Lyrical Life

Chapter 7

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas - Michael Buble.

 

“You know it’s not really about Jesus’ birthday though right?” I asked Jenny as we sat on her bed attempting to untangle strings of lights from a box of decorations her mum had given us to put up.

 

“Yeah, I mean, everyone knows it’s not when he was born but it’s more about the chance to spend time together and get presents. Not like we’re actually religious or anything anyway.”

 

“The presents thing is kinda based on the three wise men thing, giving gifts to Jesus, but that wasn’t in December and he wasn’t a baby at the time either…” I complained, still not quite able to get my head round the idea.

 

“Your parents really did a number on your head, didn’t they? Look, for most people, it’s just a chance to let loose and not do anything much, it doesn’t have any religious meaning anymore.” Jenny explained again, it must have been the sixth time we’d had the same conversation in the last few weeks.

 

“But isn’t that somehow… you know... wrong?” I was still adjusting to the idea that not everything my parents had taught me was how life really worked, it had been nine weeks since they had thrown me out and the idea that I was still being observed and disapproved of continued to hang over me like a dark cloud although I was trying to embrace my new life.

 

“What’s wrong with enjoying yourself? If people weren’t meant to then we wouldn’t have the capacity for it. We talked about that at Halloween.” Her argument made a kind of sense and we were silent for a while as I undid the last knot in the string of lights.

 

“What do we do next?” I asked attempting to change the subject a little and seeing that there were no more lights to untangle.

 

“Decorate the room and make it pretty.” Jenny replied happily. She and her mum both really seemed to love the whole Christmas thing and I’m not sure if they were just trying to distract me from my situation or if they thought I needed to catch up on all the Christmases I’d missed but they seemed to be making an extra effort to help me enjoy it after the disaster of Halloween.

 

Decorating the room took time though it was a mixture of fun and frustration as I tried to put the lights up high but couldn’t reach. Jenny just climbed on whatever she could to reach as though it was the most normal thing in the world, I was afraid either she or I might fall but we somehow managed not to. When we had finished, Jenny drew the curtains and turned the twinkle lights on just to make sure they were to her satisfaction and I have to admit, I felt a bit emotional.

 

I’d occasionally seen films with Christmas scenes in, though I wasn’t supposed to watch them, and I’d always thought it was a bit strange how the characters always went on about how cosy it made the place feel. Right then though, I understood. The change in the room was almost magical, it went from being a boring bedroom to a cosy, festive, den of warmth and sparkly cheer. As I was taking it in I heard Jenny’s phone click as she took a picture.

 

“That is going straight on Facebook.” She warned me with a big grin as she clicked away on her phone. I made some kind of sound that must have indicated my lack of understanding and she showed me the post she’d made… me looking like a complete idiot with tinsel stuck in my hair gawping at the lights like a moron.

 

“Noooo.” I wailed as she laughed.

 

“I’ve already done it.” She crowed, “It’s adorable how you look like you’ve never seen it before.”

 

“I can’t help it if I haven’t.” I grumped. I wasn’t really upset with her, it was a bit embarrassing to be shown off to the world like that but it wasn’t as though there would be that many people seeing it that I cared about. I half wished that Sam would see it and know that I was ok but I had no idea what was happening in his life, assuming he was still living with his parents, I knew they didn’t have a computer and wouldn’t let him use Facebook on his dads mobile so I doubted he would have a chance.

 

The next day, Lucy dropped us off at the mall on her way to work so that we could do our shopping for Christmas. Jenny seemed determined to drag me in and out of every shop in her search for the perfect present for each person she was buying for. I was bewildered by the lights, music and rushing people everywhere. I didn’t have much money and I really didn’t feel I knew anyone well enough to buy much for them, I wanted to get something special for Lucy because she’d been so good taking me in when she really didn’t have to but nothing seemed within my price range.

 

We were nearing the end of the first floor of the mall when Jenny saw a shop that seemed to sell only men’s ties and without hesitation strolled in, browsing the racks of ties intensely.

 

“Who would you give that to?” I asked her when she plucked a baby pink, silk, tie from the rack and held it up, examining it critically.

