Last Christmas (5 page)

“I’d love to see some of your artwork,” Fergus exclaimed boldly, breaking the moment of silence.

Then, as if from nowhere, Mrs Crosley appeared and said: “Well you can next week. She’s having an exhibition in London. She’s doing
so
well! You must come. You must – Ella Fitzgerald Moore, tell him he must!” She smiled at them both before leaving them alone again.

The pair laughed at Elisabeth’s intrusion and Ella composed herself. “I was just about to say, if Elisabeth hadn’t beaten me to it, that I have an exhibition next week and if you were free or had nothing else to do, then please come along. There will be cheap complimentary cava and stale nibbles by the bucket load if my artwork doesn’t sell it.”

“I would love to come.” Fergus’ eagerness shined through his words but he managed to maintain a level of smoothness, of utter coolness, that made Ella feel heady.

“Now I have two questions for you Ella ...” She nodded obligingly. “Firstly, does Mrs Crosley butt into every conversation you ever start?”

“Ah yes! You have clearly not spent much time with Elisabeth if you’re asking that question.”

“No, I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her many times but she seems wonderful, the life and soul of the party.”

“Absolutely. You might have already guessed, but she was a real party girl when she was younger, well so I’m told. A bit like —”

“Libby?” he asked.

“Quite. Much to William’s dismay! Now what was your second question?”

“Ah. Well I was going to ask about your name. Elisabeth just called you Ella
Fitzgerald
Moore … is that your middle name?”

Ella nodded. “It’s not my middle name as such but it’s an honourary one. My parent’s name me Ella after the great singer and so I’ve sort of inherited the nickname
Fitzgerald
, which I’m fond of, or
Fitz
which I hate. It makes me sound like a stiff upper lip butler who is more obsessed with maintaining a hierarchal social order than his liberal master.”

Fergus chuckled. He looked so irresistible when he smiled. For a moment, they stared at each other and said nothing. Ella couldn’t believe that the beautiful man she had seen in Waitrose only this afternoon was now standing in front of her. What were the chances that he had been in the same supermarket in London and then at the same party all the way out in Kent? Ella turned to the sofa and saw Libby flash her a knowing smile and raise of the eyebrow. Ella understood perfectly what Libby was trying to insinuate and she ignored it totally.

The room had filled up since she had started talking with Fergus. It was brimming with Christmas joy; overly animated guests, perhaps a little too merry for their own good, were perching on the edge of coffee tables, leaning against the sofas, walls and against the grandmother clock. They were diligently informing their audiences of their Christmas plans and everybody was listening and nodding with enthusiasm. Ella overheard people’s plans and hoped that some of hers would be more exciting than just ice-skating at Somerset House and going to Winter Wonderland. There was nothing wrong with doing any of these things but for Londoners the novelty wore off after a while and it didn’t help that she had gone to all of these places with Robbie.

This Christmas, she wanted to do something original, something different. She wanted to go to places she never would usually and she wanted to make new Christmas traditions and memories, ones Robbie wouldn’t be part of.

Ella turned back to Fergus who was still looking at her with unparalled intensity. She couldn’t help but feel that there was an air of excitement between them; an invisible ball of throbbing heat was floating somewhere between them, glowing and expanding with possibility and the unknown. Neither of them spoke again and the tension was unbearable.

“Do you smoke?” Fergus finally asked.

“For my sins,” she replied with a glimmer of mischief in her eye.

“Would you like to go outside for a cigarette? It’s absolutely boiling in here.”

Chapter Four

Ella and Fergus stood on the patio at the back of the Crosley’s farmhouse. They could hear the merriness of the guests escaping the cracks in the old house’s crooks and crannies and they could feel the dampness in the air. The atmosphere felt heavy and wet as if it might rain, but it was turning colder by the second, which perhaps meant snow.

“That’s better,” Ella said as she pulled out a packet of cigarettes from the pocket in her denim dress. She leant on the garden table made of antique steel and padded down her body for a lighter. Fergus stepped towards her with a silver zippo in his hand.

“Allow me.”

