A Merry Little Christmas (35 page)

Lucy nodded and smiled again, giving a thumbs-up.

I wouldn’t have missed this for anything, she typed.

‘And we’ve got a lovely dress for you to wear tonight, haven’t we?’ said Pippa. ‘Can’t have anything less for the guest of honour.’

It had been agreed that Pippa would speak about Lucy and the other children who got help from the Sunshine Trust that night, and Pippa had been adamant that they should be allowed to attend. ‘This is an evening about the children,’ she’d argued. ‘They shouldn’t be locked out of sight.’

Cat had agreed, thinking it was a wonderfully inspiring idea, and when it had been mentioned to Michael, he’d arranged for a children’s entertainer for the evening, free of charge.

‘So are all yours coming tonight?’ asked Cat.

‘The boys said they wouldn’t be seen dead at a ball,’ admitted Pippa. ‘So Dan’s having them.’

‘You haven’t been able to persuade Dan to come then?’

‘No,’ said Pippa sadly. She mouthed over Lucy’s head, ‘Tell you later.’

Poor Pippa. Cat really felt for her. As if life hadn’t handed her a tough enough deck of cards anyway. Why some people had so much rotten luck, she never knew. The past few months had taken its toll on her. She looked much too thin.

‘Behind every cloud there’s a silver lining,’ said Michael Nicholas, appearing as if by magic behind her and nodding in Pippa’s direction, while Pippa went off to oversee how the caterers were getting on. He was dressed in a black shirt and black jeans with cowboy boots, and carrying an electric guitar emblazoned with flames, ready for his set with the band.

‘Do you think?’ said Cat. ‘I’m not sure Pippa feels like that at the moment. She really deserves some good luck.’

‘You never know what’s round the corner,’ said Michael. ‘Maybe Pippa’s luck is about to turn.’

‘I do hope so,’ said Cat with feeling. ‘I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more.’

‘This looks fantastic.’ Marianne, radiant in a red satin dress, her dark curly hair piled up fetchingly on her head, dragged Gabriel over to Pippa, having had their obligatory couple photo as they’d entered the room. Pippa felt a pang. Time was when she and Dan would have been that happy together. Stop it, Pippa, she admonished herself sternly. You can’t let it spoil the evening.

‘Thanks,’ said Pippa. ‘I just hope it does what it’s meant to do.’

‘I’m sure it will.’ Cat came and joined them. ‘Pippa, shall I get people to start moving towards their tables? It’s nearly eight o’clock and we need to get the auction going.’

Soon the evening was in full swing. The room was abuzz with the sound of laughter, and Antoine Lavière proved to be a dashing and urbane host, plus he was immensely good at getting money out of people.

‘Do I only have £100 for the spa day at Congreve Hall? Only £100, surely you can dig a bit deeper than that,’ he said, ‘it’s a bargain at twice the price. Come on, dig deep people, it’s all for a good cause.’ Sure enough, Antoine managed to get a further £200 out of a rather verbose chap sitting in the corner, who’d already gleefully bought signed copies of Cat’s latest book and DVD. By the time he’d moved on to the second of the weekend retreats, the grand total was looking very healthy indeed. There were some fairly wealthy landowners in the area, and Antoine proved adept at winkling money out of them. Richard La Fontaine, who Pippa had noted arriving, but had yet to speak to, was being extremely generous. She felt extraordinarily tongue-tied at the thought of speaking to him, but she wasn’t sure why.

The children were all being royally entertained in a side room by Michael’s entertainer, and things couldn’t be going better.

Pippa had opted not to drink tonight. She was going to have to drive Lucy home, and she wanted to be in control of herself. She was nervous as hell about her speech. Could she make a difference? Would anyone here be prepared to invest in the Sunshine Trust? Eventually, Antoine called for silence. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve had a fun evening so far, and I promise you more fun on the way, but we’re here tonight for one reason, and one reason only. Let me introduce the incredible, dynamic and inspiring Pippa Holliday, who’s here to tell us what the point of this evening is all about.’

Pippa gulped as she went to stand in front of the microphone. She felt small and insignificant. If only Dan were with her. Normally when she’d done this kind of thing, he’d been at her side, and now she was doing this alone. And would be for the rest of her life. Deep breaths, Pippa, she said to herself, deep breaths. The kids still need you.

