‘I’m sure I’ll manage.’ Tristan struggled to hide his amusement. ‘I’ll see you in the hall.’
The night was nippy after the cosiness of the church, stars visible in the sky as they made their way to the hall, Freya unwrapping her toffees and stuffing them in two at a time. Lola and Freya walked ahead whilst Angelo meandered behind with Alf.
‘I never had you down as a convert,’ she quipped at Lola.
‘What? Just because I had a tear in my eye doesn’t mean I’ve got church fever.’
‘Vicar fever more like it,’ Freya chuckled. ‘I’m pretty sure the way you two were making eyes at each other tonight the whole village will be ramping up their gossip by morning.’
‘We were not making eyes at each other,’ Lola protested, ‘Tristan was just looking out for me. It’s my first time at church for years.’
‘He winked at you in front of everyone,’ Freya pointed out. ‘But it’s cute and I think everyone will give you their blessing. People do like a love story after all and it’s almost Christmas, the perfect time for romance.’ She passed Lola the now empty bowl as they drew up outside the church hall and turned to Angelo. ‘Better fix your buttons. You two go in, we’ll see you in a bit.’
Alf and Lola exchanged a smirk as they entered the hall, the bright lights an intrusive bump back to reality after the soft candlelight in the church. Lola glanced around as she placed the empty bowl on top of the piano. Villagers were milling around with paper cups of mulled wine. Sue waved at her from behind the serving table.
‘Do you need a hand?’ Lola asked as she slipped behind, noticing the plates of mince pies and mini chocolate logs were half gone.
‘I think we’ve got it covered now the initial onslaught is over. I don’t know what you put in those pies.’ Sue laughed.
‘Magic.’ Tristan’s voice caught her attention as he walked into the hall and over to them. ‘Lola bakes with magic.’ He winked again as he helped himself to a mince pie, earning himself a scowl from stern village committee member Cathy as she passed him some mulled wine.
‘I don’t think you should be promoting magic, Vicar,’ Cathy pointed out.
Tristan refused to rise to the bait. ‘I don’t see why not. After all we all need a bit of magic in our lives. I’m also very keen to see what Lola has in store for the solstice ritual.’ He put a hand on Lola’s shoulder and gently steered her away from Cathy before the older woman could make any complaints about Lola’s alternative beliefs.
‘You shouldn’t antagonise her,’ Lola warned him.
‘I know I shouldn’t but it’s just too hard to resist, although I’m pretty sure as a vicar I’m not meant to admit that, but sometimes it gets a bit too much trying to constantly keep the peace.’ He took a sip of his punch before turning to Lola and asking, ‘So, how did you find it?’
Lola met his eyes and saw genuine interest shining in them, as if after all his years of service it was her opinion that mattered the most. Not quite knowing where to start, or how to articulate just how moved she’d been, Lola took a sip of her drink. ‘Honestly? I didn’t expect to feel as much as I did. It’s been years since I’ve been to a church service. I’ve always felt somewhat as if I’m trespassing somewhere I’m not meant to be, but tonight, well, there was something wonderful and cosy about it. I cried a bit,’ she admitted with a cringe.
Tristan laughed. ‘I hope they weren’t tears of boredom.’
‘Never! The whole thing just got me here.’ She put her hand on her heart.
Tristan’s gaze softened. ‘I bet you didn’t expect that. There is something moving about the church at Christmas, it strips away all the baubles, all the commercialism and reminds you what the season is really about.’
Lola nodded and held back from the temptation to curl herself into him. ‘Alf looked after me too. I don’t know how I can ask him about Charlie and Ruby. I feel so guilty, after all, he’s done so much to make me feel welcome.’
‘Maybe you remind him of her?’ Tristan ventured.
‘Maybe, but from that last letter I don’t think he had warm fuzzy feelings towards Ruby, did he?’ Lola reminded him, thinking of the curt way the letter had been written. She knew she resembled her grandmother but surely Alf wouldn’t remember that much detail, it had only been a week, over seventy years ago. ‘Or maybe he’s just a warm, kind person who doesn’t deserve his painful memories being brought to the surface.’
Tristan considered this before asking, ‘Would you be really happy if you never knew?’
After a brief pause Lola replied, ‘No. I feel like I need that piece to put Ruby to rest, it’s just there’s a price to pay.’ She finished her drink. ‘Every time I see Alf I’m holding back from blurting it out.’
‘I’ll come with you if you want when you talk to him.’
Lola shook the offer away. ‘No, I think it’s better I do this myself. If he’s upset I wouldn’t want you implicated.’
Sensing it was time to change the subject, Tristan asked about the solstice ritual. ‘Did you do your planning for it earlier?’
Lola rolled her eyes. ‘Of course I didn’t, I got distracted trying to figure out Scruff’s jumper. I might have to wing it at this rate. I guess all we need is a bonfire. I picked up some sage when we went shopping the other day and I might just instinctively say whatever comes to mind on the evening. Angelo has offered me some things to burn from Bayview.’
‘Maybe you should have a whip-round? Ask people to donate their wonky chairs so they can go up in flames.’
‘That’s not a bad idea, it’d fit in with the theme of togetherness and cleansing of the year,’ she mused.