 

“Dad. He and Brad will be at ours this year. I want to give him something he’ll actually use.” Jenny replied without looking away from the tie. I had no idea that Jenny even spoke to her dad that much let alone that he and whoever “Brad” was would be at the house over Christmas but she didn’t seem inclined to explain too much, just telling me that they were fun to be with. She dithered about the tie and eventually put it back and literally dragged me out of the shop again, barging her way past people without apologies as she spied an empty table at the open café in the mall and zeroed in on it. She plonked her bags on one of the chairs, asked me to guard everything and disappeared into the crowd.

 

While she was gone I felt somewhat stupid. People all around me were on their phones or talking loudly to each other, but I was there all on my own without even a phone to lose myself and time in. I watched the people as they rushed around. One of mummy’s friends from church stopped near the planter of fake plants beside me, fussing with her bags and trying to arrange them better on the buggy she had with her toddler strapped securely into it. I automatically greeted her as the toddler recognised me and beamed, waving happily and pointing me out to her mother. Mummy’s friend glanced at me and then turned her back, putting herself between me and the toddler, clearly ignoring me. I had no idea what Mummy had told her but I guessed that it wasn’t good as she hurried away, careful not to look in my direction again. It brought home to me how alone I really was in the world now, if even people I had known at our local church were going to blatantly cut me off like that, I suspected that there was no way I’d ever be allowed to talk to Sam again. I let my hair fall across that side of my face and pretended not to look or be disappointed.

 

Not long after, Jenny seemed to magically re-appear out of the crowds, a tray in her hands with tall milkshakes and huge slices of chocolate cake on it. Hot on her heels was Bekky. They slid into the chairs opposite me and Becky’s eyes washed over me.

 

“Who upset you? You look as though you’re about to cry, you ok?” She demanded.

 

“Just feeling a little silly, I probably shouldn’t have come.”

 

 

“Someone from church?” Jenny tipped her head slightly in the direction Mummy’s friend had gone. I hadn’t realized she had even seen them, let alone seen the way she’d cut me off. Bekky slid out of her chair again, exchanging a look with Jenny that I couldn’t read and claiming she needed the bathroom. She didn’t head in the direction of the toilets though, disappearing instead in the same direction as Mummy’s friend went with a determined look on her face. I hoped she wasn’t going to argue with Mummy’s friend, I was about to ask what Jenny thought Bekky was doing but the thought went out of my head as she spoke first.

 

“Fuck ‘em. You’re better off without ‘em.” Jenny said caustically, pushing the largest of the pieces of chocolate cake towards me “You’re here to enjoy and to spend money. Have you got any idea what you want to get for anyone yet?”

 

“Lots of ideas, not so much money.” I mumbled shyly, taking a sip from one of the milkshakes, pleased by her attempt to cheer me up but embarrassed about my lack of money.

 

“Oh, shit, I never thought about money.” She tapped away on her phone, clearly sending a message to someone which was nothing unusual, she was always messaging someone. “Why don’t you help me decide what to get and we’ll say it’s from both of us then? If you find something you can afford, you can always get that too.”

 

“I dunno, it’s supposed to be about what I buy isn’t it?” I suddenly felt sullen and irritated with the whole situation, Jenny was going to have her family round her and I was going to be the odd one out again, that’s how my life was always going to be from now on I realized, I was always going to be the odd one out. Jenny put her hand on my arm and waited until I looked up at her before she spoke.

 

“It’s about caring and being cared about. If you can’t afford much, its’ ok. You don’t even have to get me anything, I’ve had a great present from you already this year.”

 

“I haven’t given you anything except maybe a headache.” I was embarrassed but not ready to let go of my hurt and anger.

 

“You came to stay with us. That’s a great gift.” She smiled. “Besides, I get to introduce you to all kinds of things that you weren’t allowed to do before, and that’s just fun.” I couldn’t say anything, so I took a long drink of my milkshake to hide the lump in my throat. Bekky sidled back into her seat, grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in wonderland which I’d seen recently on the telly with Jenny. She didn’t say what she was so pleased about though she and Jenny exchanged something with another look I couldn’t have read, I was too caught up in my own emotions to think of asking what they were up to.

 

None of us really took any notice of the commotion outside one of the shops though everyone in the mall had to have been craning their necks to see what was going on when one of the shop alarms began to ring. It wasn’t until we were in one of the nearby shops that Bekky casually asked the woman behind the till what had caused the commotion and she told us that a woman had been caught trying to steal things and she’d been arrested while she was screaming that she knew nothing about it and she didn’t know how the expensive bottle of perfume had gotten into her bag or how the expensive clothes had gotten into her child’s buggy. Bekky and Jenny exchanged grins as though they knew more about it, Bekky was busy counting out the coins she needed to pay for her things and when I asked Jenny why she was so pleased about it, she just commented that she was happy the thief had been caught. The cashier lady commented that it was unusual for an older lady like that to be shoplifting.

