It was Christmas Eve
and Samantha Dunlop, who worked at Hanratty’s Department Store in Abbottsford’s
Phoenix Centre, was just on her way
back to work after having had lunch with her boyfriend Darren.
“Bastard” she muttered
under her breath as she entered the centre.
Sam was running the
lunch time conversation through her head which was why she was so angry.
“You’re breaking up
with me?” she asked in disbelieve across the table in McDonald’s.
“Don’t take it so hard
babe” he said
“You’re breaking up
with me on Christmas Eve?” she repeated
“I didn’t see why not
I haven’t got your present yet so it was a win, win babe” he said
“You cheap bastard”
she yelled and poured his chocolate shake over him
“I can see this is
going to be another shit Christmas” she said to herself as she walked into
Hanratty’s.
She went into the
staff room and took off her coat and woollen had and shook her black hair like
a wet dog.
The day before she had
been passed over for promotion and then she gets dumped on Christmas Eve.
She was a 29 years old
divorcee and she had worked for the department store in the cosmetics department
for seven years and she was passed over for Abigail Subhan,
A 22 year old
University graduate who had to take her head out of her arse to smell the
perfume.
About 4 o’clock that
afternoon a middle aged man entered the department and walked up to Samantha’s
counter
“Good afternoon sir
how may I help?”
"I would like to buy
some perfume for my wife." he said
"Certainly sir"
she replied. "What does your wife like?”
“I’ve no idea” he
replied
“Do you have anything
particular in mind?" she asked through gritted teeth
"Not
really." he said "but nothing very expensive."
"I understand
sir” she said and reached behind her “How about this one?"
He picked it up and
looked it over and asked
"How much is
it?"
"£150” she
replied
“No, I did say nothing
very expensive”
She place that bottle
back where she had got it from and picked up its neighbour.
“This one is Eighty
pounds sir”
"That's still too
expensive" he replied
She presented him with
a smaller bottle
“How about this
one?" she said
"How much?” he
asked.
"Fifty pounds
sir."
"Do you have
anything else?" he enquired.
"Well, there's this
small bottle at twenty five pounds."
"Look love"
he whispered "I want you to show me something really cheap"
Samantha smiled and
said conspiratorially
“Come this way”
She led him to the
makeup counter and said
“Just stand there and
look straight ahead”
“What for?” he asked
Her green eyes
narrowed and she said
“Because you said you
wanted to see something really cheap, and that is as cheap as I’ve ever seen”
“Mrs Dunlop!!” Ms
Subhan called “My office now”
So on top of missing
out on promotion and being dumped by her boyfriend she was also sacked from
Hanratty’s.
But then maybe saying
to her boss that even with the biggest nose in Abbottsford she couldn’t tell
the difference between Chanel and Dettol, didn’t really help her case.
Her first reaction was
to go straight to the pub and get plastered but she was driving to Shallowfield
that evening.
And the way her luck
was going at that moment she was bound to get stopped by the police and lose
her license along with everything else.
Samantha had phoned
her best and oldest friend Emily as soon as she got back to work after Darren
dumped her and Emily invited her to stay with her and her husband Matt for
Christmas.
The Charlton’s had a
Flat in East Cliff Lodge, on Teardrop Lake, so she went straight home after she
was canned and packed a bag.
As she left
Abbottsford it started to snow and the snow that had fallen ten days earlier
was still evident on the ground so the fresh fall quickly settled.
Samantha didn’t like
driving in the snow, well she didn’t like driving full stop if she was honest,
and so she was driving very cautiously.
The snow was obviously
coming from the direction she was heading because as she was driving between Childean
and Shallowfield the snow on the road was getting significantly deeper so she
went even more cautiously.
But as she approached
the last significant bend before the Shallowfield she lost control and after
fighting with the steering she careered off the road into a ditch.
Richard O’Sullivan was
in his mid-thirties and was one of the partners in O’Sullivan and Springthorpe
Auctioneers in Shallowfield.
He had been driving in
the same direction to Samantha Dunlop but then he received a phone call from
his friend Jon cancelling their dinner date so he turned around and was heading
back home when he witnessed her car briefly skidding across the road before
disappearing from view.
He stopped the car and
looked down into the ditch, the car was nose in and tilted upwards 20 degrees
on the driver’s side.
The lights were on and
the engine was still running and the driver’s door was open but there was no
sign of the driver.
He got out of his car
and shouted
“Hello”
He got no response so
he clambered down into the ditch and approached the car.
