Their celebration continued into the early hours of the morning.As dawn arrived, Aurelia and the characters gathered around the table to say their goodbyes before they were drawn away, back into their books, until her return.
32
Whenshestartedherdrive to Yorkshire, Aurelia had been looking forward to spending time with Antonia and the kids.As the miles ticked on, however, she began thinking of holidays past with her mother and Aunt Marigold.Melancholy crept in, making her dread what she knew would be a constant awareness of their absence throughout the next week.
But when she stepped out of the car at her father’s house, she was thrown out of her gloom at the sight of Antonia’s huge grin.
“Wait until you see it.”She laughed as she hugged Aurelia.
Her niece, Julia, joined them, followed by her nephews, Owen and Hugo.The children circled around Aurelia, talking over each other and shouting in their excitement, and it took her a moment to finally make out what they were saying.
“Granddad’s a pirate!”
“Mummy says he’s got buried treasure in the garden and I can dig around to find it!”
“What’s this about?”Aurelia asked Antonia.
Then her father appeared, looking sheepish as he stepped out of the house with Antonia’s husband, Max.
“Oh my god,” Aurelia breathed as she spotted the gold hoop hanging out of his ear.“What did youdo?”
He waited for a break in her laughter so that she could hear his answer.
“I had it done when I was in town on my last visit.”
He rolled his eyes when that just set them laughing harder.
“Edward and I walked past a place and joked about getting one, and now here I am.”
“Bit late for a mid-life crisis,” Aurelia said as she gave him a hug.“Though I guess I’m glad you didn’t go for a motorcycle or a mustache.”
“I’ll take it out,” he said.“I don’t know why I didn’t do it before you lot arrived, saved myself the trouble.”
“Don’t you dare!”Antonia insisted.“You’ll break the kids’ hearts.And it’s growing on me.”
“I only wish you’d told us sooner.I would have gotten you some earrings for Christmas so you could swap them out,” Aurelia said, attempting to keep a straight face.
“There’s always his birthday,” Antonia added, also trying to pull a serious face.
“Go ahead, enjoy yourselves,” their father said good-naturedly.
Antonia and Aurelia laughed again as everyone began helping to empty her bags from the car.Aurelia brought Fezz’s carrier into the house and set him free.He’d sat through the ride in stoic silence, insulted at the ignominy of being locked away for a few hours.He was used to the house after many visits with Aunt Marigold over the years, though he was, as ever, wary of the children and their desperate desire to befriend, chase, and pet him.
Soon they were all settled in the house, with a fire blazing in the fireplace and the children moving from adult to adult, enjoying the attention and holiday atmosphere.
The first few days in Yorkshire were a blur of visiting with her father’s friends, spending time with Antonia and her family, managing the children’s excitement about Christmas, and stemming the inevitable tide of disappointment once the holiday had passed.As Aurelia had predicted, there were difficult moments when the gaping hole of her mother’s and Marigold’s absences were particularly painful.But being with her father and Antonia helped, as they either joined in or pulled each other out of those holes as needed.
They’d passed the milestones of the first anniversary of her mother’s death and now the second Christmas and were finding their way as this new version of their family.
33
Evenwiththeholidayactivity in Yorkshire, Aurelia found it difficult to keep from thinking about her shop and her new group of friends.Some moments she felt restless in her longing to be with them again, while in other moments she felt anxious about taking so many days off from writing, afraid that she might fall back into a bout of writer’s block like the one she’d been stuck in before meeting the characters.
Once Christmas had passed and there was less to distract her, Antonia began needling her about her moodiness.Aurelia tried to put her off but knew there was no getting past Antonia’s skills of detection—she could rival Sergeant Cuff.During an afternoon ramble through the neighboring fields with their father’s dogs leading the way, Antonia started in again.
“I don’t know why you won’t tell me what’s got you all out of sorts, Aurelia,” she said with genuine concern in her voice.“If it’s something good, why won’t you tell me?And if it’s something bad, have out with it and maybe I can help.”
“There’s nothing wrong, Tonia—don’t worry!No, it’s just… Now that I’ve started writing again, I want to get back to it.I love seeing all of you, but it’s been too hard to write here.”
