“You know, Spence, I’m not going to tell him what to do. But I get a sense the accident woke him up a bit, especially with the little one on the way. Maybe he’ll start up again in a few years, who knows? But did you notice your dad’s bike is no longer there? He sold it to a friend for cash a few days after the accident. She might not tell you directly, but your mum’s beyond relieved.”
“And can I say for the record, I’m a little relieved myself to hear you’re helping with the cooking this year.”
Peony rolled her eyes.
“Let me guess? Garrett told you I was a trained chef?”
“Aren’t you?”
“I worked in a gastro pub straight from college while I pondered what I wanted to do with my life. They sent me on a couple of cooking courses where I learnt the basics. The way he tells it, I was the top chef at the Ritz. And the men of this family are totally unfair about Coleen’s cooking skills.”
“Well, the way I see it, with the two of you on the case, things will be brilliant. What’s with all the biscuits?”
“Cookies. Better ask your mum.”
At that moment, Spencer’s mum brought him a cup of coffee and a mug of something smelling of peppermint for Peony. Once she checked everyone had a drink, she clapped her hands together to get their attention.
“Right, everyone. Peony and I have been making Christmas cookies all afternoon, so you’re going to be helping decorate them before we sit down for dinner. You too, Marshall.”
“Christmas cookies? Is this some kind of cultural exchange programme you’re involved in that I know nothing about? Since when did we become American?” asked Spencer.
“Since Dad constructed a mini replica of Christmas Disneyland in our front garden,” said Garrett, rolling his eyes.
“What did you think, son?” asked his father, looking over at Spencer.
“He thinks you have too much time on your hands,” said Garrett.
“Let your brother speak, Garrett,” said their father.
Spencer laughed and shook his head at Marshall, who was also laughing.
“I think it looks amazing.”
“Anyway, eyes back to me,” said Spencer’s mother. “There are tubes of icing in lots of different colours, mini chocolate buttons in white, milk and plain flavours, and tubes of hundreds-and-thousands sprinkles—even little slices of dried fruit. A few of the neighbours are coming over on Boxing Day, only to the front gate. I already have the schedule. I’m going to give them each a gift bag of cookies and hot chocolate.”
“Recruiting babysitters, Mum?” asked Spencer after raising his eyebrows to Marshall.
“I don’t know what you mean. We’re just being neighbourly. And as we can’t attend midnight mass because of all the restrictions, I thought this might be a nice diversion.”
By the time they had finished decorating—a pretty good job, if Spencer did say so himself—Peony and his mother had laid the table for a simple dinner of fish pie with a crunchy mash topping and steamed veggies. His mother had even set aside a small bowl for Tiger, who had made a new friend in Peony. While they served up the food, Spencer’s father opened a couple of bottles of wine he had been saving up, discussing grapes and different types of wine with Marshall. Spencer had no idea whether Marshall knew about wine, but whenever he looked over, his man seemed to be doing just fine.
“Are you sure you won’t have a glass, Peony?” asked Spencer’s mother. “Just one can’t do any harm. I had red wine every now and then when I was carrying Spencer.”
“That explains a lot,” said Garrett, which made Marshall laugh.
“I’m fine, Mum,” said Peony. “Thanks, anyway.”
“Mum?” Spencer mouthed to his mother.
“Yes, dear. I asked Peony to call me Mum. She’s the daughter I was never blessed with. But if you do decide to marry my son, Marshall, I’d prefer you to keep calling me Coleen. Are you going to be here on Boxing Day?”
Either Marshall didn’t hear or recovered quickly from the marriage remark, Spencer couldn’t tell.
“We’ll be here,” said Marshall. “But we’ll need to leave the day after. I have a couple of conference calls I need to take from home. We’ll definitely be here all of Boxing Day.”
“Excellent. The neighbours are coming over after lunch. I’ll need you front and centre, Marshall. Can’t wait to see their faces when they realise we have a celebrity in the family, when they see what they’ve been missing all this time.”
“If Peony’s calling our mother, Mum,” asked Spencer to Garrett, in an attempt to save Marshall any more embarrassment, “does that mean you two are getting hitched? To make the endearment official?”
