Seaside Summer Kitchen 5 - Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan

Author:Jenny Colgan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty

When the day of the nativity play finally dawned – the snow was resting, but it was cold and bright – at first, Saif didn’t notice the whispers.

He found a seat next to Jeannie, whose kids weren’t even in the nativity play any more, but who just liked coming anyway. In fact, as he looked round, he realised that the entire island was there whether they had children or not. Flora was hosting a party at the farm afterwards; her mother had used to do it, he’d heard, back in the day when Flora and the boys were at the school (Hamish was always the donkey and happily carried whoever was playing Mary, which to Flora’s fury had been Lorna one year and a girl actually called Mary the next. She could forgive Lorna, who had been very fetching in the pretty blue dress, but Mary MacArthur was patently cheating and that was that. Being of bossy demeanour, Flora was normally the narrator, and not pleased about that either. Fintan was always the Angel Gabriel; Innes the inn keeper.) .

Saif nodded to Flora, who was right in front of him, wondering as he usually did why it wasn’t totally obvious to the rest of the world that she was carrying a baby. Her frame had widened, her breasts were bigger and her stomach rounded. People never noticed what was right under their noses. He wondered where Joel was. Next to Flora was Agot, who was clearly furious not to be involved in proceedings. She was wearing something strange (it was, in fact, Fintan’s old angel costume) and muttering, ‘STICKY STICKY STICK STICK’ in a tone just loud enough to be irritating and just quiet enough that she was getting away with it.

‘What actually happens?’ Saif whispered to Flora.

‘This is going to be weird, trying to explain the concept,’ Flora said. ‘Well. Right. Okay. You know Mary was a virgin . . . Oh God, that really does sound weird. Well, Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem for, like, a survey or something and they couldn’t get a hotel. So they had a baby in a manger in a stable but there was a star thing and shepherds and kings came to visit.’

Saif nodded his head. He knew that much.

‘And that’s what you’re doing? Acting it out?’

‘Um. Yes,’ said Flora. ‘It’s nice.’

A small wailing child dressed as a sheep wandered past with a black nose and a loo roll tube filled with cotton wool for a tail. Saif blinked.

‘There are also shepherds,’ said Flora.

‘Ah,’ said Saif.

Lorna came out and Saif automatically crossed his arms over his chest. Flora glanced at him. He had absolutely no idea he did that, she was sure. It was his way of protecting himself; not betraying the way he actually felt. Flora glanced at the stage. Sure enough, there was her friend doing what she always did: glancing quickly so she knew where he was in the room – in every room –

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