Newton Neighbors (New England Trilogy) (48 page)

Dorking’s main street was buzzing with last-minute shoppers, and the pubs were doing a brisk trade, too. The night was very dark, but twinkling Christmas lights shone bright overhead, arching across the street along the full length of the road. It was a magical atmosphere. There was a huge town tree on the sidewalk at the top of the street where normally people parked bikes. Folks had tied cards onto the branches for friends and family who were no longer with them. Jessie wondered if her mum had done one for her dad but didn’t ask.

Tristan started counting the number of plankers who were wearing Santa hats.

“So I’m guessing
planker
is your new word for
loser
. Are they all plankers just because they’re wearing Santa hats?” Jessie nudged him as they walked along the sidewalk.
 

He shoved her back harder. “Yes.”

Their house was a five-minute walk from the main street. It was a pleasant stroll because of the friendly atmosphere and the fact it was nowhere near as cold as Newton. Jessie looked up at the familiar night sky. It was good to be home. Dan was a million miles away from her and out of her life for good. She wondered about Ely. Her roommate had said she would phone when she got home. Teatime in England meant lunchtime on the east coast. Maybe she hadn’t gotten there yet. She decided she would e-mail her friend to nudge her into telling her parents sooner rather than later.
 

As per tradition, the family was allowed to open one Christmas present each on Christmas Eve. Elizabeth Armstrong served homemade mince pies and strong tea while the younger ones ripped open the most promising looking parcels. Nobody expected the doorbell to ring.

“I’ll get it!” Tristan yelled, having already opened his gift. A moment later, he walked back into the room. “It’s someone for you,” he said.
 

Surprised, Jessie jumped to her feet. “I’m not expecting anybody. I haven’t spoken to a soul since I got home.”

“Maybe an old school friend saw you at church,” Elizabeth said as Jessie walked out into the hall.
 

She gasped. “Bruce! I wasn’t—I mean, how did you know where I live?”

He was smiling, maybe laughing at her newfound shyness. “Hullo, Jessie.”

“Um, welcome. Come in.” She stood back to let him enter. The house was very modest and Jessie was embarrassed that he saw her small, terraced home. He had said his family wasn’t rich anymore, but she knew they had been, once upon a time. Bruce sounded upper class. She knew a private school accent when she heard one. The hall was so narrow she had to press her back against the wall to invite him in.

“The kitchen’s straight ahead,” she said.

He looked just as uncomfortable as she felt and stopped in the hall to talk. “I hope it’s okay, just arriving unannounced like this.”

“Of course.” She lied. Even with both of them standing against opposing walls, there was very little room between them. That was when she saw the young boy hiding shyly behind Bruce.

“It’s just, well—Tom and I were in the neighborhood, so I phoned Noreen and got your address from her. It seemed crazy to be in Dorking and not call in to say hello and wish you a Merry Christmas.”

Jessie tilted her head and raised a single eyebrow. “You just happened to be in Dorking?” This was no coincidence.

“Well, yes.” Bruce smiled. “We heard Dorking was very pretty at this time of year.” He looked straight at her. He was flirting with her.
 

Jessie turned to the young boy, Tom, and smiled. “You’re very welcome here, Tom. How do you know this guy?”

“Tom’s my son, Jessie. He’s eight years old. I thought he might like to say hullo to Tristan.”

Elizabeth Armstrong picked that very minute to come into the hall to see who her daughter’s guest was. “Jessica, where are your manners? And you’re letting all the heat out.”

“Hullo, Mrs. Armstrong. I’m Bruce Wiswall, a friend of your daughter’s, and this is my son, Tom.”

“Very nice to meet you, Bruce, but can you all move along into the kitchen so I can close the front door? There’s an arctic chill coming through. I have more mince pies in there.” She was waving her hands trying to get everyone to move. Elizabeth was no fool either, and Jessie wasn’t surprised when her mother took control. “Why don’t you come into the front room with me, child?” She addressed Tom with a warm smile. “You look the same age as our Tristan. We have Cadbury’s Roses chocolate in here, and the new James Bond movie is about to start.”