He flipped the cap off the lighter, exposing the light blue powerful flame and drew it towards Ella. Once the cigarette was lit, Fergus leant back against the table next to her.

She offered him one of her cigarettes, gesturing the packet towards him and raising her eyebrows. He shook his head.

“I quit,” he said.

“Then why did you ask me outside for a cigarette?” Ella demanded flirtatiously.

“How else was I going to get you alone?” he asked, confidently drawing a little closer to her so that his face was only a foot away from hers. Ella’s eyes flashed with surprise and excitement.
He’s
daring
.
Daring
but
sweet
.

She smirked and looked away shyly. She fiddled with the edge of her skirt but decided to looked back at him and flirt back with confidence. She propped her elbow on her hip cocquetishly as she breathed in and out on the cigarette.

She realised she hadn’t said anything in reply to his cheeky question about getting her alone. Just as she was preparing to say something equally cheeky back, he asked her for a cigarette.

“No way,” Ella replied playfully. “You’ve quit remember. And I won’t be the one to tempt you.” She dropped her cigarette on the floor, stubbed it out with the heel of her boot and put it in the edge of a nearby flowerpot, distinctly aware that he was watching her every move.

“Oh I think we’re way past that,” Fergus said responding to her playfulness. “I hope this is not the last time I’ll be tempted by you …”

Ella didn’t know where to look. Her breathing was quickening and she could feel her body sliding towards Fergus who was only inches away now.
He
likes
me
.
He
likes
me
.

Their faces were so close that their noses were almost touching. Ella could smell his alluring cologne and the sweetness of his breath. She wanted to kiss him but she was paralyzed by the acuteness of her desire for him. Fergus delicately placed his hand on her cheek, caressed her soft skin and lowered his gaze to her lips. He placed his thumb on her red lip, and focused on each centimeter of her skin as if it would be the last time he would ever see her face.

No man had ever looked at her like this before. Suddenly his lips were on hers, kissing her lightly but with such passion that her whole body tingled in response. She arched her back into him as she kissed him with more force, her tongue meeting his as he ran his hands wildly through her even wilder hair.

They parted, panting, overwhelmed by power of the kiss.

Fergus and Ella looked at each other, their heavy gazes acknowledging that something special had just occurred between them. Ella wiped the slight stain of red lipstick gently from the corner of Fergus’s mouth and smiled. He took her hand and kissed it gently.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment I saw you in Waitrose.”

“Me too,” Ella said finding her voice, a little croaky after their tantalizing embrace. “But I thought you must have thought me rather silly after you heard my conversation and saw how clumsy I was at the door,” she confessed.

“What conversation? The second time I saw you, when I came up to you again at the bakery counter, I saw you were on the phone the moment you turned around, but I didn’t hear your conversation.”

Ella was amazed. He hadn’t heard her stupid comment about the Versace dress! Or was it Valentino? Ella didn’t care and was so relieved that he hadn’t heard her remark.

“I was just too nervous to ask you out. I had just about plucked up the courage to introduce myself when I saw you were on the phone still and I bottled it.”

Ella laughed. “You were about to ask me out?”

“Yes!”

“Bloody Libby always interrupting.”

“Like mother like daughter eh?”

“Uh huh.” Ella smiled.

“Hey, what did you say on the phone that you were mortified that I might have heard?” Fergus asked inquisitively, drawing closer to her again.

“Oh nothing!” Ella said, taking the opportunity presented to hide the monstrous comment. “We should go inside now,” she continued.

“Are you cold?” he asked her, gesturing thoughtfully at his jacket.

“No, I’m fine, thank you. I just think if we stay out here any longer we might have a busybody Elisabeth on our hands, doing what she does best and I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather we went in on our own accord.”

Fergus chuckled and nodded in agreement. He stood up from the table and politely gestured for Ella to walk in first. She steadied herself, tried to shake off the tingly feeling that had spread through her entire body and walked towards the door, mulling over the delight of their kiss.

As they reached the back door, Fergus placed his right hand gently on her arm.

“Ella, excuse me if I’m being forward but would you like to go out with me sometime this week?”

Ella’s mouth curled into a coy smile. Her nose wrinkled and she bit her lip while looking up to the sky in mock deliberation. “Yes,” she said triumphantly.

