Page 80 of Merrily Ever After
‘Maude has dropped off to sleep and I’ve just seen a children’s choir arrive in a minibus, so I thought I’d come back to watch.’
‘Oh fabulous! Is there anything more Christmassy than children singing carols?’
I got a tissue out of my bag and tucked it into my pocket in preparation for the tears which were bound to appear. I was always the same: I’d be a blubbering wreck before the kids reached the end of the first verse of ‘Silent Night’.
‘Here they come!’ Astrid tugged my arm, and we watched as a crowd of secondary-school-age boys and girls all wearing identical red and white Santa hats burst noisily into the room. A teacher, wearing a fleece jacket with ‘Darley Academy’ emblazoned in huge letters across the back, herded them towards the Christmas tree in front of the window.
‘That’s Harley’s school!’ I said, pointing out the school logo to Astrid.
There was an enthusiastic burst of applause from various corners of the room as the kids filed past and you could almost see their mood change as their bravado gradually seeped away to be replaced by nerves.
I’d been scanning the children half-heartedly, not expecting to see anyone I knew when a tall boy with hunched shoulders and his hat pulled right down over his eyebrows caught my eye. It was Harley! He was walking beside a girl, their bodies close and their little fingers hooked together. That was adorable. Freya had mentioned something about a girl; it looked like things were going well in that department. I was so happy for him.
‘That’s Harley!’ I hissed, grabbing hold of Astrid’s arm.
At that moment, Harley spotted us, and a look of sheer horror came over his face. He released the girl’s hand as if it had burned him and muttered to her under this breath. The kids behind him pushed forward and he began moving again, hands shoved in his pockets, while the girl scanned the room looking for what, or who, had upset him.
Astrid chuckled. ‘I don’t think he is as pleased to see us as we are him.’
‘Bless him,’ I said anxiously. ‘I might go and say hello, put his mind at rest.’
I squeezed past Astrid and away from my stall and headedto the Christmas tree where the teacher was trying to get the kids organised.
‘OK, spread out, into your positions,’ the teacher was saying, flapping his arms about like an angry bird. ‘Semicircle, chop-chop. No, Henry, you can’t have any mulled wine. Where’s Lizzie? Toilet? Again? For heaven’s sake. Who’s got the Bluetooth speaker?’
‘Hey, Harley!’ I said quietly, sidling up beside him and tapping his arm. ‘This is a surprise! I didn’t know you were in the choir?’
‘What are you doing here?’ he mumbled. His cheeks were pink with embarrassment, and it dawned on me that far from reassuring him, approaching him had made things much worse.
‘I’ve got a stall, selling candles,’ I said, feeling my face grow as hot as his. I did a ridiculous wave to the row of kids all staring at me. ‘Um, I just wanted to say good luck.’
The boy behind him whistled and said, ‘She’s well fit, Robbo, is that your mum?’ causing several others to snigger under their breath.
Harley gritted his teeth. ‘It’s my dad’s girlfriend. She’s just going. Aren’t you?’
I nodded meekly, annoyed with myself for misjudging the situation. I should have known better, given the drama when I’d picked him up from school.
‘Absolutely. See you later. Good luck, everyone.’
I was going to take a photo of the choir without him noticing. Lydia would love it. The fact that he was here, with the choir, was such a good sign; he might not have made the rugby or football team, but he’d found another group to be a part of and my heart swelled with pride for him.
‘Since when has he been in the school choir?’ Astrid said, bemused. ‘He has certainly never mentioned it to Fred or me.’
‘No idea,’ I replied with a shrug, watching as Harley pulled his Santa hat further down over his eyebrows. The girl he’d been holding hands with pushed it back up and Harley grinned at her. But, unfortunately, he caught me watching him and scowled, slumping down as if trying to make himself invisible. ‘I always had him down as a sportsman not a musician. I don’t think Cole knows, otherwise he’d have wanted to be here to see him perform.’
‘Hmm, maybe that’s why he hasn’t told anyone,’ Astrid mused. ‘So that he wouldn’t have an audience.’
‘Let’s sit down,’ I suggested. ‘Then at least we’ll be less conspicuous.’
We sat on our stools just as Gail bustled towards the children and conferred with the teacher.
I raised my eyes to Harley again and risked giving him a thumbs up. To my delight, he nodded his head, and his mouth curved into the most unenthusiastic of smiles, but it was a smile, nonetheless. I hoped that meant he’d forgiven me for approaching him in front of his mates.
‘Ladies and gentlemen!’ Gail clapped her hands and the noise level in the room fell instantly. ‘Thank you for joining us this afternoon for our festive fair in aid of the charity Dementia UK. I hope you’ve found plenty to enjoy and stocked up with gifts for the big day. And now to really get us in the Christmas spirit, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the Darley Academy choir, singing a medley of some of your festive favourites. Let’s give them a round of applause.’
Everyone clapped, although none perhaps as wholeheartedly as me. When I finally stopped clapping, I crossed my fingers, sending Harley luck and love.
‘I need the loo,’ I whispered to Astrid. ‘I feel so nervous for him.’
