Chapter 4
Once the bustling streets of Cirencester were behind them, the snow settled more thickly on the road that would eventually lead them to Goosebrook. Having now grown used to the idea that Cal was married, Mimi said, ‘Can I ask how old you are?’
‘You may ask.’ He turned down the music on the radio. ‘I’m twenty-eight. I know, I look marvellous for my age.’
‘And Cora’s six. So you were pretty young when you had her.’
‘I suppose so.’ Cal grinned. ‘So was Stacey. We were both twenty-one when we found out Cora was on the way . . . we called her our wonderful surprise. And now, whenever she’s playing us up or being particularly stroppy, we look at each other and say, “There she is, that’s our wonderful surprise.” Whoops, hold on tight . . .’
The car’s wheels had gone into a minor skid, causing Mimi to hang on to her seat belt as they slid sideways down an incline. Once he’d expertly steered them to safety, Cal continued, ‘I mean, I’m sure everyone else thought it was a disaster, that we’d messed up big-time, but we’d actually been together for a year by then. We knew how much we liked each other. No, not liked, we were crazy about each other.’ He slowed down once more as a van approached them. ‘What can I tell you? It was love, and we decided to go for it. Make the best of a dodgy situation and see if we couldn’t prove everyone wrong.’
‘Wow.’ Mimi was impressed. ‘And that’s what you’ve done.’
‘Hasn’t always been easy.’ Cal paused, concentrating as he steered past the van and a flurry of snow briefly obscured the windscreen. ‘We bought a tumbledown cottage and worked night and day to get it done up before Cora arrived. That was pretty chaotic, I can tell you. Then, once she was here, we discovered what chaos was really like. But we stuck it out.’ He shrugged. ‘Cora changed our world; we couldn’t remember what life was like without her. And Stace and I did some pretty speedy growing up. We were skint and shattered, but we still couldn’t imagine not being together forever.’
‘That’s brilliant.’ She actually meant it; was there anything better than a good old-fashioned romantic story with a confound-the-experts happy ending? Kind of disappointing that Cal was off the market, of course, but then again, she was the diehard career girl, concentrating all her attention on work. It was still nice, though, hearing his words and having your faith in love restored.
‘It really is.’ He nodded in agreement. ‘We make each other laugh. Life’s never dull. And we’ve got ourselves the most amazing daughter, who’s half girl, half zebra.’
‘Who could ask for more?’
‘How about you? Work still going well?’
‘Going brilliantly, thanks. I’ve been promoted since I last saw you. I’m no longer the most junior member of staff. I have my very own client list!’
‘Congratulations. Well deserved, I’m sure.’ His brown eyes sparkled. ‘And what’s happening with the social life? Found yourself a tortoise yet?’
‘My love life, you mean?’ Mimi did a comedy shudder. ‘Oh, I’m a walking disaster when it comes to boyfriends. Show me someone who’ll end up treating me like dirt, listing all my faults in public and sleeping with other girls behind my back, and you can guarantee I’ll think they’re the one for me.’
‘Really?’ Cal looked genuinely intrigued. ‘Why?’
‘I have no idea. I promise I don’t do it on purpose. My friend Kendra says I have unerring bad-boy radar.’
‘And what happens when you meet someone who isn’t a bad boy?’
‘The kind who doesn’t forget to turn up for dates, you mean? Who treats you nicely and actually remembers to buy you a card on your birthday? Honest answer?’ Mimi waved a hand. ‘I’d probably be really suspicious and wonder what he was playing at. Well, either that or assume there was something wrong with him.’ She didn’t tell him the real reason, was deliberately flippant. Flippant was good; it was the way she’d always dealt with her situation.
But Cal said, ‘Your dad’s a nice guy, isn’t he? I mean, I don’t know him but you told me he was.’ He glanced sideways at her. ‘Was he a kind and thoughtful husband when he was married to your mum?’
And boom, there it was, the answer to her dilemma that no one else had ever come up with. Deep down in her subconscious, she’d been afraid to allow herself to become emotionally involved with anyone who was gentle, decent and thoughtful, with all the good qualities you could ever hope for in a boyfriend, because what if they turned out to be gay?
