Page 69 of A Merry Little Christmas

Merry

It was late morning by the time Cole drove into Wetherley to drop off Merry. The town was buzzy and busy, with plenty of shoppers milling round, and the traffic was heavy in the pre-lunchtime rush. Merry was glad to be back, despite the problems which lay ahead. Merry and Bright was her happy place, where she felt in control and confident, and even though she’d only be here for a few hours, it was a chance to be that person again.

‘I love Christmas decorations,’ said Freya with a sigh from the back seat. ‘Everywhere looks like it’s ready for a party.’

‘So does that mean you’d like to visit Santa after all?’ Cole’s voice was tinged with hope.

‘No,’ chorused both his children.

‘Never mind, darling.’ Merry rubbed a hand over her bump. ‘We can take this one when it’s old enough.’

Cole grinned. ‘I’d like that.’

‘Me too!’ Freya piped up.

They reached Wetherley marketplace and Cole pulled into a parking space. The Christmas tree dominated, of course, but the Christmas decorations around the square and in every shop window lent colour and sparkle that even the grey wintry sky couldn’t dim. Merry’s stomach plummeted when she noticed the one store which remained in darkness. At Merry and Bright, the windows were devoid of their usual fairy lights, the ‘closed’ sign was displayed in the door and a sheaf of leaflets hung from the letter flap.

She slid her feet into her Birkenstocks and unclipped the seat belt with a sense of foreboding. ‘Looks like Nell meant what she said,’ she remarked to Cole.

The fury in Nell’s voice note earlier was unmistakable, but even so, a little part of Merry had hoped to see her friend behind the counter, a big smile on her face, ready for anyone who walked in through the door.

‘Call me if you need anything.’ Cole leaned across the gearstick and kissed her, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘Be careful. I love you.’

‘Hurry up, Dad, I’m starving,’ said Harley.

Merry and Harley had a good relationship, but two years in, he would still rather not witness affection between her and his dad.

She waved them off and let herself in.

The shop had always filled her with joy. Tinkering around in the studio with new aromas, chatting to customers about her products, even spending time alone pouring molten wax into waiting candle jars had provided her with happy moments of calm. But today as she walked into the space, she felt nothing but dread and sadness. The sense of pride she used to feel had been replaced with shame; over the past few weeks, and culminating in yesterday, she’d let her customers and Nell and, worst of all, herself down.

‘Cooee?’ Woody called as he tripped down the stairs. ‘Thank goodness you’re here.’ Merry couldn’t help smiling at him. He was wearing an Elf onesie with matching green slippers. ‘There have been customers knocking on the door all morning! I’ve only been given a key for back-door entry, and I didn’t know what to do.’ He fanned his face. ‘In the end, I stayed upstairs and watched Christmas at the Castle on the Hallmark channel.’

‘I’m sorry you’ve been put in this position,’ she said, heading to the studio, putting a herbal teabag in a mug and picking up the kettle.

‘I called Nell, but no reply, and I didn’t have your number,’ he said, following her. He took the kettle out of her hand and waved her to a seat. ‘I’ll do that, I need some black coffee anyway.’

She caught a whiff of booze on his breath as she sat down. His complexion was a bit yellow too. ‘Hangover?’

‘Oh yes,’ he confirmed, lifting her feet up one at a time and resting them on a second chair. ‘On a scale of one to ten, with ten being in need of a six-week detox, I’m guessing Nell’s at the stage of googling non-alcoholic beverages to enjoy this Christmas.’

‘Thanks,’ she sighed gratefully and leaned back to get comfortable. ‘But I meant you.’

‘Is it that obvious?’ He pulled a dramatic face and moaned. ‘Nell was far worse than me; she didn’t even make it home last night, she passed out in the bedroom.’

‘Crikey.’ Merry raised her eyebrows, recalling the conversation Olek had overheard about Nell having sex with him. He’d been closer to the truth than she’d realised. ‘So she stayed the night, in your bed?’

Woody gave her such an indignant look that she almost laughed. ‘Nothing improper happened, we just talked. And slept.’

‘And drank, by the sound of it.’ She believed him. Nell was in love with Olek, a man who oozed testosterone from every pore. Drunk or not, she couldn’t see her friend ever trying to seduce a gay man in a fleecy onesie.

He nodded gravely. ‘Alcohol has a lot to answer for, but in this case, I think it helped her lose her inhibitions enough to share what’s on her mind. And it transpired that she and I share some issues; we had a lot to talk about.’

‘I haven’t been there for her recently when she needed me, and now I’ve really upset her.’ Merry felt dreadful. Nell hadn’t felt able to confide in her best friend and yet had opened up to a relative stranger. Nell’s message this morning was very final, but Merry wasn’t going to let their friendship go without a fight, it was too important to her.

‘It’s not just you.’ Woody set a mug of tea in front of her. ‘But I think it will be a while before she’s ready to come back to work with you.’

The prospect of running the business on her own with a new baby sent a surge of anxiety through her. ‘I was hoping we’d get past this blip in our friendship. Especially as I’ll take some time away from work when the baby comes. Does she really mean what she said, do you think?’