What Happens At Christmas... (25 page)

Holly snorted. ‘He's not a religious fanatic or a celibate. Take a look at some of the film screenplays he's written. There's nothing prudish about them.'

‘Maybe he's scared stiff of you. You can be pretty scary sometimes.'

‘He's not scared of me. Definitely not.'

‘And you're sure he hasn't got some other woman?'

‘Anything's possible, but if there is another woman, I haven't seen or heard so much as a hint of her existence.'

‘Well, that leaves us with the only other possible explanation. What is it they say? Once you've removed all the wrong answers, the one that's left, however improbable, is the right answer.'

‘So… and the answer is…?' They were in the narrow lanes by this time, only a couple of miles from home.

‘He's an alien and they don't mate with our species.'

‘He's not an alien, Jules, not with abs like he's got. Come on, be rational. What're we missing? What's the only answer we're left with, however improbable?'

‘The answer, Hol, has to be that he's been burned.'

‘Burned?'

‘Badly burned. Somebody's taken his heart and stomped on it, big time.' Julia thought for a moment. ‘I reckon that's it. He's sort of like you've been saying your dad was at the end. He experienced what he thought of as true love and, having lost it, he knew he'd never find it again. Like I say, maybe Jack's in that situation. He knows there's no point in going after you, because you'll never match up to his lost dream of perfection.' She did her best to end on a positive note. ‘So, you've got a challenge? So what? You'll have him eating out of your hands in a matter of days.'

This time Holly didn't answer, pretending to concentrate on her driving. But Julia's words had hit home all right. Maybe that's the way it was. Jack had been burned. And if his heart was irrevocably broken, was there anything she could do to help him piece it together again? And as for having him eating out of her hands in a matter of days, that was all she'd got – a few more days. She gave a little snort and pulled into the drive beside her house and parked in the back garden. She glanced towards the house and saw a big, dark shape looking out of the kitchen window. She was already familiar with this, although the first time she had seen it she had got a shock. She now knew that it was neither an intruder nor a ghost. It was a large black Labrador, standing up on his hind legs, paws on the window ledge, very pleased to see his mistress come home.

It didn't take Julia long to work out that she was totally in love with Stirling. For his part, the dog was delighted to have not only one friendly human, but two of them to make a fuss of him. He bounced around as they brought everything in from the car, getting in the way and threatening to knock them over as they struggled in under the weight of their purchases. To be on the safe side, Holly and Julia piled everything on the kitchen table, out of his way. Finally shutting the back door and turning the key, Holly looked across at her friend who was sitting on a chair in a warm embrace with the dog who was up on his hind legs, trying to lick her face. Holly caught her eye.

‘Just shove him off if he gets to be a nuisance. Tea?'

‘Very definitely. This is the most amazing dog, Hol. Aren't you? Aren't you, Stirling? Oh yes you are.'

The dog, hearing his name, did his best to climb onto Julia's lap. Holly decided enough was enough and the time had come to put her foot down. ‘Stirling, no! Get off!' To her surprise, he obeyed instantly and came trotting over to where she was standing by the fridge.

‘His master's voice. That was impressive, Hol.'

Holly decided not to tell Julia that she was as amazed as she was. She ruffled Stirling's ears and told him he was a good boy. To reinforce the message, she pulled out a dog biscuit and gave it to him. Julia came across to the sink to wash her hands. ‘How're you going to cope with him in London, Hol? Doesn't he need lots of space, a garden, regular walks?'

‘Talking of walks, he's been locked up in here for a few hours now. I'd better take him for a walk. You want to come?'

‘It's pitch black out there, Holly. How do we see where we're going?'

‘We'll be fine. You just need time to get your night vision.' She looked critically at Julia's London shoes. ‘You might need to lose the heels first. I've got a pair of trainers you can use.'

Julia was genuinely surprised by this. ‘You, trainers? I never thought I'd hear the day.'

Holly protested. ‘I've got a pair of trainers in London.'

‘That you only wear with your rather fetching oil-stained boiler suit when you're crawling around all over Greta's engine, getting muck under your fingernails. Otherwise, if they haven't got a designer label, you don't wear them.'