‘You’ve got it.’ She nodded at Cal. ‘Well spotted.’
He shrugged. ‘You’re still young. Give it time, you’ll get yourself sorted out.’
‘You won’t tell everyone in the village, will you? Oh . . .’ Mimi gripped her seat belt as the tyres lost traction on the snowy road leading down the hill into Goosebrook. When Cal had the car under control once more, he drove slowly over the stone bridge and along the high street before pulling up outside Bay Cottage.
‘Of course I won’t tell anyone. And I know you don’t know if you can trust me, but you can. I won’t say a word.’
‘Well, thanks. And for the lift too.’ Unbuckling her seat belt, Mimi prepared to climb out of the car.
‘I don’t think they’re home.’ Cal was leaning forward, peering past her. ‘There aren’t any lights on in the kitchen. And no sign of their car either. Do you have a key to let yourself in?’
‘No.’
‘Go and ring the doorbell.’
She skidded up to the front porch and rang the bell. No answer; he was right. Back at the car, she shook snowflakes out of her hair and said through the buzzed-down window, ‘They’re not in.’
‘Right.’ Cal nodded. ‘Well, the Parkers next door have got an old shed at the bottom of their garden. They probably wouldn’t mind if you waited in there.’
What? Mimi stared at him and belatedly realised he was joking.
‘Just for a second,’ she told him, ‘I believed you.’
He broke into a grin. ‘Come on, time to introduce you to our pet zebra.’
Keeper’s Cottage on Cedar Lane was decorated on the outside with multicoloured fairy lights along the eaves and around the porch. Inside, there were plenty more Christmas decorations, festive music was playing and the intermingled scents of simmering garlic, onions and tomatoes filled the air. There was also an overexcited six-year-old who took a flying leap off the back of the cobalt-blue sofa into Cal’s outstretched arms.
‘Dad, it’s snowing! Eurgh, your face is all wet.’ Having planted a kiss on his cheek, she dramatically wiped the back of her hand across her mouth.
‘That’ll be the snow.’ Cal teasingly rubbed the side of his face against hers. ‘Have you built a snowman yet?’
‘You can do one with me tomorrow. Can we make a snow zebra?’
‘That might be tricky, sweetheart. Their legs are quite thin; he wouldn’t be able to stand up.’
‘But you can try,’ Cora insisted.
‘I bet Mummy could do it,’ Cal told her as his wife came into the living room.
‘Mummy said you could do it better.’
‘And Mummy’s always right.’ Stacey turned to Mimi with a grin. ‘Hello! You wouldn’t happen to be brilliant at snow zebras, would you?’
‘This is Mimi, Dan Huish’s daughter,’ Cal explained. ‘Remember the one who thought I was wrestling with a sheep at Easter?’
‘I do remember. And I loved that you tried to rescue it.’ Stacey’s smile was friendly; she was one of those people you instantly warmed to. ‘How lovely to meet you at last. Are you down here for Christmas?’
‘Just the next three days, then I’m off to my mum’s place in north Wales.’
‘I bumped into Mimi in Cirencester, offered her a lift back. But Dan and Marcus aren’t home yet, so . . .’
‘No problem. We have a giant pot of bolognese on the go, so you won’t starve. And we can stay inside in the warm while Cal takes Cora out into the garden.’
‘Yay!’ Cora wriggled to be put down. ‘Why are you called Me-me? That’s a funny name.’
‘I know it is. I’m Emylia really, but when I was little I couldn’t say that, so I became Mimi instead.’
‘I could call you You-you,’ said Cora.
‘This is getting surreal.’ Cal clapped his hands together. ‘OK, go and fetch your coat. Wellies, hat, gloves. Let’s build a snow-something before it gets dark.’
In the cosy yellow kitchen, Mimi perched on a stool at the counter and drank tea whilst Stacey made garlic bread and splashed red wine into the pasta sauce.
‘So did Cal manage to buy any presents?’
‘A few little things for Cora. Zebra-y things.’
