Page 76 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘Into Windermere, actually. I was just wondering if you had your hot drinks on. I thought I might get a cup of chocolate to see me through while I wait for the bus.’
‘The buses are running?’ Magnus asked as he went to switch the vending machine on. It whirred and clicked as it set up. ‘It won’t be a minute. Is there anything else you want while you’re waiting?’
‘I’ll take these,’ she said, grabbing a bag of crisps from the stand and putting them on the counter. ‘I really hope the buses are running,’ she continued as she got out her purse. ‘Otherwise I’m sunk. Have you heard anything?’
‘We’ve had the radio on, but there’s been nothing on the traffic report – at least I haven’t noticed if there has, but I haven’t really been listening for that sort of thing. Sorry.’
‘That’s all right,’ Zoe said. ‘There isn’t one due for fifteen minutes. I’ll have my warm drink and my crisps, and I’ll just wait. I’m sure it’ll be fine.’
‘Is it desperate that you get to Windermere?’
‘Not life and death, but I could really do with getting there. I need to do some last-minute things for Christmas.’ She shrugged. ‘Don’t mention it to Alex if you see him, but I haven’t got his present yet. I’m so annoyed at myself, really, but I’ve just been so busy, and the time’s gone nowhere, and now here I am, two days before Christmas and still not ready. Next year I’m going to be more organised.’
‘I say that every year.’
‘Yeah…’ Zoe gave a rueful smile. ‘Me too.’
‘Do you know what you’re going to get? Will it be easy to pick it up and come straight home?’
‘Not really, which is hardly helpful, I know. Don’t suppose you have any ideas?’
Magnus pressed the buttons for Zoe’s drink. ‘I barely know what to get for Geoff these days, let alone anybody else. What sort of things does he like? He has hobbies?’
‘I mean, we haven’t been together all that long, have we? So I feel as if I barely know myself. I ought to – we spend a lot of time together – but beyond the obvious, like things for the house or aftershave or whatever, I don’t have a clue. And I really don’t want to get him something that predictable.’
‘I think a well-chosen cologne can be a lovely gift.’ Magnus put the lid on her drink and set it down on the counter for her. ‘There’s nothing wrong with the basics. I think they’re only wrong if you choose badly. I’d be very happy with a nice set of pyjamas or some bath salts.’
Zoe smiled as she took her drink. She wasn’t going to say so, but bath salts and pyjamas were absolutely not on her list. ‘Thanks, Magnus. Well…’ she added as she went to the door. ‘Wish me luck!’
‘Stay safe,’ he said, waving her out. ‘Will we see you at the carol service tomorrow evening?’
‘Wouldn’t miss it,’ Zoe said before stepping out into the snow again.
With her hands cupped around her drink, Zoe waited at the bus stop. She didn’t see a single car pass, and although someone had cleared the road earlier that day, the tarmac was already beginning to disappear under a fresh layer of snow. At this rate, Alex would be opening a ski resort rather than a glamping site.
Twenty minutes had passed, and although she was getting colder now that she’d finished her drink, Zoe didn’t worry that there was still no sign of the bus. It was hardly a surprise that it might run late in weather like this, and she was prepared for a delay. But when forty minutes passed, she stamped her feetagainst the cold, looked up into a heavy sky and wondered if it was going to come after all.
After an hour had passed and she’d started to give up, she heard her name being called and looked up to see Emilia walking towards her.
‘Are you all right?’ she asked. ‘I thought you’d gone home ages ago.’
‘I left, but I didn’t go home. I was hoping to get a bus to Windermere, but I’ve been waiting an hour and I’m ready to give up. I suppose they’re either hopelessly behind or not running at all. I checked online and I didn’t see any notifications, but…’ Zoe shrugged. ‘Since when was bus information round here bang up to date?’
‘I wouldn’t know – I don’t use them. So you’re just going to wait until you turn into a human snowman? What’s so important for you to get to Windermere tonight anyway?’
‘Would you believe Christmas shopping?’
‘I would. I can’t remember the last time I finished mine with room to spare. I’ve still got things to get.’
Zoe tried not to show her surprise, but it was there. The way she’d been acting up over Lavender’s seasonal enthusiasm, she wouldn’t have imagined Emilia giving Christmas gifts a second thought. She’d given the impression that she didn’t celebrate it at all. ‘So what are you going to do?’
‘I expect I’ll do mail order to aunts and uncles and cousins. I know it’s a bit late but I can order them next day delivery when I get home. Georgia and I have agreed not to buy this year, so that’s one out of the way.’
‘I couldn’t do that,’ Zoe said, and then immediately wished she hadn’t, given what she’d recently learned of Georgia’s financial troubles. It may have been that Emilia’s lack of enthusiasm had her fully on board with a plan to ignore gift buying for her sister, but it was more likely that she’d eitheragreed or suggested it because Georgia had very little money to spare.
‘Well, that’s you, isn’t it?’ Emilia said. ‘Everyone views it differently. As far as I’m concerned, I can do without the commerciality. If I have loved ones close, that’s all I need.’
Given what Zoe also knew of Emilia’s marriage split, and that Brett and Georgia were currently forced to live with her, she also had to wonder just how much comfort the notion of having loved ones close was right now. She was hardly living in a Hallmark movie.
