Pulling a stool out from beneath the stainless-steel table int he kitchen, Merri slumped heavily onto it. Diane had arrived just after they'd finished their search and so had taken over Merri's role serving coffees and cakes while Merri and Elsie strategised in the kitchen. 'No, I don’t. I have it on all the time. I never take it off. I never have. not once.'
'Try to think back to this morning or yesterday. Do you remember seeing it in the mirror when you were getting ready this morning? Or fidgeting with it last night?' Elsie glanced around the kitchen as though pure will might just make it appear again.
'No, I...' Had she seen it in the mirror this morning? Normally when she woke up some of her hair would be tangled in it and she'd have to spend a few moments untangling it. Today though, she’d got straight up and into the shower, she hadn’t noticed any hair having got caught in the chain overnight. How hadn’t she noticed she'd missed out one task she did every single day? 'I don’t think I had it on this morning.'
'Okay, well, that’s a start. So it must have dropped off some time yesterday then. We've looked high and low here at the bakery...' Elsie tapped her chin as she thought. 'You went to Nicks' Christmas Tree Farm yesterday evening. Do you remember having it on whilst there?'
'I don’t. I don’t know.' Shaking her head, Merri bit down on her bottom lip. What was she going to do if she couldn’t find it?
Walking across to the hooks by the back door, Elsie grabbed Merri's coat before picking up the key to the bakery van. 'I tell you what we'll do, you go to the farm and see if they've found it or someone has handed it in, meanwhile back here, I'll pop anote up asking customers to keep an eye out for it and I'll go and search the flat again.'
Slipping off the stall, Merri pulled her apron from over her head.
'Here, swap.' Taking the apron, Elsie passed her the coat and key. 'Take your time.'
'Thank you.' Pushing the very real thought that she might never see her necklace again from her mind, Merri opened the kitchen door and stepped out into the courtyard. All being well, in half an hour at the most she'd be reunited with her mum's necklace.
'ARE YOU SURE NOTHING'Sbeen handed in? Even just the pendant?' Merri shoved her hands in her pockets as she spoke to a woman sporting the name tag of Janet who she'd found in the shop inside one of the barns. The farm was a stark contrast to when she'd visited yesterday evening. Yesterday the courtyard had been swarming with people excited to buy decorations, trees, toing and frying to craft classes or generally just enjoying the festive ambience with a hot chocolate to hand whereas this morning the place was relatively quiet. As she walked through the courtyard, she'd seen a handful of customers searching for the gifts at the stalls and a few people entering the marquee. Even in here, she was only one of four people, the others looking at the decorations being sold.
'I'm sure. The only thing we had handed in yesterday was this.' Janet reached inside the box marked Lost Property which she'd fetched from a cupboard behind the till and held up a tiny yellow teddy bear. 'We've not had a necklace or any jewellery come to that handed in for weeks, I’m afraid.'
'Could someone have handed it in somewhere else? I can check in the marquee and behind the stalls?' Merri shifted from foot to foot.
Janet shook her head. 'It all comes here. Everyone who works here whether they're a permanent member of staff or if they're running one of the stalls, knows that lost property needs to be handed straight into the shop. And it goes straight into this box here.'
'Are you sure?' Standing on her tiptoes, Merri peered over the counter. 'Could it have fallen out of the box maybe?'
Shaking her head, Janet replaced the lid. 'I can ask everyone to keep an eye out for you. It might turn up over the next few days.'
Swallowing as a lump formed in her throat, Merri nodded. 'Okay, thanks.'
'No worries. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.' turning, Janet returned the box to the cupboard.
Shoving her hands in her pockets, Merri walked quickly out of the shop, keeping her head low to avoid catching the eyes of anyone she passed. That was it. it was gone.
'Merri!' Felix's cheerful voice cut through her thoughts.
Snapping her head up, Merri paused by the door as Felix entered the shop. 'Hi.'
'I thought we'd said we'd go on our date this evening? Have I got the time wrong?' Felix frowned.
'No, no. I'm not here for... ' She pointed to her neckline. 'I lost my necklace yesterday and I hoped it had been handed in here.'
'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Have you checked with Janet behind the till?'
'Yep. It's not there. It's not been handed in.' She glanced back towards the villa area where Janet was now serving a couple for customers.
'Could it be at the bakery?'
'Maybe. I mean, we've looked. We've searched for it and haven’t found it, but it could be.' She tugged at her scarf. It suddenly felt too tight and the warm heated air inside the shop too stifling. She needed to get out. She indicated the door. 'I'm going to go and see if it dropped someplace.'
'I'll come and help you look.' He glanced down at the clipboard in his hand. 'I just need to pop this away and I'll come and find you.'
'Thanks.' Without waiting for him to say anything else, Merri pushed open the door and stepped outside, taking big gulps of the fresh cold air. Pausing just outside, she looked wildly around the courtyard. Where should she start? Yes, she'd spent a lot of time standing by the wreath stall, but she'd also had a wander around. And then there was the long sweeping pathway from the car park to the courtyard.
She wasn’t going to find it, was she? At all. After twenty odd years of keeping it safe, of wearing the necklace, of feeling somehow closer to the mum she’d never known, and it was gone. Just like that, it was gone. And she'd never be belt o replace it. Her dad had inevitably passed on her mum's belongings before she'd been old enough to really understand, before she'd been old enough to think to ask to keep anything of her mum's. She only had the pendant because her mum had bought it for her whilst she'd been pregnant with Merri. Her dad had waited until her thirtieth birthday to tell her how much her mum had loved Christmas and given her the necklace. From then on things had begun to make sense. The way her ad breezed over the festive season as though it were merely an inconvenience rather than anything to celebrate, the way her dad had always avoided going anywhere like this. It must have been too painful for him.
Walking toward the middle of the courtyard, she stopped and spun slowly on the spot, searching the flagstone around her.Reaching up, she swiped the back of her hands across her cheeks as the tears begin to fall.