 

We spent the rest of the day in the mall and I was tired by the time we got home, laden with bags and rolls of wrapping paper. I’d never spent a day at the mall before and Jenny had insisted that we do everything there, so we’d played on the demo models in the game shops, we’d read magazines in the newsagents without buying them, we’d eaten doughnuts from a kiosk and gone back several times to the samples of mince pies in the food shops Jenny had dared Bekky to ask for some of the alcohol they were handing to adults as samples and Bekky had dared Jenny to ask to try on some of the expensive jewellery in the jewellers shop, of course, they had refused but Jenny had actually asked and made a fuss when they wouldn’t let her as though she really were a spoiled rich kid. We even went into the glasses store and tried on glasses, for no reason, none of us actually even wear them.

 

I was a bit disappointed when I found an ornament of a wolf that I didn’t remember seeing in Lucy’s collection she had on display in the lounge, I was annoyed that I couldn’t afford it, wishing I could because I knew that Lucy would love it and knowing I wanted to find something special for her. In the end, found a little hanging thing with a wolf picture on one side and thank you written on the other, it seemed a little childish and didn’t fully convey the things I wanted to say to her but I could afford it and I tried to console myself that at least I had got her something she could keep.

 

Flopping onto chairs in the lounge I guessed that my friends were probably as tired as I was as they didn’t seem to want to do much either so we ended up all sprawling there, watching some sappy romance holiday film that actually did little for my mood. It made me miss Sam more as it went on about the importance of family and romance at Christmas. Jenny and Bekky discussed how hot the guys in it were, between gossiping about other people at school.

 

Lucy was tired when she came in too, it seemed she’d had a stressful day of chasing the staff about to get everything sorted before the business closed for the Christmas break, I think she would have liked it if we had cooked dinner or something but I confess I hadn’t even thought of it not that she said anything like that to us. I tried to make a mental note to myself that I would have to try harder to be useful around the house and not so much of a burden to her. Instead, she ordered pizza, opened a bottle of wine and joined us for the next film that came on.

 

I wasn’t sure about having the wine but she insisted so I tried to give in gracefully as she spread it around all of us, of course, hers was the biggest glass but she didn’t seem to notice when Jenny and Bekky refilled their glasses as stealthily as possible, I didn’t dare refill mine as I’d have to reach across her to get it and I wasn’t sure if she would be mad or not.

 

Becky’s mum eventually came and got her so she wouldn’t have to go on the bus with the things she’d bought and I started clearing up the remains of the pizza while she and Lucy were chatting at the door. I couldn’t help but remember what had happened in the mall with my Mummy’s friend, it made me sad again though I tried hard not to let it and I tried to make a mental note to ask Jenny what all the exchanges between her and Bekky had been about. Before I went to bed I spent some time carefully wrapping Lucy’s present so I used as little paper and tape as possible in case I was taking some that someone else wanted. I spent the night reliving the incident from the mall over and over again in my dreams as I hugged Teddy tight.

 

I don’t know if Jenny had told Lucy about what happened but she seemed determined to not let me be sad when I went down in the morning. I hadn’t realized that she was taking time off work but she was home all day and busy baking things, she let me help and tried getting Jenny to help too but she wasn’t interested, she just kept escaping as soon as she could, hiding up in her room. I felt I should help as it really wasn’t fair to make Lucy do everything so I tried my best. It really was kind of fun in a way that I’d never had with Mummy, Lucy danced and sang along to Christmas songs on the radio as she cooked, apparently effortlessly having complete control over the entire kitchen. I saw a completely different side to her, she’d always seemed like the harassed business type before but she made me laugh so much, that my sides were aching most of the day as she told me whatever came into her head, including some of the embarrassing stories about things Jenny had done when she was younger.