He confirmed the car
was empty and reached in and switched off the engine and killed the lights.
He could see
footprints in the snow so he decided to follow them and resumed his calling.
After four or five
minutes he found a young woman in a clearing blundering about in aimless
circles.
“Are you ok?” he asked
and she turned around towards him the snow was still falling and accumulating
on her Wooly hat.
"It's Christmas
Day. Shouldn't we be watching “White Christmas?”” she said
"No” he replied “it hasn’t started yet”
“I like “White
Christmas”” she said
“Why don’t you come
and watch it with me then?” he suggested and took her arm
“I wouldn’t want to
miss it” she slurred and turned towards him which was when he noticed blood on
her face.
He guided her slowly
back the way they had come and helped her up out of the ditch and into his car.
Then he opened the
boot and took out his torch and went back to her car, and located her handbag
from the foot well and an overnight back and coat from the back seat and
clambered back up to the road.
As he was only half a
mile from his cottage and the snow was falling thick and fast he decided the best
thing to do would be take her to the Old Mill Cottage.
After he settled her
on the sofa he took a moment to look at her closely.
She had a bump on her
forehead and a cut above her right eye but apart from that her face had a
lovely shape and symmetry.
Richard got the first
aid kit and cleaned and dressed her cut then he gave her another appraising
look.
He noticed she had
high cheekbones and flawless skin.
But her shinning black
hair and wild green set her apart from every other girl he had ever met.
"My dad wants to
play Monopoly" she said "Not me though”
“Quite right” he said
and tucked a blanket around her legs and then he went to phone the Health
Centre and was put through to the on call Doctor.
“Hello Doctor, its
Richard O’Sullivan, there’s been a car accident, a young woman has banged her
head, she has a bump on the head, a cut eye and she’s a little confused”
“Ok where are you?”
Doctor Philips said
“Old Mill Cottage in
Shallowfield” he replied
“I can’t get there
myself, the roads are terrible and I’m stuck in Mornington” he said
“What should I do
then?” he asked
“I will get to you
when I can or failing that I’ll get someone closer to you to attend” he
said
“Just don’t let her go
to sleep”
He hung up the phone
and sat on the floor in front of her and had a nonsensical conversation with
her until an hour later there was a knock on the door.
He got up stiffly and
answered the door to find two snow covered figures.
“Hello Richard,
where’s the patient?”
“Doctor Lutchford? Is
that you?” he said “Come in, come in”
“It’s a bit Wintry”
Claire said and stamped the snow off her boots “Where is she?”
“On the Sofa” he
replied “Is that Peter under all that snow?”
“The roads are
un-drivable” he said and shook Richards hand “so we walked”
“I guessed as much”
Richard said
“It’s just as well we
did there are two trees down so the Childean road is blocked”
“Come into the kitchen
and let Claire do her thing” Richard said “I’ll make a hot drink”
Claire joined them in
the kitchen about 10 minutes later.
“How is she?” Richard
asked
“I’ve glued the cut
and redressed it. The bump seems superficial and there’s no sign of a
concussion”
“Good” he said
“Is it alright if you
keep her here overnight?” Claire asked “Getting about is problematic at best”
“Of course it is” he
said “Peter was just telling me what it’s like out there”
“Thank you Richard
that’s very good of you” she said
“I’ve given her some
pain killers, just let her sleep now, but keep an eye on her and call me if
there is any change”
They stayed long
enough to finish their drinks and then said their goodbyes and disappeared
again into the snowy night.
Richard made himself
another mug of coffee and went back to the lounge.
His houseguest was
fast asleep on the sofa, he could have carried her into the bedroom but as she
was a diminutive girl she fitted quite comfortably on the sofa, so he saw no
point in moving her.
He did go upstairs and
brought down the duvets, one he draped over her and the other he would use
himself.
Before he settled down
he put another log in the burner and picked up her handbag and rummaged inside
until he found her purse.
In the front pocket of
a rather gaudy pink purse was her driving license and he checked the photo and
confirmed it was her.
“Samantha Dunlop” he
said out loud and smiled
He also checked her
mobile phone and noticed a lot of missed calls, all from the same number.
“Someone is worried
about you” he said and dialed the number
He pulled the armchair
closer to the fire and made himself comfortable and covered himself with the
duvet.
That was the last
thing he remembered until he awoke in the eerie light of Christmas Morning with
a stiff neck.
He got up and stretched
and then winced when he turned his head.
He checked first his
watch and saw it was after eight and then his guest and found she was still sleeping
peacefully.
