I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day - Milly Johnson Page 0,73
dipped cheap white bread from the bargain shelf in the local shop into the pan and it had tasted like a feast. Neither Bridge nor Luke had ever been able to unlink the sight of a humble tin of tomatoes from that night, however much water had gone under their bridges since. It was a symbol of what they once were to each other. What they had needed to be to each other in order to be what they were now.
‘Thank you,’ said Bridge, the two words holding a bucketful of emotion.
‘Okay, Jack, your turn,’ said Robin.
Jack picked up the sock, did a quick calculation and realised that whatever was inside must have come from Charlie.
‘I hope there’s a diamond in here,’ he said, addressing no one in particular.
‘There is, in a fashion,’ Charlie said. ‘It’s certainly one of the most valuable things you’ll ever have.’
Jack was intrigued.
There was a small, thin notepad in the bottom among the fruit and nuts. One of the Figgy Hollow Inn pads that they all had in their rooms on the dressing tables, with an accompanying complimentary pen. On the cover, in spidery handwriting, the title: Rules of Life by a Man who Lived Well.
Jack flicked through the book; each mini philosophy took up a page.
‘Follow that and you won’t go far wrong in life,’ said Charlie.
Jack read aloud.
‘Say good morning and goodnight to your cleaners. Treat kings and commoners with respect.’
‘That is a sterling piece of advice and one I was given many years ago by my first employer, a very rich man who had survived a concentration camp in the war. He came to London with nothing but the clothes he was wearing. A man who had seen the worst of life and its best.’
Jack turned to page two.
‘Never let an unsaid thank you sit in your heart undelivered.’
‘Everyone underestimates the power of a simple please and thank you,’ Charlie explained. ‘You can change someone’s life with the smallest act of gratitude.’
‘I never knew you were so wise,’ said Robin, playful smile on his lips.
‘I was wise enough to let you into my heart,’ said Charlie and tapped his temple. ‘That should tell you that I have an adequate number of marbles in here.’
‘That’s debatable. Anyway, do you want your half an hour now or later?’
‘Now,’ said Charlie. ‘Then we can get on and enjoy our Christmas.’
‘Come on then,’ said Robin, rising from the chair with a loaded outward breath. ‘Let’s get it over and done with so I can stuff the turkey.’
‘Wahay,’ exclaimed Luke.
‘Cheeky boy,’ said Charlie and winked at him.
Mary gave Robin and Charlie enough time to get to their room and then she beckoned Luke and Jack to lean in close.
‘I think I know what Robin’s present is,’ she said in a low voice. ‘He wants to give Charlie the opportunity to say… uncomfortable things. I should tell you, Charlie isn’t a well man.’
‘Really?’ said Jack.
Bridge and Mary nodded together.
‘Oh hell,’ said Luke. Both he and Jack looked rocked by Mary’s revelation, slapped from the side by an unseen hand. ‘Thanks for letting us know so we don’t say anything else inappropriate.’
‘How poorly is he?’ asked Jack.
Mary gave the slightest shake of her head, which said everything. A few moments of contemplative silence ensued and then Luke smacked his hands together.
‘Then let’s give him the best Christmas we possibly can. All the bells and whistles we can muster,’ he said. ‘Right, Jack, let’s go and peel some spuds.’
Chapter 23
Upstairs in their room, Charlie sat on the bed and patted the space next to him.
‘Come on, I’ll be gentle with you,’ he said.
Robin sat, his hesitation apparent. Charlie appreciated more than he could know, the sacrifice he was making.
‘Do I need to take notes?’ asked Robin.
‘If you think it necessary,’ said Charlie. So Robin pulled his phone out of the drawer, opened the Notes app, waited for Charlie to begin.
‘Firstly, I’ve written most of the disbursements I want you to make on my behalf and stored them with my will in the safe. But some have changed. I want you to give the Chanel handbag to Mary. Don’t give it to Rosa, she’d sell it but Mary will treasure it.’
‘Good,’ said Robin, managing to transmit in that one word exactly what he thought about Charlie’s niece.
‘Tell her though that she must promise to carry it with all the chutzpah she can find in herself. And give Bridge my Chanel scarf. She’ll look lovely in it, like the queen she is.’