Growing up, Guy had been close to his family—or so he thought. His mother’s words still rang in his ears from when he was a little boy: ‘Family is for life. You can always rely on us no matter what.’ That couldn’t be any further from the truth.
‘There’s something you should know.’
Guy braced himself for whatever his mother was going to say next.
‘Sophie has no other family and she’s asked your father to walk her down the aisle. I know you’re going to say, “How could he?” after…’
Guy was speechless, shaking his head in disbelief. He exhaled. Just when he thought that nothing else could shock him, his own father was about to walk his ex down the aisle.
‘We are her only family and for Holly’s sake…’
Guy held up his hand; he couldn’t cope with any more of this conversation. He could still feel the tightness in his chest, his blurred vision from fighting off the tears, the pain in his throat the night he’d discovered Sophie’s infidelity. His family unit had been destroyed in a matter of seconds.
‘I just thought you should know and … Sophie asked me to give you this.’ She reached into her handbag and handed Guy a cream, embossed envelope. ‘A save-the-date notification. They’ve booked the wedding.’
He turned it over in his hands and put it down on the worktop. ‘I will not be going to the wedding.’ Guy shook his head in disbelief. ‘Why do you all want to keep inflicting pain on me?’
They stared at each for a second, neither of them saying a word until Cynthia broke the silence. ‘Look, I’m here to look after Holly while Sophie is away, and with your father being poorly at the moment he needs his rest. It’s only for a short while and if we don’t talk about the situation, I’m sure we can rub along nicely, for Holly’s sake.’
It was bad enough that he was here to film a wedding, which was a constant reminder of what he had going on in his personal life, but now this? He was still hoping to wake up and discover it was all a bad dream, but even though this wasn’t what Guy needed right now, he knew there was no other choice.
Cynthia looked around the lodge. ‘Can you show me where to put my things, please?
‘The bedrooms are through there. Yours is the first on the left.’
After watching his mother disappear towards her room, Guy glanced across the living room to find that Pickle and Holly had fallen fast asleep, their bodies cuddled up together. Holly was unaware of the situation around her, and despite the challenging circumstances and the way he was feeling, he had tried his best to keep everything as normal as possible for her.
Four years ago, Guy’s life had descended into complete darkness. He'd always been a self-assured person, comfortable in his own skin, but the infidelity had broken him to his core, and anxiety and trust issues were now affecting his mental and emotional state. It had destroyed him, and the only thing he could do was throw himself into work. He hadn’t spoken about the way he was feeling or what he was going through, and the worst part about it all was that he felt as though he’d lost his family. People say that time is a great healer but Guy couldn’t see a way out of this situation any time soon.
* * *
With her favourite red bobble hat firmly pulled down around her ears and her coat zipped up to her chin Libby juggled the box of decorations and a mug of mulled wine. Getting into the Christmas spirit, she was on a mission to decorate the little tree outside her front door.
She was also hoping for a glimpse of Guy.
After sorting through the different coloured baubles, she switched on the battery-operated fairy lights and began to weave them around the tree. As soon as the lights were symmetrical Libby began to hang the baubles, transforming the tree in seconds until it glittered before her very eyes. With only the star left to fix to the top she stood back to admire her work and took a sip of her drink.
Hearing a tiny gasp behind her, Libby spun round. Standing behind her was a small human with a multi-coloured scarf wound round her neck, that matched her multi-coloured tights. Her hair was in pigtails and a string of russet freckles dotted the bridge of her nose. She was adorable.
Wide-eyed, she looked at the tree. ‘Wow!’ she exclaimed.
‘That’s Christmas right there,’ replied Libby, looking all around for the girl’s family, but there was no one else in sight. ‘Where have you come from?’
Holly pointed to the lodge next door. The door was slightly ajar and Libby suddenly recognised Guy’s boots on the girl’s feet.
‘I’m Libby,’ she said, wondering who the little girl was.
‘I’m Holly.’
‘That is a very Christmassy name.’
‘I saw you through the window.’ The little girl peered inside the cardboard box and looked a little disappointed.
‘I’ve got one last thing to hang: the star. Would you like to put it on top of the tree?’ asked Libby, reaching inside the box and holding it up.
‘Yes please!’
Libby passed the star to Holly, who took a step forward in the oversized boots and carefully balanced the star on top of the small tree.