So he revived the fire
and dropped in another log and crept out of the room.
Showered, shaved and
dressed he returned downstairs to the kitchen.
He looked out of the window
and could see it was still snowing though much lighter than the night before.
He flicked on the
kettle and turned his attention to lunch.
As he lived alone he
didn’t bother with Christmas lunch and all the trimmings, not because he
couldn’t cook, he was a very good cook, he just didn’t bother for himself.
In fact he hadn’t done
Christmas lunch since his wife died.
Helena loved Christmas
and everything that went with it and so did he.
But five years earlier
his love of it died along with her.
And even though that
was at a different time in a different house he still didn’t put up the decorations
like Helena used to.
First things first he
looked in the fridge and the freezer and checked the cupboards and set about
his task.
It wouldn’t be a
Christmas Lunch per se but it would be a cooked lunch on Christmas Day.
Once he had everything
prepared he made his drink and went back to the lounge.
It was 10 o’clock,
Samantha had been asleep for more than 12 hours so he thought it was probably
best if she began to come round.
He drew back the
curtains and put on the radio, nothing too raucous he thought so he selected
Christmas worship on the BBC, then he sat down in his armchair and drank his
coffee.
Within ten minutes,
helped along by a vigorous rendition of “O come all ye faithful”
She began to
stir.
He was leant back in his
chair as first her breathing changed and then her eye flicked open, a little at
first, and then fully as her eyes tried to locate something familiar.
Eventually her eyes
settled on Richard.
“Where am I?” she
asked
“You’re in
Shallowfield” he replied
“Have you kidnapped
me?” Sam asked
“No” he replied and
chuckled “You crashed your car”
She closed her eyes
again and tried to remember
“How’s your head?” he
asked and her eyes opened again
“Ow” she exclaimed
after touching the bump
“Are you sure you
didn’t bop me on the head and kidnap me?”
“I’m quite sure” he
said “Merry Christmas by the way”
“Merry Christmas?” she
said puzzled “I thought I’d already had that”
She sat herself up and
asked
“Did I have a bag?”
“Two actually” he
replied “Your overnight bag is in the hall, and your hand bag is here”
He leant over the arm
of his chair and retrieved it and handed it to her.
“I took the liberty of
checking your mobile last night after the doctor left”
“The doctor was here?”
she asked
“Yes”
She closed her eyes
tight and tried to remember.
“You’re friend Emily
called you numerous times, she was clearly quite worried, so I called her and
told her what happened”
“Emily” she said in a
eureka moment “that’s where I was going”
She grinned broadly at
successfully accessing the memory.
“They will come and
get you when the roads are passable again” Richard said
“Why don’t you call
her while I make a drink?”
“Ok” she agreed
“Tea or coffee?”
“Tea please” she
replied and then as he was leaving the room she asked
“Who are you?”
“I’m Richard but my
close friends call me Tripp”
He had had the
nickname Tripp since he first started big school he was now 35.
It was all thanks to
his namesake Richard O’Sullivan whose most famous character portrayal was of
Robin Tripp in the shows “Man about the house” and “Robin Nest” and thanks to
reruns of the shows when he was a schoolboy the name stuck with him.
While he made the
drinks she made her phone call to Emily which dispelled her fears of being
kidnapped and she was much happier.
He entered the room
with the drinks and a pack of Paracetamol
“I spoke with Emily”
she said “And I am now happy that I haven’t been kidnapped”
“Good” he said putting
her mug down and giving her the pain killers
“Of course Emily and I
could be in it together”
“No don’t say that”
she said “my head is already messed up”
As she finished her
tea she asked sheepishly
“Could I be really
cheeky and have a shower”
“Of course you can” he
said and laughed “I took your bag up and put it in the spare room there’s an en
suite so you have complete privacy”
“Thank you Richard”
she said
“Call me Tripp” he
said
“But were not close
friends” she pointed out
“That’s very true” he
agreed “But we have slept together”
He watched her
gingerly climb the narrow stairs and found himself once again admiring her.
He had not looked upon
a woman in that way for a very long time, when his wife was alive he only had
eyes for her and after her death he focused only on his work.
When she reached the
top he said
“It’s the room on the
left”
“Thank you” she called
back and then she turned towards him and added “Merry Christmas Tripp”
Richard smiled and
walked into the kitchen and got on with the lunch
He was an ordinary
looking man in fact he was so ordinary if he were to commit a crime the witnesses
to it would supply a description that would fit half the population.