‘Thank you so much for the kind and ridiculously over the top introduction,’ said Pippa, ‘I’m really none of the things Antoine called me. I’m just an ordinary mum. A mum who has a very special child. When Lucy was born, I confess at first I didn’t know what to do –’ (don’t think of Dan, don’t think of Dan) ‘– like all parents who have a special needs child, it’s not what you expect, and you can feel all at sea. For years we fought a system which seemed almost determined to stand against us. And then we found the Sunshine Trust …’

Pippa went on to talk about the way having respite care had transformed their lives, and those of others. ‘And it’s not just me and my family who get help. Anita Thompson, over in that corner, has care for her son Timothy, Sufira Ali gets help twice a month for Suleiman, and I know that Jeanie Martin couldn’t manage if her two autistic children, Sammi and John, didn’t get a break every week. We all need the Sunshine Trust. It transforms our lives and helps us cope. So please. I know these are difficult times, I know money is tight, but tonight, please dig deep for this vital service and help the children like Lucy, and Timothy, Sammi and John get the support they so badly need.’

Pippa went to sit down with applause ringing in her ears. She was shaking like a leaf. She hoped she’d said enough to make a difference.

‘That was brilliant,’ said Cat, giving her a hug.

‘Well done,’ said Gabe, kissing her on the cheek.

‘Thanks,’ said Pippa, ‘I just hope it helps.’

Pippa’s speech had certainly made an impact. The bidding in the auction was brisker and people were spending money faster than she could have imagined. The evening was a success beyond her wildest reckoning. If only Dan was there, everything would have been perfect.

‘You’ve met Richard La Fontaine, I think.’ Michael Nicholas came over while the coffee was being served and people were beginning to drift off to other tables. ‘Excuse me, I must go, the band are about to start playing.’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Pippa, getting up to greet him. ‘Nice to meet you again.’

‘Wonderful speech,’ said Richard. He was tall and slim, with a lively smile, slightly greying hair which gave him a distinguished look, and vivid green eyes.

‘Thank you,’ said Pippa. ‘I just spoke from the heart.’

‘And it showed,’ said Richard. ‘Listen. I know I’ve not had much positive to say of late, but I brought some members of my board along tonight so they could see for themselves what you do. We like to get involved in ethical projects, and this is one close to my heart.’

‘Oh?’

‘I think I mentioned I have a daughter with special needs?’ said Richard. ‘We could have really benefited from some respite care. But we didn’t have a Sunshine Trust in the area. I was away a lot on business, and my wife couldn’t cope. We ended up splitting up, our daughter’s in a care home, and I hardly see her. I think the work they do is vital, so I want to help if I can.’

‘That would be fantastic,’ said Pippa, overwhelmed. ‘It’s just the sort of good news we’ve been needing. Thank you so much.’

She headed back to her table feeling like punching the air. At last, something was going right. Suddenly, there was a commotion. ‘Has anyone seen Pippa?’ a voice was saying. It was Ruby, looking scared.

‘Ruby, what’s the matter?’ said Pippa, suddenly gripped with fear.

‘It’s Lucy,’ said Ruby, ‘she’s coughing really badly and it’s like she can’t breathe.’

Pippa raced towards the side room, where one of the helpers from the Sunshine Trust had got Lucy on an oxygen mask.

‘Hospital?’ said Pippa.

‘The ambulance is on its way,’ said the helper.

Pippa knelt down and held Lucy’s hand, she looked very pale and was breathing in a horribly laboured way. Oh God, why hadn’t she taken more notice of Lucy’s cold? They’d both been so excited about this evening, she thought it would be all right. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

‘It’s okay, sweetie, help’s coming,’ she said, holding Lucy’s hand tightly, hoping that the ambulance wouldn’t be too late.

The journey to hospital, down windy dark country lanes, seemed endless. Pippa sat holding Lucy’s hand, talking to her comfortingly as she had done so many times in the past. Her breathing had calmed down a bit since the paramedics had given her some Ventolin, but she looked pale and had a temperature. The paramedics had been efficient and friendly, instantly putting Pippa at her ease, and reassuring her that Lucy was in the best hands. Which she knew from experience to be true – she and Dan had done this hundreds of times after all. But this time she was doing it on her own. Never had she felt so lonely. She should text Dan and let him know what was going on, but it wasn’t like he could do anything right now, and the boys were staying over, so there was no need for her to get back. Pippa had no idea what to do for the best. She’d never get used to this. Never.

The ambulance eventually pulled up at A&E, and the paramedics carefully took Lucy in, Pippa following, feeling slightly surreal in her ball gown and high heels. The lights of the hospital seemed far too bright after the darkness of the road, and Lucy squirmed a little in response to them. It being a Saturday night, this close to Christmas, A&E was full of drunks, and luckily the sister in charge saw fit to whisk them into a side room to give Lucy some privacy. ‘Sorry, our children’s department isn’t staffed at this time of night,’ she said. ‘You really don’t want to be out there with that rabble. Hell,
we
don’t want to be out there with that rabble.’