*

Libby waved off the last of her guests and shut the front door to keep the biting cold away. She roamed into the kitchen and saw her friends dancing manically to ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ with various cleaning equipment in hand. Charlie was playing imaginary drums with some dishcloths, Harry was strumming the broom like the air guitar it was, Lara was wiggling her bottom while washing dishes in the sink and Ella was singing, clinging with one hand to a dustpan and brush that was serving nicely as a microphone. They were making an absolute racket, hitting all the wrong notes at all the wrong times and muddling up the lyrics. Libby observed her mad friends, grabbed a bin bag and joined in.

With all hands on deck, the cleaning had taken no time at all. Within half an hour, they were all sitting around the kitchen table with a bottle of red wine reminiscing about their school days. They talked of how they’d snuck behind the games shed to steal their first cigarette, the pranks they’d play on their teachers and the embarrassing people they’d dated. Elisabeth, William, Toby and Emily had retired for the evening but luckily their rooms were nowhere near the kitchen; they were at the other end of the house, a fact the young friends took full advantage of as they screeched and screamed at the top of their lungs.

The gang huddled around the table looking over a new game called Linkee that Harry had bought the Crosleys for Christmas. On each card you had to answer four questions and guess what the link was between all four answers. They played the game until Lara had won, with heated arguments and passionate disagreements colouring the hour. Charlie had got so hysterical at one point, claiming that he shouted the link first that he’d fallen off his chair and the others had burst into a raucous of laughter.

“No you did not!” Libby screeched. “You’re a little liar Charlie, Lara absolutely shouted it first!”

“Okay,” Charlie laughed. “You win, I’ll be good.”

“Ha
ha
victory!” Lara gloated. “I
told
you I’m the champion
of
these games – I always win
Trivial
Pursuit and this game is
a
breeze in comparison!”

“Alright, Miss ‘I’ve got two degrees from Cambridge’! We all know you’re a
genius
!” Libby said jokingly. “Is anyone hungry? I’m starving,” she continued as she surveyed her tipsy friends. They all looked as if they could do with some food to sober them up.

There was a murmur of approval as Liberty rose to check the pantry for snacks. She came back empty handed.

“I don’t know how but we’re out of almost everything! This party has cleared our supplies. No cheese, sorry guys! Some host I am!”

“Oh, I forgot! Libby I brought some cakes for you, they are in the car. I’ll go get them.”

“Brilliant! Thanks Ell,” Libby beamed. “You always save the day.” She drew a bit closer to Ella and said more quietly, “Well you saved my day and calmed me down – thank you darling.”

Ella smiled warmly back at her. “Anytime. Now who wants mince pies?” she asked the group.

“I’ll go get them, it’s freezing outside. Give me your keys Ell,” Charlie said, moving to stand.

“Oh thanks Chaz. Here you go.”

Whilst Charlie was going to fetch the puddings, Lara topped up their glasses and Harry fetched some plates and forks. Ella sat at the table and thought about what had happened a few hours ago outside on the patio. So much had happened in one day. The supermarket felt like days ago and she could hardly believe she had bumped into Fergus twice in one day in both the city and the country. And he was taking her on a date on Monday night. She wondered where he might take her, what they might be doing and what she should wear. Not one to usually worry about her clothes or the way she looked, she suddenly found herself feeling nervous about such a trifling thing. She had never felt nervous around a man before and she wondered why she did so with Fergus.

“Helooo. I said helooooo.”

Ella was vaguely aware that someone near her was making noise. She pried her eyes off the stone floor and looked up to see four pairs of eyes staring at her.

“Earth to Ella!” Libby exclaimed.

She chuckled as she realised she had been daydreaming and hadn’t heard a word of what her friends had said to her.

“Sorry, I was miles away,” she said guilty with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Were you dreaming of lover boy?” Lara teased.

“I…I…don’t be so absurd! I was thinking about what Christmas presents I still needed to buy,” she said, knowing full well her friends would not believe her.

“Mmmhmm,” Libby challenged.

“Oh shut up and pass me a fork!” she cried.