‘I'm sorry … the vision is lost. Or perhaps I'm just confused, and tired … ’
Finally Vera released Holly’s arm and dramatically raised her own to her head. ‘Do you have any wine?’ she asked.
‘Yes, of course. Kate, would you please … ?’ Holly pleaded, desperation in her eyes, and Kate duly led Vera to the couch, promising to fetch her a glass of red, while the older woman continued to stare at Holly as if she made no sense.
‘So Mom, how did you two meet?’ she asked her mother brightly.
‘Well, not only is Vera a dancer but she's also an usher at the Lincoln Center. We've known each other for years, isn’t that right, Vera?’
Vera took a big gulp of wine. ‘Yes, years. We first met when your mother tried to sneak from standing room to a free seat during a Wagner opera. I let her, of course, I mean it was Wagner … it goes on forever … no one should have to stand through that.’
‘So, anything we can do to help?’ Eileen asked Holly.
‘Maybe you could start lighting the candles,’ Holly gestured to the expanded kitchen table and the old-style candelabra she’d also picked up from Frank’s.
‘No problem. Oh and I almost forgot -’ her mother said, thrusting a medium sized box into Holly’s hands.
‘What’s this?’ she asked, surprised. Lifting the lid of the box, her breath caught, as the scent evoked a million and one memories. Tears came to her eyes. ‘You made Irish Christmas pudding?’ It was perfect. Just the perfect addition to Holly’s first Christmas dinner here and tasting it would no doubt evoke memories of the wonderful Christmases of her childhood back when Seamus was still alive.
Eileen smiled bashfully. ‘It’s been so long, I was worried I’d forget the recipe.’
Her mother duly began their task of lighting the candelabra, ably assisted by Danny, and feeling much calmer now, Holly went back into the narrow kitchen to check on everything. ‘Cranberry sauce … ham … cloves … ’ She held a wooden spoon to her head and tapped it as she went down the list. Kate followed her into the tiny kitchen.
‘Well,thatwas a little weird,’ her friend commented.
‘Who – Madame Vera? Tell me about it. Anyway, she seems quite old, and obviously doesn’t have any family around.’
Kate looked at her. ‘You got family on the brain lately, haven’t you?’
‘At the moment, I’ve got Christmas dinner nerves on the brain … ’
‘Can I help with anything?’
‘Yeah, pour more wine – for me.’ Holly gestured to the bottles on the counter.
‘No problem,’ Kate uncorked a Merlot and passed a glass to her. ‘Do you know, maybe you should show the bracelet to Vera, seeing as she’s a clairvoyant and all?’ she teased.
Holly said nothing, but kept the idea in the back of her mind, unwilling to dismiss the idea out of hand. Oddly, the strange old woman had been right about the crossword puzzle, so maybe she could pick up on something random about the bracelet that might help? But as far as tall, dark and handsome went … well, that just sounded like the usual guff those types pulled out to make a buck.
Soon afterwards, Holly announced that dinner was ready, and they all crowded around her table that had been extended with the help of a card table – another donation of Frank’s.
Kate brought out the ham and vegetables and Holly followed with the turkey, stuffing and berries to applause. When the table was full and they were all seated, everyone hesitated, as if unsure what to do next.
As it was her first time hosting Christmas dinner, Holly wasn’t sure what to do either.
‘A prayer?’ Eileen suggested, smiling encouragingly at her daughter.
‘Yes.’ Glancing around briefly, Holly scrunched up her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘Let us … let us always be happy … ’ she stumbled. ‘Let us always … ’ she started again ‘ … be grateful for the wonderful things in life – family, friendship and good health.’ Feeling stupid, she opened her eyes, but everyone was smiling. No, actually – Danny was beaming.
‘Amen!’ he cheered along with the others before digging in and eating.
Kate slipped away from the table to put on some festive music, and before Holly knew it, the whole table was laughing and talking and devouring everything faster than she could put it in front of them.
She glanced again at her son and felt happy tears spring to her eyes. He had a mouthful of ham and was laughing at something that Vera had said. His nana was on his other side spooning roast potatoes onto his plate, while Kate was trying to balance a paper hat on his head. This was it, Holly thought, realising that this was what she’d always wanted for him. Danny was surrounded by people who loved him, wanted to protect him … everything he deserved. She hoped against hope that Nick understood that too, and would go on to give him the same thing.
When dinner was over (and Eileen’s Christmas pudding devoured) , Holly cleared the table while Kate made coffees. Everyone else collapsed in the living room to watch TCM.
‘Ah yes,’ she heard her mother exclaim. ‘An Affair to Remember… Cary Grant.’
