Before they reached Lantern Square Ginny paused outside the newsagents andgroaned when they saw advent calendars on display in the window. ‘I meant to bring Mum one back from Bruges, with real Belgian chocolates.’
‘We can stop off for one of these on the way back from the lodge,’ Fern suggested as they walked on. ‘Not quite the same, but nice anyway.’
When they reached the lodge Daisy dashed away before they’d even taken their coats off and signed in at the reception.
‘What’s the rush with Daisy?’ Fern asked Ginny, unlooping her scarf and hanging it on the coat stand with her coat.
‘You know Daisy …’ Ginny pushed her gloves into the pockets of her coat and double-checked they weren’t likely to fall out. ‘She can be unpredictable, who knows what’s going on with her.’
Fern felt guilty talking about their little sister like this when earlier this morning she’dbeen thinking they were all starting to respect one another that little bit more, to see each other for the individuals they’d become. ‘Is something going on with her that we need to know about, do you think?’
‘Not that I know of.’ Ginny sighed. ‘And I shouldn’t have described her as unpredictable. She wouldn’t like it if she’d heard me.’
Fern liked to think Ginny’s remark wasn’t only becauseshe was the peacemaker but because she wanted all three of them to reconnect, the way Fern did, the way Loretta had to be wishing for and the way Daisy would surely welcome. ‘Has she said anything else about the kiss with Joshua?’
Ginny shook her head and her expression suggested their younger sister was coming back to them.
‘Sorry about that.’ Behind Daisy was a girl, blonde, very pretty, butseemingly a very shy teenager as she seemed reluctant to meet anyone’s gaze. Daisy introduced her. ‘This is Carrie.’
Carrie managed a smile to Fern and Ginny while Daisy explained that Carrie, who was in the choir and volunteered up here, had agreed to help with the quilt.
Fern was a little put out. This was supposed to be a sister project, wasn’t it?
But she quickly berated herself for beingso mean-spirited. ‘That sounds wonderful, all hands on deck!’ And besides, she hadn’t done anything creative in years, let alone worked alongside her sisters. They’d need all the help they could get.
‘I hope you know what you’re in for, Carrie,’ said Ginny. ‘It’ll be hard work and we are well known for being a bit of a handful.’ She looked at the others. ‘Oh come on, it’s true, I’m sure there’llbe more than a bit of bickering along the way.’
Fern was about to deny it, especially when she noticed a look of horror wash over Carrie’s face. ‘We will behave, I promise.’
‘Anything you want to suggest is great,’ Ginny told Carrie. ‘And Daisy will keep you up to date on our plans to make a proper start.’
‘She seems lovely,’ said Fern to Ginny when Carrie went off to talk with someone overon the far side of the room and the sisters went to find Ivor in the residents’ lounge. She instantly felt even more terrible for thinking selfishly that this was their quilt for their grandad. When did helping out become something so awful?
After a hug for each of his granddaughters, Grandad made some brief introductions – or rather reminders because both Ginny and Fern had met plenty of theseresidents on previous visits. Or perhaps it was more for the residents’ benefit than theirs. They met Flo, a quiet yet friendly woman who seemed to not mind Daisy but was wary of the other two. They said a hello to Ernest who had earphones in and was listening to an audiobook, and plenty of others’ passed comment on how wonderful it was to see all three of Ivor’s granddaughters here together.
‘I appreciate you all coming to Butterbury for a few weeks rather than a rushed visit,’ Ivor said, after Frankie who usually manned reception brought them over a plate of Rich Tea biscuits to enjoy along with a pot of tea.
‘I had to juggle a few things to do it,’ Daisy joked, ‘but I got here.’
‘Well thank you, all of you. I love Christmas and to have you all here in the lead-up is the best partfor me, even better than the dinner on the day.’
Over tea and biscuits they spent over an hour with Grandad reminiscing about Christmases past, lots of them with their dad at the helm, finishing on the year before they’d lost him. That year it had snowed properly, blanketing the whole of Butterbury in white, quietening the streets, muffling the world for a brief moment. The only sound had beenHarry and Ivor roaring with laughter about the couple who lived next door and who had hired a snow machine to cover their garden and feel more festive on the first year they had real snow anyway.
When they overheard one of the young boys visiting telling their grandma that this morning’s treat in their advent calendar had been a chocolate snowman, Daisy reminded Ginny not to forget to stop offat the newsagents on the way home to grab a calendar for Loretta. ‘Better late than never,’ said Daisy, because they were already into December.
Ivor asked, ‘Whatever happened to that advent calendar you girls had?’
All three girls thought for a moment until Ginny remembered. ‘You mean the quilted advent calendar? I don’t think I’ve seen that in well over a decade. I’d be surprised if Mum stillhas it.’
Ivor shook his head. ‘She’ll still have it, probably in the loft with all the other junk. Find it out, I’d love to see it again when Loretta next brings me over to the house.’
Fern wasn’t sure they had much time to go hunting for old things that might not even be there anymore, not when they had the Christmas quilt to make. But they assured Grandad they’d have a good look for the adventcalendar.
When it was time to go they bundled up in their coats and three umbrellas pinged open one after the other as they stepped out of the lodge and into the downpour that had been promised.
Daisy shut the little gate at the front of the path and they set off down the hill, back towards Lantern Square. It wasn’t yet dark but it was that time of the year when the sun set so early you feltas though you’d miss the day if you weren’t careful.
‘Do you think Mum’s telling the truth about Grandad?’ Fern asked the others. ‘He’s acting as though this is his last chance to recap on all the memories.Perhaps he really is—’
