Page 23 of A Merry Little Christmas

‘Merry Robinson speaking,’ she said tentatively.

It was one of his carers. ‘Your dad isn’t feeling well, and he wanted a quick word, Merry. Can I put him on?’

‘Oh dear, thank you, of course.’ She looked at Astrid, who nodded encouragingly.

There was a series of muffled noises, and then he was on the line.

‘The car’s gone, love. Looked out this morning and it wasn’t there. The keys have gone, too.’

According to Emily, he hadn’t owned a car for several years. But, despite that, the theft of it was one of his recurring worries. The sisters had learned to simply go along with it, rather than correct him; he’d forget about it soon enough.

Merry’s heart stuttered, his voice was frail and croaky. ‘It’s OK, Dad, don’t worry. The car has gone to be mended, that’s all. It’ll be back later.’

‘Oh. I didn’t remember. Thank you, silly me …’ He broke off then and had a coughing fit. She wasn’t sure he even heard her when she promised to come in and see him soon. The carer came back on the line and ended the call.

That cough sounded nasty. Merry chewed her lip. She really wanted to go and see him, give him some reassurance, but with her own health in jeopardy, even she could see that it wasn’t wise.

‘Come on,’ said Astrid, patting her knee. ‘Show me this home of yours.’

‘Home sweet home,’ Merry said, giving herself a shake. She gazed up at the front bedroom which would soon have her, Cole and the new baby sleeping in it. ‘Or it will be before long.’

‘It is a nice feeling,’ Astrid agreed, wistfully, ‘to find somewhere you belong.’

‘Apart from mine and Mum’s little flat where I spent the first few years of my life, I’ve never experienced home in the true sense. But maybe I will here.’

Astrid reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘You know, you have already put down roots in Wetherley and established yourself among a community in which people care for you. You don’t need a house to achieve those things.’

‘I know that. As soon as I fell in love with Cole, I felt as if I’d come home. But I want more for this baby,’ she said, glancing down at her bump. ‘This house will be its sanctuary. A place to feel safe and to always know love. I want this house to be a constant in my child’s life, somewhere he or she knows they can always return to, always be welcome.’

‘You want your baby to have what you didn’t,’ Astrid summed it up perfectly. ‘That’s natural.’

‘A forever home,’ Merry murmured under her breath, her eyes roaming over Meadow View, so named because of the vista across the fields at the rear. ‘I can’t imagine ever wanting to leave.’

‘Can I tell you something?’ Astrid lowered her voice.

‘Of course,’ said Merry.

‘It’s about Germany.’ She gripped Merry’s hand with her other one so that Merry’s fingers were sandwiched between hers.

Long artistic fingers, Merry had always thought. Though Astrid had retired from teaching two decades ago, she still loved to be creative and always had oil paint under her fingernails. How often had Astrid held her hands to comfort her over the years, she wondered? From the days of art classes when Merry had to call her Miss Beckermann, through her early years of living independently after the care system had spat her out into the world at eighteen. And through the many ups and downs of life ever since. Astrid had always been there for her.

‘I made my home in England forty years ago. And for the last thirty of those, I don’t think I’ve thought about ever living in Germany again.’

‘But now?’ Merry’s heart began to pound. She wasn’t thinking of leaving, was she? Astrid had been a touchstone of advice and support and love for so long. Merry couldn’t contemplate not having her in her life.

‘I’m conflicted.’ Astrid shook her head, her gaze drifted and Merry sensed that her thoughts were hundreds of miles away in the forests of Bavaria.

‘Before receiving this inheritance, I felt as if I had nothing to link me to my home country. My family is all gone. But now a strange thing has happened.’ She tapped a hand on her chest. ‘It feels as if home is calling me.’

‘And?’ Merry prompted. ‘Are you thinking of answering that call?’

Her old friend sighed. ‘I’m torn. Fred would not want to live in Germany. His home is here, and his family of course.’

‘I can only imagine what it feels like for your heart to yearn for a particular place. I hope that one day I’ll feel that way about this house, once I have raised a family here. I guess you have to decide whether it’s more important for your home to be with the people you love or in the place that you feel connected to.’

Astrid smiled weakly. ‘A lot to think about, and thank goodness I have your husband to give me his peas of wisdom.’

‘I think you mean pearls,’ Merry smiled.