Chapter 28

TWENTY-EIGHT

Christmas Day

I wake up the next morning and open my eyes to see a little person peering through the door. I recognise her as Cassie from the day before. I close my eyes again.

‘Are they naked? Are they snogging?' an older voice says that sounds suspiciously like Nana.

‘No, they're asleep. Uncle Leo doesn't have a top on though,' she reports back.

‘Knock on the door, tell them to get up. There's no lay-ins on Christmas Day,' Nana says. I open one eye to see Cassie nodding at the instruction. She knocks lightly and I do my very best sleepy acting, yawning loudly as the door slowly opens and I sit up on my airbed.

‘Morning. Merry Christmas, Maggie.'

I smile to see her in her Christmas best, a Christmas jumper with Scottie dogs, tartan jeggings and a matching headband. ‘Merry Christmas to you, Cassie. Is everyone up?'

‘Yeah. It's nine, already. I've been up for three hours,' she tells me .

‘Did Santa come?' I whisper.

‘Of course. He's been here as well.' We both shift our glances over to Leo, still asleep and I hand Cassie a pillow urging her to throw it at her uncle. She may be tiny but the throw has power and it rouses Leo instantly.

‘What now?' he mumbles.

‘It's Christmas, Uncle Leo! Get up! Granny Sandy wants to know if you both want tea?'

He puts a thumb up into the air and rolls over, pulling his duvet over him, his eyes bleary and hair all ruffled. It's a sleepy version of him that makes him look like a bear just come out of hibernation. I put a thumb up to the tea too and she scurries away while Leo sits up, the duvet around his shoulders to keep him warm.

‘Please tell me it's after eight,' he mumbles, closing his eyes again.

‘It's nine. Santa's been too. Merry Christmas,' I tell him.

He laughs and opens his eyes to look at me. ‘Merry Christmas, Maggie.' He leans forward and kisses me on the forehead and it's surprisingly sweet and considerate so we can avoid a touch of morning breath. ‘Did you hear Santa?'

I laugh. ‘Unfortunately, no. I was out for the count. Did you?'

‘I think I heard some jingle bells, possibly some hooves?'

‘Really?'

‘Honest to god,' he tells me, putting a hand to his heart. ‘Let me chuck on some clothes and we can go check.'

I stand there as he leans over his bag to find a hoodie and PJ bottoms. I might look at his bottom in the process. I mean, it is Christmas. He then opens the door to the room. To be fair, I'm not sure how we slept through any of this noise – the house is train station busy. A few kids run past us and I see two or three figures milling around in the kitchen, smells of turkey and bacon wafting through the air. I can hear Nat King Cole and the crackle of a fire already blasting in the front room. As Leo presses against the door of the front room though, my mouth drops. Amidst the wonder of their tree, immaculately decorated, are piles of gifts, obviously for all the kids but also hanging by the mantel are two stockings, one of which has my name embroidered on it. I tear up, immediately thinking of my mum, and stand there for a moment taking in the kindness of it all.

‘Told you I heard Santa,' Leo says, nudging me, but then seeing the obvious emotion in my face, ‘You alright?'

‘Yeah. It's just…Christmas, innit?'

‘Innit?' he sounds, mimicking my London accent.

‘My mum does the same for me – the stockings. It's…'

Leo puts his arm around my shoulder. It's quite the thing to miss my parents at this moment, not helped as Sandy suddenly walks in with a tray of tea and pastries, a wonderfully Christmassy pinny on and holly earrings hanging from her lobes. She seems to be carried by a magical Christmas energy. I only hope she got some sleep last night. She then looks over to the fireplace. ‘Bloody hell, Ray. I told you not to light the fire. There are chocolates in them stockings!' She puts the tray down and runs over to save them.

‘How do you know there are chocolates in there?' a curious Cassie says from the doorframe.

‘I had a peek,' she tells her. ‘Merry Christmas, Maggie,' she says, handing over the stocking but giving me the biggest of hugs. ‘You too, Chops. Come here and hug your mother.' I watch as he wraps her up in his arms and squeezes her tightly.

‘This really is too much,' I tell her.

