The Mince Pie Mix-Up Read online

  ‘I’ll do it!’ Abby thrust her arm in the air while giving Calvin a snide sideways glance.

  ‘No, it’s fine.’ Calvin didn’t particularly want to run the refreshment table but he’d do anything to get Abby’s back up. ‘I’m happy to help.’

  ‘Oh.’ Mrs Ephron looked from Abby to Calvin before dropping her gaze down to her agenda. ‘Why don’t we split the task? One of you can man the station before the performance and the other after. How does that sound?’

  Abby thrust her arm in the air again. ‘I’ll go first!’

  ‘Okay.’ Mrs Ephron made a note and moved on to the next task of selling raffle tickets on the door. ‘The next agenda item is the Christmas fair, which I know we are all looking forward to.’ Mrs Ephron gave a twinkly laugh. ‘Most of the stalls have been taken care of but we need to sort out the bake sale stall. The school cook usually takes care of the baking but she broke her wrist while on the sauce at the weekend – which you didn’t hear from me – so that won’t be possible this time.’

  Abby almost leapt out of her seat as she thrust her arm in the air once more. ‘I’ll do it!’

  ‘Good. Thank you, Mrs Frost.’ Mrs Ephron ticked the item off the list while Abby sneered across at Calvin.

  ‘I know this gorgeous little bakery over in Woodgate,’ Abby told the group. ‘Their red velvet cupcakes are to die for. My friend hired them for her summer garden party last year and the cakes were amazing.’

  Mrs Ephron paused, her pen poised over the next item on the agenda. ‘You’re not going to bake them yourself? It’s just we have a tradition here at Perrin Street Primary to sell only handmade gifts and products at the Christmas fair.’

  ‘Oh.’ Abby sank back down into her seat. ‘You see, I’m no good at actually baking. But nobody would know, would they?’

  Mrs Ephron shook her head. ‘No, I’m sorry. That just won’t do.’ She turned to Calvin and adopted her best persuasive look. ‘Mrs Neil, you work over at the village tea room, don’t you? And I hear you help out with the baking.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Calvin replied quietly. What was he getting himself into?

  ‘It would be simply wonderful if you could help out.’ Mrs Ephron’s lips spread out into an angelic smile, the kind she usually reserved for the school governors.

  ‘No!’ Abby cried. ‘I want to do the bake sale stall!’ She stamped the heel of her designer boot on the floor to emphasise her point.

  ‘Then that’s settled.’ Mrs Ephron made another note. ‘Mrs Neil, you’ll bake the cakes. Mrs Frost, you’ll sell them on the day.’

  Abby’s mouth dropped open. ‘I have to sell her cakes?’ But Mrs Ephron had already moved on to the matter of posters and who would be able to post them around the village.

  ‘Thank you all for coming,’ Mrs Ephron said as the meeting came to a close. Calvin grabbed his coat and handbag and fled the building before he was tasked with anything else. Rushing across the village, he picked Charlie up from Rainbows before returning home to deliver the bad news that Judy would have to teach him how to bake more than mince pies. But he didn’t get the chance to utter a word as Judy gasped at the sight of him.

  ‘Have you been walking around like that all day?’ Her face crumpled from one of shock to mortification. ‘Calvin, you’ve made me look like a hooker.’

  Chapter Fifteen:

  Man Trouble

  The temperature had dropped dramatically overnight, causing the windscreen of the car to be even more obscured by ice. It took the car engine running for twenty minutes, an ice scraper and every single ounce of Judy’s patience to clear it enough to drive safely. With the extra time taken to de-ice the car as well as giving Calvin another, more extensive make-up lesson, Judy arrived at the B&R Marketing office late and cranky and in dire need of coffee. What she got instead was a lecture and spittle-shower from Perry.

  ‘Francesco Benvenuti is visiting this office in two days.’ Perry thrust his finger at the ground to emphasise his point. ‘Get your Feliz Navidad act together, Neil!’

  Calvin had suggested replacing Perry’s frequent use of profanities with festive words and he was right – it did help. Judy would much rather be called a stupid fir tree caroller than the alternative.

