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‘Are you regretting your decision not to ride with her?’ he asked, leaning down to be heard above the crowd.

‘Yes, a little,’ Evelyn answered. ‘But this is her event, and what was I going to do? Don some pointy ears and jingle bells, and play an elf who just happens to be twice her height?’

‘I think you’d make an adorable elf.’ He gave her a swift kiss, then flicked one of the bells that hung from her tinsel-laden headband.

After a few moments, Evelyn strained, stretching up on tiptoe to ensure she saw the procession as soon as possible, and didn’t miss a single moment of Summer’s ride. Jake found himself craning his neck to do the same, his phone already out and in video mode to ensure he captured every precious second, even though he knew there were far better cameras already poised to capture everything and play it back on Natalie’s show.

A cheer went up as the band rounded the corner, marching in time with the version of jingle bells that they played. The sun bounced off their highly polished instruments, creating dazzling patterns in their eyes. Evelyn’s hand tightened around his even more and then pulled away as she spotted the carriage and started waving, even though Summer probably couldn’t see her yet.

The local dance school, all bedecked in white leotards and floaty skirts and with tinsel woven into their hair, danced alongside the slow-moving carriage, careful not to distract the white horses pulling it.

The crowds teeming the street appeared to be mostly made up of families, and for a few moments Jake felt jealous of those dads who held their children’s hands so tightly. He wasn’t under any illusion – he knew that a lot of the people were there for the fun and spectacle of Santa in the sunshine – but at that moment, they were cheering along with him for the little girl sat beside Santa, and pouring out good wishes towards her. For Summer, whose dress sparkled in the sunlight, and who shimmered like a fairy as she waved and blew kisses to everyone waiting to see her.

‘Doesn’t she look beautiful?’ Evelyn’s voice was awed.

‘Incredibly.’ Jake felt his chest tighten with an overwhelming sense of pride and adoration. He was as crazily in love with this little girl as he was the woman standing next to him. And in order to keep them both happy and safe, he was going to have to send them away. The thought soured his mood as he considered life without them. There was no question in his heart about how he felt, but he also knew that the relationship was so new and fragile that the chance of it surviving countless months when they’d be apart – with Evelyn dealing with the most stressful situation that any parent ever could – was incredibly low.

Bile rose in his throat as he struggled not to let his fears for the future destroy the day. So, instead, he tried to focus on the magic of the moment, and lose himself in the goodwill of the people all around. Any trace of misery and self-pity disappeared when Summer’s eyes locked with his and she gave him a special wave and blew him a kiss. He waved back furiously, almost forgetting the recording phone in his other hand.

He kept waving and cheering until Summer passed them, and then looked down at Evelyn. Tears ran down her face smearing her make-up, but she looked up at him with so much joy. He quickly wiped her tears away with the tips of his thumbs and gave her a quick hug before offering a tissue.

She took it gratefully, and leaned against him. He slipped his free hand around her shoulder, tucking her against him where she fit so perfectly. She slid her arm around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder, and they stood like that, taking comfort from each other while they watched the rest of the carnival, march, dance and float by in a blaze of colour, hope and fundraising.

Every local children’s and young people’s group was represented in the carnival: the scouts marched past proudly, dressed in their best uniforms and followed by the cadets from the neighbouring areas. The village school had a float filled with storybook characters, and the senior school from the next town over had scenes from Grease the Musical.

The local dramatic group dressed their lorry as a stage, and were in full costume as they performed scenes from their latest show. The Broclington Bell-ringers had their handbells, and supported the choir as they sang Christmas songs.

Some of the local businesses had sponsored floats – and the retirement home Linda worked at part-time were dressed in Hawaiian style shirts and dresses, wearing flower garlands as they waved from the bed of their lorry, which had been dressed to look like a tropical island. Evelyn didn’t know how they’d got the residents onto the lorry, or how they planned to get them down, but they did look fantastic, and she appreciated the effort. She laughed as one of the residents shoved a brightly coloured fishing net filled with change under her nose and shook it. Unlike the children on the other floats who had clearly been instructed to be on their best behaviour, the residents had fewer reservations about catcalling the crowd for extra donations.

Even the toddler and baby day-care group were out in force, dressed as sparkly snowflakes and snowmen, with their prams and pushchairs turned into sleighs and sparkling with tinsel and glitter.

As the last float meandered by, Evelyn grabbed Jake’s hand and tugged him into the road to follow.

‘What are we doing?’

‘Becoming part of the parade.’ She laughed as more people fell into step around them. ‘Can you believe how many people are here? It’s amazing.’

‘It really is.’ Jake felt slightly amazed himself.

As they walked further down the street, more and more people joined them, jumping off the pavements to become part of the parade. As they turned the corner, Evelyn’s fingers tightened around his once again, and Jake grinned so much it almost hurt when he realised why: as far as they could see down the main street, people were lining the pavements, squished shoulder to shoulder as they dug into pockets and purses to drop money into the waiting buckets and nets. There were thousands and thousands of people there, a lot of them in festive colours, clothes and hats, and they were all there to support Summer’s Christmas.

It was overwhelming, and he was filled with a deep sense of pride – both in what he’d helped to achieve for Summer, and for the brilliant Broclington community. What they’d created here was truly fantastic and he realised, for the first time, that it could be something far bigger than just this one year, and this one event and cause.

He spotted the local news team and Natalie Rosh, front and centre on the podium overlooking the parade route – just as she’d promised.

By the time they reached the car park at the cricket ground, there were more people than there was room, and the crowd spilled out onto the already closed road. After a few moments, everyone quietened as Santa and Summer appeared on the cricket pavilion balcony, and Jake held his breath, worried that the huge crowd would be intimidating, but his concerns were groundless as she stepped forward and waved confidently before blowing kisses to the audience.

A few moments later, Natalie stepped out of the pavilion, looking as though she hadn’t just hotfooted it from the parade, and gave the crowd a warm smile. As planned, she took Summer’s hand in her left, and raised the microphone in her right. When she’d offered to open the event, Nick had jumped at the opportunity, telling them all that a regional celebrity would attract even more attention – and donations.

And he’d been right. Natalie had been running an advent-style countdown on her show, featuring a different activity every day that would be at the event – advertising for both the event and the vendors who’d donated so much – and it had clearly worked judging from the amount of people already there. She worked the crowd like a pro, as at home in the live setting as she appeared on screen every day, building up the excitement in waves until Jake doubted there was a single person within hearing of the loudspeakers who wasn’t engaged and excited.

‘All right, all right, thank you so much for your incredibly kind welcome. But we all know that it’s not really me you’re here to see.’ She waited until the noise lulled, and spoke again, this time in a quieter voice that everyone fell almost silent to hear. ‘You, me, your friends and family, we’re all here because there is something that is more important than anything else we could have planned for today. Because we’ve heard of a cause that’s so vital, and so intrinsically human, that not being here was unthinkable. It’s a cause for kindness, love, sharing, and light that is found in the darkest, coldest part of the year. It’s the cause of Christmas, in summer …’ She paused and looked at Summer. ‘It’s giving hope to a little girl and her family, when no one else could.’

Jake felt goosepimples race over his arms in chills despite the heat of the sun. ‘She’s brilliant, isn’t she?’

Evelyn nodded fervently, not taking her eyes from the balcony that had become a stage.

‘So,’ Natalie continued, ‘I’d like to thank you all for being here, and remind you to dig deep, spend lots of money for this vital cause, and have a wonderful time.’