“Why me?” Rosie grumbled. “Why is it always me who ends up cooking bacon? I’m the vegetarian of the family.”
Percy trotted to the kitchen door and barked.
Hayley decided this whole thing would be easier if she had something to do. “Why don’t I cook the bacon?” She stood up and Rosie handed her a pan.
“That would be appreciated. Stop barking, Percy!”
Jenny frowned. “Hayley is a guest.”
“No, she’s not.” Rosie pulled a packet of bacon from the fridge, holding it away from herself between finger and thumb before passing it to Hayley with a shudder. “She’s family now, and if she doesn’t mind cooking bacon, that’s going to make her my favourite sister-in-law.”
Hayley took the bacon. “How long have you been vegetarian?”
“Ever since I realised that roast chicken was actually a chicken.”
“She was seven years old,” Jenny said. “She cried. We had to have a funeral for the carcass. And all she ate for the next three years was margarita pizza. That’s Rosie for you.” She handed Hayley an apron. “Wear that, honey. Your jumper is too pretty to spoil. Percy, please stop barking. Next time we decide to get a pet it’s going to be a goldfish.”
Jamie walked across to Hayley and curved a hand over her shoulder. “Did you miss me?”
Yes, she’d missed him, which was unsettling given that he’d been gone for only just over an hour. She wanted to turn into him and press her lips to his, but she was conscious of all the other people in the room. Keeping her hands off him in public might be the biggest challenge of the holidays.
“Yuck. Enough.” Rosie smacked her brother on the shoulder. “I know you’re newlyweds, but if you want to slobber, do it outside. Percy! What iswrongwith the dog? Jamie and I took him out an hour ago.” She opened the door between the kitchen and the hallway and Percy shot out of the room, tail wagging. “Oh, a car is arriving. That’s why he was barking. He’s such a good guard dog and we ignored him. Sorry, Percy. You are a clever, wonderful dog and you deserve better humans in your life. I’m going to spend the rest of Christmas making it up to you.”
“A car? That will be Granny and Grandad.” Jenny put down the plates she was holding and started rushing around the kitchen, clearing the surfaces. “They’re early. And I’m not ready.”
“They’re family,” Rosie said logically. “How ready do you need to be?”
“Readier than I am. I need to look relaxed and in control, otherwise your grandmother will worry that having them here is all too much. The first thing she’ll say is ‘are we too early?I’m worried we’re making too much work for you. We don’t have to stay for Christmas. We could come over for the day.’ You know what they’re like.” She whisked off her apron and smoothed her hair. “Do I look relaxed?”
Rosie stole a berry from the bowl and studied her. “Honestly? No. You look stressed out of your mind.”
“Really?” Jenny looked even more stressed. “Jamie, can you go and help with their luggage? Delay them if you can. My parents live close by,” she told Hayley, “but at Christmas they always come to us, although I did expect us to have a little more time to prepare before they arrived. Still, at least we’re dressed. There was one year when I was still in my nightdress. We started doing it when the children were little, and it has become something of a family tradition.”
Family tradition. Something she knew nothing about.
Hayley waited for the bacon to sizzle and brown, feeling nothing but admiration for Jenny. She was clearly stressed by the early arrival, but she didn’t want her parents to know. She wanted them to feel welcome and wanted. It made her wonder again what Jenny really thought about Jamie’s shock announcement. She was obviously a master at hiding her true feelings. Was that what she’d done last night?
But that wasn’t her main worry right now. She’d barely got used to the family she’d already met and now she was about to meet more. It was daunting, mostly because she didn’t know what her role was. She wished there was an instruction manual for new family members.
The effort to appear relaxed and at home was exhausting.
“Did you tell Granny about Jamie and Hayley?” Rosie took a final gulp of her coffee before putting it back down on the countertop. “I mean because she’s eighty-five and probably shouldn’t be subjected to big shocks at her stage of life. It isn’t kind.”
There was another blast of cold air as Jamie’s father came into the kitchen.
“Do not say things like ‘her stage of life’ when your grandmother is within hearing. Eighty-five is the new fifty,” her mother said, “and yes, I called her this morning to share the exciting news. I thought it was better that way. Come to think of it, that’s probably why she’s early.”
Exciting news.
Feeling her cheeks flush, Hayley flipped the bacon.
Jamie definitely should have told his family in advance of their arrival.
“If Granny is tactless, don’t be offended,” Rosie warned Hayley. “She says it’s her age, but Mum says she has always been like that.”
“She did have a habit of speaking her mind, that’s true. This isn’t the time, but when we’re on our own ask me to tell you the story of the school Christmas baking competition when I was twelve.” Jenny pulled two loaves of fresh bread out of the oven and put them on a wooden board in the middle of the table. “Rosie, could you grab some of that strawberry jam I made in the summer, please? It’s on the top shelf. And slice the bread. Whatever people don’t eat for breakfast we’ll have for lunch. I made a spicy parsnip soup yesterday.”
“I’m going to say hello to Granny. I’ll slice the bread in a minute.” Rosie vanished from the room.
