‘No, Bess, it isn’t.’
At that moment Claire heard knocking on the front door. ‘Someone’s at the door,’ she said. ‘It’s probably Esther bringing Aimée home. Can I ring you back, Bess?’
‘Yes. I’ll wait for your call… Claire?’
‘I’m still here, but I must answer the door. I’ll ring you when Esther has gone.’ Claire put down the telephone and unlocked the front door.
Aimée ran into the house ahead of her great-grandmother. She put her arms around Claire’s waist and clung to her but didn’t speak.
Esther entered carrying a large cardboard box. ‘Father Christmas wasn’t sure whether you’d be back from Canada in time for Christmas. So, as he didn’t know your address over there, he left these gifts for you, Aimée, and Alain, with me.’
Claire forced herself to smile. ‘Thank you.’
Aimée let go of her mother and, showing no interest in the box Grandma Esther was holding, ran upstairs to her bedroom.
Esther went into the sitting room and Claire followed. As she turned to close the door she heard Aimée’s bedroom door slam.
‘Shall I go up to her?’ Esther asked.
‘No,’ Claire said, ‘I’ll go.’
‘And while you’re up there, dear, why don’t you get washed and dressed?’ Esther said as Claire left the room.
When she returned half an hour later, Claire could smell bacon cooking. ‘Can I do anything?’
‘Not in here, but you could take a look at the fire. Make sure it hasn’t gone out, will you?’ Esther shouted. ‘I’ll be with you in a jiffy.’
The warm smoky scent of wintergreen and vanilla met Claire as she opened the door. Crouching down she warmed her hands before the cheerful yellow flames of the burning logs. ‘The fire’s fine. The room is quite warm,’ she called to Esther, who she could hear opening and closing drawers and clanging pots.
‘Breakfast,’ Esther sang, entering the sitting room with a plate of bacon and eggs on a tray. She put the food on the dining table.
‘Thank you, Esther, but I’m not hungry,’ Claire said.
‘Maybe not, but you need to eat. Come on!’ Esther might have been a great-grandmother, almost eighty now, but she still considered herself in charge. She pulled out a chair from under the table and waited for Claire to saunter over and sit on it. ‘Now, young woman, eat this food or you will be ill. And that won’t do, not with Aimée to look after.’
Esther was right. Claire did as she was told and began to eat. When she had finished, Esther refreshed the teapot and sat at the table with her.
‘How was Aimée?’
‘Tearful. She’s worried that she’ll never see her daddy again. I reminded her that when she was a baby; when we lived in France with Grandma Édith, Daddy went away but he came back to us. I promised her he would come back to us again.’
‘And?’
‘She sniffed and nodded. She said she remembered. I’m not sure she does, but I wasn’t going to argue with her.’
‘Is she coming down?’
‘No. By the time I got upstairs she was undressing. She said she was tired, put on her nightie, and climbed into bed. I was worried that her nightgown was damp, but it felt fine. I think my neighbour must have had a couple of fires going while we were away. I filled a hot water bottle and slipped it into the bed by her feet. I looked in on her when I’d washed and dressed. She was asleep with her thumb in her mouth.’
‘She hasn’t sucked her thumb for years, has she?’
‘No,’ Claire said, ‘I thought she had grown out of it. She has never gone to bed in the day, either. You know yourself, she’ll do anything to delay going to bed at night.’
‘Poor lamb.’ The two women sat in silence for some minutes. ‘What are your plans, dear?’ Esther asked, pouring them both another cup of tea. Claire looked into Esther’s kind blue eyes and slowly shook her head.
‘You must go back to Canada!’ Esther said, with such conviction there was no room for discussion. ‘Find Alain and bring him home. But first you need to give Aimée a Christmas. A couple more days without your husband won’t hurt you, but not having a Christmas will hurt Aimée.’
‘What about you?’ Claire asked. ‘What will you do?’
‘I shall spend Christmas Day with my friend Dorry, who would otherwise be on her own. On Boxing Day two friends who make up our bridge four will join us. If you need me here to look after Aimée, they can come to me. Aimée might not have as much fun with four old fogies as she would at Foxden with her cousin Nancy but she won’t go short on love and attention. With no family of her own Dorry spoils Aimée at every opportunity.’ Esther shook her head and laughed.
‘So?’ she said, looking at Claire over the top of her glasses, her voice taking on a serious tone. ‘What’s it to be?’
‘All right. You win,’ Claire said, pleased that Esther had forced her into making a decision. ‘I’ll telephone my sister and tell her we’re coming up to Foxden tomorrow. That is if the car starts.’
‘I’ll have no excuses, young lady. If your car doesn’t start, I shall drive you to the station.’
‘Thank you, Esther,’ Claire said, unable to stop her tears.
Mitch’s ever-practical grandmother reached into her handbag at the side of the chair and took a clean handkerchief from it. ‘Wipe your eyes, child,’ she said, pushing the hankie at Claire. ‘If Aimée sees you’ve been crying when she comes down, she’ll be even more upset.’
With Esther’s help, Claire unpacked the suitcases. Between them, they made three piles of clothes. A clean and ready to wear pile, a pile that was clean but needed ironing, and a pile to be
