Sue Moorcroft - Let It Snow

Though it was barely the second week of November Christmas lights were appearing on houses and trees twinkling from windows. The outdoor illumination at The Three Fishes had been organised before Tubb left the country and it looked as if someone had cast a giant net of sparkling white lights over it, making the building shimmer.

Lily hurried in through the back door and was hanging up her coat when Isaac appeared and sat down at the desk in the alcove. He was all in black – shirt, tie and trousers – and his dark hair had a lustre like a crow’s wing. He gave her a quick smile. ‘So you came back despite that guy on Thursday.’

She returned his smile as she smoothed her ponytail, remembering the belligerence she’d encountered at Bar Barcelona without any of Sergio’s family showing any sign of noticing. ‘’Course. You must’ve had plenty at your last place – it was Juno Lounge, wasn’t it? Big, busy venue.’

He shrugged. ‘There, yes, but it’s different in a village pub.’

He turned to his laptop and Lily went through to the bar. Several tables in the dining area were already occupied and the bar was filling nicely considering it was only six o’clock. The Christmas lights reflected in glasses and beer pumps and even the smiling eyes of the customers. Tina was on duty too. She was the staff member who was licensed to deputise when Isaac was off. In her fifties, Tina was soft and round with a frizz of curls on top of her head, unflappable and efficient. She drove in from nearby Bettsbrough where she lived with her husband and two sons, all of whom seemed as affable as she whenever Lily encountered them.

Tina smiled at Lily. ‘Got quite a few bookings for the dining area tonight so listen for Chef’s bell when he needs service or he’ll go off on one.’

‘Got it,’ Lily said, taking an order for three pints of bitter and a sparkling water from a short man with a beard. The level of noise rose as more punters arrived for a Saturday evening’s entertainment. When Isaac reappeared in the bar Lily checked with him, ‘OK if I do a round with the raffle tickets if there’s a lull?’ The proceeds of the raffle went to the children’s party at the village hall.

He glanced up as he waited at the pumps for a stream of near-black Guinness to fill a pint glass. ‘Sure. I’ll get the stuff out of the safe for you.’

So Lily sold raffle tickets, pulled pints, ferried food, sanitised and relaid tables. Finally it was eleven o’clock, the bar was empty and Isaac was locking the doors behind the last customer. The kitchen staff had clattered out already.

As Isaac took the till reading and released the till drawer ready to cash up, Lily and Tina began to clean tables and rearrange chairs. Then Tina wriggled into a silver-grey puffa coat that made her look a bit like an airship, shouted goodbye and stepped outside. Lily was about to follow when Isaac reappeared, with Doggo bouncing at his heels. When he saw Lily Doggo gave a single bark, trotting over with his tail whipping as if he’d remembered that they’d been introduced on Thursday night.

‘Hello, Doggo, I didn’t know you were still about.’ Lily stroked his smooth head and he put his ears back to enjoy the fuss. She glanced up at Isaac, his tie gone and collar undone, hair beginning to flop into his eyes. It was the first time she’d seen him anything but perfectly groomed but she liked the tousled look. It was as if he’d let his guard down and allowed end-of-a-long-day fatigue to show.

Isaac smiled. ‘He’s living with me now. I’ve cleared it with Mr Tubb.’

Lily straightened. ‘I assumed he was Hayley’s.’

‘If he’d been just Hayley’s his name would have been Rolex or Gucci,’ he said drily, then hesitated. ‘I’m sorry if you found the atmosphere strained on Thursday. Hayley and I used to be together. I felt defensive about the pub being deserted when she swanned in. She has a brilliant career as general manager of a casino.’ He smiled crookedly.

Lily felt a burst of sympathy. ‘I can imagine how I’d have felt if it had been my ex because Bar Barcelona was always jumping.’

Isaac’s expression relaxed. ‘Galling, isn’t it? It’s bad enough that she knows Mr Tubb and it was her who suggested me for this job.’

Lily grinned. ‘Tubb might have shut when the pub emptied.’

Isaac quirked a brow. ‘That would have been worse. I can only imagine how I’d have felt if she’d found this place shut early.’ He grimaced. ‘Anyway, she brought me Doggo, which is fantastic. I’m off on Monday and Tuesday so I’m looking forward to finding some long walks.’

‘Just stick to the footpaths when you’re crossing the Carlysle Estate because it’s private land.’ Lily pulled on her outdoor things and prepared to brave the cold weather. ‘See you tomorrow evening if I can move after having Sunday lunch with my parents.’

‘Enjoy it.’ He began to turn away, Doggo at his heels. ‘My dad’s not well so I try never to visit my folks at mealtimes because Mum’s his carer and has enough to do. Maybe I’ll invite them here. They might enjoy it.’

Walking home, snug in her parka despite the icy air, Lily thought that it was nice of Isaac to give his folks a treat if they were in difficult circumstances. She turned her mind to her own parents, Roma and Patsie. After what Zinnia had said on Thursday she definitely needed a word with them.

Late on Sunday morning, Lily’s snazzy purple Peugeot hatchback whizzed her through the country lanes on her way out of the village. Bettsbrough’s outer ring road took her past a retail park fronted by an enormous plastic snowman in a tinsel scarf and spat her out on the dual carriageway to Peterborough. The hedgerows were winter-bare and glistening with frost. The sky was blue and she half regretted not getting up in time for a walk this morning.

The journey to Longthorpe, west Peterborough, where Roma and Patsie lived took forty minutes. Their stone house had begun as a small cottage but had been extended when Lily and Zinnia were teenagers into an L-shape with five bedrooms in the roof and a double garage. When Lily pulled onto the gravelled drive she paused a full minute beside the car to admire the garden with its arches and trellis, shapely shrubs and stone-edged paths. She always felt as if she looked into the hearts of her mothers when she looked into their garden. Even now, as winter bit, the hedges were neat and the paths swept. This year the pots had been planted with heathers and what looked like broad blades of pink grass.

She let herself into the house shouting, ‘It’s me!’ In the familiar sitting room, which still boasted its cottage credentials of beams, a stone fireplace and a black wood-burning stove, she found her mums sharing a sofa, Roma reading while Patsie tapped on her laptop to a background of Pink Floyd.

Both rose with welcoming arms. Roma’s blonde curls tumbled loose around her shoulders; Patsie’s darker locks were swept up behind her head. Both women wore comfy jeans and big smiles. ‘Hey, gorgeous!’ Roma welcomed Lily with a huge, effusive hug.

Patsie’s ‘Lily, darling,’ was more restrained but just as warm. Lily couldn’t remember an occasion when Patsie had treated her any differently to the daughter she actually gave birth to, Zinnia. Nor did Roma ever give a sign of favouring Lily over Zin.