‘He sounds like a very nice chap,’ Liz said, stealing a glance at Ed who nodded, a little embarrassed by the conversation. ‘It sounds like you’ve made some lovely close friends there. Will you see Bahira, Theresa and Kemi while you’re back?’
‘No, I don’t really have time,’ Alice answered. In actual fact she probably could have squeezed in a drink at the pub if any of them were around this evening, but . . . maybe she’d just give them a quick ring; they were probably all busy with their own families. Still, she felt a knot of guilt at not following through on her promise to keep in touch more.
‘You’re flying back on Boxing Day, is that right?’ asked Ed. ‘Do you have to leave so soon?’
‘Ed . . . ’ Liz cautioned.
‘I do. Marco and David are being very kind looking after my huffing great dog for me, and he isn’t easy, and they need to work.’
Ed nodded.
‘Maybe you could both come out and visit me in the New Year?’ Alice continued, keen to keep the mood light and the belief going that everything was fine. ‘Mum, you’d love the outdoor hot springs they have out there. They’ll even let you have a glass of bubbly while you sit in them.’
‘Well, that sounds very nice, we’ll look into that, won’t we, Ed? Are you sure Vanessa wouldn’t mind yet more people staying in her home?’
‘No, she wouldn’t mind at all, she’s said I can have visitors.’
‘Okay, we’ll take a look at that then.’ Liz stood and brushed stray mince pie crumbs from her long coat. ‘Now, who’s ready to go home and light the fire?’
‘Oh, I am!’ Alice said. ‘I’m very good at lighting fires now.’
Christmas Eve after dark was a magical time, hope and anticipation radiating through the illuminated trees in windows, and on the faces of those you passed as you rushed home to wait for the last sleep before the big day.
Inside the Bright household, Liz and Ed had made the family home as warm as a hug and full of familiar traditions. The tree was decorated with a lifetime of collected ornaments – the miniature Empire State Building Alice had brought her parents back from a trip to New York, the faded gold and red bauble Ed and Liz had bought on their honeymoon in Norway, the strange clay snowman Alice had made in primary school which would have been better suited as a Halloween ornament, to be quite honest.
As Alice touched the various items from her history she thought,I made it. She was home for Christmas, and she was happy to be here, and that’s all she could have asked for.
Liz appeared at her side with a glass of Baileys for her. ‘It’s good to see you smiling again.’
Alice took the Baileys. ‘One of my new friends, Lola, told me a while ago to have gratitude for life. We were at the top of the mountain at the time – well, the top of the baby slope – so I think she was partially trying to pep talk me into zooming downhill on a snowboard. Anyway, it was good advice and I’m trying hard to follow it.’
Ed appeared with a plate full of piping-hot cocktail sausages in a sweet sticky glaze. ‘I know it’s an odd pre-dinner appetiser, but I couldn’t help myself.’ He grinned. ‘Lovely fire you’ve lit there, Alice, how’d you learn to do that?’
‘It all started with an axe . . . ’
In bed that night, Alice turned off the light. Her mum had put a mini Christmas tree on her bedroom windowsill with some tiny fairy lights laced around it, and it reminded her of her nook glowing away in Switzerland. It gave her the confidence to embrace the still comfort that came with darkness (just not pitch-black darkness).
She watched the numbers on her projector clock tick closer to midnight on the ceiling.
‘’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,’ she whispered. ‘Three . . . two . . . one.’
It was Christmas Day. Alice pulled from under her pillow a photo that she’d dug out earlier that evening. It was of her and Jill, dressed in matching Mrs Claus outfits, from way back when they’d got Christmas jobs behind the bar at the local pub and had felt the place needed some Christmas spirit. In the photo, Jill was posing like she was in a festive-themed pinup calendar, while Alice, with her signature red lipstick, was laughing with her face pushed back creating a hundred double chins. It was an awful photo of her but she’d always loved it – Jill being carefree and effortlessly spur-of-the-moment, Alice finding the funny in everything. Even before she was drawing her tongue-in-cheek cartoons and having them published as far as New York City, she’d always had that element to her personality. She hoped she could get it back one day. It was part of the reason Jill had loved her, so she used to say.
‘Merry Christmas, Jilly,’ Alice said to the photo, illuminated only by the tiny glow from her Christmas tree, and gave it a kiss. She tucked her best friend back underneath her pillow, keeping her safe.
She reached for her phone.
Schöni Fäschttäg!she wrote in a text and hit send.
Marco replied almost immediately.Merry Christmas to you!
Merry Christmas to Bear also – is everything going okay?
He’s lying on my bed, snoring and kicking me in the face. So yes, all is calm, all is bright, we are having a lovely time. It’s just gone midnight with you, right?
Alice looked at the clock and thought for a moment.Argh, it’s one a.m. in Switzerland, isn’t it? I forgot! Did I wake you?
No. David wanted to watch theDie Hardmovies this evening – those are his favourite Christmas movies. We only went to bed recently. How is home?
