‘I think we start with adate night.’ She’d been thinking a lot about this. ‘Once a week as a minimum, just you and me. Set a day and we never schedule anything else apart from time for each other.’
‘Even if you have a work meeting? Or the boys have sports?’
‘We can be a little flexible.’
‘There’s a novelty,’ he teased. ‘I think you coming here has done you the world of good. I don’t mind if you want to take anotherholiday on your own, you know.’
‘Daisy suggested I go camping with her.’
He threw his head back laughing. ‘I’m pretty sure I know how that went down.’
‘Not a hope in hell,’ she confirmed, finishing her wine and depositing the cup in the bin along with Everett’s as they began to weave their way out of the square and back towards the house. ‘Everett … if you don’t mind I’d rather not go on holidayon my own. I’d quite like all my boys with me.’
He hugged her close. ‘Now that can definitely be arranged.’ He kissed the top of her head and lingered a while. ‘A holiday for two might be an idea as well.’
By the time they reached the house, Loretta was having a lunch break. Ginny was finishing up at the shop, which would be closing over Christmas, and Everett’s mother-in-law embraced him theminute Everett stepped across the threshold. Everett hadn’t even taken his coat off when he was shown the advent calendar, the quilt they’d thought lost and never to be found, and then they were on to talking at a rapid rate about the bracing evening walk Loretta planned on dragging them all out on as well as the Christmas lunch tomorrow.
The boys barrelled through the door not long after, asthree of them sat at the kitchen table drinking mugs of tea. They had tales of Busker chasing a squirrel up a tree as both of them went for yet another gingerbread man, asking their mum to please make these at home. Fern assured them she would and Everett whispered in her ear that they’d like them a lot more than anything wholegrain she’d tried to ply them with before. She would continue to makethem follow a healthy diet but she knew sometimes she could loosen her rules for the sake of family.
Busker lapped up his water from the bowl in the corner and Fern, revelling in talk of Christmas, asked her mum whether Carrie had decided she would join them for Christmas.
‘Actually she has,’ said Loretta cautiously. ‘Are you sure that’s all right?’
Fern had hold of Everett’s hand beneath thetable. Now they were together again it was as though she didn’t want them to be separated at all, let alone by miles. ‘We would all love it, Mum. We’d like to get to know her, if she can put up with us for the day, that is.’
The boys were laughing as they stood looking out of the window and Cooper started singing ‘I saw Daisy kissing Santa Claus’, which of course had their attention.
‘Whatisgoing on?’ Loretta asked, following Fern and Everett to the sink, which was in front of the window, the glass just wide enough they all had a view.
‘It really is Father Christmas,’ mused Everett using the more common name in their household for the man in red. ‘And that is your sister, right?’ he asked, watching Daisy in a passionate clinch with Joshua.
‘It certainly is.’ Fern smiled.
‘It lookslike I may have competition for the spot of favourite son-in-law,’ said Everett.
Fern smiled. ‘And you do know Ginny just got together with Lucas, don’t you?’
Everett put a hand against his chest. ‘I’m going to have to up my game by the looks of things.’
But Fern just hugged her husband. ‘Don’t change a single thing about yourself. You’re perfect just the way you are.’
Fern knew now that cominghere was the best thing she ever could’ve done. It had made Loretta happy, Grandad too, it had given her her sisters back, and now her husband and her kids. More than that, it had given her back a sense of self by seeing that she didn’t have to do it all, she didn’t have to be strong all the time. And it was OK to be the person who needed help and advice along the way.
There was nothing moreshe could’ve asked for this Christmas.
