A Merry Little Christmas (22 page)

‘Okay,’ said Pippa, flinging herself into Marianne’s comfy sofa. ‘But really no longer.’

They sat down and Cat regaled them one more time with her conversation with Tom Brooker.

‘You should have seen his face when I suggested taking a picture of perfect Pam. I
almost
felt sorry for him.’

‘And he’s really going to come to our demo?’ said Marianne. ‘That’s amazing.’

‘Yup, and he’s also promised to raise the matter in the House of Commons. It turns out he’s not a total bastard. He has concerns about the way the cuts are being implemented, and wants to use the Sunshine Trust as a stick to beat his bosses with.’

‘So not entirely altruistic then,’ said Pippa.

‘Does it matter?’ said Cat. ‘Now he’s coming to the demo, my mate Angie on Shropshire TV is bound to cover it now, plus he’s agreed to write an article about the vulnerable in society. I bent his ear about the state of the local hospital too. Turns out his gran was in there, so he totally gets it.’

‘Not a bad night’s work then,’ said Marianne.

‘Not at all,’ said Pippa. ‘And thanks girls, it was just what I needed.’

‘Me too,’ said Cat. ‘Here’s to doing this more often.’

‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Marianne, ‘we should put another date in our diaries now. Though it will have to wait till after the holidays, I think.’

‘Are you off anywhere nice?’ said Cat.

‘A caravan in Cornwall with my parents,’ Marianne pulled a face. ‘Still, it has to be done. What about you?’

‘We’re not having a proper break this year,’ said Cat. ‘Too much on. We’re having a few days in Eurodisney, for our sins.’

‘It’s better than nothing,’ said Pippa, looking wistful. ‘We’re staying put.’

‘Oh Pippa,’ said Marianne, ‘I didn’t mean to make you miserable. This evening was all about cheering you up.’

‘And you have,’ said Pippa with a smile. ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. But now I’ve really got to get back.’

She got up to leave, and Cat soon followed her. They all hugged, promising to do it again soon. Marianne watched Pippa wander down the lane, feeling really sad for her friend. One evening out was great, and it lifted the spirits, but it wasn’t enough to sort out her problems, that was for sure.

‘Are you sure you’ve packed enough?’ Gabriel poked his head around the spare room door, where Marianne was sorting and resorting clothes for the umpteenth time. Deep down, she wasn’t convinced the twins needed twenty sets of shorts and t-shirts each for a week in Cornwall, but the Perranporth Caravan Park apparently had limited washing facilities, and she knew how quickly the twins got mucky. And of course, it being the end of July in England, there was no guarantee they would get any sun, so she was also having to pack similar pairs of leggings and little fleeces. And as for the number of nappies they needed …

‘I’d rather take too much than too little,’ said Marianne firmly. ‘And you know what my mum’s like. If she thinks I haven’t brought enough clothes, we’ll be forced to go shopping for extra. It’s going to be bad enough stuck in a caravan with Mum and Dad for a fortnight, without having a compulsory shopping trip thrown in.’

Since she and Gabriel had been married, they’d always spent a week in Cornwall together with Steven, but this year Eve and Darren had asked if they could take him away to Darren’s villa in Spain instead. Steven had been so keen on the idea, Gabriel had reluctantly agreed. Just as they’d been in the middle of sorting it out, Marianne’s mum had rung up to ask once more about Christmas and, in a moment of either genius or madness – Marianne wasn’t sure – she’d said, ‘Mum, would you like to come to Cornwall with us this year?’ She’d only said it to deflect the conversation away from Christmas, and was really stunned when Mum’s response was, ‘What a wonderful idea, of course we’d love to come.’

‘It does give us the upper hand when I eventually get round to telling them about our Christmas plans,’ she said feebly to a horrified Gabriel.

‘We also get to spend two weeks in a caravan, with your parents,’ Gabriel pointed out.

‘Oh God, what have I done?’ groaned Marianne. ‘All we can do is pray it doesn’t rain.’

‘At least we’ll get some babysitting,’ said Gabe, trying to look on the bright side.

‘True,’ said Marianne. ‘Although that only works if the children are well. Don’t you remember Mum calling us back from that night out when Daisy threw up?’

‘Well, let’s make sure we dose them up with Calpol before we go out,’ said Gabriel, grinning.

‘It won’t be that long before Steven will be able to babysit,’ said Marianne, as she crammed the last few things into the case and zipped it up. ‘Although we’ll only be able to benefit at weekends, obviously.’

Gabriel looked sad, and Marianne touched his arm.

