Phyllis laughed. “I would have loved to have been there. I would have joined in.”
“I’m sure you would.” Declan gave a brief smile. “It was just to get us through that first Christmas. And it worked so welland we had such a good time we did it the next Christmas too. And the Christmas after that. We’ve been doing it for the past ten years, although not everyone makes it every year of course, particularly as we’ve got older. Pat didn’t make it last year because he had work travel. Shona was pregnant and didn’t want to risk it. There is usually someone missing.”
Rosie swallowed. And this year he was the one who was missing, because he was with her.
He’d told her he spent his Christmas “skiing with friends.” He’d never shared this level of detail. She hadn’t known any of this.
Her grandmother was smiling. “That sounds like an excellent way to spend Christmas.”
Rosie hadn’t thought it sounded excellent at all until she’d heard him describe it. And now she could picture it.
For him, his friends weren’t just friends. They were his family. They’d all supported each other through tough times. They supported each other as her family did. They did their best to meet each other’s needs, whether that meant singing carols or walking in the snow. The reason he’d been so upset about her skipping his work Christmas party was because it seemed to him that she was rejecting his friends.
And finally she understood. And she was frantic to continue the conversation they’d started earlier.
“Do you mind if I steal Declan, Granny?” She reached for his hand and saw her grandmother smile.
“Steal away.” Her grandmother gave her a conspiratorial wink. “I shall cover for you if anyone asks.”
“Knowing you, the cover story will be more salacious than the truth.” Rosie leaned down and kissed her grandmother briefly and then led Declan out of the room.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere we can talk. Somewhere we can be alone.” She was determined now, and sure it was the right time to have theconversation they needed to have. “This gathering must be a bit of a strain on you.”
“It’s not.” He seemed oddly reluctant to leave. “It’s good to have the chance to get to know your family a little better. Your dad was telling me that it feels weird being retired.”
Her father had said that? Rosie was surprised, both by the fact that he’d confided in Declan but also that he felt that way. He’d been stressed out and exhausted for the past few years so she’d assumed he would be relishing his new life.
“Weird how?”
“Just that his new life is an adjustment, that’s all.”
“It seems strange that he would mention that to you, out of the blue.”
“It wasn’t out of the blue. I asked him how he was finding being retired. I assumed for someone like him, whose whole life was dedicated to helping people, stepping back must be difficult.”
He’d asked. And her father had told him.
Rosie should have asked him the same question, but there had barely been time to breathe since she’d arrived home and she’d had no time alone with him. She felt a pang. She didn’t want to think about her parents growing older. To her they were always there, always the same, providing the solid foundation for her life. She realised with a flush of shame that she more often than not thought of them as her parents, and not as individuals with the same problems and challenges as everyone else.
“I’m glad you talked to him.”
“He’s an interesting man. And your grandmother is a real character.”
“She is. And she loves you. I hope she didn’t embarrass you too much,’ Rosie said. “She does have a tendency to put people on the spot and she is never tactful.”
“I think she’s brilliant.”
“You do?” She was surprised. Declan rarely talked abouthimself, and the one thing her grandmother excelled at was persuading people to tell her all their innermost secrets. “I worried you might find her questions intrusive.”
“Far from it. She seemed genuinely interested. I never knew my grandparents.” He hesitated. “You have so many layers of family. Grandparents. Parents. Siblings.”
“Is it overwhelming?”
“No, it’s—” He paused, searching for the word. “It’s enviable. You’re lucky. I can see why you love coming home for Christmas. You’re part of something.”
“You’re part of it too now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be alone sometimes.”