He was neither tall
nor short or fat nor thin, his face was not unpleasant to look but it wasn’t
handsome, his hair was mousy in colour and was unremarkable.
In summary he was not
the type of man who would attract the attention of someone like Samantha.
In fact it occurred to
him that only the particular chain of events that had already occurred could
have brought them together on Christmas day.
“Apart from kidnap” he
said to himself and laughed
While the Roast
Potatoes were cooking he set the table in the dining room, he always ate at the
dining room table, and it was a hangover from when Helena was still alive.
It was her Latin
upbringing, she would always say
“Meal times are for
more than just refueling”
After he’d laid the
table he went into the lounge to check on Samantha and found her back under the
duvet watching TV.
“Do you want more
tea?” he asked
“Yes please” she said
“can I do anything to help?”
“No, you just need to
relax and enjoy the hospitality” he replied and returned to the kitchen
He was lacking too
many key ingredients to make an authentic Christmas Lunch, Turkey, Cranberry
sauce chestnut stuffing and Christmas pudding and brandy butter, so in lieu of
a Turkey he cooked duck breasts, accompanied by Roast potatoes, and a selection
of vegetables, desert was an apple crumble.
He had taken everything
to the table, apart from the wine, which he retrieved from the fridge he then
pushed open the Lounge door and said
“Luncheon is served
madam”
“Oh goody” she
responded
When she was seated at
the table he said
“It’s not your usual
Christmas fare I’m afraid, but I did quite a lot of it as I wasn’t sure how
hungry you’d be”
“Wow it looks great
and I’m absolutely starving” she replied “I can’t remember when I last ate”
Although she couldn’t
remember at the time her previous meal was actually lunchtime the day before
prior to Darren dumping her.
Richard needn’t have
concerned himself about cooking too much because Samantha ate more than her
share and still had room for two helpings of Apple Crumble.
Richard cleared the
table and took the plates to the kitchen and found Samantha stood running the
taps at the sink.
“Hey what do you think
you’re doing Samantha Dunlop?” he asked crossly
“I’m washing up” she
retorted
“You are my guest and
guests don’t wash up, now go and sit down”
“I can’t” she replied
“You can’t what?”
“I can’t sit down” she
said “I’m too full”
“Ok then I’ll let you
off”
With the washing up
done and two reviving mugs of tea made they adjourned to the lounge.
As the day wore on the
snowfall had petered out and by late afternoon the skies cleared just as the
light began to fade and the temperature dropped like a stone.
So Richard put on the
lights and drew the curtains then he attended to the wood burner before sitting
down in his chair.
“Would like music or
TV?” he asked
“Is “White Christmas”
on today?” she asked “Or did I imagine it”
“Yes it is” he replied
“would you like to watch it?”
“Yes please, it’s one
of my favourites”
“I know, I remember
you saying”
“Really? When?”
He then explained the
conversation they had in the woods the night before and she put her head in her
hands
“Oh God how
embarrassing” she said
“And then when we got
back here you announced "My dad wants to play Monopoly””
“Now you’re making it
up?”
“Not at all, you said,
"My dad wants to play Monopoly, but not me though"”
“Because I wanted to
watch White Christmas” she said “I was seven when that happened”
Samantha laughed at
the memory and Richards’s rendition of her and then she shivered.
“Are you cold?” he
asked and got up from his chair and retrieved the folded Duvet she had used the
night before
“Here put this over
you” he said unfolding it onto her lap
“Thank you” she said
and smiled
“It’s definitely
chilly I think I might get my fleece” he said
“We could share the
duvet” she suggested and flapped the duvet aside
“Oh, ok, yes” he said
and sat next to her on the sofa and she flapped it over him.
As he nervously
fumbled with the TV control Samantha’s phone rang for which he was grateful as
it diverted attention away from him.
“Hello” she said
“Hi Em, Merry
Christmas”
Suddenly he wasn’t so
grateful for the interruption once he realized it was her friend Emily
presumably to arrange a time to collect her.
There was a long
tortuous silence until she said
“Hold on I’ll ask” and
Samantha turned her attention back to him
“Emily says the road
is still closed so they can’t pick me up until tomorrow, and could you put me
up for another night, or put up with me for another night”
“Of course, you can
stay as long as you like” he said struggling to keep the delight out of his
voice
“Ok Hun bye”
“I’m sorry” she said
“Whatever for?”
“Imposing on you”
“It’s no imposition
Sam, it’s a pleasure” he said
“Now watch the film”
When he woke up on
Boxing Day he was thrilled to see it was snowing again and settling fast on the
frozen snow of the day before.
