poppy had been a little sour about the family decision to hold chrismas lunch at number 7 ." richard and i could almost be offended , " she pointed out , " and our house is bigger ."
she had been mollified , however , when it wa arranged that lily and frieda would drive p from bath , sam would fly in from the states , and they would stay with poppy for a couple of days . jilly was pregnant again and , in the latest bulletin , sam announced that they had agreed she wouls remain in the UK until after the birth -" we couldn't affort to have a baby in the states " then join sam in austin .
the boys and i chose the christmas tre from the trader at the coner of lakey street and brought it home , with a selection of particularly nasty colord baubles and and colored lights with which they had fallen in love , it had been no use protesting that silver balls and white lights were prettier . they simply did not see it . any idea i might have cherished of a sophisticated , elegant tre disintegrate in the face of a determined pair of twins .
after all , and after everything , it was their tree .
we put it up in the hall . felix and lucas did their best to hold it stead while i crawled underneath to screw it into the stand . the three of us stood back to assess thje effect ." mummy , "
pronounced felix seriously ." it's a bit croooked ." i bit my lip . this had been nmathan 's job , and he had been expert in the fine-tuning , i saw " addy " float through their minds , and i said ." you're so picky , felix ." but i crawled back underneath the pine-scented branches and thought : you should see me now , nathan .
i planned everything down to the last detail , presents .... bath oil for the women , which i emploed syriol to wrap , who was keen to earn a bit extra , and a good bottle of wine each for the men . food .... the turkey , ready - made gravy , cranberry sauce , bread sauce , vegetables , and pudding was to be delivered from the supermarket .i reconked i could manage to peel the brussels sprouts and potatoes with the boys 's help .
a big smile plastered across her wan face . eve had flown home on christmas eve with so much luggage - mostly sweaters and socks from marks & spencer - that i was convinced she would not get through check -in .
i had filled the stockings several days previously .
on christmas day . i had been up at dawn laying the table . having thought long and hard about ther placements , i decided that sam should be at the head with his mother . richard was at the other end of the table with me . poppy had volunteered to sit the twins on their side of her to keep an eye on them . you are to make decent conversation , i admonished them ." what's decent ? " asked felix .
sam arrived early straight from te airport . he was tired , unshaven , and foul breathed . i sent him up to the spare bedroom , where he could wash and brush up in peace . the rest arrived hlaf an hour later .
there was confusion as to whther the presents should be openned before or after lunch , but i put my foot down and announced that lunch would burn if we delayed ,, sam carved and richard poured the wine . poppy had provided the candle 9 red and glittering ) , which to behonest , would not have been my first choice , and played cat's cradle with the twins while the food was served . with one arm round frieda . rose talked earnestly to jilly .
no one paid me much attention , but that was fine , particularly as i was busy in the kitchen . that was how i wanted it . as we sat and ate , conversation flew back and forth across the table , little snippets of gossip , an old joke , a snatch of reminiscence . only so much could have been decided that they were jumping beans and richard had to swap places to try to help poppy control them .
when i emerged from the kitchen with two puddings burning merrily , there was smattering of applause . i sat down , exhausted , speechless , and not hungry . at that moment , rose sent me a little smile .
we discussed jet lag ." i've been caking melatonin ," sam rubbed his face , " but it's not great ."
" you should try arnica . the pills , i mean ." rose said .
"it mght be better if you didn't quaff huge quantities of wine on board ." poppy leaned over to poke her brother ." eh ?"
" who are you to lecture on behavior ?" sam grinned all the same . " i know where your secret are buried ." for a second , poppy's eyes were dark with terror . under the table , i felt for her hand . after a moment .poppy's fingers tightened on mine . sm continued ." who snitched the chocolate bunny from gavin in the fifth form ? that's whaty i want to know ."
after the pudding sam got to his feet , wineglass in hand . " we need a toast , " he said ." absent friends ."
