Page 79 of Merrily Ever After
I put down my empty cup and quickly stood up as a man approached the stall and picked up a candle to smell.
‘I can manage now, Astrid,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you spend some time with Maude?’
‘If you’re sure?’ she said, getting to her feet. ‘She has some Christmas presents to wrap in her room and asked for my help. See you later,Liebling.’
Once Astrid had gone, I turned my attention to my customer and for the next twenty minutes, I was busy selling and chatting to the people who visited my stall.
‘These smell lovely!’ Gail, Springwood House’s manager, wafted her hand over the lit flame of my new Home candle and inhaled. ‘The aroma has filled the whole room. I’m going to have to take one. This is what I want my house to smell of.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, slipping one into a gift bag.
Gail handed over the money. ‘I love these Christmas events, but it’s disastrous for my bank balance.’
‘They do make nice gifts,’ I agreed.
She pulled a guilty face. ‘Theywould, but the things I’ve bought today won’t end up under the Christmas tree. They’re treats for me.’
‘Same here!’ I showed her the chocolate reindeer which I had bought to put in Cole’s stocking but had alreadynibbled off the antlers. ‘So far I’ve managed to restrain myself from biting into the marshmallows I’ve bought for the children, but the afternoon isn’t over yet.’
We were laughing when a man approached the stall. He was carrying a record sleeve and it looked like he had missed most of his chin with the razor; patches of silver stubble stood out on his pale skin.
‘Hello, Ray,’ said Gail warmly. ‘Are you having a good time?’
He frowned and scratched his head as if not sure of the answer. ‘Yes, I think so. I met Charles Darwin’s sister.’
I’d been warned that the residents could get confused and that I should just go along with them and enter their world.
‘I bet that was interesting. What was she like?’ I smiled at him.
‘Snooty,’ replied Ray. ‘Told me I couldn’t play my music today because it isn’t a Christmas—’ He stopped mid-sentence and sniffed. ‘What’s that smell?’
‘It’s this candle, Ray,’ said Gail. ‘It’s lovely isn’t it? I’ve just bought one for my house.’
‘I like that smell,’ he mumbled and bent right over the candle, sniffing again. Then he picked it up and lifted it up to his nose.
‘Please be careful of the hot wax!’ I’d had enough accidents with candles to know that melted wax was dangerous.
‘I’ll buy one.’ He set it down, much to my relief. ‘A new one, though, not a burned one.’
‘Is it for a present, Ray?’ asked Gail, linking her arm in his. ‘Because we don’t have candles in our rooms.’
Ray ignored her.
‘She always smelled nice,’ he said, with a faraway look on his face. ‘Always. That’s hard you know, when you’re on the streets.’
‘Ray? Why not buy one for your lovely daughter?’ Gail said brightly, in an attempt to bring his focus back.
‘I will,’ he replied, digging into his pocket. He produced a ten-pound note and handed it over, looking at me directly for the first time. ‘You look a bit like my girl.’
Gail studied my face. ‘You’re right, Ray, she does a bit. Similar colouring. Is Emily coming today?’
He shrugged. ‘She came this morning. Brought me a hot sausage roll.’
‘She sounds like my sort of woman.’ I smiled brightly. ‘And you’ve bought my favourite candle, so I’m sure your daughter will love it too.’
I popped the candle into a gift bag, thanked him for his purchase and Gail took him off to get a drink. I might get Fred to investigate branded gift bags, I thought, before remembering that his days at Merry and Bright were numbered. Maybe I needed two part-time staff, to give us more flexibility around holidays, perhaps someone who was marketing-savvy? And perhaps a Saturday worker too, I’d quite like not to have to work at weekends, especially when Harley and Freya were staying over.
I was still musing over where I should place a job advertisement when Astrid returned.