Bruce gave her a grateful look and nudged his son toward the front room along with Elizabeth. Then he followed Jessie into the kitchen.

She was still trying to compose herself. She knew she was blushing by the heat of her cheeks, because despite her best efforts not to be, Jessie was embarrassed by her modest home compared to the mansions on Crystal Lake Lane. Mentally, she kicked herself to cop on.

“You have a son,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He tilted his head. “I’m telling you now. I almost told you in Newton. Do you remember talking about skeletons in the closet? I told you we all have them. It’s true. Everybody has a past, Jessie, but we all have a future, too.”

“Where was Tom when you were in America?”

“He lives with his mother most of the time, but I get to see him often.”

“Shared custody? That’s hard.”

“We make it work. I have a pretty demanding job, so I couldn’t keep him full time even if I wanted.”

Jessie watched him as he spoke. He looked bigger in her tiny kitchen. His dark charcoal coat squared up his shoulders, and he was wearing the flat cap. His eyes looked grayer than usual, and his mouth was wide—attractive.

“Jessie?”

“Hmm . . . sorry, what were you saying?”

“I was saying I very much wanted to see you.”

“Oh yes?”

“Yes.” He looked at the chair pushed into the kitchen table. “Can we sit?”

“Oh God, yes. Sorry, I’m not being a very good hostess, am I? Can I get you a cup of tea or a coffee and maybe a mince pie?”

Bruce looked exasperated. He glanced at the pastries, then at the chair, then at her. He shook his head, took a step toward her, and kissed her. He didn’t stop kissing her either. Bruce wrapped his arms around her while Jessie’s mind tried to catch up with her lips. This was unexpected but very nice. She slipped her arms around his waist and kissed him back.

“That, Jessie Armstrong, is something I’ve wanted to do to you since the first day I saw you on Crystal Lake Lane. You’re gorgeous, you are.” He said this with a London-boy accent, and it made her laugh.
 

“I had no idea.”

“No. You were too busy swooning over that loser, Dan.”

“He’s a planker,” Jessie said.

“You—what?”

“Tristan’s new favorite word—
planker
. It means loser.”

“Oh, you mean a tosser?”

Jessie laughed and started to feel very comfortable, chatting to him in his arms.

“Jessie, will you do me the honor of going out for dinner with me in the very near future?”

She smiled at him. “Yes, Bruce, I will, but I do have one question.”

“Shoot.”

“Were you really on my flight home or did you rig that?”

Bruce laughed. She liked his laugh. “You have no idea. I was meant to fly out a few hours later. We were both on British Airways, but I had to pay a small mortgage to change to your earlier flight.” He tightened his arms around her waist. “But it was worth every penny.”

Bruce leaned in to kiss her again just as there was a knock on the kitchen door, and Jessie knew it was her mother. Nobody else would be so polite. Elizabeth popped her head around the door.

“It’s your phone, love. It’s ringing.” She handed the mobile to Jessie.

Bruce made no attempt to pull back but let her free up an arm to take the phone. It was like he wanted Elizabeth to see. He smiled at Jessie’s mother. “I bet you make the best mince pies in the world, Mrs. Armstrong.”

“Oh, Bruce, call me Lizzy.”
 

Jessie recognized the number.

“Hullo, Ely. I’ve been worried sick about you. How are you?”
 

“Hey, baby. How’s the Queen?” Ely tried to sound upper-class British and did it as terribly as Jessie did a South Carolina accent.
 

“We’re all fine.” She glanced up at Bruce and winked at him. She was still wrapped in his arms. “How are you?”

“I’m great. I flew down to Josh’s and met his family yesterday, and then we both landed into Charleston today. We’ve told everybody they’re gonna be grandparents.”

