Steve Berry
had always had a dislike for Christmas, despite all the jollity and faux fun
because unlike many of his Christmas mad friends he had no happy Christmas
memories to anesthetise him against the season.
His parents
were alcoholics and each year their Christmas came in a bottle and thanks to
his father Steve’s came with a slap.
So his
childhood Christmases were memories he would rather have forgotten.
But
adulthood brought no relief and it always seemed to him that when shit happens
Christmas just magnifies the misery.
If someone
dies at Christmas the very season makes it more keenly felt.
He could
testify to that as his mother died on Christmas Eve when he was 19.
He has no
idea where his father is and quite frankly he doesn’t care.
He never
showed up for the funeral and he could be dead as well for all he knew.
So as a
result he has never trusted Christmas, he knows that shit lurks beneath the
coloured lights and paper chains.
That was
until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that
Christmas could also magnify joy.
But it
wasn’t just Christmases that held horrors in his past so did
New Year’s Eve.
Steve wasn’t
big on New Year’s Eve, it was not a time that held any deep significance for
him
He found the
whole idea of it rather pointless, why did people make such a fuss over going
from one year to the next.
That would
have been reason enough for him to dislike it, far apart from the personal memories it evoked.
It was one New Year’s Eve
when he was six years old that his parents locked him in his room while they
went off on a three day bender.
But he had decided to try
and put that behind him and with Holly’s help he was hopeful that he might.
Since the first day he met
her she had helped to tame his demons.
It all began when Holly temporarily
took over running her uncles pub, the Pig and Whistle a week and a half before
Christmas, Steve had got blind drunk and ended up spending the night in the
lounge bar.
When he woke up the next
morning she produced a contract he had signed the night before agreeing to work
for her until New Year’s Eve.
Despite his initial misgivings
he had thoroughly enjoyed it and he was still uncertain as to how she managed
it, but during the ten days working for her she had turned his life upside down
and it culminated in him wishing her a Merry Christmas and kissing her at closing
time on Christmas Eve.
They were then snowed in at
the pub for Christmas day and after exchanging presents they kissed again.
In the week that followed
there was good deal more kissing as day by day the headed inexorably towards New
Year’s Eve.
But he had a sense of foreboding
as his normal dislike for the occasion was magnified this year because it
marked the final day of his contract at the Pig and Whistle and could also mark
the end of Holly’s Tenure at the pub and maybe their budding relationship.
Although he didn’t like it,
it was a good earner for the pub and as
the takings had not been optimised on Christmas Eve due to the snow added to
the fact that the figures had been disappointing in
the interim as well so a good New Year’s Eve was vital.
With this in
mind Holly and Steve had been at the Cash and Carry all afternoon stocking up
on vital supplies.
“Right
that’s the lot Hon” she said
“Are you
sure that’s enough?” Steve asked facetiously
“That’s
enough lip from you” she said and kissed him.
And that
simple kiss, a symbol of their familiarity, was a milestone moment for although
they had kissed many times in that week since Christmas Eve they had only ever
kissed when they were alone and certainly never in public.
“If we sell
that lot tonight I’ll be over the moon” she said although there wasn’t any
chance that that might actually happen even if they did have an extension until
1.00am.
Steve
normally spent New Year’s Eve at home in his flat, watching a DVD and hiding
from the world.
But this
year was going to be very different.
At least on
New Year’s Eve there were none of the annoyingly jolly Christmas songs there was only one annoying New Year’s song and that was usually confined
to midnight.
There was a
steady trade in the bar, far more than Christmas Eve, but not exactly record
breaking numbers, and most of the supplies they had bought earlier would remain
unsold.
But just
after 9 o’clock the numbers swelled and continued swelling until the place was
absolutely banging.
There were seven
of them working that night but on six at any one time behind the bar and they
were rushed off their feet.
The staff
and a hard core of the regulars were in fancy dress. Debbie was a French maid,
Stephanos was in a toga, Clare was a witch, Ausra was a Gypsy, Petra was a
clown and Steve was a pirate.
While Holly,
as was her custom, was dressed immaculately as the Emerald Lady in a wonderful
green dress adorned with a garland of holly leaves and around her neck was the
holly leaf pendant that Steve gave her for Christmas.
By the end
of the night he had to admit that he hadn’t enjoyed a New
Year’s Eve more even though his feet were killing him.
When the
last of the punters had been ushered out the door and the bolt shot at 1.25 am,
Holly said
“Thank God
for that, put the kettle on” and then she kicked off her shoes.
Everyone
pulled together and gathered up all the glasses and cleared them to the kitchen
and then Steph and Clare brought out the drinks on a tray
“Where are
the others?” Holly asked
“They’re
loading the glasses into the machine” Clare replied “You know what Steve’s
like”
“Tell them
not to worry” she said “We’ll do it in the morning”
Holly
frowned and then corrected herself
“We’ll do it
in later this morning”
So they all
sat together drinking their tea and coffee and laughing at the exploits of one
or two of the more enthusiastic punters.
Very soon
there was only Holly and Steve left
“Do you want another tea?” he asked
“I’d rather have a proper drink” she
replied “You could join me if you’re staying over”
He nodded and went behind the bar and
returned shortly with two glasses of wine.”
As they sat together drinking she said
“My feet are so sore”
“Put them up here” he said tapping his
knee “I’ll rub them for you if you want”
“Oh yes please” she said and put both
stocking feet on his knee
“Hold up” he said “one at a time”
“Oh that’s really lovely” she said as
Steve began massaging he little foot
And that was as all he got out of her
for the next twenty minutes until he was halfway through her other foot when
she said.
“You’re a free man now”
“What do you mean?” Steve asked
“The contract” she said
“It was only up to and including New
Year’s Eve it’s now New Year’s Day so you are free to return to your old life”
“Good” he said sharply and Holly baulked
at the force of the word.
“Because now I am here because I want to
be”
And Holly’s face broke into a broad smile
and she kissed him
They made love for the first time in the
early hours of New Year’s Day and as they lay entwined in the semi darkness Holly said.
“We make a good team, we
could run this place together”
“What about Phil?” Steve
asked
“Ah I may have misled you
regarding Uncle Phil” she confessed
“In what way?”
“He’s not coming back” she said
“Why not?” Steve asked
“He’s ill” Holly replied
sadly
“How ill?”
“The “won’t see another
Christmas kind” of ill”
“Oh” he responded “so he’s
not on holiday?”
“No” she admitted “I am in
the process of buying the pub from him”
“That’s a big step” he said
“I know” she agreed “but I
have years of experience in Hospitality and you’re a good accountant”
“So you only want me for my
numeracy” he said
“No I want you for your
foot rubs” Holly corrected him
“Ok then it’s a deal” he
said and sealed it with a kiss.
Which was a prelude to them
making love again.
But Steve paused briefly
and said
“You do realize what would
happen if we were to marry?”
“What’s that?” she said
pleasantly surprised that his thoughts had already strayed to the question of
marriage
“You would become Holly
Berry”
“I could live with that”
she said and brought the discourse to a passionate conclusion.
