Owen finished his hot chocolate with a slurp. ‘That was awesome.’ He stood up quickly. ‘Right, let’s get this tree fixed so we can decorate it,’ he said.
‘Do you like fixing stuff, Owen?’ she asked.
‘Yeah, that’s pretty much what my business is – me fixing stuff.’ He grinned at her. ‘Why?’
‘Because I might have a few jobs for you.’
‘Ace,’ said Owen, and he crawled back under the tree.
30
11thDecember
It was the Saturday afternoon of the Sexy Santa dinner; Eden was on a pantomime visit with the Rainbows and Brownies, and Blythe and Vicky were in the village hall sorting through bags of decorations.
‘It’s like the crap of Christmas past in here,’ said Vicky, her head still in a giant bag.
‘I’ve bought some new stuff too, so I think it’ll be fine. Maybe if we tip it all out and put what we’re going to use on one of the tables that’ll help,’ suggested Blythe.
Vicky pulled her face out of the sack. ‘Let’s see.’
Blythe unloaded the masses of goodies she’d built up over the past few weeks. ‘Holly tablecloths, a big candle for the middle of each table and a plastic holly wreath to go around each of them. Holly serviettes and some table confetti with—’
Vicky held up her palm. ‘Let me guess.’ She closed her eyes for a moment. ‘Is it holly by any chance?’
Blythe took a playful swipe at her. ‘You’ll never know because I’m not showing you now. But it is the Holly Cross Sexy Santa dinner, so I figured it made sense as a theme.’
‘Or you could have gone with sexy as a theme. Did you know you can get tablecloths with naked men on them wearing strategically placed Santa hats? And pasta shaped like—’
‘That’s enough to put you off your dinner,’ said Blythe. ‘I thought we’d try and keep it tasteful.’
Vicky looked disappointed. ‘I thought the men were going to be topless.’
‘They are.’
‘Oh, that’s good then. Nottootasteful.’ Vicky grinned.
They sorted through all the old decorations, pulling out some tinsel with holly additions, strings of fairy lights and a lot of plastic ivy, and they began decorating the hall. Blythe moved the stepladder and Vicky handed her a length of ivy and the staple gun. ‘How’s things with you and Owen?’ asked Blythe, trying to sound casual as she pinned ivy to the window frame.
‘There is no me and Owen.’ Vicky’s voice was stern.
‘I know that. I only meant how are things between you. He seems to have been at yours a few times since the Christmas tree auction.’
‘That’s because he’s been doing some odd jobs for me.’
Blythe couldn’t help feel a little disappointed. She knew there was history but Vicky and Owen had always been good together and she felt they could be again if only Vicky would let down her barriers, which seemed to be built particularly high when it came to Owen. ‘What jobs?’ she asked.
‘The sliding wardrobe door in Eden’s room came off the track so many times I just left it off, so he’s fixed that and it works a treat now. He put up a coat hook in the hall and stopped the leaky tap in the kitchen.’
‘What did all that cost you?’ Blythe plunged another staple into the ivy. There was no immediate answer so she turned to look at Vicky who was studying the next piece of ivy. ‘You didn’t pay him did you?’
‘He offered!’ Vicky threw up her hands and the ivy went with them. Blythe caught it mid-air. The stepladder wobbled and she clung on tight.
‘You can’t do that,’ said Blythe.
‘You saidyou’dbe better up the ladder.’
‘Not this. What you’re doing to Owen. You know he likes you. You can’t use his goodwill to get jobs done around your house.’
