One Christmas Morning & One Summer's Afternoon Read Online Free Page A

of yesterday preparing was now a charred mess glued to the bottom of a casserole. Even Peggy had turned her nose up at the remnants of her mistress’s abortive culinary efforts. The Fox’s steak-and-kidney pie beckoned.
    ‘Sounds good,’ said Daniel. ‘As long as there’s wine involved and we can catch up properly. It’s really good to see you again, Laura.’
    He hugged her. Instinctively she stiffened. Would she ever be able to relax with a man again?
    ‘Good to see you too.’
    She left him to unpack. Watching her scurry back downstairs, Daniel wondered if he’d made a mistake coming here. Perhaps, after so many years, he should have booked a hotel. Or met her in London, as she’d suggested.
    Too late now.
Hopefully a few drinks at the pub would help her relax.
    * * *
    ‘So,’ Laura giggled, knocking back her third glass of Pinot Grigio. ‘Let’s talk about your divorce. Tell me all the grizzly details.’
    Dinner at The Fox turned out to be an excellent idea. The pub itself was festive and inviting, with a candlelit restaurant, a lively bar and a suitable roaring log fire. Bunches of Kentish hops hung from the low-beamed ceiling, and a delicious medley of smells wafted out from the kitchens, making Daniel’s mouth water.
    The food so far had been simple but excellent – homemade lentil-and-bacon soup with warm farmhouse bread, followed by a steak-and-kidney pudding of quite ambrosial tenderness. But it was the change in Laura that really made the evening. Whether it was the presence of other people, or the familiar, homely setting, or the copious quantities of wine that had done the trick, Daniel neither knew nor cared. All that mattered was that the awkwardness of this afternoon had vanished, replaced by the sort of easy intimacy only ever enjoyed by very old friends.
    ‘Well,’ Daniel began, ‘the divorce
is
grizzly. But in a very boring way. You don’t want to know.’
    ‘I
do
!’ Laura insisted. His face looked even more handsome now there was two of it. ‘Did she cheat on you?’
    ‘Actually, I cheated on her.’
    ‘Oh!’
    ‘Yes. Oh. That was what she said, obviously with a couple of other expletives thrown in. Then she took the house, and the children, and anything else she could stuff into her pockets.’
    ‘You did sort of deserve it, though.’
    ‘Yes.’ Daniel refilled his glass. ‘I was a dick.’
    ‘Who did you sleep with?’
    ‘The au pair. I was a dick and a cliché.’
    ‘Oh!’ Laura said again. She couldn’t seem to think of any other response. ‘Well, er, you’re very honest at least. Do you still love her?’
    ‘The au pair?’
    ‘Your wife.’
    ‘Honestly? No. I’m an honest, clichéd dick who doesn’t love his wife. Let’s talk about you.’
    ‘Let’s definitely not,’ said Laura, picking up a leftover chip from Daniel’s plate and dipping it into the gravy on her own. She was enjoying this evening more than she should be. Good food, good wine and good company had been sorely lacking in her world of late. It was as if God had decided to jolt her out of her miserable stupor by sending Daniel, dropping him back into her life like an unexpected early Christmas present. ‘Trust me, you’d be deeply bored. I wouldn’t want you to fall asleep at the table before the sticky toffee pudding arrived. The butterscotch sauce here is to die for.’
    Right on cue, the puddings arrived, delivered to the table by none other than Lisa James, the Nativity play’s Virgin Mary. Judging by the giggling and complete lack of concentration at rehearsals this past week, she and Gabe Baxter were definitely having a fling.
    ‘Here you go.’ She set the bowls down on the table, affording Daniel an excellent view of her ample cleavage. Turning to Laura she said, ‘Sorry about rehearsals yesterday. I know we was messing about.’
    Laura resisted the impulse to correct her – ‘
were
messing about’.
I must not become my mother.
‘That’s all right. It’s still early days.