Page 47 of The Christmas Star

‘Bonjour à tous,’ Mum said, taking the lead. ‘Comment allez-vous?’ Still in her beret, she wore bright red lipstick instead of her usual barely pink. ‘Today is the 23rd December.’

Much to my irritation, the video began to buffer and I raised my phone above my head hoping to get Mum talking again. I angled it this way and that but nothing worked. Technology was great until it wasn’t and with Mum’s motionless face continuing to silently stare back at me, I growled ready to throw her out of the window.

I knew to get better reception I’d have to get out of the car and reluctantly disembarking, I shivered in the cold. With day fast heading towards evening, the air temperature had dropped and getting my coat from the boot, I put it on. I walked up and down the road, waving my phone around hoping to kickstart Mum’s TikTok. But up high or down low, it didn’t matter where I positioned the damn thing, nothing seemed to work. ‘There are no problems, just solutions,’ I said repeating Theo’s words. Glancing around, it was evident Theo’s car had come to a standstill in a dip, and I scanned my surroundings looking for higher ground. ‘I wonder,’ I said, as my gaze settled on the roadside trees.

Knowing the hunters had to have gone home by then, I stuffed my mobile in my pocket and approached the ditch that separated the wooded area from the road. I assessed the distance between banks and taking a few steps back, dared myself to run and jump. I counted down. Three, two, one and charging forward leapt as high and far as I was able. With my heart in my mouth, I stumbled to my knees as I hit the other side.

Gathering myself, I got to my feet, dusted myself down and took in the greenery. Approaching what I considered the healthiest looking tree, I glanced up into its branches which seemed to go on forever and hesitated. ‘Should you really be doing this?’ I asked.

I’d climbed enough trees in my youth to know what I was doing and comparing it to riding a bike, dismissed my concerns. ‘Once you know, you know,’ I said and taking a deep breath, pulled down on the tree’s lower boughs to test whether they’d take my weight. Reassured they would, I placed one hand on its trunk to steady myself and putting a foot on the thickest off-shoot I could see, used my other hand to reach upwards. The bark on the branch felt rough under my palm and it loosened under the pressure. It peeled away completely and my hand slipped, forcing me to adjust my position and try again.

Progress was slow. My feet kept dislodging thanks to layers of damp moss and yet more peeling bark. I looked down and taking in the puzzle of branches I’d already climbed, knew as much as I wanted to, there was no turning back. Steeling myself to continue, my heart raced thanks to a mix of fear and exertion.

The higher my ascent, the more my confidence grew and I finally reached a branch wide and strong enough to sit on. Puffing and panting, my legs shook as I lowered myself into a seated position and straddling the branch, I let out a sigh of relief. Taking in the foliage around me, I heard tweeting and wing flapping as birds darted from one perch to another. Giggling at my achievement, I felt like a young girl again.

I pulled out my phone to check its reception and seeing there was some, I jiggled in celebration only to suddenly lose my balance. With my heart in my mouth, I lunged forward, but as I flung my arms around the tree trunk, my phone flew out of my hand, and bear hugging the bark I was too scared to try and catch it. I whimpered as I watched its descent, praying it was still in one piece when it finally landed on a pile of fallen leaves.

Still holding on to the tree, I slowly breathed in and out, trying to calm my racing pulse. Knowing I needed to get down, I focused on the branches around me, but I tried and failed to work out which route I’d taken to get up. My surroundings were a mass of brown and green confusion and keeping hold of the trunk, as I twisted this way and that, I suddenly heard a creak. I immediately froze and wondering what the hell I’d been thinking, my arm grip tightened. ‘Clever, Erin,’ I said. ‘Very clever.’

CHAPTER 32

With no means of checking, I didn’t know how long I’d sat there but it felt like forever. Clamped around the tree, my arms ached and damp had seeped through my jeans to my skin. With the wind getting up, I shivered. A coldness had worked its way into my bones; one that only a long soak in a steaming bath could remedy. ‘Where are the hot sweats when you need them?’ I asked.

The sound of a vehicle in the distance caught my attention and with its engine getting louder, it came into view. It slowed to a standstill and as the vehicle driver and his passenger got out and approached Theo’s car, I stayed quiet. The last thing I needed was to find myself in an even worse situation.

Unlocked and keys still in the ignition, the Smart car might not have been going anywhere, but as I observed the new arrivals’ interest, it seemed things might not be the same for our luggage. Chatting in French, the two of them glanced around as if searching for its owner.

I cocked my head at the sound of their voices. ‘Hang on a minute.’ Narrowing my eyes, I focused my gaze and homed in on the passenger. ‘Why didn’t he tell me he speaks the lingo?’ My stomach sank as I recalled my exchange with the hunter and hearing myself tell Theo I could handle it, knew he must have thought me an idiot; a view I was about to reinforce. I hated having to ask for help at the best of times and wondered if I should just jump and save myself extra embarrassment.

Maintaining my hold on the trunk with my right arm, I dared to release my left. ‘Theo!’ I called out, waving to catch his attention.

Theo spun round and scanned the wooded area.

‘Up here!’

Finally clocking my presence, he said something to the driver and hastening in my direction, leapt over the ditch.

‘No wonder it took you so long,’ I said, my voice loud. ‘I can’t believe I’m stuck up here while you’re busy making friends.’

‘Why are you up there?’ Theo shouted back.

‘I couldn’t get any phone signal.’

He bit down on his lips clearly trying to hide his amusement.

‘But I ended up dropping it anyway.’

Theo scouted the ground and spotting my mobile picked it up. ‘You mean this phone?’ He wiped it clean with the corner of his coat and stuffed it into his pocket.

‘It seemed a good idea at the time.’

‘Have you tried climbing down?’

‘No,’ I replied, having never heard such a ridiculous question. ‘I thought why not stay a while and enjoy the view? Maybe I’ll spot Santa while I’m at it.’

Theo turned to speak to the driver again, who, as if I wasn’t embarrassed enough, laughed in return.

The driver opened his car boot and shaking his head, pulled out a petrol can, the contents of which he used to replenish Theo’s tank.