“You could do worse than Ryan Frost,” said Aunt Cam.
Fred rolled her eyes. “I’ve been here less than an hour and already you’re trying to set me up. Help me out here, Mum.”
Bella shrugged. “He is a lovely chap.”
“Oh, you’re no help,” Fred snapped good-naturedly. Oh, it was nice to be home, she’d missed this; she’d never admit it, of course, but this easy way of being together was like a balm, and she wanted to swim in it and drink it all in.
“He did have a hard time, bless him,” said Aunt Cam.
“And yet, through it all, he managed to remain a nice person. Unlike Tim, who had the house and the jobandthe leather patches on his jacket elbows, and was an emotionally challenged fuckwit,” Aunt Aggie declared, spooning sugar into a fresh cup of coffee.
Fred spluttered into her own mug. “How long have you wanted to say that?”
“Since the day I met him,” Aggie returned, without hesitation.
“Well, I have learned my lesson. No more fuckwits for me.”
“Amen to that,” said Bella, mopping up the melted butter on her plate with her crust. “Don’t let a little frog-turd like him make you squeamish about relationships, if that’s what you want.”
Fred felt a surge of affection for her mum. She’d givenBella hell over her lifestyle choices when she was younger, and yet her mum had only ever been supportive of Fred’s daydreams of matrimony.
“Sweet Goddess, no! With the right person it’s a joy. Just ask my old ball and chain over there,” said Aggie, grinning.
“I’ll ball and chain you,” Cam retorted, winking.
“Oh god, please stop,” said Fred.
“I like to pop a little binding hex on Tim during each full moon,” said Cam. “It doesn’t hurt him, but any negative feelings he might push out into the universe are bound at source and unable to reach you. He has no power over you now other than what you allow him to have.”
“Thank you?”
“You’re welcome.”
“And we’ve been working on a little something to help you banish the negative energies clinging to your aura since the redundancy,” added Aunt Aggie. “Once they’ve gone, you’ll feel like a new woman.”
The aunts believed in and respected the mysterious power of the universe and Mother Earth, and they manifested on the moon a lot! Fred wasn’t sure she believed in all the things they did, but equally she’d never found enough evidence to disprove them either. And their stinging nettle soup could cure a cold quicker than any pharmaceutical remedy.
“Aunties, please try not to frighten Fred off with spell talk, she’s only just got here,” Bella said, a wry smile playing on her lips. “So, after all that, how was Krampus Night?”
Fred pondered. “Well, aside from the chasing and thefear and the running until I thought I was going to die, it was surprisingly good fun.” She almost couldn’t believe it herself.
“I’m glad.” Bella smiled. “What a way to throw yourself back into Pine Bluff.”
Fred couldn’t help but mirror her mother’s smile. “Speaking of Pine Bluff traditions, I heard the market is opening this weekend.”
“Yes, the cabins will start going up today,” said Bella. “It’s been years since you’ve been here for the market.”
It had beenfartoo many years, and she was secretly looking forward to it. Although artisans came from all over the UK to sell their wares, there was a comforting homespun feel to the Pine Bluff Christmas Market that she’d never felt anywhere else.
“Will Liam be there?” Fred saw a cloud cross her mum’s face that she couldn’t read.
“Yes. He’ll be there. I’m sure he’d love to see you.” Bella smiled, but it was wan in a way that Fred couldn’t fathom. She hoped Liam wasn’t sick.
Mum would have told me if he was ill, surely?She’d heard of people giving up after losing long-term partners, and although it must be five years now since Claire passed, they had been together for a lifetime. Guilt pricked at her, she should have been at the funeral; Liam and Claire had been like family.
“How are you on cracker orders?” Aunt Aggie addressed Bella.
It was a reasonable query, but it felt pointed to Fred, asthough her aunt had wanted to move the subject away from Liam.I’m being oversensitive, she thought to herself; years of having to gauge Tim’s moods had left her hyper aware of changes in atmosphere.
