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‘Are you excited?’
‘I’m excited.’
Jamie flew off the bed and reappeared moments later with a parcel. The wrapping paper was falling off and the whole thing was loosely bound together with metres of sticky tape. ‘I wrapped it myself.’
‘I see that. Good job.’ Meg handled it carefully, trying to extract her fingers from all the sticky tape. ‘Wow. What is it?’ She eased the present out of the wrapping and smiled. ‘Mrs Incredible pyjamas. How perfect.’ She swallowed. No matter what she did, however many mistakes she made, to him she was still Mrs Incredible.
Meg studied the pyjamas through a mist of tears.
‘They’re red. And when you put them on, you look exactly like Mrs Incredible.’ Jamie beamed at her. ‘Super-Mum, that’s you. I chose them myself. Do you like them?’
‘I love them.’ Her voice was thickened. ‘They’re the nicest thing anyone has ever given me.’
‘So are you going to put them on?’
‘Absolutely. Right away. I’ll wear them for breakfast.’ Glad of an excuse to leave the room and get herself under control, Meg picked up the pyjamas and walked to the bathroom.
Jamie called after her. ‘While you’re getting changed, I’ll just eat the chocolate from my stocking.’
‘Before breakfast?’ Meg brushed the tears from her cheeks. ‘Yes, why not? Enjoy. Don’t get chocolate on my bed.’
They’d be all right, she told herself. They’d get through. But it was an effort to put on the pyjamas and an effort to drag herself down to breakfast.
Her mother had switched on the Christmas tree lights and Meg’s living room looked cosy and festive.
After Jamie had opened his other present from her, a Nintendo Wii that she’d saved up to buy him, she left him playing and found her mother in the kitchen.
‘He seems happy.’
‘Of course he’s happy. He’s a child. Children are resilient. More resilient than we give them credit for. I’ve made a pot of coffee. Strong coffee.’ Her mother handed her a mug. ‘You look as though you need it, Mrs Incredible.’
‘Thanks.’ Meg looked down at herself. ‘I don’t deserve these. He should have bought me Mrs Make a Mess of Everything. They didn’t have a pair of those in the store, did they?’
‘Mum! Grandma!’ Jamie tore through the house, his eyes shining. ‘Look outside! I thought the Wii was the best present ever—oh, Mummy, thank you, thank you.’ Still in his Batman pyjamas, he dragged open the door and ran into the snow, Rambo barking at his heels.
‘Wh-what? Jamie, put a coat on!’ Appalled, Meg followed him, shivering in her own thin pyjamas. ‘It’s freezing out here! What do you think you’re…?’ She stopped, her jaw dropping as she saw the sleek Batmobile crouched on her front lawn. It was child-size, perfect for a boy of Jamie’s age. ‘What? What is going on?’
‘Oh, Mummy, thank you, thank you.’ Jamie was almost incoherent with excitement as he slid into the driver’s seat. ‘How does it work?’
‘Jamie I have no idea. I didn’t— It isn’t from me.’
‘It’s from me. I hope you don’t mind.’ Dino walked across the snow towards her, his black hair gleaming under the sun.
Meg stood still, shocked into silence by his unexpected appearance. ‘Dino…’
‘Merry Christmas, Mrs Incredible.’
Suddenly remembering that she was still wearing Jamie’s Christmas present, Meg tugged at her pyjamas self-consciously. Great. If she’d had to meet Dino straight from bed, she would have chosen to be wearing some shimmering slip of silk. Not novelty pyjamas. ‘I didn’t expect to see you. What are you doing here?’
‘You invited me to spend Christmas Day with you.’ He slid his hand under her face and held her gaze for a moment before turning back to Jamie. ‘It works on the snow. It will pretty much drive anywhere, but we can work out the best places together. Come inside
and put on a coat and then we can try it out properly.’
Jamie was completely still, his eyes huge and wary as he stared at Dino. ‘You left.’ His tone was accusing. ‘You said you wouldn’t let her push you away, but you did.’
‘No, I didn’t. Sometimes girls need a bit of space to think things through and I was giving her space.’ Dino dropped into a crouch so that he was at eye level with the little boy. ‘I didn’t let her push me away, although she tried pretty hard. That’s why I’m here now. I came back.’
Jamie’s fists clenched on the steering-wheel. ‘Are you going to go away again?’