‘I know,’ she said, ‘but there are still weekends and holidays. From what I gather from Cat, once your kids hit their teens you hardly see anything of them anyway.’

‘I suppose,’ said Gabriel. ‘But I keep worrying about Eve. Now she’s nearer, Steven’s going to want to see more of her. It’s only natural, I know, but what if he forgets about us? I can’t bear the thought of losing him.’

‘You won’t lose him,’ said Marianne, ‘don’t be daft.’

But she could share his anxiety. Ever since she’d met Steven as a shy, lost little boy, uncomprehending as to why his mother had left him, Marianne had had a soft spot for her stepson, which over the years had blossomed into a deep and abiding love. She had always felt privileged to be his stepmother, whilst being conscious that Steven had a real mother out there. And now Eve was coming back into Steven’s life, and more and more Marianne had to take a step back. While she knew it was the right thing to do, she was also aware that it was harder than she’d imagined it would be. Despite what she’d said to Gabe, she too feared that Steven would be seduced by the money and size of the house that Eve shared with Darren. Maybe once he’d been at his posh school for a while, he’d be too proud to come and see them on the farm. It wasn’t likely, but she worried about it, even though she wasn’t about to tell Gabriel that.

‘Now come on, let’s get our stuff sorted, and then the packing’s done. I know it’s only two weeks away in a caravan park, and I know Mum and Dad will be there, but let’s see if we can have the best time possible.’ She kissed him on the cheek and he smiled. ‘Where would I be without you?’

‘Sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself,’ said Marianne. ‘Now let’s get on, so we can go out and enjoy a sunny evening on the patio.’

‘Is everyone ready?’ Cat shouted up the stairs for the umpteenth time. The car was packed to overflowing, with so many bags stuffed into corners she wasn’t sure there’d be room for the children. Noel was impatiently revving the engine, keen to get going.

‘Coming!’ Ruby and Paige fell excitedly down the stairs. At least they were looking forward to a long weekend at Eurodisney. Mel had put up a very strong argument for staying home alone. ‘I can look after myself,’ she said. ‘It’s not like I’ll starve. And someone needs to look after Hammy.’

‘Over my dead body,’ Noel had replied firmly.

‘It’s okay, Ruby’s friend Molly’s having Hammy for us, same as always,’ said Cat.

‘Oh please,’ whined Mel. ‘I promise I’ll behave.’

‘And the rest,’ said Noel. ‘You’ll only have wild parties and trash the place.’

James had been noncommittal about the whole thing, but being an amiable sort wasn’t actively complaining about going, which was good enough for Cat.

Cat would have liked a proper holiday, but with her and Noel’s work commitments, Mum still being ill and having to get back for Mel’s exam results, there wasn’t an awful lot of time left. At the time of organising this and another long weekend at the end of the summer, camping in Wales, Cat had felt cheesed off wishing they could have a proper holiday. But now, with Louise in hospital, she was relieved. Cat always worried about what would happen when they went away, but this year, she would have felt frantic with guilt for going away for too long. As it was she still felt guilty about disappearing for four days, despite Noel telling her not to worry.

‘You’ve been there for your mum all year,’ he said. ‘I can’t think she’d begrudge you a few days.’

‘I know,’ said Cat, ‘I just feel our lives are on hold.’

‘Besides, it’s not fair on the kids,’ said Noel, ‘they deserve a break.’

Torn two ways, Cat’s guilt was utterly intensified.

So here they were, setting off for Paris at some ungodly hour, putting up with moaning (Mel), silence (James), overexcitement (Paige), and vomit (Ruby). Sometimes Cat felt it would be easier just to stay at home. And certainly cheaper.

The journey to Paris was tediously long, making Cat wish for the first time in a long while they still lived in London. However, by dint of setting off at three a.m., and going by Eurotunnel for speed’s sake, they managed to arrive at their hotel just after lunch, which gave them a good half day to wander around the park.

Cat was absolutely worn out from the travelling, and would have loved nothing more than to collapse in the very comfortable looking bed in the hotel, but Paige and Ruby were having none of it.

‘I want to see Mickey Mouse, now!’ declared Ruby, suddenly metamorphosing into a ghastly child from a Disney advert.

‘Yes, come on, Mum,’ said Noel, who was looking equally sleepy, ‘where’s your enthusiasm?’

So, reluctantly saying goodbye to the comfortable bed, they got back in the car and sped up the motorway for twenty minutes until they arrived at the Eurodisney car park.

