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The Christmas tableau turned out to be housed in a three-sided wooden structure outside the church. Inside were Mary and Joseph, an assortment of shepherds and three kings, along with one of the dogs from the therapy centre. Aksel wasn’t quite sure how it had ended up there, but he assumed its presence had something to do with Esme, and that she’d probably had a hand in choosing its festive, red and white dog coat.
‘Mette!’ As they opened the gate to the churchyard, the shortest and broadest of the three kings started to wave, handing a jewelled box to one of the other kings and ducking past the crowd that was forming around the tableau.
Mette turned her head, recognising the voice, and tugged at Aksel’s hand. ‘It’s Carrie. Where is she?’
It was the first time that Aksel had heard Mette say anything like that. Usually she ignored the things she couldn’t see, and she’d been known to throw a temper tantrum when she couldn’t find something she wanted.
‘She’s coming over to you now, sweetheart.’ Flora volunteered the information, and Mette nodded. Now that the king was a little closer, he realised it was Carrie, one of the children’s nurses from the clinic, and almost unrecognisable under a false beard and a large jewelled hat. Her small frame was completely disguised by what looked like several layers of bulky clothes under her costume.
‘Hi, Carrie. Keeping warm?’ Flora grinned at her.
‘I’m a bit hot, actually.’ Carrie pushed her beard up, propping it incongruously on the rim of her hat, and bent down to greet Mette. ‘The costume was a bit big so I’ve got two coats on underneath this. Along with a thick sweater and thermal underwear.’
‘Sounds reasonable to me. You’ve got a couple of hours out here. The shepherds are already looking a bit chilly.’
‘Don’t worry about them. The vicar’s brought a couple of Thermos flasks along, and we’ve got an outdoor heater behind the manger, that’s why everyone’s crowding around it. You’d be surprised how warm it gets after a while.’ Carrie volunteered the information and Flora laughed.
‘That’s good to know. I’ll make sure I’m standing next to the heater when it’s my turn.’
It was impossible that Flora wouldn’t take a turn, she was so much a part of the life of the village. Aksel wondered what she’d be dressing up as and decided to wait and see.
‘Would you like to come and see the stable, Mette?’ Carrie bent down towards her. ‘We’ve got a rabbit...’
‘Yes, please.’ Mette took her hand, waving to Aksel as Carrie led her away.
‘A rabbit?’ Aksel murmured the words as he watched her go.
‘The vicar’s not afraid to improvise, and I don’t think there were any sheep available.’ Flora chuckled. ‘And anyway, don’t you think it’s the best stable you’ve ever seen?’
It was. The costumes were great, and there was a sturdy manger and lots of straw. A couple of other children, besides Mette, had been led up to the tableau by their parents, and had been welcomed inside by the shepherds and kings. Carrie was carefully showing Mette around, talking to her and allowing her to touch everything. The place shone with sparkling lights to re-create stars, and the warmth and love of a small community.
‘Yes. The very best.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AKSEL WAS RELAXED and smiling as they watched Mette explore the stable with Carrie. So different from the man Flora had first met. The clinic tended to do that to patients and their families. Flora had seen so many people arrive looking tense and afraid, and had watched the secure and welcoming environment soothe their fears and allow them to begin to move forward. It was always good to see, but she’d never been so happy about it as she was now.
It was hard not to wonder what things might have been like if she and Aksel had met before they’d both been changed by the world. Whether they might have been able to make a family for more than just the space of a day. But for all the hope that the clinic brought to people’s hearts, there was also the understanding that some things couldn’t be changed, and it was necessary to make the best of them. She should enjoy today for what it was, and let it go.
Carrie delivered Mette back to her father, and she chattered brightly about having seen the rabbit and stroked it, as they walked towards Mary’s stall. It was a riot of colour. Along with a few small quilts, there were fabric bags, with appliquéd flowers, patchwork lavender bags tied with ribbon, and quilted hats with earflaps. Mary was, unusually, not in the thick of things but sitting on a rickety stool and leaving her husband and Jackie, the young mum who helped out in the shop on Saturdays, to deal with the customers.
Flora greeted her with a smile. ‘Hello, Mary. It’s cold enough out here...’
Mary was sitting with her hands in her pockets, and her woollen hat pulled down over her ears and brow. Most of the stallholders prided themselves on being out in all weather, however cold, but maybe Mary should consider going into the pub for a while to get warm.
Mary nodded, her expression one of deep thought.
‘These look wonderful.’ Flora indicated the lavender bags and Aksel hoisted Mette up so she could smell them. ‘How much are they?’
Mary smiled suddenly. ‘Thruppence.’
Okay.... Flora had never heard of thruppenny lavender bags being a thing, but there were three in each bundle. They’d be tagged with a price anyway. Mary went back to staring in her husband’s direction and Flora wondered if maybe they’d had an argument about something.
Hats were tried
on, lavender sniffed, and the fabric bags admired. They found a hat for Mette, its bright reds and greens matching her coat, and Aksel encouraged Flora to treat herself to one of the fabric bags. It would be perfect for carrying some of the smaller items that she used most regularly in the course of her job, and it would be nice to visit the residents at the sheltered living complex carrying a bag that didn’t scream that it was medical.
