‘There’s no chance of Alec and me being a couple now. But I don’t know why he didn’t simply tell me about his dead wife.’
‘Maybe for the same silly reason you didn’t simply tell Paul you weren’t interested. He wasn’t thinking straight.’
‘He thought you knew,’ said Marcus. ‘If he speaks to me again, which I believe he will because I’ve already sent him an email explaining, and Adele has signed it saying she’s fine with what happened, I’ll tell him once more that you had no knowledge of his marital status. I have put that in the email but it’s not the same as saying something face to face.’
‘Thanks, Marcus. You’re a good friend.’
‘Just don’t ask me to kiss you ever again,’ He threw me an amused stare.
‘No, don’t,’ said Adele.
‘I promise I won’t. But could I ask you both to help me with my Christmas tree, please? The one for the sitting room. I’m having it delivered tomorrow but I’m not feeling as festive as I should and I could do with some company while I’m decorating it. I know I didn’t help you, and I’m sorry. This is selfish, I know.’
‘We’ll gladly help,’ said Marcus.
‘And I’ll bake some cinnamon cookies,’ said Adele.
‘I’ll bring wine,’ added Marcus. ‘I could invite Alec and see if he’ll come. I could say Melody is welcome.’
‘No. I think he needs some time to see how he feels,’ I said. ‘And to see that you and Adele are fine, and that we’re all still friends.’
I didn’t think I’d see Alec again for a while – if at all, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw him on Saturday at the Fairlight Bay Christmas Market.
I was feeling happier and more festive having put the Christmas tree up in my sitting room on Friday with help from Adele and Marcus. We’d played Christmas music, and sang along with all the songs we knew. We’d eaten festive treatslike Adele’s cinnamon cookies and some of my own Christmas cookies, plus sausage rolls, mince pies, chocolate log, and various festive-themed cheeses. We’d drunk Marcus’ wine, as well as some port with the cheeses, and that might have added to my mellow feeling on Saturday morning.
I’d taken photos of the finished tree on Friday, and all the decorations on the outside of all three cottages, and sent them to Madi, and she’d sent several photos of the decorations at Apple Orchard Farm. It was as beautiful this year as it had been last year.
The cottages on Midwinter Lane looked truly sensational this year, now that Adele and Marcus had gone to great lengths to make their cottages both as bright and as Christmassy as possible. Adele might have been struggling financially but both myself and Marcus gave her decorations to put up on Far Cottage, and once the local authority had also hung festive wreaths on the lampposts on the lane, this part of Midwinter Ridge was warm and bright and beautiful.
I was ensuring my display of Christmas decorations on my stall at the Fairlight Bay Christmas Market was as welcoming and enticing to shoppers as I could possibly make it, when Alec’s daughter, Melody came bounding up to my stall. I recognised her immediately.
‘Hello, again,’ I said looking around for her dad, who was nowhere to be seen. ‘Who are you here with today?’
‘Daddy’s friend. You look pretty. Are those earrings for sale?’ She was pointing to my dancing reindeer earrings.
‘Yes. There’s a stall in this market that sells them. I’m not sure where it is today but it will definitely be here somewhere. Who’s your daddy’s friend? And where are they?’
She spun around on the spot and held her arm aloft waving her hand as if she were holding a wand.
‘Erm … Somewhere.’ She shrugged. ‘We were walking towards your stall and she said she wanted to stop and look at some pretty soaps and that I should look too. But I wanted to come and see your Christmas decorations.’
‘She? Your daddy’s friend is a woman?’
‘Uh-huh. But she’s not as pretty as you.’ She tipped her head to one side. ‘What’s the difference between a friend and a special friend?’ She picked up another reindeer decoration and hugged it to her. ‘This is so pretty. I’m going to ask if I can have it.’
‘A friend and a special friend? Well, a friend is someone a person knows and likes. A special friend is someone that person likes a lot. Like a best friend. Or a girlfriend. Why do you ask? Is this woman a special friend of your daddy’s?’
‘Oh no!’ She shook her head vehemently. ‘She’s a friend Daddy pays to look after me when he’s working and when Nanna and Granddad can’t.’
I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Oh. A baby sitter, you mean?’ She glowered at me and I added hastily, ‘No. Not a baby sitter. You’re not a baby, are you? You’re a young lady. So she’s your friend too.’
Melody shrugged. ‘A friend, yes. But not a special friend.’
‘Does your daddy have any special friends?’
Okay. I know I shouldn’t have been putting his daughter through an inquisition, but how else was I going to find out?
Again she shook her head. ‘No. Not at the moment. He said he thought you might be a special friend when he told me about you on Monday, but now he says he was mistaken.’
