A Wish For Jinnie: A magical romantic comedy with a difference! by Audrey Davis

Author:Audrey Davis [Davis, Audrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tanzanite Books
Published: 2020-06-21T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Ed had enjoyed a quiet Christmas Day with his parents. After the sixth text message from Cheryl, he’d switched off his phone. Yes, he was being an ostrich, but burying his head in the sand was preferable to the ear-bashing Cheryl would subject him to, given half a chance. Not playing the adoring boyfriend over Christmas and New Year was grounds for the coldest of cold shoulders.

Ed had sent her a voucher for her favourite shop, knowing she was hankering after a new handbag to add to the dozen or so she already owned. She’d sent him absolutely nothing, apart from a terse message. Merry Christmas. Guess I’ll see you when I see you, minus kisses and emojis. The later messages had been shorter, sharper and all pointing the way to a not very happy ending.

Ken and Mags always opened on Boxing Day. Their reasoning was that not everyone had family or friends to spend Christmas with. It could be a lonely day if your only company was the TV, and crackers were a waste of money when you had no one to pull them with. Even in a village as small as Cranley, they knew there were many who saw Christmas as an ordeal to be endured. The day after meant some return to normality.

Mags had been on decent form. Ken took charge of the cooking, and the only drama had been when she got vaguely hysterical about the dress that no longer fitted. With infinite patience, Ken had rifled through the wardrobe and produced a butter-soft cashmere knit that he’d bought as a present and hung up instead of wrapped.

‘When did I buy this?’ Mags had asked, stroking the wool. ‘I can’t remember.’ Ed stepped forward, pretending to tuck in the label as he twisted off the price tag.

Today, Mags was resting and Ken and Ed were running the show, with help from Jinnie. As it wasn’t yet too busy, Ed left the customers to sup their pints and complain good-naturedly about the preceding twenty-four hours, and wandered outside.

A couple were vaping, an old man waited as his grizzled dog did its business, and a woman sat huddled over a bench. It took Ed a few seconds to realise it was Jamie’s mum, Angela. She was smoking a cigarette and staring at the sky.

Ed approached, wary of encroaching on her private space. Yet she exuded loneliness, and a vulnerability that propelled him forward. ‘Hiya.’

Angela looked startled, stubbed out her cigarette and sat upright. She wore a knitted hat pulled down over her forehead. The watery moonlight illuminated her face, highlighting the dark shadows under her eyes. ‘Hey. Sorry, I was miles away. Well, wishing I was miles away, but here I am. Fancy keeping a miserable cow company?’

Ed sat down. He didn’t have a jacket and it was bitterly cold, but he couldn’t just walk away. Just a few minutes, then he’d make his excuses. ‘It would be my pleasure. I’m all ears, if you feel like chatting.

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