“Aunt Erica is far too busy to see your toys, and—”
“I’d love to see your toys,” Erica said, “if that’s all right. Is that Rufus standing by the door? Not that I know much about dogs, but it looks as if he has his legs crossed out there so maybe you’d better take him for his walk and I’ll see you later.”
Delphi ran across to the dog, and the two of them disappeared.
“Later?” Hattie retrieved Delphi’s hair ribbon from the floor. “You’re not checking out?”
Claudia held her breath and saw Erica glance in her direction. There was a pause as their eyes met, and Claudia wondered if Erica could see how desperately she wanted to stay. Was it visible on her face?
Maybe it was because Erica gave a brief smile. “We have reservations for the whole week,” she said, turning to look at Hattie. “We have a book to discuss, and wine to drink, and conversations to have. And Claudia seems to be having fun in your kitchen, so no, we won’t be checking out.”
“That’s great.” Hattie looked as if she was fighting emotion. “I’m pleased.”
Claudia felt similarly emotional. She’d seen that look. She suspected Erica’s reasons for changing her mind about leaving were more complicated than just a consideration of her friend’s feelings, but still, she was grateful.
And she intended to make the most of the opportunity. “I am having fun in the kitchen. I don’t suppose you’re looking for a chef to cover this week, are you? Because I might know someone who can help.”
“Are you sure?” The tension seemed to seep out of Hattie. “This is your book club week. Your vacation with your friends.”
“There will be plenty of time to talk about books, and anyway, my friends are boring.”
“Thank you,” Anna said mildly. “We love you, too.”
“Do we?” Erica raised an eyebrow. “Personally, I only love her food.”
“I thought we agreed never to tell her that?”
“Well, it’s out there now. She’ll have to live with it. Cupboard love.”
“Refrigerator love,” Anna said. “Range cooker love.”
Erica waved a hand in Claudia’s direction. “I’m already hungry. Go to the kitchen right now and get to work.”
Claudia felt a rush of love for her friends. “I’m going to do that. I have menus to plan with Hattie and a team to motivate. Let’s meet up for a quick lunch later. If I start work now, I’ll have time for that. What are you two going to do?”
“I’m going to take a trip into town to try and finish my Christmas shopping.” Anna reached for her bag and stood up. “While you’re sweating over a hot stove, I will be sipping cinnamon hot chocolate. I might treat myself to that sparkly sweater I spotted in the window.”
Erica shook her head. “Because Anna never saw a sweater she didn’t want to buy.”
Anna shrugged. “It’s Christmas. It would be cruel to leave it there all alone, feeling as if no one cared about it. Unloved. I’m offering it a good home. And after I’ve made the sweater feel at home among all my other sweaters, I will be checking that Chloe doesn’t need housekeeping assistance, and then I will be calling my Pete.” She frowned. “Or trying to call him. He has been unusually elusive this week.”
My Pete.
For once Claudia didn’t feel envious. She was too excited about the week ahead. Mostly she was relieved to discover her love of cooking hadn’t left her. It was like falling in love again. “Erica? What will you be doing?”
“Me? I’m going to keep Anna company on her shopping trip to make sure she buys a maximum of one sweater, then I’m going to write a letter to Santa,” Erica said, “and because I have no idea what I’m doing, Delphi has generously offered to help me.”
Claudia was so grateful to her that she stepped forward and hugged her. “Thank you for staying.”
“Oh, a public display of affection. My favorite thing.” But she gave Claudia a hug back. “You would have left for me, and I can certainly stay for you. And anyway, you’re not the only reason. Go and produce something that will make our taste buds explode.”
NINETEEN
Anna
Anna snuggled deeper into her wool scarf as she walked with Erica along the main street. The snow crunched under their feet, and each breath formed a cloud as it met freezing air.
“This place is so pretty.”
“Yes.” Erica paused outside the toy store and gazed at the window. “I should buy something for Delphi. But what? Obviously, I’m clueless. Will you help?”
“Love to.” Grateful for an excuse to escape from the cold, Anna pushed open the door and went inside before Erica could change her mind. Like Claudia, she was relieved to be staying but mostly she was relieved that Erica seemed to have formed a tentative bond with Hattie and Delphi. She intended to do everything she could to encourage that, and maybe she was a little interfering, but what were friends for?
Being with Delphi reminded her of when her own children were small.
Now, standing in the toy store, looking at the kaleidoscope of colorful toys, she felt a serious pang of nostalgia. In the middle of the store a train track circled a large Christmas tree, and a train chugged steadily past a stack of prettily wrapped toys. The corner of the store had been turned into a grotto and the staff were dressed as elves.
She watched as a young mother wrangled an active toddler while trying to entertain an older sibling.
The twins had loved visiting toy shops, particularly at Christmas.
“What’s wrong?” Erica looked at her. “You look sad.”
“I’m fine.” Anna forced herself to focus on the toys on the shelf. “Right. Let’s find something.”
“Yes, but what?” Erica made a gesture of despair. “What do I buy?”
“You’ve always been great at picking gifts for Meg and Daniel. We just have to think about the type of person Delphi is. She obviously loves painting, so you could buy her some art materials.” Anna picked out various items that she thought Meg would have loved at the same age and handed them to Erica. “Stay clear of anything with glitter or that’s your relationship with Hattie over before it has started.”
Erica stared at the corner of the store. “That drum kit over there is cute.”
“No. Nothing noisy. No drum kits, or electric guitars, or trumpets.”
“Those aren’t fun?”
“Not for the parents. You don’t want to give Hattie a headache. Unless you happen to have a musical genius in the family or a soundproofed room, they should be considered revenge toys.”
Erica picked up a jigsaw. “Revenge toys? Children think like that?”
“Not the children, the parents. One of the dads in Meg’s class gave his son a drum kit after his wife divorced him for having an affair with the nanny. She spent the next month wearing earplugs. The wife, not the nanny. This notebook will be perfect for Meg’s Christmas stocking.” Anna popped it under her arm and walked farther into the store. She stopped in front of a rail of clothes. “How about a dressing-up outfit for Delphi? Meg went through a dressing-up stage. On the other hand we don’t know what Delphi already has, so probably better to stick with art materials.”