Page 28 of The Twelve Dates of Christmas
Matt didn’t like birds. Even sparrows. Robins on Christmas cards made him shudder.
“Don’t you like birds, Uncle Matt?” asked Mina.
“Not the feathered kind,” said Kate.
He looked at Kate and poked his tongue out.
“Is it hard being the second-favorite godparent?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t know,” said Kate. “Is it?”
“Don’t start!” said Laura. “Two children is quite enough.”
“So,” says Matt. “What’s the next date of Sha—”
Laura cut him off.
“Don’t you dare!” she said. “She repeats everything she hears at the moment, and if she gets kicked out of nursery for using bad language, I’ll be delivering her here for daycare instead!”
Matt looked at Mina.
“Uncle Matt’s been told off by Mummy,” he said.
Mina giggled and kissed his nose, leaving a blob of pink buttercream behind. The doorbell jingled and Sarah walked in looking rosy-cheeked and fresh from the cold, her dark hair bouncing against the shoulders of her green tweed jacket.
Kate saw her first and waved.
“Hi, Sarah!” she called.
Sarah waved and came over.
“Hi,” said Sarah cheerfully.
Sarah always had that delicately windswept English rose look about her, like she’d just finished making daisy chains beside a babbling brook. Which was odd because by her own admission, she hated the countryside.
“Hey, babe,” said Matt.
Matt went to kiss Sarah. She backed away.
“Got a little something on your nose there, honey,” she said, and wiped it off with a napkin. Then she kissed him on the lips. Mina puckered up and Sarah gave her a kiss too.
“Sarah,” said Laura. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, when do I need to apply for Mina’s school place?”
Sarah was the headmistress at Great Blexley Primary School down the hill in Great Blexley, commonly referred to by Blexford locals as “the Big Town.”
“You came to the open day, didn’t you?” asked Sarah.
Laura nodded. “And we put Mina’s name down on a list.”
“Well, in that case you’re already on our mailing list,” said Sarah. “You’ll get a letter after Christmas telling you what you need to do.”
Laura and Kate had gone to the church school in the village, but regular church attendance was required for a place, and Ben point-blank refused to go to church for anything other than baptisms, weddings, and burials.
Laura had initially felt a bit sad that her children wouldn’t attend the same school she had, but Sarah’s reputation as an outstanding head teacher took precedence over her budding relationship with Matt. She had joined the school a couple of years back with excellent credentials,and word quickly spread around toddler groups and nurseries that Great Blexley Primary wastheschool to go to.
“So which date is next?” asked Sarah. Kate and Laura scrunched up on the sofa and Sarah nestled in beside Kate.
“This is date number four: cocktail making,” replied Kate.