 

Christmas Eve was a bit of a strange day really. I could feel the excitement in the air all day but there wasn’t really anything to do except place the presents under the tree. I felt even more guilty that I had so little to put there. I hoped that Lucy would be happy with what I had got her and understand how much I meant with it. It seemed that none of us could sleep easily that night either, we all sat round drinking hot chocolate and watching films.  I think I must have fallen asleep on the sofa at some point because I know I missed some of them. I woke up with a blanket over me and the soothing sound of Lucy and Jenny’s voices as they talked over the film. I felt a pang of envy that Lucy and Jenny had such a good relationship, I remember wishing that I’d had that with Mummy. The random thought of Mummy brought up the memory of her wailing as she prayed, asking God what she’d done wrong for him to try her with such a wicked daughter as Daddy dragged me out the front door. I had another night of bad dreams and woke early with tears still on my pillow and almost unbearable pain in my heart.

 

Because I was awake early I thought I’d sneak downstairs before everyone else and make breakfast but when I got to the kitchen, Lucy was already there cooking a stack of pancakes. I was surprised at how many there were and asked her how many she thought we would eat.

 

“As many as you can, I want to get it all cleared away before Henry and Brad get here. Jenny and I have always opened one present each before we see them, it’s kind of our little tradition.” Lucy was her usual cheerful, bubbly self but I still had memories hanging over me and although I wanted to be useful, I didn’t want to be in the way.

 

“Should I wait in my room till they get here then?” I asked feeling another pang of anguish that I would be left out again and that I was messing up their plans. My words must have come out sadder than I intended because Lucy very carefully put the pan to one side and came to stand in front of me. She got hold of me and shook me a little in mock exasperation as she tried to look me in the eye.

 

“Don’t you be so silly; you live here too so you have to join in.” She told me with a stern look on her face.

 

“I don’t want to be a burden though, I mean it’s not as though I can pay my way or anything and I could only afford one present for you and I know Jenny is disappointed that I’m not able to buy her anything and I’m just not good at anything and I’m sure you don’t really want me intruding into your time with family, no one really wants me around anyway…” I couldn’t help it, I burst into tears and couldn’t finish what I was saying as all the thoughts came crashing down on me and tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Lucy hugged me close and waited till I finished though I tried to push her away.

 

“If you were a burden I wouldn’t have agreed to let you live here sweetie.” She said softly when my tears had stopped a little, she got some kitchen roll and wiped my eyes, instructing me to blow when she got to my nose as though I was a little child which made me smile a little. “There that’s better. You know, I’ve always liked Christmas, the bright colours on the gloomy days, the food, the choosing just the right thing to gift to someone, all of it, I’ve always liked it all. But it’s not about presents and stuff, it’s about friends and family being together, people being happy, that’s what I like the most. I’ve not known you all that long but I do know that you need some happiness and frankly it’s my pleasure to be able to provide some of it. The best present you can give me is to let me help you and for you to have some fun.” She hugged me hard again before she stepped back and looked at me for a long moment. “It’s sweet of you to think that you should pay your way, we’ll talk about things like that another time, today isn’t the day for boring things like that. For today, just try not to think about any of it and have some fun ok? Promise me?”

 

“I’ll have fun, I promise.” I intoned just as seriously as she was looking at me.

 

“Good, now eat before Jenny gets here and woofs the lot.” She piled pancakes in front of me at the breakfast bar perching herself on a stool beside me so she could also eat.

 

“I couldn’t eat them all, there’s always some left for dad when he comes.” Jenny said from the doorway, I had no idea how long she’d been standing there. She came in and gave Lucy a big hug while she stole a piece of pancake off the plate and popped it into her mouth before her mum could stop her. They both laughed and Lucy said that Jenny could make her own if she wasn’t going to wait.

 

Time seemed to start running away while we were laughing in the kitchen so we hadn’t long finished Lucy and Jennies “traditional” gift exchange, Lucy loved the hanging thing I got for her and seemed genuinely touched by it. We were all still sitting around the lounge, Lucy in her oversized tee-shirt, Jenny in a rather haggard-looking onesie and me still in the pj’s Lucy had gotten for me, when the doorbell rang. Lucy looked at the time and swore before rushing up the stairs, Jenny yipped and ran for the door while I was a little bewildered.

 

Jenny and whoever was at the door were talking loudly and excitedly so I poked my head round the corner of the lounge to see who it was and saw two big men there, one had picked up Jenny like a child, the other had a squirming little dog in his arms. Both men and the squirming dog all had matching knitted jumpers and the dog had a little Santa hat on which was just adorable.