‘Oh thank goodness. It’s mad, isn’t it? Last year she was obsessed with parrots. Now they don’t even get a look-in. Who knows what it’ll be next Christmas?’ Stacey reached across to throw a handful of torn basil leaves into the pan. ‘We should start taking bets. Cal’s been trying to get her into Star Wars, but she’s not having it.’
They watched through the window as Cal and Cora, out in the back garden, worked together in the snow to construct something that resembled a small pony lying down with a hangover.
‘Look at her, our gorgeous girl,’ Stacey marvelled. ‘Love her to bits. You can’t imagine the difference they make to your life. Ten years from now she won’t care about parrots or zebras. It’ll be all about boys and we’ll be the panicking parents, tearing our hair out, desperate to wrap her up in cotton wool and hide her upstairs.’
‘Ah, that’s ages away. You’ve got so much to enjoy before any of that happens. She’s adorable,’ said Mimi.
‘She’s a star.’ In the garden, Cora was now waving madly at them, keen to attract their attention so they could admire her magnificent handiwork.
‘Did Cal buy anything for me today?’ said Stacey when they’d dutifully gasped with amazement and applauded the snow zebra in the centre of the lawn.
‘It’s possible he did.’
‘Have you seen it?’
‘Might have,’ said Mimi.
Stacey’s blue eyes danced. ‘Is it a mirror with a stained-glass frame?’
‘You can’t ask me that question.’
‘Hooray, that means it is! I went into the shop last week to take another look at them. Aren’t they just gorgeous?’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘OK, there was a red and yellow one and a bluey-pinky one. And I liked both of them but the bluey-pinky one was my absolute favourite.’ She peered intently into Mimi’s eyes. ‘So . . .?’
‘You’re terrible, you know that?’ But Mimi couldn’t keep a straight face. ‘You’ll love it.’
‘Thank you, thank you. And don’t worry, I won’t tell him. It’s just so brilliant to know I’m getting the one I really want. I thought Cal would probably go for the red and yellow.’
‘He did try.’
‘Well now I like you even more.’ Beaming, Stacey said, ‘Thank goodness you were there to put him right.’
Over dinner, Cal and Stacey made Mimi promise to do her best to get her father and Marcus along to the pub for tomorrow night’s pre-Christmas party. She assured them that this time she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Finally her phone rang. Her dad was home at last and had picked up the message she’d left on their landline.
‘Darling, come on in.’ He greeted Mimi with a hug before ushering her into the cottage. ‘Sorry, we thought we’d be back an hour ago, but the traffic in Cheltenham was gridlocked.’
‘If only there was some way you could have called to let me know you’d been held up,’ said Mimi, who had bought him a mobile phone for Christmas. ‘Anyway, doesn’t matter, I’ve had a fantastic time at Cal and Stacey’s. Their daughter is amazing, she’s obsessed with zebras. And they insisted I stay and have dinner with them.’
‘Ah, so that’s the little girl who wears zebra-print clothes. We’ve seen her around the village. And her mum’s the pretty one with the long dark hair.’ Marcus nodded, remembering.
They’d lived here in Goosebrook for almost a year; it was time they got to know people properly.
‘There’s a small party at the pub tomorrow night.’ Mimi braced herself. ‘Cal and Stacey are going, and I said we would too.’
‘Oh, now—’
‘Please, Dad. They really want to get to know you. Everyone does,’ she pressed on. ‘It’s your first Christmas down here, and now’s the perfect time to meet the rest of the village.’
‘But what if—’
‘I know you were worried about some of the older ones, but they’ve had long enough now to get used to the idea of you being a couple. They think you’re keeping your distance because you aren’t interested in getting to know them.’
Her dad looked at her and sighed. Mimi held his gaze. Marcus said, ‘She’s right, Dan. It’s time. We need to make the effort.’
Relieved, Mimi broke into a smile. ‘We’ll go to the party tomorrow evening, OK? If you really hate it, you can leave after two hours.’
‘If anyone says anything offensive, I’m not staying,’ her dad warned. ‘We’ll be out of there.’
‘If anyone does, I’ll sort them out myself,’ Mimi promised.
Hopefully, no one would.