Page 9 of The Cotswolds Christmas Fair

‘Playing the field’ was an exaggeration. She was hardly sowing wild oats. Long-term relationships didn’t suit her, that was all. She dated, sometimes. She didn’t need some knight in shining armour to rescue her.

‘What is this, some kind of interrogation?’ Lou asked, throwing an arm around Jen’s shoulders. ‘Leave the poor girl alone, Rich, you nosy old sod.’

Jen laughed, putting her arm around Lou’s waist and pulling her in. ‘Young, free and single right now,’ she called over her shoulder. But the image of Train Guy’s bright blue eyes filled her mind, and her heart gave a little kick.

‘Unless you meet up with your handsome train stranger,’ Lou whispered, giggling.

Great minds.

Jen snuck a glance back at Ted. He had remained unusually quiet during the whole conversation. But he was staring back at the school, his mind apparently on other things.

Jen and Ted sat in front of the log burner, the room bathed in the gentle light from the Christmas tree and a couple of softly lit lamps. Lou and Rich had gone to bed, both taking advantage of the opportunity to have an unbroken night’s sleep.

Jen sat on a cushion, propped against the sofa. She was full of the delicious cottage pie Ted had made, and had drunk enough wine to be feeling pleasantly mellow. Left to their own devices, she and Ted had fallen into comfortable old habits. It’s a Wonderful Life, one of their favourite films, was streaming and they’d settled down to watch.

Ted surreptitiously wiped his eyes as Clarence, the slightly inept angel, showed George Bailey what would have happened if he’d never been born.

Jen nudged him. ‘You big softie,’ she said. ‘You don’t change, do you?’

Ted cleared his throat. ‘It’s just the part where his wife doesn’t recognise him,’ he said. ‘Gets me every time.’

‘I know, we’ve watched this film probably fifteen times over the years and you always get teary at this bit.’

‘Teary’s putting it strongly,’ he grumbled, wiping away tears. ‘I’m just not made of stone like you are. How can you watch this dry-eyed?’

Jen grinned, shrugging. ‘I’m tougher than I look.’

Ted shook his head. ‘You’re a monster.’

‘Hey!’ Jen gave him a playful shove. ‘You can’t be mean to me on my birthday eve. Ah, see, even I think this bit is sweet,’ she said, as the TV screen showed George reunited with his friends and family, aware that he was loved, as they gathered around the tree on Christmas Eve.

‘Well, you’d have to have a heart of actual stone not to be affected by this,’ he said, his voice catching a little. He clinked his glass against hers. ‘Happy birthday eve.’

‘Thanks.’

‘You going to drop in on Julia and the kids while you’re here?’ There was a forced lightness to his tone, a false nonchalance to his expression.

Jen sighed, gazing down at the wine that she swirled in her glass. ‘Don’t start.’

‘Come on, Jen,’ he said softly. ‘Let bygones be bygones, eh? Time to be a grown-up. I know she misses you.’

Jen felt her cheeks begin to burn and her stomach twisted uncomfortably. She didn’t want to talk about this, especially not the night before her birthday. ‘You know more than anyone why I can’t.’

‘That was all so long ago.’ He laid a gentle hand on her arm. She shook it off. ‘Can’t you just—’

‘Is that why you chose Babblebrook for this weekend?’ She had wondered. But surely she could trust him not to interfere in her life like that; he was one of her closest friends, he knew more than most the reasons why she ran from that part of her past.

He was shaking his head. ‘No, actually, that was Sarah’s idea. There’s this Christmas Fair I’m trying to organise at the school, it’s kind of important, and she thought it would be easier for me if I’m close by this weekend, then I can maybe get a couple of bits organised while we’re here. Two birds, one stone, etc.’

Jen chose to ignore the fact that he seemed to be suggesting he was planning to work while he was on their weekend reunion. She was too relieved by the change of subject to get irritated by something new right now.

‘Yes, Sarah,’ she said, leaning her elbow on the sofa and curling towards him. ‘Tell me all about this mystery woman of yours!’

He smiled, and something in her slipped back to their college days, to the nights they’d spent like this, sitting in the half-dark, sharing secrets. The surroundings had been slightly less opulent, those student rooms where they would perch on the tiny bed or sit on the thinning carpet, drinking vodka and eating cold pizza. But the bond they shared hadn’t changed over the years, despite the sometimes lengthy periods where they didn’t see each other; every time they met up again, they slipped back into easy friendship.

‘Well, you’d know a lot more if you’d come to the barbecue in the summer and met her,’ he said pointedly. ‘But, oh wow, she’s – she’s too good for me,’ he said, laughing and shaking his head.

Jen grinned. ‘Goes without saying.’