An Irish Country Yuletide by Patrick Taylor

Author:Patrick Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

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Full of warm feelings for the Driscoll family, Barry stopped at the Ballybucklebo traffic light and looked up at the decorated maypole’s festive finery. He had a sudden recollection of last year’s Christmas party. Like the Driscolls this year, Gerry and Mairead Shanks’s family had been new in Ballybucklebo last year and had brought their two children, Angus and Siobhan. The convention was that parents brought wrapped and labelled presents for their own children to put in Santa’s sack. No one had thought to tell the Shanks. But Fingal had saved the day. He usually did and the little ones had not gone without presents.

After what had recently happened at the Driscolls’, it had not been the time to explain to them about buying toys, but Barry had a plan. Medicine wasn’t the only thing he was learning from O’Reilly.

He drove on when the light turned green, found a parking spot at the side of the road, and crossed to Cadogan’s newsagent’s shop. Among their usual wares they stocked a small collection of toys.

The shop was closed for lunch, but the family lived above the shop and didn’t mind being interrupted. He rang the bell, heard a clattering of footsteps on the stairs, and was greeted by a smiling Phyllis Cadogan.

“Doctor Laverty? Don’t tell me it’s an emergency and Doctor O’Reilly’s run out of his favourite Erinmore Flake pipe tobacco?”

“Not at all, but it is a kind of emergency. The Sports Club’s Christmas party is this afternoon…”

“Come on on in.” She stepped aside and opened the door to the shop. Instead of the tinkling of a bell that usually announced the arrival of a customer, the first few bars of “Jingle Bells” rang out. She followed Barry. “Let me guess. Someone’s coming to the party and there’s no Santa present for them. Sure, didn’t I charge back here to try to get a couple last year for your Doctor O’Reilly to put in his Santa sack? Wee boy or girl?”

“A little girl.”

“I’ve got just the job.” She led him past newspapers, magazines, bottled sweeties, cigarettes, and tobacco until she stopped in front of a shelf laden with Dinky toy cars, water pistols, dollies, and stuffed puppy dogs. “Here.” She handed him a slim, cellophane-wrapped book entitled, Dress-a-Dolly. “Wee girls love this, so they do. It comes with a cardboard dolly who’s only wearing her knickers. They’ve to cut her out. Blunt-nosed scissors are included in the package and then every page of the book is a different outfit to cut out and dress the dolly in.”

“Marvellous,” Barry said. “I’ll take it. How much?”

“Five and six.”

He smiled. “Cheap at half the price,” and handed over two half-crowns and a sixpenny piece. “Thanks, Phyllis. I tell you what, give me a tin of Erimore Flake and,” he knew how much Sue liked them, “a box of Rowntree’s Black Magic dark chocolates.”

She filled his order, put it in a paper bag, accepted his payment, and made change to the accompaniment of a loud “ting” as the cash register drawer opened.

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