Page 81 of Christmas Wishes at Pudding Hall
‘She’s not your client,’ said Marc.
Adam tilted his head and raised his eyebrow. ‘She might be if she murders Simon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone loathe someone the way she loathes him.’
Marc took a spoonful of the other soufflé. It was okay but not amazing. He tried the other one again and then one more spoonful of the smaller one.
‘My decision is made,’ he said and he pushed back the chair.
‘Should I call the contestants?’ he asked Adam, unsure what the protocol for this situation was.
‘I’ll ask them,’ he said.
Marc walked out into the foyer of the house and saw the tree, the light hitting the deer family that Christa had placed proudly on the branch.
He saw some red and green wrapped packages under the tree. He bent down and saw the gift tags.
To Marc, Merry Christmas from Christa. One for Seth, Ethan, Adam and Paul and even Peggy and Bill and Meredith. When did she put these here?
He heard voices and Simon and Avian came from the kitchen, laughing and kissing like teenagers.
Christa was standing at the top of the stairs, her bags by her side.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked her as Adam and Paul came to the foyer.
‘I’m leaving. My soufflé was a failure,’ she said and he heard her voice break.
‘No, yours was amazing. I chose yours,’ he said looking up at her. ‘I would know your cooking from anyone’s. You cook from the heart.’
‘Which twin’s name was on your plate, Christa?’ asked Simon but Christa was already walking down the stairs.
Marc looked at Adam to do something but he threw his hands up in surrender. He clearly didn’t know what to do any more than Marc did.
Christa was lugging her suitcase and another travel bag with her, and she dropped them with a thud on the floor when she came to the bottom of the staircase.
‘I just need to get my knives and a few things that are mine from the kitchen and I will go,’ she said to Marc.
‘But, Christa, I chose yours,’ he said, wishing he could just hold her and have the rest of the watchers leave them alone.
‘You didn’t. You chose the one with Seth’s name, didn’t you?’ Her eyes searched his face and she saw the truth.
‘Yes,’
Simon jumped up and down, doing fist pumps into the air. ‘Yes, yes, winner. I’m the winner,’ he hissed at Christa and then tried give a high five to Avian who, to her credit looked embarrassed by her boyfriend.
‘Shut the hell up,’ Marc said to Simon.
Christa walked to the kitchen and Marc followed her.
‘You don’t have to leave. I don’t want you to go. It was a stupid deal made by Simon – you don’t have to follow it.’
Christa turned to him, her eyes streaming tears.
‘I made the deal. I agreed to leave, just as he did.’
‘You don’t have to go,’ he pleaded but she shook her head angrily.
‘I do. I agreed with Simon and besides, I can’t deal with him anymore. You don’t think he will lord this over me like some psychopath? He will, trust me. He’s horrific and abusive in his small pathetic way. And if I stay, then Avian leaves and the boys don’t get to see her for Christmas. I can’t do that to them.’
She went to the bench, collected her knives, pulled out a leather roll and put them each in their place and then rolled and tied it up.
