‘No Christmas?’
‘No Eid?’
‘What about on your birthday?’ This was from Jack.
Oke shook his head.
‘You don’t celebrate YOUR BIRTHDAY?’
‘Don’t you know when it is?’
He smiled.
‘Yes, I do. But we don’t celebrate.’
‘That is SO SAD,’ said Phoebe, her face starting to twist again.
Oke knelt down on his haunches so he was at her level.
‘Not for me,’ he said. ‘I’m a Quaker. We try to live with … ’ His hand batted around as if looking for the right expression. ‘ … a kind of … gentle grace. Every day. So that we don’t have to make a fuss or make ourselves excited.’
‘Because you’re always happy like it’s Christmas?’ said Phoebe disbelievingly.
‘Well, I wouldn’t know,’ said Oke. ‘But yeah. Maybe we just try and average it out throughout the year.’
Jack and Pippa both looked thoughtful.
‘That sounds RUBBISH,’ said Phoebe and Sofia made her apologetic face as she bundled her away. ‘Well, it does! No presents! No Christmas cake! No chipolatas! NO BIRTHDAYS!’
She was still complaining as the bell tinged on their way out.
‘I have never met those children before in my life,’ said Carmen hastily.
‘Bye, Auntie Carmen!’ hollered Pippa, clearly on purpose. Carmen decided the best thing to do was just stare straight ahead.
Oke smiled.
‘Uh … my book?’
‘Oh. Yeah.’
Carmen ducked under the counter and lugged out the huge book.
She smiled.
‘You’d think they’d put a Christmas tree on it.’
‘Would you?’ said Oke, but he was joking.
The book was staggeringly expensive. She felt terrible even letting him buy it when clearly he should be spending his money on a good winter coat and a pair of gloves – the air was Baltic. She felt sorry for him.
‘Thank you,’ he said, and he opened an old leather wallet and counted out the cash carefully.
‘Oh. And I forgot, the discount is … uh … twenty per cent,’ said Carmen, pulling it from the top of her head.
His eyebrows raised.
‘That’s very generous.’