‘Shush now, it's Christmas,' she tells me, looking over to the doorframe for children. ‘It's little things really. Smellies and chocolates, and I know you're all into your computers like my Leo so I bought you both these cable organiser things I saw in the market in town.'

Leo smiles. ‘And she does the embroidery herself. '

‘It's something to do when I'm watching my quiz shows and shouting at the telly. I couldn't have Maggie come in my house and have her think Santa brought her nowt.'

Leo laughs and puts an arm around her. ‘Right, get them gifts open and that tea down you. I've told Ray to change the heating so we should have two more hours of hot water when you're done.'

‘And everyone else?'

‘Oh, the kids were running riot so I've sent some of them out on a dog walk, Uncle Rich is helping me with the ham, Nana and Cassie are putting the finishing touches to the Christmas cake.'

‘SANDY! Your potatoes are turning to mash!' a voice echoes through from the kitchen.

‘Main gifts at eleven, lunch at one. We've hidden the sherry from Nana, she's only allowed one glass every two hours. Love you both!' she sings, even though she's known me for less than twenty-four hours, and she suddenly disappears again.

I stand there, not quite knowing how to take it all in but I take a seat on their corduroy sofa and sink into the cushions, Leo taking a seat next to me. ‘Why didn't you warn me?' I ask him.

He still reads the emotion on my face. ‘I wanted it to be a surprise.'

‘Well, I am surprised,' I say reaching into the bag and pulling out a box of Roses, some Christmas-themed socks and a cranberry bath bomb. ‘This is too bloody cute.'

‘That's my mum. I'm nearly thirty and she still gives me Lynx body spray, every year,' he says, holding it up.

We fumble through the gifts until we get to the bottom to see she's put a clementine in each one. It's so perfect and I can't seem to wipe the smile from my face.

‘Here,' Leo says, a box in his hand. ‘I took the liberty of bringing your antibiotics in here. You heard what Claire said, two before food.' He pops the pills out and puts them into my hand. I down them with a sip of tea. ‘How is the hand this morning?'

‘Well, I certainly feel less rundown this morning,' I tell him, looking down at the circle that Claire drew on last night where the infection doesn't seem to have spread. ‘It's a Christmas miracle.'

‘It was all I asked Santa for. Glad he made it happen,' he tells me. ‘Well, seeing as we're alone. I did get a small gift for you. I hope that's OK. It's just something fun so please don't read too much into it.'

I smile. ‘I also have the same.'

‘Well, shall we do it here so my whole family aren't watching?'

I nod. I shuffle back to the bedroom to get my gift from my bag and return to the living room where he stands there with a large rectangular box in his hands, wrapped in brown paper with a gingham bow. It makes me think back to the time when I was handed that gift in that Mexican restaurant for our Christmas do. Now I know who was really behind it all. I give Leo my gift too and we sit down to open them. He pulls out the Stormtrooper duck and laughs. I peel off the paper to reveal a snowman. A very happy snowman. No. He didn't.

‘Leo, it's a Mr Frosty…' I mumble in shock. I told you I'd always wanted one. When we were lying under the Christmas tree in our office. He remembered. He looks at me, waiting for my reaction but as I run my fingers over the box, I don't know why but I burst into tears. Leo's face goes ashen.

‘Fuck. I did warn you it was just a fun gift. I know it's a bit shit. I love my duck,' he says, not quite knowing what to do.

I wipe the tears on the edge of my pyjama sleeve. ‘No, I love it. I… I…' He's being nice to me, so nice and I don't know if it's deserved. I don't feel like a good person at the moment. As I lay there on my airbed last night, all I could think was how a good person would have spok en to Frank, Jasper and Leo in turn and discussed the redundancy dilemma openly. Instead, I've now kept it a secret and whatever I do, whoever I let go, there will be resentment and anger, and I'm not sure I want that from people I hold so dear. I look at Leo who puts a hand to my arm. I can't tell him about all that now. It's Christmas Day. ‘I think I'm just overwhelmed by the day, maybe missing my parents. I'm a crier. I cry at the end of Home Alone when Kevin's mum comes back and finds him. Have I ever told you that?'