  ‘You.’ Perry thrust a finger at Sarah. ‘Bring me the Benvenuti research. Francesco wants to have a gander before Friday’s presentation and I need to have a look and make sure you haven’t Comet-ed the whole thing up first.’

  Perry stormed out of the office, slamming the door as he went. Working with Perry was like working with Scott sometimes. Judy wondered if Perry’s bedroom was filled with dirty mugs too.

  ‘Are you okay?’ she asked Sarah as she passed with a file full of the Benvenuti research she’d carried out over the past few weeks. Being yelled at by Perry was enough to dampen anybody’s mood but Sarah looked especially glum that morning.

  Sarah gave a brief smile. ‘Yeah. I guess.’ She shuffled out of the office with the Benvenuti file. Judy took out her own copy of the research and stared down at it. From what she could gather, Benvenuti was a software development company, headed by Francesco Benvenuti. They were gearing up to launch their new project management app, Project: Planet, which claimed the user could ‘plan their world in the palm of their hand’.

  If only it were that easy. Judy could do with all the help she could get when it came to running her family.

  Judy had a read through of the research once again, holding in a heavy sigh. She should be making notes for the presentation at the very least but she wasn’t inspired by what was in front of her at all and the most productive thing she’d done this week so far was tidy up Calvin’s desk. She’d managed to locate the desk calendar she’d bought him, stuffed at the very back of the bottom drawer. She’d had a flick through and Calvin had evidently used the calendar up until mid-January before abandoning it to the drawer.

  Judy’s eyes felt like they were bleeding after a morning of reading the Benvenuti research and campaign notes over and over again. She needed to get out of the office, even if it was for only half an hour.

  ‘Sarah?’ Judy had gathered the reams and reams of papers and shoved them in the bottom drawer before approaching Sarah’s desk. ‘Do you fancy going out for lunch?’

  ‘Absolutely.’ Sarah grinned at Judy as she too shoved her work out of sight. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

  They chose a pub around the corner from the B&R office that was cheap yet cheerful. The windows twinkled brightly with fairy lights and tinsel was draped in every conceivable place. It was eight days until Christmas, which was strangely both tantalisingly close and agonisingly far away. Judy hadn’t wished for Christmas to come so hard since she was a little girl waiting for the arrival of Santa.

  ‘How’s the presentation coming along?’ Sarah asked once they were seated with their drinks and sandwiches.

  Judy shook her head. ‘I don’t want to even think about it.’ Her head was going to explode, she was sure. No wonder Calvin could be cranky when he arrived home from work. She’d only experienced two and a half days of it and she was ready to crack. The worst part of it was, she’d studied for a career like this, had worked so hard even during the morning sickness stages of her pregnancy. She’d been glad that she’d finished her degree before Scott was born because that way she could kick-start her career again once he was in school. Except it hadn’t worked out like that at all. She was pregnant again by the time she felt ready to enter the world of working mothers, and childcare became even trickier once Charlie was born. That’s why she’d started waitressing at The Green Teapot for a few hours a day when Charlie started nursery, increasing her hours when she started full-time at school. She found that she enjoyed baking and the extra money it earned was certainly welcome.

  ‘I’m actually glad of the distraction of work,’ Sarah admitted. Judy had suspected something was going on with Sarah and now she was convinced. Things must be bad if she welcomed working for Perry to take her mind off it. />
  ‘What’s wrong?’

  Sarah’s eyes filled with tears, though she looked down at the table to hide the fact. ‘Oh, it’s nothing. Just boring home-life stuff, you know.’

  ‘It’s clearly something.’ Judy reached across the table and placed her hand on Sarah’s.

  Sarah gave a sniff. ‘It’s my boyfriend. He …’ Sarah paused to compose herself. ‘He’s dumped me.’ Covering her face with her hands, Sarah burst into noisy, snotty tears.

  ‘Oh, sweetie.’ Judy gathered Sarah in her arms, passing her a clean serviette from the table. ‘Please don’t cry. He isn’t worth it.’