Holly acknowledged the truth of what Julia was saying. ‘Yes, well that was the old metropolitan me. This is the new country style me. Trust me, you don't want to step into horse shit in a pair of Alexander McQueens.' She went over to get the trainers for Julia. ‘Here, see if your feet fit. I've got some thick woolly socks if you need them.'

‘Thick woolly socks? Have you gone mad, woman? What's come over you?' Julia tried the trainers and found that they fitted quite well without the extra socks. While she tied the laces, she repeated her question. ‘So, how about the dog when you come back to London?'

‘
If
I come back to London.' Holly waited for the outburst. She didn't have to wait long.

‘What do you mean,
if
?' Julia abandoned the laces and looked up in astonishment. ‘You mean you're thinking about staying down here? But what about your job, your friends, the shops…?'

‘I haven't made up my mind yet. I've just been mulling it over. But you're dead right about Stirling. There's no way I want to be separated from him now, whatever it takes. Besides.' She caught Julia's eye. ‘The fact is, he's the closest link to my dad that I've got left.'

Julia nodded. ‘I can understand that. But, didn't you say your dad had left you a ton of money? Couldn't you buy a house in London with a garden?'

Holly nodded. ‘I've been thinking about that, too. The house is just part of the problem. The other is my job. TPI work me pretty hard.'

‘You work yourself pretty hard, Hol, and you love it.'

‘Yes, I do enjoy my job, but the fact is I'm often out of the house from seven-thirty in the morning to seven-thirty at night or later. It wouldn't be fair on the dog to keep him cooped up all on his own.' She read comprehension in Julia's eyes. ‘Anyway, I reckon I could work from here if it came to it. I spend almost all my time in the office these days.' She smiled at Julia. ‘I haven't decided anything yet, Jules, and the one person I would miss most if I came down here would be you.'

Julia waved her hand dismissively. ‘I'd miss you, too. Lots. But I'd have a gorgeous little cottage in Devon for dirty weekends. What's not to like?'

‘Talking of dirty weekends, what time's your man coming?' Holly looked at her watch. It was a quarter to six.

‘He said he'd try to leave London between three and four. If all goes well, I suppose he should be here by half past eight or so. How long did we take to get here last time?' She pulled out her phone. ‘What's mobile reception like down here?'

‘Surprisingly good. And broadband, too. I'm piggy-backing on Jack's wifi at the moment, and it's pretty fast.'

Julia called Scott and discovered he was making good time in spite of the holiday traffic. He hoped to be with them by eight-thirty.

‘So, dinner at eight-thirty and bed at eight forty-five?' Holly was grinning at her. Julia grinned back.

‘Of course not. We're not completely sex-obsessed, you know. Bed at nine will be just fine.'

After Julia had dumped her suitcase in her room, they took Stirling and went for a walk round the village. Holly found she was enjoying pointing out places of interest and, as their eyesight improved, even Julia had to admit that it was easier than she had expected to pick their way along the tracks and paths. ‘If we were doing this in London, I'd be terrified of being mugged or worse. Down here, you feel so safe, don't you?' Just at that moment, they passed a wooden gate. Half a dozen black and white shapes suddenly detached themselves from the shadows and lumbered off in alarm. ‘Jesus Christ, what was that?' Julia had almost jumped out of her borrowed trainers in terror.

‘Cows, Jules. Just cows. Look, even Stirling isn't bothered.'

By the time they got back to the green it was well past six and Holly knew that the Five Bells would be open. She glanced across at Julia's face, visible now in the light of the village's only street lamp, just outside the post office. ‘Glass of wine?'

‘You're a mind reader.'

Stirling led them into the pub and headed for his favourite spot by the fire. There weren't many people in there this early and Holly's usual table was free. They dumped their coats, went over to the bar and ordered two glasses of Pinot Grigio.

‘Good evening, Holly, and how are you this evening?' It was Fergal Frazer. The Scottish accent was as strong as ever, but tonight his knees were covered.

‘Hello, Fergal. I'm fine. A happy Christmas to you. Let me introduce my friend Julia from London.'

‘It's very good to meet you, Julia. Are you staying for the festivities?'

