Page 116 of The Winter of Second Chances
The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future had been covertly lugged via the sand dunes, which ran along the bottom of the cliff, all the way to the end of the promenade, whereupon they were rigged up to join the procession back towards Saltwater Nook. The golden flecks of candles shimmered in the darkness like fireflies. The ghosts swayed above the heads of the procession – lit with torches from below, by the puppeteers who held them – their robes rippling in the breeze, their huge faces ghastly in the cold light of the moon. The choir sang ‘Good King Wenceslas’ as they processed, then ‘I Saw Three Ships’, ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ and ‘Ave Maria’. As more people left the little fires on the beach to join the choir, they sang carols with more well-known lyrics such as ‘Deck the Halls’ and ‘We Three Kings’. When at last they reached the cafe, the ghosts were secured facing out to sea and the folk band picked up the music. Annie felt warm despite the cold. She saw Alfred a little way along the promenade and waved. He waved back.
‘Come on, Annie!’ shouted someone in the crowd. ‘What are you playing at? I’m starving!’
A roar of agreement went up.
‘I guess that’s my cue!’ Annie laughed. ‘Come on, Billy, let’s feed the hungry hordes.’
‘We’ll give you a hand,’ Peter called over; the boys had both had part-time jobs at the restaurant in their teens, so they knew the drill.
By the time Annie had scraped the last of the vegetable stew into a bowl and announced ‘That’s it, folks!’ she was clean out of biscuits, cakes and hot chocolate powder. Even with Peter, Alex and Greg helping, they were still rushed off their feet. John had taken over the kiosk and had managed to soothe even the most impatient customers. There was something about his courtliness which disarmed people. It was not so long ago that Annie had found his manner overly formal and pompous, but now she found that it was one of her favourite things about him.
‘Um, Annie.’ John came up behind her as she was finishing off two chai lattes. ‘There’s someone at the kiosk.’
Annie peered around his shoulder and made a reflexive ‘Urghh’ sound. Max.
‘Can I help you?’ Annie asked.
‘I thought I’d come and see you. The boys are staying with me tonight, so I thought I’d pop down...’ he trailed off.
Annie looked back into the cafe. It was emptying out now; she would close in a few minutes anyway.
‘Boys!’ she called back. ‘Dad’s here. Go out and spend a bit of time with him. Billy and I can take it from here.’
‘I thought we could talk,’ said Max.
‘About?’
‘Everything.’
‘Everythingis not going to fit into this evening. And you may have noticed, I’m rather busy at the moment.’
‘Later then.’
Annie could feel John’s eyes on the back of her neck while Max made puppy eyes at her from the front. She turned back into the cafe.
‘Honestly, boys, thank you but it’s all right. I’ve got this.’
Alex and Peter finished what they were doing and headed outside. Greg followed behind them but not before he’d turned back to Annie and given her an exaggerated eye roll. She smiled and began to clear tables. She saw Max hovering at the kiosk window in her peripheral vision but ignored him.
Alfred came in and Annie brought over a slice of cake she’d held back for him.
‘I’ll be leaving tomorrow,’ he said.
‘I know.’
‘You’ve done a good job here.’
‘I think you’re doing the right thing, but it won’t be the same here without you.’
‘I’d have been pushing off to the city before long anyway.’
‘But still. I’ll miss you.’
‘John’s right. It’s time to face my demons. I’ve got to at least give it a try. Tide’s in tonight.’
‘Good job you can sleep here then.’
Alfred nodded and headed back outside.