 

“You must be Jo. Be a dear and take Stefani for me while I get stuff from the car.” The one with the dog called to me as he held her out towards me. She was a long dog with the most beautiful silky hair that was grey and brown with black spots but I was a little nervous of her, I’d not really had much to do with dogs as Mummy had always said they were dirty animals. I took her very gently and she tried to wriggle free of my grip so I had to grip her harder. While I was wrestling with the dog, trying to stop her from escaping, the other man slid his arm round me and pulled me closer to hug him as he held Jenny on his hip with the other as though she was a toddler though she could still almost reach the floor anyway. I was rather surprised, and I guess it must have shown on my face because Jenny laughed.

 

“You should at least introduce yourself before you hug strange girls Henry, you might scare her.” Jenny said, play slapping him on the head.

 

“I didn’t scare you did I honey?” He seemed more upset that he might have scared me than I would have been.

 

“No, just surprised me.” I muttered, feeling embarrassed that he was actually worried. Guiding me gently he moved us all out the way of the door so that the other man, who I guessed must be Brad, could come back in with his arms full of stuff. Realistically I suppose that Brad must have only made two or three trips to the car but it seemed like he made a lot more. It looked like he took at least half the bags straight into the kitchen but he also stacked a lot of bags in the hallway, I tried not to notice that so many of them seemed to be filled with wrapped presents. Stefani got away from me in the lounge and landed on the floor with a loud bump which worried me but Jenny seemed to think the little dog was fine as it trotted around the room on her short little legs, examining everything as though it was all new to her.

 

Lucy reappeared with a pair of jeans on and a kind of short dress thing over the top that had a red and gold pattern on it making it seem as though it had been made from Christmas wrapping paper. Over the pattern “Merry kissmas” was written in curly white letters. Jenny rolled her eyes at her mum and I didn’t know whether I should be amused or not. She greeted both the men with a kiss on the cheek before trying to excuse herself to the kitchen but Brad wouldn’t let her, handing her the biggest bottle of wine I’ve ever seen, he marched her into the living room and ordered her to sit down. After pinning something above the door into the lounge he disappeared into the kitchen and wouldn’t let anyone else in. I thought it was strange that he would just take over Lucy’s kitchen like that but Jenny said he did it every time they were there, insisting on doing the cooking and that Lucy should rest. I still thought it was strange, Mummy had always complained about how other people did things but even she wouldn’t have dared take over someone else’s kitchen.

 

Henry and Jenny dragged all the bags from the hallway into the lounge and proceeded to lay the presents out under the tree, I admit I felt a little out of place and jealous seeing how many wrapped things emerged from the bags and disappeared under the tree. I didn’t expect any of them were for me so I made up my mind that when they were ready for the presents I’d try and discreetly disappear to my room.

 

Jenny took up a lot of Henry’s attention though I did notice that he kept an eye on Stefani and me. Lucy had planted herself on the couch with her wine bottle and encouraged me to sit with her, putting her arm around me and hugging me a little possessively, making me wonder if she was also feeling left out. After Stefani had inspected every inch of the room she ambled over and scrambled her way up onto the couch to join us, making herself comfortable with her chin on my leg as Lucy flicked through the channels on the tv, looking for a film that might be near the beginning.

 

Time seemed to slip away without me noticing as I sat there watching the tv and trying not to compare my life to Jenny’s, how hers was so good and mine was all burned to nothing but the few things I’d managed to save. Stefani was such a cute little dog though, they say that animals can sense when people need them and she stuck with me all the time, rolling over onto her back so I could tickle her tummy as she snored with a happy smile on her face. Brad emerged from the kitchen in a cloud of heavenly scented steam, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his tanned and muscular arms. At first I was a bit wary of him because I didn’t know what to expect but he soon made me relax and laugh, telling me all kinds of tales about Stefani as though she were his daughter and generally being a genial uncle like I’d never really had. I mean some of the older guys at church had been like that but I didn’t have any real uncles, only Daddy’s sister who I’d only ever met once when I was little and she had apparently ordered that I never be taken to see her again after some childish incident that she’d taken a dislike to.

 

I hadn’t had a chance to go and get dressed so the fact that I was still wearing my pj’s made me a little self-conscious but no one had said anything about it or told Jenny to get dressed so I was trying to be comfortable with it, wondering how I could find an excuse to slip away and get dressed so I didn’t offend anyone. Before I had a chance though, Brad announced that the food would be ready soon so we should give him ten minutes before going into the kitchen where he disappeared again. I hadn’t even realised that he’d been watching the clock for the right time while he’d been making me laugh.

