Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights by Carole Matthews

Author:Carole Matthews [Matthews, Carole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Contemporary Women
ISBN: 9780751560299
Google: 6BF6vgAACAAJ
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group Limited
Published: 2017-10-19T12:15:24.529683+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Danny comes back with a monster-sized dehumidifier which he and I manhandle into the dining room with the help of Rainbow. When we switch it on it makes the noise of a large aeroplane taking off. I hope Lija has some earplugs as she’s going to need them.

‘OMG,’ Rainbow says. ‘Totally deafening or WHAT?’

We close the door on it and I cross my fingers, hoping that it does its job quickly and efficiently, even though the whirring din makes me feel as if we’re standing on the end of a runway.

Lija returns from giving Stan his tea and, a few minutes later, Rainbow’s dad comes for her and she gives us all a kiss and a squeeze before she goes, waving as she does.

Danny grins. ‘She’s a gem.’

‘Would be nicer if she was very quiet gem,’ Lija grumbles.

‘We couldn’t have managed without her,’ I point out. If she was my employee, I’d give her a bonus or a day or two off in lieu. Though, in fairness, Rainbow never seems to want to be away from here.

I don’t like to leave Lija alone, so when Rainbow’s gone, Danny and I stay and have supper with her. The cupboards are looking distinctly bare, but there are plenty of eggs so I whip up a few omelettes and grate a nub of blue cheese into them for some bite. To be honest, I don’t think any of us are hungry. We’re so tired we’ve gone beyond it.

Yet when I put the omelettes on the table, we all make a valiant stab at them. To help the meal along, we crack open the bottle of wine and I pour Lija a small glass. I know she shouldn’t be drinking during pregnancy but she was knocking it back like it was going out of fashion the other night. I will talk to her about it, but now’s really not the time. Poor girl has enough on her plate without me nagging her. I did notice that she’s gone from smoking to vaping, and she’s hardly doing that either, so that’s another improvement. I think.

After we’ve finished, we sit there quite pleased with the result of our day’s work but wondering exactly what happens next. I make coffee and we toss some ideas around, but nothing really fruitful comes of it. We’re all too shattered to think and even a shot of caffeine fails to perk us up.

When Lija starts to yawn, I take that as our cue to leave. I’d stay here, but the bedrooms are too damp and leaky. Luckily, Lija’s room has fared better than the others. We’ve had a fan heater running in there with the windows open to try to air it and take the chill off as this ancient central heating isn’t the most efficient. I run upstairs to check how it is and all seems OK. Then I pop into what was my bedroom but there’s still a steady drip in there that’s half-filled a bucket today.

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