" dad ....." cried one of the twins and i swiveled round to see which .
there followed one of the heartbreaking emotin-filled silences that no one wanted to last .
she had been mollified , however , when it wa arranged that lily and frieda would drive p from bath , sam would fly in from the states , and they would stay with poppy for a couple of days . jilly was pregnant again and , in the latest bulletin , sam announced that they had agreed she wouls remain in the UK until after the birth -" we couldn't affort to have a baby in the states " then join sam in austin .
the boys and i chose the christmas tre from the trader at the coner of lakey street and brought it home , with a selection of particularly nasty colord baubles and and colored lights with which they had fallen in love , it had been no use protesting that silver balls and white lights were prettier . they simply did not see it . any idea i might have cherished of a sophisticated , elegant tre disintegrate in the face of a determined pair of twins .
after all , and after everything , it was their tree .
we put it up in the hall . felix and lucas did their best to hold it stead while i crawled underneath to screw it into the stand . the three of us stood back to assess thje effect ." mummy , "
pronounced felix seriously ." it's a bit croooked ." i bit my lip . this had been nmathan 's job , and he had been expert in the fine-tuning , i saw " addy " float through their minds , and i said ." you're so picky , felix ." but i crawled back underneath the pine-scented branches and thought : you should see me now , nathan .
i planned everything down to the last detail , presents .... bath oil for the women , which i emploed syriol to wrap , who was keen to earn a bit extra , and a good bottle of wine each for the men . food .... the turkey , ready - made gravy , cranberry sauce , bread sauce , vegetables , and pudding was to be delivered from the supermarket .i reconked i could manage to peel the brussels sprouts and potatoes with the boys 's help .
a big smile plastered across her wan face . eve had flown home on christmas eve with so much luggage - mostly sweaters and socks from marks & spencer - that i was convinced she would not get through check -in .
i had filled the stockings several days previously .
on christmas day . i had been up at dawn laying the table . having thought long and hard about ther placements , i decided that sam should be at the head with his mother . richard was at the other end of the table with me . poppy had volunteered to sit the twins on their side of her to keep an eye on them . you are to make decent conversation , i admonished them ." what's decent ? " asked felix .
sam arrived early straight from te airport . he was tired , unshaven , and foul breathed . i sent him up to the spare bedroom , where he could wash and brush up in peace . the rest arrived hlaf an hour later .
there was confusion as to whther the presents should be openned before or after lunch , but i put my foot down and announced that lunch would burn if we delayed ,, sam carved and richard poured the wine . poppy had provided the candle 9 red and glittering ) , which to behonest , would not have been my first choice , and played cat's cradle with the twins while the food was served . with one arm round frieda . rose talked earnestly to jilly .
no one paid me much attention , but that was fine , particularly as i was busy in the kitchen . that was how i wanted it . as we sat and ate , conversation flew back and forth across the table , little snippets of gossip , an old joke , a snatch of reminiscence . only so much could have been decided that they were jumping beans and richard had to swap places to try to help poppy control them .
when i emerged from the kitchen with two puddings burning merrily , there was smattering of applause . i sat down , exhausted , speechless , and not hungry . at that moment , rose sent me a little smile .
we discussed jet lag ." i've been caking melatonin ," sam rubbed his face , " but it's not great ."
" you should try arnica . the pills , i mean ." rose said .
"it mght be better if you didn't quaff huge quantities of wine on board ." poppy leaned over to poke her brother ." eh ?"
" who are you to lecture on behavior ?" sam grinned all the same . " i know where your secret are buried ." for a second , poppy's eyes were dark with terror . under the table , i felt for her hand . after a moment .poppy's fingers tightened on mine . sm continued ." who snitched the chocolate bunny from gavin in the fifth form ? that's whaty i want to know ."
after the pudding sam got to his feet , wineglass in hand . " we need a toast , " he said ." absent friends ."
" dad ....." cried one of the twins and i swiveled round to see which .
there followed one of the heartbreaking emotin-filled silences that no one wanted to last .
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