 

The food was amazing, all cooked to perfection and set out like it is in the advertisements for Christmas. There was so much of it I am sure that although we all ate to bursting point, we didn’t eat half of what was there. Stefani had her own plate which Henry piled high with choice bits for her, cutting it all up small so she wouldn’t choke on anything.

 

When we had finished eating, it was already mid-afternoon and I was so full I could barely move. Everyone seemed excited though and we were all herded back into the living room where Lucy made sure that everyone had drinks before Jenny started getting out the presents and handing them around. If I’m honest, I’d kind of been dreading this part, I was far too full to even think about moving from the couch, let alone climbing the stairs to my room. I knew I hadn’t got anything to give anyone and I wasn’t expecting anyone to get me anything, after all I was just an outsider still.

 

Jenny surprised me by pulling a quite large box out from under the tree and handing it to me first, I thought that she intended me to pass it on to whoever it was for but when I looked, it had my name on the label and a row of kisses before saying it was from Henry, Brad and Stefani. I nearly choked; I was so surprised before I realised that they probably felt they had to get something for me so they didn’t seem to be leaving me out. I carefully unpicked the tape on the wrapping paper so I could keep the paper and use it again, seeing the corner of an ordinary brown box inside, I kind of steeled myself for it to be something quite generic that I would probably never use like a perfume set or something. I realised that Henry was watching me quite intently and seemed excited to see my reaction to the present so I put on a big smile and pulled the box out of the wrapping paper, hoping I could make him happy with my reaction.

 

It was quite heavy as I drew it out and I was sure that he must have re-used an old box so I didn’t get my hopes up too much when I saw the picture on the front. I fumbled with the cardboard lock tab that was on it and couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t open until I realised that it was still sealed with a security sticker, I yelped and nearly dropped the thing, they couldn’t possibly have bought me a brand new, still sealed laptop.

 

“Um, did you put the wrong label on this? Didn’t you mean it for Jenny?” I asked looking up at Henry, not even daring to believe it was for me.

 

“Nope, all yours Honey, Jenny got one last year.” Brad said softly. “I hope you like it, we had to make a guess at which one you would like most.”

 

“You didn’t need to get something so expensive though.” I tried to explain “I can still use the school ones.”

 

“Yes we did lovely, I like to make sure that my family has the best.” Henry smiled as he leaned forward to peer round Jenny who was waiting to hand out more presents.

 

I hugged the box tight and looked at them both through teary eyes and a big smile.

 

“Thank you.” I managed to force the words through the lump in my throat as Brad leaned over and hugged me.

 

“You’re family to all of us sweetheart.” I heard him whisper, I’m not sure that anyone else heard him and I was grateful to him, he didn’t break the hug till he was sure that I was ok and was ready for everyone to see me again.

 

I was even more surprised when several of the presents came out from under the tree as having come from me. The wolf ornament that I’d wanted to get for Lucy was there though I knew I hadn’t been able to afford it, Lucy absolutely loved it and hugged me so hard when she thanked me, there was even a present for Stefani from me though I was sure I hadn’t even known about her coming.

 

I was about to open my present from Lucy when the doorbell rang, Jenny went to open the door and came back a few moments later with Jason just behind her. They stood in the doorway to watch me finish opening the present, they seemed as delighted with my reaction as Lucy was when I saw that she’d got me a brand-new phone. I was amazed that they would even consider spending such money on me along with all the other gifts I had been gotten. I was hugging Lucy in thanks and trying not to cry in front of everyone when I heard Henry.

 

“Hey you two, more than just passing under, you know the traditions.” I looked up and he was indicating something above the door over Jenny and Jasons head.

 

“Mistletoe.” Laughed Jason and pulled Jenny in for what was not just an obligatory peck on the cheek, he kissed her, full on the mouth and it lasted longer than I would have expected it to. Brad clapped and Lucy whistled while Henry cheered. Jenny came out of the kiss a little red-faced and playfully hit Henry.

