Page 65 of A Festive Surprise

‘Ho, ho, ho, hello, little man,’ said Beatie.

‘Is it ok if I take pictures?’ asked the other man.

‘I think so,’ said Holly.

‘Calum’s his godfather,’ said the dad. ‘And likes to do everything right.’

Calum pulled out his phone as the mum and dad took Angus towards Beatie.

‘Baby’s first Christmas,’ whispered Farid, handing Holly a present. ‘It’s something to celebrate.’

Holly held the present and waited. At the door, Calum had his phone poised. The pretty blonde woman beside him snatched it and re-angled it, pulling him in for a quick selfie. Holly looked away. Here we go again. Lovey-dovies everywhere. The mum, dad and Angus were cuddling and laughing beside Santa and this time Calum got the snap. They thanked Beatie and left. The blonde woman put her hand behind Calum and slipped it into the back pocket of his jeans.

Holly rolled her eyes. ‘Get a room,’ she muttered. Ha. She was a fine one to talk, after the way she’d carried on with Farid over the last few weeks.

Time ticked by in much the same way. Two screamers followed, then a girl who wouldn’t come in at all. At two o’clock, Holly had almost had enough.

‘One hour to go,’ whispered Farid as a family left.

Holly welcomed the next group. ‘And who have we here?’

‘This is Rowan,’ said his mum.

‘And how old are you?’ Holly asked.

‘Nine.’ He frowned at Santa.

‘Would you like to talk to Santa?’

‘Ho, ho, ho, hello!’ said Beatie. Did he hear those words in his sleep? They’d haunt Holly for the rest of the week.

Rowan shook his head. ‘That’s not Santa. I’m too big. I know it isn’t.’

What the hell to say? Her jaw hurt from pulling this cheery face. He was right. She’d felt the same way throughout her childhood. A friend of her sister had shattered the myth when she was eight and her parents hadn’t bothered to carry it on after that. The mystery died and presents became things stuffed in stockings or shoved under the tree, forgotten about a few hours after they were opened. Would it have been any different if she’d believed for longer? She doubted it. When she’d been serious with Gavin, she’d tried to make Christmas something special. His family was into it big time. But she’d misjudged his intentions completely and their last Christmas together was the festive disaster to top them all.

‘Would you like to shake hands?’ said Beatie.

Rowan shook his head again.

‘Hey,’ said Farid. ‘What do you like doing?’

Rowan frowned.

‘He loves football,’ said his mum. ‘My daughter, Carys, she’s much older than Rowan, is engaged to a footballer, Troy Copeland. You might have heard of him. Rowan loves to play with Troy.’

‘That’s great,’ said Farid. ‘Ah, I remember; he switched on the lights at the carol singing.’ He handed a present subtly to Holly and crouched in front of Rowan. ‘I tried football a long time ago. I was never very good.’

Rowan shrugged. ‘I’m quite good.’

‘I’m sure you are. Can I tell you something?’ Farid continued.

‘Ok.’

‘I help today because I want to learn about Christmas. I come from Syria; it’s far away and only a few people celebrate Christmas. I find it confusing. So, I understand it’s hard for you. But you must trust your heart. Believe what’s inside you. You believe in yourself and your skill at football. Do you believe in fun?’

‘Well, yeah,’ said Rowan, as though it was obvious.

‘And will getting a present be fun?’

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