Chapter Forty-Three

Lisa rushed around the living room picking up toys and attempting to make it look tidy. While they had all enjoyed an exclusive guided tour of the fire station that morning, the afternoon had been spent with Callum and Fred moving round the house like stealth toy bombers, scattering plastic debris in their wake, followed by Megan and Alice emptying out the entire contents of the art cupboard in order to make cards for Pete’s mum, who promised to have them for a long weekend as soon as she had recovered. Lisa was in much need of a cup of coffee and a five minute sit down, but, with Nathan due to join her to see the New Year in, she wanted to make the lounge cosy, order their Chinese and have a quick shower before he arrived.

Once she had found homes for as many toys as she could, Lisa decided to turn the main light off and the Christmas tree lights on; it gave the illusion of a tidy room. Flick’s tree was a fabulous reflection of her home and life, full of colour and chaos. Decorations made by the children hung heavily on the branches, which were strewn with random pieces of tinsel in a variety of sizes and colours. Compared to her mum’s colour co-ordinated tree it looked like the inside of a Quality Street tub. Lisa loved it. She touched a gold star and swallowed at Megan’s writing, wishing her Nana a happy Christmas in heaven. Lisa looked up to the wonky angel at the top of the tree. ‘Merry Christmas, Mrs F, your grandchildren are lovely, but I think you already know that,’ she whispered.

About to head upstairs, Lisa was delighted to get a call from Dom to say that so far talks with Winnie had gone well, albeit that he needed to work on her knowledge of politically correct words when discussing people’s life choices. He said after the initial shock and the disappointment that great-grandchildren might be an issue, she had hugged him and told him that his happiness was all that mattered. Having prompted Dom to tell her, Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. When they ended the call it was with the promise to catch up soon.

Looking in on each of the children en route to the shower, Lisa was pleased to see they were finally settled. Bedtime seemed to take hours and involved the words, ‘that’s not how Mummy does it’ more times than she cared to count. Looking at the children now, cuddled up in their beds all clean, fresh pyjamas, still and silent, they looked so peaceful. She felt a swell of pride at her achievement in getting them through the day and into bed without incident, and her heart melted a little at the sight of them. She smiled, until the thought that they were recharging their batteries slipped into her mind.

The shower was refreshing. Felicity had so many lotions and potions, Lisa felt like she was in a hotel as she selected which to use. Taking a moment to relax, she thought about Felicity and Pete, who had arrived safely and settled into their luxury hotel. They had spoken to each of the children earlier in the evening. Megan confirmed Lisa was taking good care of them, Alice rejoiced in telling them Nathan had a skeleton he was going to bring round for her to examine with her medical kit, while Callum and Fred were full of their trip to the fire station and wanting to know when their mummy and daddy were going under the sea like the Octonauts.

Lisa hoped Felicity and Pete’s belated honeymoon would be a dream come true for them. After her day with the children, she realised how much they must need the break. Their children were lovely and funny, but their ability to get into mischief and their energy levels were relentless. Lisa determined to offer to babysit more often once they were back. After all, as Pete pointed out, she owed him after his master plan with Nathan clearly worked out. And, who knew, in the future maybe Flick and Pete would be returning the favour for her.

Just forty minutes later, Lisa got the plates and cutlery ready, and poured herself and Nathan a glass of wine while he went to answer the door. Hearing a commotion Lisa went to investigate. Seeing Mr Chung, takeaway bag in hand and a broad smile on his face, was an unexpected pleasure.

‘Ah, Miss Lisa, they say it was you on phone.’

‘Mr Chung, I thought your son did the deliveries. It’s so lovely to see you.’

‘I make special journey for you, Miss Lisa. Check you OK. We miss you.’

‘I’ve missed you too.’

‘But now I know where you been.’

‘You do?’ Lisa wondered if Harold Martin made everyone aware of the details of her life.

‘You busy with boyfriend.’ Mr Chung looked happily between Lisa and Nathan, his eyes sparkling.

Nathan laughed and put his arm round Lisa. ‘She certainly has been and I plan to keep her that way.’

Mr Chung clapped his hands. ‘I knew you two make happy couple.’

Lisa blushed, thanked Mr Chung, and surprised him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She promised to see him in the New Year, albeit that she would have to remind herself to disguise her takeaway bag from Harold Martin’s prying eyes.

Once she had eaten and had a few glasses of wine, lying her head on Nathan’s chest, the hum of the television and the lights of the tree felt perfect. She felt content and cosy; too cosy. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, Lisa succumbed to the fatigue of the day.

When she heard Nathan’s voice, she jumped. ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.’

‘It’s OK, but it’s almost midnight. I thought you’d want to be awake for twelve.’ Nathan kissed her on the forehead, slid out from under her and topped up their glasses.

They watched as the television switched to Big Ben and the countdown to midnight began. On the first strike of twelve, the London fireworks burst into life on television and Lisa’s phone began to buzz with messages from family, and friends old and new – all special people she had no intention of ever losing contact with.

Lisa looked at Nathan and smiled as they clinked glasses.

‘Happy New Year, Nathan.’

‘Happy New Year, to us.’ He smiled.

Us, Lisa liked the sound of that. She pulled Nathan closer to her, welcoming his arms around her as their bodies met and she felt his soft lips on hers. Nathan Baker was back, in her life and in her arms and this time she knew without doubt she intended to keep it that way. She felt tears well in her eyes and a swell of happiness inside. She wasn’t just starting the new year with the man who had been her first love, but the one she knew she wanted to be her last – together forever and always.

* The End *

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