 

“You didn’t have to point it out, meanie.” She scolded him. I got the impression that she wasn’t really displeased though. Lucy told Jason not to stand there making the place look untidy though the room seemed knee-deep in shreds of wrapping paper and packaging. He picked an armchair and flopped into it, I don’t think it escaped anyone’s attention that although she’d been near Henry most of the day, Jenny chose to perch on the arm of Jason’s armchair. Seeing that Jenny was holding a wrapped box, Lucy encouraged her to open it and show us what Jason had got her, I was a little concerned about what he might have gotten her because I’d seen what a joker he could be at school and I suspected that he would have gotten a joke present for Jenny to embarrass her to her family but Jenny ripped it open as though she had no such worries. Inside was a cute teddy bear holding a heart, the heart had Jenny and Jason’s initials on it. Jenny was clearly pleased with it and gave Jason a little hug as she thanked him for it.

 

The rest of the afternoon was a blur of jokes and laughter, Henry and Jason bantered like old friends, Brad fussed around like a perfect host, clearing up, making sure everyone was constantly supplied with drinks and food as though the house was his personal party venue. Stefani lay curled up in a nest of wrapping paper she had built for herself, her nose under her tail as she snored happily. I think Lucy snoozed on the couch on and off while she pretended to be watching the tv which flickered away in the corner being ignored by almost everyone. I was a bit surprised that every time Brad and Henry passed each other in the doorway they kissed quite tenderly. Just before they left, they took turns standing there for a kiss from each of us. I was a bit nervous about kissing a man I didn’t really know that well but I didn’t want to make a thing out of it and upset everyone so I tried to make it just quick. Henry gently put his hand on my shoulder and spoke quietly.

 

“I understand if you don’t want to,” He said. “Lucy has kept me up to date with what’s happening. I just want you to know that I’m not going to try and replace your parents, no one can do that, but I’d like it if you would let me treat you as my daughter from now on, we all want you to be part of our family and we all enjoy having you here, you can be a bother whenever you want to be and we really won’t mind. Family always comes first so Brad and I want to include you in that, you’re not alone, we may not be your original family but we do want you to be here with us. Do you think that would be ok?” Tears spilt down my face for the second time that day and I couldn’t find any words as I tried to bury my face in my hands and nod at the same time. He hugged me close and after a moment I felt another pair of strong arms encompass us both.

 

“Thank you for the best Christmas present, another daughter.” Brad whispered in my ear. “Welcome to our family.”

 

After they had gone I was too wrung out to do more than sit on the couch and look at all my presents. Fiddling with the phone Lucy had given me I found that she’d already entered several numbers into the memory, including Brad and Henry’s numbers and it already had credit on it. I almost didn’t dare take the laptop out of its box, I’d always used the school computers when I needed to before so I was a bit in awe of it being mine and knowing I wouldn’t have to compete with everyone to find one that worked properly in the computer room when I had homework to do. There were other presents too, a cinema pass, a couple of boxes of chocolates, a tee-shirt with a cute design on it that I’d admired once, a voucher for a clothes shop in the mall, some perfume, some makeup, it felt crazy there was so much stuff. Jenny plopped herself onto the couch beside me.

 

“So how was Christmas?” she asked “As evil as you expected?”

 

“I had a good day.” I replied tiredly, still looking at all the stuff I had been given.

 

“We’ll go see Granny and Grandad tomorrow and do it all over again.” She chirruped happily.

 

“Oh my goodness, I had no idea, should I have gotten something for them?” I panicked and Jenny laughed.

 

“No, they don’t expect presents from us, they believe it’s “all for the children” so we get to go be given stuff and spend some time with them that’s all. It’s a bit of a drag really but they won’t mind if you take your phone or your laptop. Talking of which, have you set them up on the wifi yet?”

 

“Huh? Wifi?” I was confused.

 

“Here, hold this a moment,” she handed me the bear that Jason had gotten her and seized my phone so she could tap away on it. While she was doing whatever she was doing to it, I examined the bear and was being nosy about how well stitched it was when I realised there was a flap of material on the heart that hid a zip. I pointed it out to Jenny when she gave me my phone back and she immediately opened it to reveal a little pocket containing a soft pouch and a note. She read the note and smiled, raising an eyebrow while she flushed slightly a bit so I figured that Jason had written something naughty in it and thought I’d better not ask what he put. When she opened the pouch she carefully tipped out a delicate gold chain necklace that had her name on it as though someone had written it in gold and hung it on the chain. She immediately put it on and went to the mirror to look at it, she had a big happy smile on her face and I felt a little pang of jealousy, wishing that I had something like that from Sam. I wondered what his day had been like and what he was doing but I found the thoughts of him didn’t make me as sad as they had before.