‘I'm going to my parents in Exeter on Christmas Day, but I'm here for the big ball tomorrow night.'

‘Splendid. And will you be coming to midnight mass afterwards?'

The two girls looked at each other. Neither had been near a church for years. Holly decided upon a diplomatic answer. ‘Erm, I expect so, weather permitting.'

The change of topic worked well. ‘Aye, there's a damn great depression predicted for tomorrow night. It looks like we're going to have a white Christmas.' His eye twinkled. ‘I blame the Americans, you know. They have all these big snowstorms across on their side of the Atlantic and then they send the remnants over to bother us. Why can't they keep them?' He glanced up at the clock. ‘Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to join the carol singers. You'll no doubt hear us later on.'

They carried their drinks over to their table and sat down. Julia lowered her voice. ‘Midnight mass, carol singers? You haven't joined a cult here, have you?'

Holly shook her head. ‘No, it's all part of village life, I suppose. Somehow I don't think I'm going to change into a regular churchgoer, but I'll tell you this. It's rather nice to live somewhere with a real sense of community. Take this place, for example. Yes, it's a pub. Yes, it sells alcohol, but it's also a meeting place, a focal point. Mind you, I'm not sure I'd necessarily like to be a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old growing up out here in the country, but for grown-ups, it has its attractions.' Just at that moment, another of the village's attractions walked in. Seeing Holly, he smiled and came across to their table.

‘Good evening ladies.'

‘Hi, Jack.' Holly smiled at him before turning to Julia. ‘You remember my lovely neighbour?'

‘Of course. Hello, Jack. I'm Julia.'

Both girls watched as Jack fell to his knees and made a fuss of the dog. He had evidently been for a haircut and he was clean shaven. He looked fit and handsome. Stirling, delighted to see his old friend, rolled over on his back and grunted. Holly felt sorely tempted to do the same, but she just smiled instead. Jack glanced back over his shoulder with a broad smile for both of them. Holly was delighted to see him looking far less stressed than the last time she had seen him. ‘I'm very pleased to meet you, Julia.' He reached up and took her hand. Julia decided she should put the record straight.

‘And I'm not really Holly's lesbian lover.'

‘And I'm not really gay. Sorry to disappoint you.'

‘You certainly don't disappoint me.' She exchanged glances with Holly while Jack returned his attention to the floor.

‘You're looking very smart, Jack.' Holly though it best to return the conversation to a more neutral topic. ‘You must tell me who your hair stylist is.' He stood up and rested against the edge of the table.

‘I've got a girl in Moreton who does it for me.'

‘I bet you have, Jack.' Julia, now that she had got his sexuality straight in her head, was clearly returning to type. ‘Tell me, are you planning on going to midnight mass tomorrow?'

Jack grinned. ‘I wouldn't miss it for the world.' Catching Holly's eye, he explained. ‘Everybody piles out of Howard Redgrave's Christmas Ball at ten to midnight and heads for the church. And that includes the vicar. A couple of years ago, the organist had a bit too much Christmas cheer at the ball and he passed out across his keyboard. It sounded like the last trump. But, anyway, it's Christmas, isn't it? That's what we do.' He glanced at their glasses. ‘Can I get either of you a drink?'

Holly shook her head. ‘I'm fine, thanks, Jack. What about you, Jules? The nice man's offering to buy you a drink.'

Julia smiled at him. ‘Thanks, Jack, but I'll go slow. I've got my own nice man arriving in an hour or two. I owe it to him to wait until he gets here before I pass out over his organ.' Julia erupted in a fit of giggles. Jack caught Holly's eye and winked.

‘Ah, the Christmas spirit. You can't beat it. Well, I came in for a pint. I've been writing all day and I need a break.' He went over to the bar and ordered a pint of Dartmoor Jail Ale. While his back was turned, Holly whispered to Julia.

‘Behave yourself, will you? I don't want to scare the poor man off.'

‘Don't you worry. You were right about two things, Hol. First, your Jack doesn't scare easily, so you need have no fears on that score. And, second, if that man's gay, I'll eat the carpet the dog's lying on.' She grinned at Holly. ‘Hol, he's bloody gorgeous. If I weren't a happily married woman…'