He showered and shaved
and dressed for the day and went down stairs with a spring in his step.
When he got to the
kitchen he found Samantha was up before him and was in high spirits.
“Morning Tripp” she
said “It’s snowing again”
“Yes I know, it looks
like I might have to put up with you for another night”
“Really?” she queried
“Well I can’t see them
reopening the road today in this”
"How's the
head?" Richard asked her
"Better," she told him
“Good”
“Do you mind?” she
asked
“Do I mind what?”
“Being stuck with me
for another day”
“Not for a second” he
replied and she smiled
“In that case can I
cook you breakfast?” she asked
“I don’t know, can you
cook?”
“Go and set the table
and then you’ll find out” she said
As she cooked the
omelet’s she was feeling very happy with the situation and was not entirely
sure why.
Richard O’Sullivan was
not the kind of man who would normally show up on her radar, she went for a
very different type, he was rather ordinary.
As she dished the
omelets onto the waiting plates the thought occurred to her that, that was
probably why she had never landed a good one.
Later that day they
were playing cards in front of the log burner when Richard said.
“I bet this wasn’t how
you envisaged spending your Christmas”
“No it wasn’t” she
agreed
“So what was the
plan?”
“Christmas dinner with
my boyfriend’s parents” she said
“Oh” he said barely
hiding his disappointment
“But that was before I
was dumped by my skinflint boyfriend on Christmas Eve because he was too tight
to buy me a present”
“Ouch”
“Then I lost my job because
I embarrassed a miserly customer at Hanratty’s who was too mean to buy a £25
pound bottle of scent for his wife’s gift”
“Oh dear”
“So I called Emily and
she invited me to stay and then I crashed the car in the snow”
“That I can verify”
“Me too” she said
touching the wound above her eye
“You managed to pack a
lot in to one day” he said
“Yes” She agreed “As
Christmas Eve’s go, boring it was not”
“Indeed” he said
“Christmas Day on the
other hand” she began and then they exchanged a smile.
The road through Shallowfield
was finally reopened on the day after Boxing Day so Emily and Matt Charlton
arrived mid-morning to collect Samantha.
While Sam was upstairs
getting her bag, Richard entertained the Charlton’s in the lounge.
“It was kind of you to
take Sam in”
“It was nothing”
Richard said dismissively
“It was my pleasure”
Just then he heard
Samantha’s footfalls on the stairs
“We’re having a party
on New Year’s Eve and you are more than welcome to come” Emily said
“Thank you but no I’m
not much of a reveler”
“Oh do come” Sam said
“I’m not really much
of a one for parties” he replied
“Well if you change
your mind its flat 3 East Cliff Lodge any time after nine” Matt said and shook
his hand
On the door step
Samantha turned and kissed his cheek
“Thank you Tripp”
Samantha waved through
the back window as he watched them drive down the lane and he felt a strange
sense of loss.
Since his wife died he
had lived in quiet isolation and he had grown content in his existence.
But Samantha had
disturbed his calm and muddied the quiet waters of his life.
As Matt drove
carefully along the snow covered roads, Emily chatted excitedly at a pitch that
was only audile to dogs while Samantha was feeling lost and alone.
When he got up on New
Year’s Eve the snow had all but gone and he still planned to spend it alone as
had become the norm.
All day long he was
content it would be business as usual for the turn of the year.
Samantha was in Emily
and Matt’s spare room for hours getting ready for the party.
Hair, nails, legs, the
whole nine yards she even borrowed one of Emily’s raciest dresses.
“You look gorgeous”
Emily said
“Thank you” she
replied “I thought I should make the effort”
“But you haven’t gone
to all this trouble just for us, have you?”
“I don’t know what you
mean” Samantha said adjusting her makeup.
“He probably won’t
come you know” Emily said
“He doesn’t have to”
Sam said
Richard was dressed in
his smartest suit and was rushing around the lounge muttering under her breath,
looking for his car keys when there was a knock at the door.
“Who’s that now” he
said to himself
Abandoning his search
he went to the door prepared to bark his disapproval in their direction but
instead he found Samantha standing on the doorstep dressed to kill and carrying
a bottle of Champaign.
“I thought if you
won’t come to the party I’d bring the party to you”
She said holding up
the bottle
“I was just coming to
find you” he said
“Well I beat you to
it” she said and smiled
“Shall we go to the
party then?” he asked
“No let’s have a quiet
night in” she said and closed the door behind her.
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