Leo shakes his head and I can't tell if he's appalled or scared, but he takes me in his arms and hugs me so very tight next to that tree and I hug him back. Another stray tear falls as he holds me there for a moment. I don't want to let you go. You're the one I don't want to let go the most.

We part and he looks at my face again. ‘So you're not crying out of disappointment over the gift?'

‘No. It's brilliant. My ten-year-old self is over the bloody moon…' I say, looking adoringly at it.

‘I look forward to unlimited snow cones,' he says, laughing as he wipes the last of my tears from my face. ‘Is there anything I can do to cheer you up? Your parents? Maybe we could call them? Maybe then you'll feel less sad?' He still thinks this might be because I miss my mum and dad. Oh dear. I nod and he goes to the other room to get my phone. ‘I can go in the kitchen if you'd rather take the call alone?' he says returning with it.

‘No, stay,' I tell him and I dial Mum on Facetime. The call is accepted and the screen goes fuzzy before they come into view.

‘MAGGIE!' my mum shrieks to see me. ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS!'

I hold the phone away from me to take in the noise, beaming at the sight of both of them in Christmas hats and matching festive jumpers. ‘Merry Christmas, guys,' I say, waving. ‘You look suitably seasonal.'

‘Oh, the ship demands it. There's a morning buffet with a Santa and his elves. Unlimited smoked salmon,' my dad tells me.

‘Easy,' I tell him. He walks around their cabin so I can see their bed and the view of the sea out of the window. They always look excited to be out on open water, taking in the world one port at a time. ‘Very swish…Miss you both,' I whisper, tears filling my eyes. Because after I had that HR meeting last Friday, it's their door I probably would have knocked on to get their counsel. Mum is calm and reassuring, but Dad is no nonsense, calls a spade a spade. Between the both of them, they'd have allowed me to talk this through.

‘Miss you more. But you were right to maybe dodge this one. The only single man we met wears a bum bag and a cravat. We spent an evening in the bar learning about his parrots,' Dad tells me. ‘Join us on the next one though?'

‘Definitely,' I tell them.

‘And we've bought you gifts too. We're back on the twenty-eighth. You up for doing something then?' Mum asks me. She looks around the background behind me, creasing her brow. ‘Are you at Gemma's yet? Do give her and the family our love. How's the baby doing?'

‘Actually,' I tell them, sitting down. ‘Gemma had plans with Nate's family so…'

‘You're not alone, are you, love?' my dad says, looking panicked.

‘Actually, no. I'm with…' I beckon Leo, who quickly looks in the mirror to flatten down his bedhead. ‘This is Leo.'

They both sit there silently looking at him through the screen. My mum bites her lip trying not to smile whereas my dad disappears from shot. Where's he gone? Is he angry I half-lied to them?

‘Umm, Merry Christmas, Maggie's parents…' Leo says, putting a hand to the air. ‘It's nice to meet you. '

‘Merry Christmas…' Mum says. ‘You're the Leo she works with,' she says pointing at him.

‘He is…' I answer. ‘Mum, where's Dad? Is he angry?'

‘God no, he's just disappeared to put on some trousers. He didn't know we were expecting company on the call,' she says, laughing. Dad returns into shot. They both look at Leo in amazement. ‘So are you two…'

I put my hand in Leo's. ‘Possibly.'

Dad can hardly contain his smile but leans into the screen to study him in more detail.

‘Well, I never. Pleased to make your acquaintance, young man.'

‘Likewise, Mr Field.'

‘Oh, please. My name's Baz. Is that an accent I hear?' he asks him.

‘I'm from the Lakes, Baz.'

Dad nods his head. ‘So here's an important question then? Who do you support?'

I hold my breath. I don't even know this myself. Does he even watch football? This is critical. ‘For my sins, it's Leeds,' Leo says.

Oh dear. My dad pauses for a moment, a serious look on his face. My mum is barely able to contain her giggles. ‘Well then, you better get with my daughter because you need all the help you can get in life.'

And with that, there is laughter from three of my favourite people in the entire world. Don't tell Leo, but that might be all I need this Christmas.