Staying Away at Christmas Read Free

Sheila.
    ‘We will be fine,’ said Anthony, much more convincingly.
    After a little more protest, Sheila left, clearly eager to be off now the crisis had been averted.
    ‘Right, well, we’d better sort out bedrooms,’ said Anthony.
    Dan wandered into the kitchen. ‘We’ve done it,’ he said. ‘Miranda will have the downstairs bedroom. Dad’ll have the room at the end, I’ll have the other double and, and the girls are all going in together.’
    Both adults looked at him in surprise. ‘I don’t think you should have a room on your own,’ said Anthony. ‘What about – Isa?’
    ‘She and Lulu always share at Christmas,’ explained Miranda.
    ‘Yeah, and they asked Amy if she wanted to go in with them. Isa said it was quite a big room.’
    ‘Right,’ said Anthony with a frown. He was obviously accustomed to doing the organising and now it had been done behind his back.
    ‘Why don’t you go and see where you’re sleeping?’ Miranda suggested to him. ‘I’ll unpack our car. I haven’t brought the groceries in yet.’
    ‘We’re getting hungry,’ said Dan.
    ‘Then help Miranda with her stuff,’ said Anthony. ‘You don’t mind if he calls you Miranda?’
    ‘Of course not.’
    Miranda was a little embarrassed by the amount of food she’d brought, given that the shops would be open the day after Boxing Day and when she’d gone shopping, she’d only been shopping for three. But filling the house with food – be it her own home or this temporary one – made her feel more Christmassy. She didn’t need to do it when they went to her parents’ because her mother was of the same ilk and also bought far too much.
    She hoped that Dan, being a boy, and about the same age as Isa, wouldn’t realise how much she had over-catered.
    Her hope faded the moment she lifted the lid to the boot of her car.
    ‘Wow, were you going to have a party?’ asked Dan, hefting a large cardboard box.
    Briefly, she considered making up a lie about her plans but abandoned them.
    ‘Nope. I just got a lot of stuff.’ She hefted a box of her own and followed Dan into the house.
    She couldn’t criticise his helpfulness. He carried on unloading her car while she stowed things, grateful that the capacious cupboards got it out of sight quite quickly. She could hear giggling from upstairs and it made her smile.
    Assuming Dan would go back to doing whatever other young men of his age would be doing in the circumstances, Miranda was surprised that he stayed in the kitchen, picking up bottles and cans at random. Then he opened the fridge and shut it again. ‘No turkey,’ he said. It wasn’t a question.
    Miranda shook her head. ‘There are only three of us. I didn’t want to be eating it till the end of the holiday.’
    ‘No worries, we’ve got a turkey,’ he said.
    At that moment, Isa and Lulu came into the kitchen. ‘We’re hungry,’ said Lulu, ‘and so is Amy.’
    Miranda put the oven on. ‘I brought a lasagne. It’ll probably be enough. I’ve got garlic bread and I’ll make a salad.’
    ‘You make it yourself?’ asked Dan.
    ‘Don’t be rude,’ said Anthony, appearing from upstairs, presumably having been wrestling with the put-you-up.
    ‘No, it’s a fair question,’ said Miranda, not at all offended. ‘Yes, I did. It’s all home-made.’
    Dan nodded approvingly. Miranda felt relieved.
    ‘Dan? Would you mind getting our stuff in?’ asked Anthony. It was more of a command than a request.
    Dan sighed but went.
    ‘I’ve got wine – and some champagne. Would you like a glass? Or are you happy with the red?’ Anthony was making an effort but Miranda could tell he wasn’t yet resigned to the situation.
    ‘I’m fine. And there should be enough to have with the lasagne.’
    ‘We won’t run out, I have a case of it. Red, I mean. And white, and …’
    ‘Why?’ Miranda was suddenly worried that she was about to spend Christmas with an alcoholic.
    ‘I ordered a mixed case but didn’t have time to choose