‘Excuse me!’ A woman in a huge Russian fur hat barged past Fiona, squashing her against the Kendal Mint Cake gift boxes.
‘How rude,’ Lottie said as the woman charged off towards the festive biscuit tower, elbowing everyone out of the way.
‘Some people wouldn’t recognise Christmas spirit if it bit them on the bottom!’ Fiona declared. ‘Have you finished your shopping?’ she asked, nodding at Lottie’s basket.
‘I just need to get two packs of milk choc mini reindeers,’ Lottie said, before adding, ‘For Steph’s girls.’
Fiona smiled. ‘You mustn’t fail in that mission. Shall we pay up and go for a cuppa and a catch-up if you have time, then? It’s getting dangerous in here and I’m not great with crowds these days.’
‘Yes. I …’ Lottie started. Under any other circumstances, Lottie would have been desperate to spend time with Fiona, but she was conscious of the danger she’d be in of letting slip anything about the wedding.
‘If you’re too busy, I honestly won’t be offended. Alicia told me you run Firholme these days. How wonderful, I absolutely adore that place.’
‘Well, I don’t exactly run it. I’m the w— the events manager.’
‘Still, sounds like a big job, but I’m sure you have the place ticking over like clockwork.’
‘In my dreams,’ said Lottie, then deciding it was worth the risk, ‘and I’d like to have a quick cuppa. It’s been a long time.’
‘It has,’ Fiona said, her eyes wistful. ‘Oh quick, I can see a gap around the reindeer. Tell you what, I’ll join the queue while you grab them so we can save more time for our chat.’
Lottie was glad Fiona had suggested the plan, as it gave her a minute or two to marshal her thoughts while she selected the gifts for the girls. With a careful eye on the progress of the queue, she hovered around the display and added two chocolate Santas to her basket to give her an excuse to hold back a while longer. It was obvious Alicia had mentioned they’d met. Maybe Alicia had let it slip then covered her tracks with the dog-walking story.
She braced herself and rejoined Fiona. Soon after, they left the shop and went into a nearby café.
‘My treat. It’s been so long,’ Fiona said, picking up the menu.
‘How are you?’ Lottie said, reminding herself to tread carefully.
‘Oh, I’m on the mend. Much much better than I was.’
Lottie listened as Fiona told her a little more about the stroke, how shocked she’d been and the long process of recovery. The waitress brought frothy cappuccinos and slices of Cumberland Rum Nicky tart.
‘I haven’t had this for years,’ Lottie said, cutting a morsel off the pastry with her cake fork. The tart smelled divine, filled with juicy dates, ginger and rum and served warm with cream.
‘Nor me.’ Fiona cut her slice up with a knife. Noticing Lottie’s look she explained, ‘The stroke affected my left arm. So, this is easier than using a fork, though I’ve learned to use my other hand for a lot of things.’ She rolled her eyes.
They chatted about how busy the town was and Lottie told Fiona about the twins and their play, leaving out the part about Steph’s own health problems. She didn’t want to darken the mood. Fiona would probably be glad of a happy conversation.
They’d finished their cake when Fiona finally went quiet before speaking up again. ‘Lottie, I have to mention this, but did you know that Connor’s back?’
‘I had … heard,’ Lottie said, feeling awful. ‘On the grapevine.’
‘Yes, I – I suppose you know he has a girlfriend, then,’ Fiona said. ‘Fiancée, actually. I’m sorry.’
‘No need to be sorry. We split up well over a year ago now.’
‘Hmm. I’m glad you see it like that. You’re very generous to him. More generous than he deserves, even if he is my son. It can’t have been a happy year for any of us. I heard your sister had been ill from a friend whose grandchildren go to her school. She’s back at work now, isn’t she? That must be a good sign.’
‘We hope so. She’s got an MRI today in fact. She didn’t want me to go with her though I offered. It ought to be over now, fingers crossed,’ Lottie said, holding up her hand.
Fiona gave her a soothing smile. ‘That must be worrying. I do understand how you must feel.’
‘It is … but she’s trying to stay positive. We all are.’
‘What about your parents? Are they still abroad?’
‘Yes, they are.’
‘You must miss them.’
‘We do. Especially with everything going on with Steph. They both have full-time jobs out there, but we hope they’re coming over in the early spring.’
‘That’s something to look forward to, but I do know how it feels to have family so far away since Connor went to Australia. You might have heard he moved?’ Fiona said.
Lottie braced herself for more fibs. It was becoming a habit. ‘Um, now you come to mention it, I did,’ she said, as casually as she could.
‘Connor and Keegan are staying in the village for Christmas. You might even bump into them. I tried to suggest we all go up to Firholme to get a Christmas tree but they didn’t seem enthusiastic for some reason. Derrick kept on about them dropping needles everywhere so in the end, I let him get the artificial one down from the loft as usual.’
Lottie felt every response to this stick in her throat. Even though the wedding would be a lovely surprise, she felt she’d have to tie herself in more and more knots so she simply smiled and nodded.
‘I’ve heard how great Firholme looks after the renovations and I’ve seen the website photos. I’m determined to visit before Christmas if I can pin down Derrick or Connor and Alicia.’
‘You must come … if you can’t make it before Christmas, then in the New Year when it will be so much more peaceful,’ Lottie said hastily then added what she hoped would be the clincher for
