Falling in Love by Gudrun Frerichs

Author:Gudrun Frerichs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2020-05-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Christine put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree. It was their tradition to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve like the English Royal family. On Christmas Day everyone went to his or her families. Anna and she were the only ones without family and would stay at the villa over the holidays.

As always on Christmas Eve, they would have eggnog with friends and neighbors tonight. She looked around. The house was ready. Everyone was busy with last-minute preparations. Anna had been out cold last night and slept for over twelve hours, poor possum. She’d left with Thea first thing this morning to have her first baby scan.

Getting pregnant could have happened to any of the four friends. Christine was glad it wasn’t her. Not after wondering whether Stefan was only interested in sex. Since she’d refused to join him for Christmas with his dubious friend Jason, she assumed he would celebrate Christmas with his family. He’d left that night with an ominous “I have to sort stuff” and disappeared.

She didn’t mind. She didn’t. He was just a fling. It wouldn’t upset her. The tears that pooled in the corners of her eyes had to do with the tune of jingle bells coming from the radio and with pollen dust in the air, stirred up by the summer breeze.

Who was she kidding? Of course, losing Stefan upset her, and she hated it.

A loud knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts. She opened the door and stared at a tall woman in an elegant white summer ensemble. Even though a wide-brimmed black hat hid her face, she appeared confident and demanding. Christine took a step back to create distance between her and this woman’s challenging energy.

“I’m looking for Christine Kelleher. Is she in?”

“I’m Christine. And you are…?”

“I expected someone else.” The woman inspected her and shook her head as she tried to step past Christine into the hallway. “Where is my son?”

Did this woman accuse her of kidnapping? It might be the season of love where you break your bread with others and give away your last shirt to a needy person, but this woman evoked none of the compassionate impulses Christine was happy to bestow on others. She blocked the woman’s way.

“Will you please leave our home? We are hiding nobody’s son.”

As if someone let the air out of a tire, the woman deflated, and her erect posture dropped. “Stefan is not here? Where is he? I’m so worried.”

“You are Mrs. Barnard, Stefan’s mother?”

“Of course, I am. Who else would I be? If he isn’t here, where else could he be?”

“Please come in. Maybe I can help you.” She let the woman into the dining room. What she’d interpreted as arrogant and pushy at first had fallen away and left was a distraught mother.

“Take a seat. Can I get you a cup of tea or a glass of water?”

“I thought I would find him here.” Speaking more to herself Stefan’s mother looked around and studied the Christmas decorations the girls had put up.

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