Paige was frantically texting her friends, so the whole world now knew the Tinsalls had hit Disney, and Ruby was jumping about so excitedly Noel kept asking her if she needed the loo. Even James was beginning to look vaguely interested as they approached the entrance to the theme park and heard the sound of cheesy music playing. Cat had got them tickets to both the Disney park and film studios, the latter of which James had actually confessed to being interested in. Cat also knew that, having a taste for terrifying fairground rides, he wouldn’t be able to resist the scary ones.

‘Woah, look at that!’ he said, when beholding Space Mountain for the first time. ‘I have to have a go on that.’

‘Can I go? Can I go?’ said Ruby.

Cat took one look at the rollercoaster ride, the sort she normally avoided like the plague, and laughed. ‘Sorry sweetie. I’m pretty sure there’ll be a height restriction on that one. Dad can go with James. Unless Mel wants to.’

‘Ugh, no,’ said Mel, who hated scary fairground rides. ‘I’d throw up. And I think we’ve had quite enough puke for one day.’

‘It’s not my fault I get car sick,’ said Ruby. ‘I wouldn’t if you all let me sit in the front.’

‘We did,’ said Paige, ‘and you were still ill.’

‘I can’t help it,’ said Ruby. ‘You should all feel sorry for me.’

In the end, everyone seemed to have a good time, even Mel, who unexpectedly really enjoyed the Indiana Jones ride, and Big Thunder Mountain. Paige also suddenly developed a taste for the scarier rides, so it was with some trepidation that Cat and Noel let her go off with her brother and queue up for Space Mountain.

‘I feel sick just looking at it,’ Cat said to Noel, as they watched Paige and James join the queue. ‘I hope they come back in one piece.’

‘God, Mum, it’s only a ride,’ said Mel laughing for once. ‘It’s not like they’re going to die.’

‘Which is why you were brave enough to go on it,’ retorted Cat.

Still laughing, they went to queue up for a Buzz Lightyear ride, which involved zapping loads of aliens. Something which Cat and Mel proved to be spectacularly bad at, and Ruby and Noel extremely good.

‘What are we meant to be hitting?’ wailed Mel after missing all her targets.

‘I have no idea,’ said Cat, ‘just zap whatever moves.’

It was a tactic that proved only partially successful, and they had about a tenth of the final points that Noel and Ruby had accumulated, but Cat didn’t care. For the first time in a long time she and Mel were having fun together. It felt fabulous.

‘I can’t believe you were so bad,’ laughed Noel as they waited for the other two to come back.

‘I had no idea what I was meant to hit,’ giggled Cat. ‘That is one of the most stupid games I’ve ever played.’

James and Paige came bounding over a couple of minutes later.

‘That was awesome!’ said Paige.

‘The best ever,’ said James, which was the most they’d got out of him all day. ‘I’m ravenous.’

‘What, again?’ said Cat. Ever since they’d arrived at the park, they seemed to have been on a constant grazing mission. She’d never spent so much money on fast food.

‘Is everyone hungry?’ said Noel.

‘Yes!’ came a chorus of replies.

‘Tomorrow we bring our own grub,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I can stand another chip.’

‘Good,’ said James, ‘I’ll eat yours.’

‘The human hoover,’ grinned Noel. ‘Where do you put it all, and stay so thin? Bet Mel wishes she could be like that.’

‘Noel–’ said Cat.

‘What? What did I say?’

‘So you think I’m fat, now,’ Mel flared.

‘It was a joke,’ said Noel. ‘Of course I didn’t mean–’

‘Cos if you are I’ll just show you that I don’t need junk food at all,’ Mel said, ceremoniously dumping the remainder of her chips in the bin, and storming off.

‘I’d have eaten them,’ said James plaintively.

‘Well done, Noel,’ said Cat and followed Mel around the corner.

She found her sitting next to a hot dog stand looking genuinely upset.

‘Dad doesn’t mean it you know,’ Cat said, sitting down and putting her arm around Mel. ‘He’s a bloke. He has no tact. He thought he was being funny.’

‘Well, he’s not,’ said Mel.

‘Is everything okay?’ said Cat softly. ‘Can I help?’

Mel looked a bit misty-eyed.

‘Everything’s fine, I keep telling you,’ she said. ‘I’m just cross with Dad for being such an idiot.’

‘Are you sure?’ said Cat. ‘It’s just that, generally, you seem a bit unhappy. If you’re in some kind of trouble, you can tell me.’

‘Look Mum, nothing’s wrong,’ said Mel. ‘I’m not pregnant, I don’t do drugs. All right?’