  Sarah mopped up her tears with the serviette. ‘I thought he was going to propose to me at Christmas. But instead he dumped me a week before. How can he be so heartless?’

  ‘That’s men, sweetie.’ Judy grabbed a fresh serviette and wiped away a fresh bout of tears as they cascaded down Sarah’s cheeks. ‘Heartless. Thoughtless. They can be pigs.’

  ‘But not all men.’ Sarah blew her nose on the serviette. ‘You’re decent.’

  ‘No, not all men.’ Judy thought about Calvin. It was true that he wasn’t always thoughtful but he wasn’t a pig. Not really. He’d been so supportive when they’d found out that she was pregnant, insisting that they could cope with anything life threw at them as long as they were together, even though they were both too young to be thinking about babies, and he worked hard to support their family. They’d lost their way a little bit over the years but they loved each other.

  ‘What am I going to do?’ Sarah asked once all her tears had gone.

  ‘You’re going to give yourself some time,’ Judy said. ‘And you’re going to realise how fabulous and beautiful you are. And, when you’re ready, you’re going to find the real man of your dreams.’

  ‘Thank you, Calvin.’ Sarah rested her head briefly on Judy’s shoulder before she noticed the time and leapt out of her seat. ‘We’d better get back to the office before Perry yells at us again.’

  Oh, joy. Back to the B&R Marketing office. Judy’s favourite place on earth.

  Judy arrived home from work that evening to chaos; Scott and Charlie were arguing over the TV remote while Calvin battled the smoke detector with a tea towel and a barking Miller bouncing around his ankles. Kicking off her shoes in the hallway and dumping her coat on the bannister, Judy crept upstairs where she sank into a hot bubble bath. It was hardly a relaxing experience however as the towel from Sunday taunted her from its dumped spot in the corner and she could still hear the battle of classic Dr Who versus Doc McStuffins from downstairs, even when she submerged herself fully under the water.

  It was a relief when she could leave the house later that evening, the sounds of her family fading into the background, and she headed out into the village. Curtis, Richie, Pierce and the rest of the team were already gathered around the pool table, the room filled with laughter. From the pinched look on Pierce’s face, it was at his expense.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Judy joined them with a glass of red wine. It had been such a brain-explodey day that she didn’t care what the others thought.

  ‘Pierce was just telling us about his date with the gorgeous Natasha,’ Curtis said.

  ‘Who’s Natasha?’ Judy couldn’t keep up with all the women he dated.

  ‘Another girl from Tinder,’ Pierce explained. ‘She was supposed to be a blonde, slim bikini model.’

  ‘But she turned out to be a male plumber with a beer belly.’ Curtis cracked up again, slapping his mate on the back.

  ‘He did have big tits, though,’ Pierce said, and this time he joined in the laughter.

  Judy took a large gulp of her wine as the first pool match of the evening began between Curtis and Pierce.

  ‘How are you?’ Judy asked Richie. She’d noticed him laughing along with the others but he was always the first to stop.

  Richie picked up his pint and took a sip. ‘I’m good.’

  ‘Really?’ Judy wanted to reach out and give Richie’s hand a squeeze but figured that would be a bad idea indeed. It was one thing comforting Sarah; comforting one of Calvin’s male friends was another. ‘How about Danielle?’

  Richie wiped his face with the palms of his hands, giving a weary sigh. ‘I don’t know, mate. She won’t talk to me about it and I don’t know what to say. How to make it better.’

  ‘You can’t really,’ Judy said. ‘What happened was awful. Heartbreaking. For both of you. You just have to be there for her.’

  ‘I’m trying to be,’ Richie said. ‘I feel guilty being here, you know. I should be at home with Danielle, but she insisted I come. She said she needed a bit of time to herself but I’m scared what she means by that.’

  ‘She probably means just what she said: a bit of time to herself. Time to gather her thoughts.’

  ‘You don’t think she’s going to leave me, do you?’ Richie stared intently at Judy, willing her to give the answer he needed.

  Judy shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think that at all. I think she just needs some time.’

