‘I’ll never regret my decision, you know.’
‘I’m glad. Now can we get on, it’s freezing out here!’
They met up with Fern and Grandad who, along with a smiling Carrie, were finishing fixing a Father Christmas and a pile of knitted gifts to the bottom of a tree in a flowerbed that might ensure it was safe from beingtrampled on.
‘What happens if all of this gets wet?’ Loretta asked.
And almost as though the roles had already switched with her younger sister, Ginny explained, ‘Daisy made sure they used the most appropriate yarn, she’s had it all sorted from the beginning.’
Daisy added, ‘And the weather forecast from now until Christmas is favourable – cold, but dry. Fingers crossed it stays that way untilNew Year’s Eve so this yarn bombing looks as good as it does now.’
‘You’ve done very well with all of this, Daisy.’ Loretta brushed a twig from the bottom of her coat as they emerged onto the street again. ‘But one more thing …’
‘Yes, Mum?’
‘You’re fired.’
Daisy grinned and gave her mum a big hug. They admired some of their handiwork that could be seen in the light of the street lamps, withthe help of the moon from up above. Around the tree closest to the post office were reds, greens, mustard yellow, snowflakes knitted in to several places. The knits had been made oversized so that they could easily be wound around the misshapen trunk that didn’t allow measurements to be that accurate and had been quickly stitched in place. In front of the post office on top of the postbox was anopen-weave crocheted white topper. On top of that was green knitted holly to adorn the circumference at intervals with bright red knitted berries and in the centre a cleverly knitted snowman beside a couple of reindeer and a knitted sleigh. Daisy had told Ginny they’d used foam to get the shape of the sleigh and pulled the yarn around that and it worked well. On top of a parking post, which had beenwrapped with a series of green knitted squares, was a collection of three knitted presents, using foam for their internal structure too, and on top of the next, which was also wrapped in green, and running down the sides were knitted figures – wise men, an elf, baubles and a star – as though the post were a Christmas tree. The railings surrounding the square hadn’t missed out either because rightbeside the gate was a rectangle of midnight blue upon which was a knitted Christmas tree, flat faced with coloured baubles, all done in thread, a skilled project mastered by two ladies up at the lodge.
Grandad and Carrie joined them and Ivor pointed out the midnight blue rectangle up against a tree with a characterful snowman on its front complete with red scarf and black hat. He and Flo hadbeen in charge of that one. He pointed too to the lamp post they’d just been in charge of bombing. Now it was wrapped in a deep forest green and had Father Christmas figureheads knitted on it, each with a white ball sewn on as the bobble for their hat.
‘Spot the odd one out,’ Carrie giggled. ‘Flo made it and I think it’s the star of the show.’
Ginny had to move a bit closer across the streetto see and burst out laughing when she did. ‘What happened there?’ The Father Christmas Flo from the lodge had knitted was a great deal fatter than all the others, with rosy cheeks and a winning smile.
‘She wanted it to be different, I think,’ said Carrie.
‘It’s good to be different,’ Ginny agreed, and if Carrie had any inkling she knew they were well aware of who she was, she didn’t say.
Loretta hugged Ginny as they turned to look in another direction past the square. She pointed over to the railings closest to the pub. ‘How did they get those yarn bombings fixed there without anyone seeing them, I wonder?’ The pub was pretty much the only place tonight that had people coming and going, but somehow, someone had fixed elves on the bench on the pavement across the road, directly opposite.The elves were along the back of the bench, some sitting, others lying, all looking mischievous.
‘Perhaps the punters have drunk a bit too much and assume they’re seeing things.’
Loretta chuckled. ‘We might well be responsible for a few calls to the doctor tomorrow.’
‘Or the optician,’ Ginny laughed, pointing out the row of knitted reindeers on one of the benches just visible in the squareitself as they peered over the railings. Beyond was the village Christmas tree at the opposite end, but it stood so tall they could see it from here. Christmas in Butterbury had always been wonderful but this year was extra special.
They gathered on the street ready to help everyone back onto the minibus. Maggie from the lodge had done a head count more than once to ensure nobody had gone astray.
‘How are you all feeling about Carrie?’ Loretta asked quietly as they waited. Carrie was helping Flo onto the minibus but it appeared Flo didn’t want to leave, she was buzzing with excitement and hard to convince it might be time to head back.
‘You’ll blow our cover if you’re not careful!’ Ivor told her, and it seemed to have the necessary effect as Flo climbed into the vehicle.
Ginny spokequietly to Loretta. ‘We’re all enjoying getting to know Carrie.’
‘You are?’
‘We are. And we’ve agreed to take it slowly, probably best all round.’
Loretta paused before she asked, ‘Are you angry at your dad?’
Ginny smiled. ‘It’s a lot to get our heads around, but no, life’s too short for anger. We love him as much as we always did.’ It felt good to be talking about her sisters collectively,the way it should have been all along.
Loretta nodded. ‘You’ve always been the peacemaker, Ginny. Even as a child you backed off, you let others around you carry on. But with Daisy finally telling me what she wants, perhaps it’s time for you to do the same.’
Ginny barely took a breath before she blurted out, ‘I want the shop.’ She covered her mouth as though she might be saying something shocking,but when she turned to face her mum, Loretta was grinning.
‘Hallelujah!’ Loretta raised her hands heavenward.
