Page 53 of The Twelve Dates of Christmas
Laura grinned.
“Have a baby,” she said. “Have seventeen people looking up your vagina and see how many boundaries you have left.”
The tearooms were in what was the original banqueting hall. The ornately painted ceiling was so high that even with dozens of heaters pushing out hot air, the warmth was lost in its vastness.
The Pear Tree Bakery used to supply the manor with bread and still did until the late nineties, when they found a cheaper supplier out of town, a big bread manufacturer that could churn out bulk quickly and cheaply. It was this loss of business that encouraged the Harrisons to retire.
With the recent resurgence of homegrown produce and cottage industry, Matt had been approached by the manor and asked if he had any products to sell regularly in their farm shop.Funny how things go around, thought Kate. Though she suspected Laura might have influenced their interest.
And so Matt had a stall at the Blexford Manor Christmas fair. He’d spent a week in the autumn preserving fruits in brandy, just as his mother had, and stinking up the whole café with his spicy tomato chutneys and chili jams. They would be sold beside Carla’s Christmas gingerbread men and Evelyn’s miniature boozy Christmas cakes. Kate was going to start making chocolate truffle gift bags as soon as she got home after lunch.
“So where are you hiking to and from?” asked Laura. “Have you been assigned a date?”
“Through and around Epping Forest,” said Kate. “We’re meeting at one of the visitor centers at ten a.m. on Sunday. And yes, I’ve been assigned a date.”
Kate reached for her phone before her friend even asked and flipped through to the picture of her next date:
“Phil. Forty. Owns an independent extreme sports store,” said Kate, handing her phone to Laura.
Laura looked at the picture and nodded sagely.
“This,” said Laura, stabbing her finger at the photo. “This is the one.”
Phil’s profile picture was him leaned up against a surfboard. He had matted salt-sea-spray hair and a deep tan, and he wore a wetsuit and a smile that implied complete confidence in the way he looked.
“Well, he won’t be wearing a wet suit on Sunday, that’s for sure,” said Kate. “The weather forecast is minus two that day.”
“Like I said,” said Laura. “Rather you than me.”
Laura scrolled through Phil’s particulars and read them out loud as if Kate hadn’t seen them yet.
“Never been married,” she said. “One child. Loves his dogs. Looking for someone special to share his hobbies with. Awww, he sounds lovely.” Laura swooned. “Let’s hope he wasn’t engaged to any of your friends!”
Kate snatched the phone back from Laura.
“Heard from Dick yet?” Laura asked.
“No,” said Kate. “I haven’t heard fromRichardyet. He was the hero of the hour, you know,” Kate went on. “You could cut him some slack.”
“He did nothing more than any decent person would have,” said Laura. “I’ll call him Richard when he actually follows up on the lost date of Christmas. Until then,” she said, using her finger to swipe some spilled cranberry sauce from her plate into her mouth, “he’s a Dick.”
Laura went back to work and Kate ambled back down the quiet roads toward home. The grass verges were still covered in snow, and with the day’s cold clear sky it seemed unlikely they’d be thawing anytime soon.
She pulled her bobble hat down further over her ears. She waslooking forward to the hike. She hadn’t been to Epping Forest in years. And there was much less pressure to make conversation on a hike. She’d take her camera with her and if things were really dire, she’d bury herself in finding images for her mood boards and Phil would be none the wiser of her indifference toward him.
Her phone rang. It was a number she didn’t recognize. She almost dismissed the call but curiosity got the better of her.
“Hello, Kate?” said a deep husky voice.
“Speaking,” said Kate.
“It’s Richard.”
Kate’s stomach leaped.In your face, Laura!
“Oh,” said Kate, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice. “Hi!”
“Sorry it’s taken me so long to get in touch,” said Richard. “Turns out I hadn’t left my phone at the club. It was nicked. I had to have a temporary phone for a couple of days and, well, I won’t bore you with the details, you know how it is. Anyway, I’m calling to see if I can take you on that first date.”
