Page 42 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
Zoe turned her gaze back to it. In a sense, it was quite traditional and basic in construction. Since she’d been here, Zoe had seen ambitious attempts at fairy-tale castles, Santa grottoes and hobbit holes. Someone had built a church – though it was nowhere near as good as the one she’d seen in Corrine’s kitchen the time Victor had been eating the gravestones – and someone else had built a model of the village school, complete with marzipan choristers lined up in the grounds. She had yet to see Magnus’s with her own eyes, but Ottilie had told her that Stacey had seen it and said it was a replica of the iconic cathedral in Reykjavik and the best she’d ever seen Magnus build.
Billie’s was a house like any other – four walls and a roof, a chimney and a garden. But there was something so precise about it, so delicate and detailed that Zoe could see immediately the artistic flair that Corrine had spotted in her right at the beginning. Not only that, but Zoe already knew it would taste amazing.
As Billie checked it over, Zoe noticed Corrine arrive, Victor trailing after her with a huge box in his arms. After greeting a few people, they both made their way over, Corrine’s allocated spot being next to Zoe’s. A little unfair, Zoe had felt, but perhaps someone on the organising committee had a sense of humour.
Zoe smiled their way, but Corrine was peeling her coat off, tense and grumbling in a way Zoe wasn’t used to seeing. It was clear that, despite what she’d said in the lead-up, this contest meant more to her than she’d let on.
‘Someone needs to go and tell them about the temperature in here! The heat will have everyone’s icing melting! I don’t know why they didn’t do it in the church like they did last year. It’s far colder in my kitchen, so I don’t know what that’ll do to my joins!’
‘I don’t think you’re the first person to say so,’ Zoe replied. ‘At least that’s what I heard. Perhaps they’ll do something about it.’
‘Want me to have a word?’ Victor asked, and at least he was his usual amiable self.
‘Flo will be here shortly,’ Corrine said. ‘She’ll have something to say about it.’
‘Fair enough.’ Victor put the box down, examined his palm and then licked it.
Corrine stared at him. ‘What on earth are you doing?’
‘Icing. On my hand. I’m not going to let a blob of icing go to waste, am I?’
‘Icing?’ Corrine flew to the box and opened it, peering in with an expression that, if Zoe hadn’t known better, might have looked like borderline panic. ‘Where’s it from?’
‘I think some went on the table when you dusted last thing – must have got on the bottom of the box.’
‘Icing sugar, you clown!’ Corrine put a hand to her chest. ‘Don’t do that to me! I thought something had broken off!’ But then she paused, finally noticing Billie’s entry. Her face transformed in an instant, impatience replaced by a huge smile. ‘This is yours, my love?’
‘I love how you automatically assume it’s Billie’s and not mine,’ Zoe said wryly.
Corrine turned to her in some confusion. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Zoe. It’s yours?’
Zoe had to laugh at the utter disbelief in her tone, even as she asked. ‘No, it’s Billie’s. I wish it was mine. I’ll tell you one thing this experience has taught me – there’s no point in me applying forBake Off.’ She glanced at her own box. ‘I might as well get this out now. Standing next to yours and Billie’s, what’s the use in even pretending it’s not an actual embarrassment?’
‘Oh, Zoe…’ Corrine said, shaking her head. ‘I’m sure it’s not that bad.’
‘It is.’ Zoe opened the box. ‘But it’s all about the taking part, remember? A bit of fun that doesn’t matter.’
‘Of course it is.’
Zoe and Corrine took theirs out at the same time, and Zoe realised hers was even worse than she’d feared. The most she could congratulate herself on was that it was in one piece. That in itself was a miracle when she considered how flimsy and badly engineered it was. Though she agreed with Corrine about the heat – her construction might not stay in one piece for long if her sugary mortar started to melt. Corrine glanced at Zoe’s and then seemed almost embarrassed to remove the wax paper she’d had protecting her own.
Billie almost gasped. ‘Corrine! That’s so good!’
‘Oh, it’ll do,’ Corrine excused. ‘Not my best, but I didn’t have time to do another one.’
‘You thought you needed to do another one?’ Zoe asked. ‘What kind of mad perfectionist are you?’
‘The worst kind,’ Victor said. ‘An angel all year, but stay out of her way in the kitchen when she’s making her Christmas competition entry.’
‘Don’t be daft…’ Corrine grumbled but looking sheepish enough for Zoe to know there might be a little truth in Victor’s statement. She glanced towards the entrance. ‘Here come Ottilie and Flo. Wait for the complaining to start.’
‘Not by Ottilie,’ Zoe said.
Corrine winked at her. ‘You’re learning fast. Oh Lord, and there’s Mrs Icke.’
‘Does she even have a first name?’ Zoe asked. ‘Because I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use it since I’ve been here. I work at the surgery and she’s in almost every week, and I still don’t know what it is!’
‘Do you know,’ Victor said, ‘it’s so long since I’ve heard it used. I can’t remember what it is either.’