Pippa laughed and sat down, expecting a very long wait. But to her surprise, a doctor came through almost instantly.

‘Are you Lucy’s mum?’ he said holding out his hand. ‘Dr Jenkins. I’m the on-call paediatrician.’

‘Hi there,’ said Pippa. ‘I’m surprised we’ve never met before. We’ve been here rather often.’

‘And this beautiful young lady must be Lucy,’ said Dr Jenkins, giving Lucy a wide smile.

Lucy smiled weakly back, giving a faint thumbs-up.

‘Have you been at a party?’ said Dr Jenkins, expertly taking Lucy’s temperature and blood pressure while putting her at her ease. ‘That’s a very pretty dress if I might say so.’

Lucy clicked approvingly, and Pippa could have hugged him.

‘We’ve been at a charity ball,’ said Pippa.

‘And what happened?’

‘I’d noticed she had a bit of a cough earlier on,’ admitted Pippa, ‘but it didn’t seem to be bothering her much, and she really wanted to go to the ball. I think she might have got a bit overexcited, because the cough came on really suddenly again, and then she was struggling to breathe.’

‘Well the good news is,’ said Dr Jenkins, ‘I think the Ventolin’s worked. She’s got a bit of a temperature though, so I think we should monitor that, and I’m going to give her some antibiotics. I’m afraid you’re in for an overnight stay, but with any luck we’ll have you home tomorrow.’

‘Thanks,’ said Pippa. ‘That’s a huge relief.’

‘Right, I’ll go and sort out getting a bed for this young lady,’ Dr Jenkins said. ‘I hope you won’t be waiting too long.’

‘It’s okay,’ said Pippa, ‘we’re used to it, aren’t we Lucy?’

Lucy just shrugged her shoulders in a long-suffering gesture and then grinned at Pippa, in a way that tugged at her heart. She really was the most stoical of creatures, and never lost her ability to make Pippa laugh.

Pippa went out to request a glass of water and a straw for Lucy. She knew from previous experience that the casualty department wasn’t well equipped with plastic cups for disabled children. The paediatric ward wasn’t that much better. Normally Pippa carried everything she needed with her, but this time, she’d been in such a hurry it hadn’t been possible.

She came back into the room, to hear voices and the sound of Lucy laughing. That lovely doctor must be back again.

‘Hi,’ she began and then ‘Oh.’

Dan turned round to look at her.

‘Dan,’ she said, ‘thanks for coming.’

‘Where else would I be at a time like this?’ he said.

‘Have you heard from Pippa yet?’ Cat asked Marianne, as they finished clearing the last of the tables away. Noel had taken the children home earlier, and Gabriel had gone to relieve his mum, who was babysitting the twins.

‘Yes, she just texted me five minutes ago to say that Lucy’s much better,’ said Marianne. ‘She’s got to stay in overnight for observation, but she’s going to be all right.’

‘That’s a relief,’ said Cat. ‘Poor thing. What a terrible worry for her. Do you know if anyone’s told Dan yet?’

‘Yes,’ said Marianne. ‘Gabriel texted him straight away. We both had a feeling Pippa might feel she shouldn’t. Which is daft, of course.’

‘I feel so bad,’ said Cat. ‘That bloody TV programme has caused a lot of trouble. I know they wanted an angle on their story, but I had no idea they were going to use Pippa and Dan’s split to beef the story up. I’d only mentioned it in passing to the director because he was interested in Pippa’s personal circumstances. I never said it was because of Lucy though.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ said Marianne. ‘And to be honest, I think Dan’s overreacted. But he’s had such a hard time, I suppose he could be forgiven for that.’

‘Right, that’s us done, I think,’ said Cat. ‘Michael, is it okay if we come back and do the rest in the morning?’

‘Yes of course,’ said Michael. ‘Tell Pippa when you see her that it’s been a great success, and she should be proud of herself.’

‘Will do,’ said Cat. ‘I’m dying to know how much we raised. The auction was going great guns.’

‘I think you’ll find there’s a huge amount of money sloshing around in the slush fund,’ said Michael. ‘And Richard La Fontaine has just told me Pippa’s speech did the trick with his colleagues. He’s just been given the go ahead to invest in the Sunshine Trust. So it looks like the respite care package has been saved.’