Jessie winked at Bruce. “How did that go?”

“Way better than we thought. Josh’s parents were a bit anxious, but his mom’s cool. My dad was fine with it. Just goes to show—you never know how these things are gonna turn out. The Bull is bullin’ ’cause I told him I’m going into business with Richard Worthington for my Down Under shampoo line.”

“You what?”

“Yeah, Richard Worthington called me in the middle of everything to make an offer on Down Under. I’m not sure I’m gonna take it, though. Dad’s working on a counteroffer right now. You gotta laugh.”

Jessie did just that. She burst out laughing and shook her head in disbelief. “Why am I not surprised, Ely Briskin?”

“What about you? All well with Tristan and your mom?”

“And the rest of them. We’re having a smashing time with mince pies, and we’re opening presents. Bruce just called round.” Jessie let it hang in the air.

“Say what? Bruce Wiswall?”

“Yes, he wanted to give me an early Christmas present.” She wrapped her free arm around his waist tighter, and he kissed her forehead.

“Girl, that boy is into you. I can tell.”

“You think?” Jessie looked at him like she was assessing him, and Bruce raised his eyebrows, as if trying to second-guess the conversation.

“I know these things,” Ely said. “I can sense ’em. That man likes you, make no mistake. It’s gonna be the best Christmas ever.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Feliz Navidad

“Best Christmas ever!” Cody shouted as he ran and jumped into the pool to make the biggest splash he could.

It made Maria laugh, and she applauded him. The sun was setting, and even though she was warm, she felt the need for her pashmina. She asked Paloma to keep an eye on her kids, and then Maria walked into her mother’s house.
     

When she opened the door and entered her old bedroom, the silence enveloped her. It was lovely, quiet and peaceful. Even though it had been a great day, it had been a busy, loud one, too, so she couldn’t stop herself lying down on the bed for just a moment to rest and recharge. For the first time that day, she let her mind relax and reflect.

The time since her arrival had simply flown by. On her first day back in Puerto Rico, Maria whizzed into town to do some shopping. It had only been a month since their last visit, but this time she was starting to feel more at home. She spoke Spanish now when she was in the shops, and one of her brothers-in-law had even spotted her in traffic and given her a friendly beep. That had never happened in Newton. Her mother had even commented on it when she’d swept back into the kitchen that first day with Alice’s birthday cake.

“You seem good.”

“I feel good.” Maria had answered with a smile. “Tell me again why I went away?”

Leticia had given an empathetic nod. “I always worried about you leaving Puerto Rico,
cariño
. I knew you had to spread your wings, but I thought you’d come home. Now, of course, it’s much more complicated. What about the father of your children?”

Since their talk, those thoughts had lingered, but there had been no time to feel depressed, because Leticia kept her busy. Preparing the house for Christmas Day involved doing lots of errands for her mom, which Maria was happy about because she’d forgotten how magical the island became around this time. It was the biggest event of the year, and the streets were full of music and colored lights. Christmas trees had been erected all over San Juan, the shops were decorated, and children were out of school. The mood was infectious, she thought now, lying on her bed and closing her eyes. But today—the Christmas Day party at her mom’s house—that was the high point.

Bernardo, Paloma’s husband, had arrived early Christmas morning with his two boys. Of course, Maria remembered e
l lechon
—the pig on the spit—and the massive meal that lasted all day. The boys and Cody helped Bernardo set it up. They were inducted into the ritual of
el lechon
, learning how to baste the beast and get it set up properly. They were entrusted with the matches while Bernardo supervised. Then a timetable was made up, whereby one of the boys had to sit with the pig all day. It couldn’t be left unattended even for a moment.
 

She laughed, because as soon as Bernardo was gone, having made the boys promise they’d stick to their times, they lost interest. No surprise, Leticia let her grandsons off, saying she was happy to slice and dice her vegetables outside on the picnic table where she could watch the pig, too.