‘Any time, Fern, you know that. And thank you for hearing me out too.’
She hugged her mum to say it was OK, she understood, pulling apart before Daisy came in and picked up that anything was wrong.
When Ginny shuffled into the kitchenin her pyjamas Fern reminded her, ‘Your turn to do the advent calendar this morning.’
With a cheeky smile Ginny went back out to the hallway and her sisters hovered as she pulled the reindeer face from one of the pockets and hung it on the embroidered tree. Fern had had her turn yesterday.
When the letterbox went all three girls saw the newspaper drop onto the mat and Daisy lunged for it first.
‘Show us, Daisy!’ Ginny was impatient.
‘She will in her own time,’ said Fern, although she wanted a look too.
Daisy hugged the newspaper against her chest, eyes welling. ‘My photographs are on the front page.’
‘Daisy …’ Ginny said, a beaming smile for her sister as she held out the newspaper for them both while she put a hand across her mouth to pause the emotions.
‘This is beyond amazing.’Fern grinned, hugging Daisy.
And when Loretta took the newspaper next her eyes welled with tears. ‘We’ll have to frame this.’ She gave her shoulders a squeeze. ‘Your first article.’
Between them all they looked at the photographs over and over again until Daisy told them they’d ruin it with their paw prints and went to stash it in her bedroom.
When Daisy eventually came back downstairs thegirls filed into the sitting room to get going with the quilt again. Loretta had given Daisy the day off, she refused to let Ginny anywhere near the place, and she’d even supplied them with mince pies from the bakery to keep them all going for a while.
Fern was completely on board with her mum’s tone, which brooked no argument. ‘I’d better get dressed then.’
‘Before you do …’ Loretta held upa finger to stop Fern in her tracks, disappeared for a moment and then came back brandishing a parcel wrapped in pine green with a darker satin bow. ‘I know it’s not Christmas yet but this is ridiculous.’ She took the quilt Fern had wrapped around herself again so she could undo the gift. ‘I’ll get you a little something else for beneath the tree, but you have to have this gift now.’
Fern tuggedthe end of the bow and tore off the wrapping paper, laughing when she saw the pair of neatly folded brushed cotton pyjamas in midnight blue with gingerbread men printed all over. ‘They’re brilliant.’
‘Put them on,’ Loretta insisted. ‘Stay in them all day. Relax, no rules, enjoy yourself.’
Fern raced up the stairs, showered, and then dressed in the brand new pyjamas that were cute, soft and,more importantly, warm. And by the time she came back downstairs Daisy had put a pair of pyjamas back on so she wouldn’t be the odd one out, and Ginny had a shower and picked out her favourite pair too.
The girls worked through the day, past lunch, which was a snatched snack of mince pies followed by toast and cheese eaten from plates on their laps, and well into late afternoon. They chattedas they worked and the longer they were in the sitting room together, the more Fern found she was enjoying the creativity. Talking with her mum had released plenty of emotions and Fern suspected that had a lot to do with it too. She was able to focus, laugh with her sisters and there was certainly a lot less tension than there might have been a couple of weeks ago. Fern hoped that she’d be able toopen up to Everett when he was here soon, that they could both find a way to move forwards.
Fern sighed and turned her neck this way and that to release tension caused by leaning over the fabric for so long, added her latest completed block to the rest, and Ginny counted them all up.
‘I think we’ve got enough now to lay them out and arrange the quilt ready for piecing and sashing,’ Ginny declared.
‘At last,’ groaned Daisy, standing up and bending over to stretch out her body.
‘Mulled wine, anyone?’ Fern offered. ‘We’ve earned it.’
Daisy checked her watch. ‘I’ll pass.’
‘Got somewhere you need to be?’ quizzed Ginny.
Daisy hesitated enough for both Fern and Ginny to realise she certainly did and she would not be sharing the details with anyone else.
‘We’ve had a lovely day, don’t spoilit by being suspicious,’ Daisy scolded, but she didn’t seem to be as defensive as she might once have been.
‘Daisy, sit down. Now.’ Ginny said this so forcefully that it even took Fern by surprise.
‘Bossy,’ grinned Daisy, flopping down onto the carpet. ‘And Iwaskidding, it was meant to be a joke.’
‘Neither of us are being suspicious,’ Ginny began, ignoring her claim. ‘Well, we are, but onlyin a we’re-interested-in-what-you’re-doing kind of way. Which is normal sisterly behaviour.’ Ginny clearly wasn’t about to let Daisy get a word in until she’d finished. ‘Fern and I were horrid to you about a past mistake that was just that, a mistake. Your crime was to go out and get drunk, and we might not understand what made you do it or why you hung around with those girls who were so unpleasant.We might not get what made you drink so much you were unbearable to be around at times and your drinking culminated in a trip to A & E—’
