I picked up the cat, wincing slightly at the surprise of his weight, and sat down, whereupon he wriggled until he was comfortable and promptly went back to sleep again.
‘He’s so sweet,’ I said. ‘And I like his name, Tolly.’
‘We adopted him,’ explained Nick. ‘Some wag had named him Bartholemew, but that was too long, so Tolly he became.’
I took my tea from Angela, and a macaroon from the plate she pushed towards me.
‘Thank you. Are you sure Marilise won’t be waiting for me?’
‘Not at all, her routine is as regular as clockwork. Don’t worry, I won’t let you be late. You found the place all right, then?’
‘Yes, my parents aren’t far from here. This house is so beautiful – it must look amazing all decked out for Christmas.’
‘Actually,’ said Nick, ‘I don’t know what we’re going to do this year. We normally all decamp to London.’ He glanced at Angela, then continued. ‘There aren’t any decorations or anything here at Lyonscroft. When I was a child, my father wouldn’t have anything up at all – he said it was unbearably tacky – so although we always spent Christmas here, it was pretty bleak.’
‘What a shame,’ I said, as a stab of disappointment hit me. I may find Christmas difficult, and look to keep myself busy working for others, but the prospect of no celebration at all felt even worse.
Angela reached over the table and patted my hand.
‘Maybe we can sort something out.’ She turned to Nick. ‘Youdon’t mind the place looking more festive, do you?’
‘Not at all,’ he replied. ‘Anyway, I’ll be heading back to LA soon. Now, the Angelinos know how to do tacky decorations! You’re sprinkled with fake snow from the moment you step out of your front door and constantly startled by life-sized snowmen and Santas. One year they managed to string a huge sleighacross the street, complete with eight reindeer and a Santa Claus that bellowed ‘ho ho ho’ every time anyone broke an electric beam.’ He put the back of his hand to his forehead and pretended to swoon. ‘I ended up taking a two-mile detour every morning to get a coffee… my nerves were shot to pieces.’
Angela and I laughed.
‘Well, we won’t attempt anything that ambitious,’ she said. ‘How long are you staying this time?’
The merriment left Nick’s face, and he shrugged.
‘I haven’t decided. Not long enough for anyone to get sick of me.’
Angela tutted as I asked, ‘What do you do?’
‘I’m an app designer, I work freelance. People hire me with an idea, and I make it work. The best thing about it is that I can work anywhere in the world, as long as there’s a decent Wi-Fi connection and I can take Steve. Who knows, maybe I’ll be in Timbuktu by February.’
‘You don’t miss home?’
‘Home!’ He spat the word out as if I had made an utterly ridiculous suggestion. ‘No, I don’t miss home. Home never missed me,’ he added petulantly.
My eyes darted over to Angela. I was aware that I had made a mistake and wasn’t sure what to say next. She gave me the slightest comradely eye roll before speaking.
‘We do miss you. Home is where the heart is, Nick, and I don’t believe that’s twelve feet above a Los Angeles sidewalk with a plastic reindeer. It’s about the people.’
He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued.
‘Your father’s long gone; it’s time you laid his ghost to rest. There are people here who love you, and we believe you love us, too. Including Marilise. But you know best, I’m sure.’
She pressed her lips together and stood up to empty the teapot. Nick glared at her back.
‘I suppose you mean do I care if Marilise dies while I’m away? Well, ofcourseI do, but she’s got all of you, she’s very well looked after.’
Had I heard him right? He seemed to care more about his dog than his grandmother. Mind you, I meet plenty of callous family members in my line of work, so I didn’t feel shock, just disappointment.
Angela turned back to face him.
‘Nick, you’re her grandson. It’s only you, your sister Victoria, and her little Sofia left of Marilise’s blood relatives, and that sister of yours hasn’t visited for longer than an hour or two in years. And that’s always when the family’s in London. Marilise loves this house, she loves you and she loves Christmas. Even if it sounds like it, I’m not trying to emotionally blackmail you. But I wish I could make you understand that whatever happened in the past, you are wanted here.’
A look of anguish crossed his face.Maybe there was more to this than met the eye.I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable as witness to this conversation, but I had no idea where I should go, other than back to the bathroom. I had made up my mind to excuse myself, when Nick started speaking again, quietly.
