I’ve heard it’s supposed to be good.’ Robyn smiled.

As the song drew to an end, the music stopped, and the parade came to a pause.

‘What’s happening? Can you see up there, Pippa?’ Teresa tapped her daughter’s leg.

‘Yep. The man at the front of the band has dropped something.’ Pippa shrugged.

‘Ah, thanks, sweetheart.’ Teresa scooted around Harry until she was walking next to Robyn. Linking arms with her, she leaned in. ‘So, did you have a nice lunch break?’

Robyn grinned. She knew exactly what Teresa was referring to, and it had more to do with her and Jasper’s fledging relationship than what she’d eaten for her lunch. ‘It was great, thanks. Jasper invited me over to his parents’ house.’

Teresa opened and closed her mouth. ‘Wow, talk about things moving fast.’

‘Oh no, it wasn’t like that.’ Robyn blushed. ‘No, they were having a buffet. Loads of people were invited.’

‘I see.’ Teresa raised her eyebrows. ‘It’s funny how things can change so quickly. I mean, take you and Jasper. A few days ago you were arguing as though there was no tomorrow and yet now, you’d rather snog him than punch him.’

Robyn smiled. ‘True.’

‘Mummy, they’re starting to walk again.’ Pippa called from her elevated position as the band’s music began filtering across the crowds once more, to the tune of Jingle Bells this time.

Robyn sung along, trying to keep her mind from over-analysing Teresa’s words. It wasn’t working though, and she kept thinking back to what Teresa had said. Robyn knew it was just an observation, and that Teresa was right, things could change in the blink of an eye, but that was the problem, wasn’t it? Robyn’s mum and dad must have been happy at some point. Although she couldn’t remember them being so when she and Cathy were alive, but they must have been or else they wouldn’t have married in the first place, would they?

‘...all the way...’ Pippa was singing her heart out, her voice louder than even the adults surrounding her as they continued walking slowly towards the beach.

And she and Jasper had hated each other - okay, maybe not hated, but definitely not warmed to each other – just a short time ago and now, what? They were together? What if it changed again? What if he realised he didn’t like her that way after all? What if that happened today, tomorrow, in a few months’ time? And it would, she was sure of that. Yes, she could see so many happy couples walking alongside her in this parade – Elsie and Ian, Diane and Harry, Molly and Jude, the list went on, but she’d grown up in a household where her parents hadn’t got along, had barely tolerated each other. What if that meant she couldn’t be happy? That she couldn’t fall in love?

She shook her head and tried to focus on singing, but the doubts just kept tugging at the edge of her mind. Cathy was happy. She was married. It could happen. But that was Cathy. She’d always been the more positive one of the two of them. She’d always had a half-glass-full kind of attitude. And then there was her, Robyn, who hadn’t dared even try to get into a relationship for forever.

‘Hey, there you are,’ Jasper’s voice whispered from her side as he weaved through the crowd until he was walking next to her. He grinned across at her as he laid his arm around her waist, falling in step with her, and began to sing.

Glancing at him, she smiled as the fear which had been creeping in was pushed away again. Things would be okay.