‘Not really; we got shooed out as they arrived. There’s four of them.’
‘Will they have big buzzers to press if they don’t like it?’ asked Eden.
‘Oh, they’ll like it,’ said Vicky, giving her a squeeze.
‘After all this I really hope so,’ said Blythe, nibbling at a hangnail. Greg raised a hand from the middle of the green to let Blythe know he was ready. At least the rain had stopped, which was a bonus. She could see Sam standing there with him. She wondered what they were talking about.
‘It’s getting dark,’ said Eden. ‘Why don’t the houses have their lights on?’
‘Because we’re going to do it all at once like we do for the switch-on to impress the judges,’ explained Blythe.Assuming everyone is ready when I hit send on this message,she thought, her thumb hovering over her phone. A few moments later Blythe spotted Leonora with four others coming down the hill. She waited for Leonora’s signal. Her heart was racing. She felt like a starter at the Olympics. As if the world was scrutinising her. Of course they weren’t but the people who mattered inherworld were watching and for everyone involved she wanted to get it right. She held her breath.
Leonora raised her arm and then dropped it dramatically. Blythe waved at the band sergeant, hit send on the message and gave a thumbs up to Greg. There was a moment’s delay and then it happened. The display on the green burst into life as decorations around the village went on in almost a domino effect. The band broke into ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’. Blythe was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she became aware of an unfamiliar noise. A motor? She looked around to see where it was coming from, which was when she noticed something unexpected.
‘It’s snowing!’ shouted Eden.
Blythe glanced upwards – nothing. Then she looked across the road and sure enough snow was billowing across the green covering the muddy mess as a snow machine sent flakes flying into the night sky. Snowflakes caught in the lights and sparkled. The effect was magical. She was trying to work out where the snow machine had come from when she saw Greg pointing frantically at the snow and then at Sam who was grinning broadly. She gave him a thumbs up, which he shyly returned.
It seemed Sam had really thrown himself into helping them finish the display. Thanks to everyone getting stuck in they’d done it. Holly Cross had a Christmas display to be proud of.
*
The judges spent a good half an hour walking the village but now it was dark the visitors were arriving in droves, so Blythe and Vicky were directing cars and people. Arthur and his collecting team were busy, as were many other HCCC members.
‘Blythe!’ called Leonora, the usually sharp edge gone from her voice.
‘Have the judges gone?’ asked Blythe.
‘Yes.’
‘And?’ Blythe was on tenterhooks.
‘We won’t know until Boxing Day who’s won,’ said Leonora. ‘They’ve seen seventeen villages and they had one more to see after us.’
‘Did they give any hints?’ asked Blythe, feeling a bit deflated.
‘They made the right noises but what they really thought and how it compares to the others, who knows?’
‘Oh well. We did our best,’ said Blythe, looking around. Happy smiling faces everywhere were oohing and ahhing at the lights as artificial snow dusted the festive scene and a slightly lopsided Grinch sneered over the prettiest Christmas village scene.
‘We did. Thank you,’ said Leonora, opening out her arms and looking awkward.
Blythe realised a moment too late she was offering her a hug. ‘Oh…’ She stepped forward and they tentatively embraced.
Leonora cleared her throat. ‘Anyway, if you want to get off early, there’s plenty of us.’
‘Does that include me?’ asked Vicky, her face appearing at Blythe’s shoulder, making Leonora start.
‘Of course. Merry Christmas.’
‘And to you,’ said Blythe.
*
Blythe lost count of how many people wished her a merry Christmas as she walked through the village. It was the happiest she’d felt in a while. The village was drenched in Christmas spirit and it was lovely to see. It almost didn’t matter what the judges decided because the village looked a picture, people were happy and it was Christmas Eve.
Up ahead she saw someone struggling with two heavy collection buckets and she rushed to help them.
Arthur was breathing heavily. ‘Let me take those,’ said Blythe, grabbing the buckets. It was a shock just how heavy they were. ‘Goodness, these weigh a ton.’
