‘It would make a good idea for a Christmas present,’ Carrie suggested.
Daisy nodded across at Ivor who’d been watchingthem and then turned her back so there was no chance of him overhearing. ‘You’re right, but unfortunately those quilts take a long time to make from scratch.’ And it wasn’t long until Christmas.
‘You have some gorgeous ones in the shop already.’
Surprised, Daisy asked, ‘You know the shop?’
‘I’ve been in once or twice.’ She stumbled over her words. ‘Trying to learn … crocheting … knitting …quilting. Anything really. I can’t do any of it apart from pom-poms, which to be fair any six year old could master.’
‘Don’t put yourself down.’ Daisy thought harder. ‘The quilts in the shoparebeautiful. But no way, Grandad would need his own.’
‘And there really isn’t enough time before Christmas?’
‘Not doing it on my own there isn’t,’ she mumbled almost to herself.
‘I thought you had twosisters,’ she added bewilderedly before Daisy could get back to her grandad. ‘And Ivor told me they’re coming home to have Christmas together for the first time in a long while.’
Those two really had talked. Although come to think of it, Grandad loved to talk to anyone and getting to know new people was something he especially enjoyed.
When Maggie called out that the mince pies were warm andhollered over to Carrie and Daisy to ask whether they’d mind handing them round, they both headed to the kitchen.
Carrie took one plate, Daisy took another and as they emerged to serve them to the residents Daisy confided, ‘My sisters and I used to quilt, but I can’t see us quilting together again somehow.’
‘Maybe just ask them and see?’ Carrie glanced away shyly. ‘My mum used to tell me thatif I never asked, I’d never get.’
‘Very true,’ Daisy laughed. ‘Your mum is a wise woman.’
‘She was,’ Carrie said, voice soft.
‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ And so young as well. She knew exactly what it was like to lose a parent when you were a teenager. It had to be painful at any age, no matter how old you got, but she would’ve given anything to have her dad in her life for a bit longer to give her moretime to find her way before everything changed forever.
‘Thank you.’ Carrie smiled. ‘But you should … you should ask them.’
Daisy took a deep breath. ‘You know what, you’re right. I need to just come out with it. They can only say no, can’t they?’
They barely had to pass the plates of mince pies around because residents flocked towards them and Daisy left her conversation with Carrie thereas Carrie went back to helping Victor who was beaming as he held another pom-pom aloft and added it to the couple he’d already made.
Daisy enjoyed a mince pie standing by the tree that filled the space well and stretched right up to the ceiling. Their tree at home was still bare, of course, because Loretta had insisted all three girls be home to decorate it. But it still smelt glorious and ithad greeted Daisy this morning with its scent wafting into every part of the house it could find.
A warm feeling cascaded through her when she thought about Joshua taking it back to the house for them and hanging around to help her put it up. Her mum had left the room with the excuse of making tea and cutting slices of ginger cake.
‘Shift it a bit to the right,’ Daisy had told Joshua when hecalled out from behind the branches to ask whether the tree was straight. ‘No wait, back to the left a bit.’
He poked his head around the tree. ‘How about we swap places?’
‘Fine.’ She was happy to be the one manoeuvring the tree.
‘I was only kidding.’
But she’d already gone over and put a hand through the branches to grab a hold of the trunk.
He was standing close, not moving an inch. ‘Daisy,you’ve got hold of my hand.’
‘Oh, sorry.’ She hadn’t realised her grip was around him as well as the tree, so she took her hand away and moved it further up. ‘You stand over where I was.’ She quickly reached another hand through the branches for a better hold.
Over where she’d originally been standing, he declared, ‘Definitely more to the left.’
‘Are you sure?’