  Richie seemed to deflate before her eyes, relief making him weak. ‘I hope you’re right. I love her so much and it’s killing me seeing her like this.’

  The urge to reach out to Richie was immense and Judy was forced to sit on her hands to prevent her from flinging them around Richie and squeezing him tight. Ordering red wine and being a bit rubbish at football might make Calvin’s life a bit uneasy when he returned to his own body next week, but offering physical comfort to one of his best mates would make it unbearable.

  ‘So what do you think I should do?’ It was later in the evening, all hope of decent pool practice gone out of the window due to the alcohol consumed. Judy wasn’t the greatest pool player but she’d be diabolic after the several glasses of wine she’d sunk. Curtis was leaning against the bar as he waited to be served, regaling Judy with the drama of his life. His ex-partner was denying him access to their two-year-old daughter, who he hadn’t seen for almost a month.

  ‘It’s killing me. Pamela is being such a bitch about it all. There’s no reason but spite to keep me away from Grace.’

  Judy was inclined to agree. It was true that she didn’t actually know Curtis that well but, apart from being a bit of clown every now and then, he didn’t seem like a bad guy.

  ‘I really don’t know. I have a friend in the opposite boat. Well, she’s Judy’s friend, really, but she has a battle trying to get her ex to see their kids.’

  ‘What a dick.’ Curtis shook his head. ‘I can’t think of any reason that would keep me away from Grace. I feel like I’ve missed out on so much already. It’s Christmas next week.’ Curtis’s voice wobbled but, after clearing his throat, he managed to keep it under control. ‘I want to take her to see Santa at the Christmas fair at the weekend but Pamela says they’ve got plans. I know for a fact she won’t let me see her on Christmas Day.’

  ‘Have you thought about seeking legal advice?’ Judy suggested.

  ‘It’s getting to the point where I don’t feel I have any choice.’ Curtis slipped his wallet back into his pocket and straightened up. ‘I’m not in the mood for this any more. I’m off home. I’ll see you at footie on Sunday.’ Curtis clapped Judy on the back, unintentionally hurting her, while calling out his goodbyes to the others.

  Judy felt a stab of guilt. She might have judged Calvin’s friends too quickly. Yes, they liked to drink and their conversations could be pretty sexist at times, but underneath it all they were just blokes with problems of their own. If they wanted to meet up and let off steam, who was she to judge?

  ‘I’m going to get off, too,’ Judy told Pierce. The walk through the village helped to clear her head but she was grateful for the silence that greeted her when she arrived home. It was late so the children were in bed and Calvin had fallen asleep in front of the television.

  ‘Come on you.’ Judy gently woke Calvin and helped him up the stairs to bed. The towel still glared at her from the corner of the bathroom, but so w
hat? She had a husband and family who loved her, which was more than some people could boast. Judy was one of the lucky ones, even if she hadn’t always realised it.

  Chapter Sixteen:

  The Shepherd and the Grinch

  By some miracle, Calvin had managed to put together the six extra costumes for the nativity play and deliver them to an eternally indebted Miss Daniels on time. Calvin had feared the teacher was about to plant a smacker on his lips when she’d caught sight of them on Wednesday morning, but she’d simply given him a grateful squeeze before pouncing on the costumes. The children had had their dress rehearsal the day before without any new-costume mishaps and that afternoon they would be putting on the big performance. Before that, Calvin had work to do. He’d had no idea that working in a small village tea shop could be so exhausting – and that was before he factored in the taxi service he’d been providing after school and at the weekends. Was there really any need for his children to take part in so many activities? Football, Rainbows, swimming, gymnastics, band practice, ballet. Every day there was something for one of the children to be ferried to and from – sometimes both, which took some juggling. The only free evenings he had were Saturdays – when he had the pleasure of Laura’s company, along with her feral brood – and Sundays when he was expected to cook a full-on roast while catching up with the housework and the ironing.

  It was no wonder Judy was often pissed off with him.

  But that didn’t mean his own life wasn’t tough too. It was different, that’s all.