Maggie Sullivan - Christmas on Coronation Street - The perfect Christmas read

‘I’m going to have a lovely time,’ she repeated over and over, trying madly to convince herself. ‘I’m not in pain and I’m going to have a very nice day.’ She lifted her head and felt the breeze in her hair. She thought of the sandwich and the chocolate bar in Stan’s saddlebag and like a miracle the pain seemed to drift away.

They were well out into the country and seemed to have been pedalling for ages when Stan signalled for her to stop. Elsie was some way behind him and it took a few minutes for her to catch up. But as there was no one else on the narrow ribbon of road, apart from the occasional car, she had never actually lost sight of him. When they stopped, the view was amazing. The choking fog and grime of the city were still within sight, yet she had never been here before. High up here on the moors she had a bird’s-eye view of Weatherfield; the rows and rows of brick terraces looked like one of those paintings you could see in the library and it seemed hardly possible that the houses were teeming with noisy and chaotic life, so peaceful and calm did it seem from this distance. And up here, amongst the soft, springy turf and the heather, was another world. There was so much space, almost no people, with only the occasional sheep. Stan had laid his bike down in the short stubby grass and was crouching beside it when Elsie eventually came to a halt. At that moment she wished she had been riding a girl’s bike. But somehow she managed to swing her leg back over the crossbar. She flopped on to the grass next to him and lay for a moment, spread-eagled, enjoying the silence, mesmerized by the hugeness of the sky. It was mostly grey with clouds that looked low enough to touch and only occasional pockets of blue. She’d never really looked at the sky before. At home it was difficult to see any of it between the buildings.

‘Not sure you should do that. It’ll be wet down there.’ Stan was watching her. ‘You’ll get yourself all muddy, if you’re not careful. People come up here with their dogs.’

Elsie sat up. Her dress was already mucky so it didn’t matter much. But she didn’t want to be the one to say that. Thankfully, she had just avoided a puddle.

‘You’re doing well for a beginner,’ he said, and smiled. ‘You OK?’

Elsie nodded but didn’t say anything.

‘I thought we’d go on just a bit further.’ He pointed ahead. ‘Over that next hill there’s a terrific view of the Pennines.’

She wasn’t sure how much further she could go, even if the view was better from the other side. It was all uphill from here, as far as she could see. In the far distance there was snow on the higher peaks. She trusted they weren’t headed there. The only thought she could console herself with was that there must be some bit where it was all downhill.

When they set off again, she slowed down considerably and at times lost sight of Stan altogether. But she kept doggedly at it and gritted her teeth until eventually she rounded a rocky outcrop and found him lying on an old newspaper in a grassy hollow. He was smoking, looking very relaxed.

‘What kept you?’ he said, his face creased into a grin. He patted a big sheet of newspaper that he’d placed beside him. Elsie was panting from the spurt she’d had to put in for the final hill and didn’t answer right away. But then she dismounted and sat down beside him to catch her breath. She nudged her elbow into his ribs.

‘You’re a cheeky sod. Do you know that?’ she said. ‘Pretending you’re so much better than me. Here, give us a puff of that.’ She grabbed the cigarette from between his fingers and took a long drag. But she dropped it as quickly as she had picked it up when she began to cough and choke. Stan rescued the remains of his home-rolled fag from the heathery stubble. ‘What did you do that for, you daft cow. Trying to be clever? I bet you’ve never smoked before, have you?’

Elsie shook her head, unable to speak. She got up and ran away as quickly as she could from where they were sitting. She needed to throw up.

Stan tutted. ‘I can see I’ll have to teach you a lot more than just how to ride a bike,’ he said.

The coughing fit slowly subsided and Elsie came and sat down beside him.

‘’Ere, let me make it better,’ he said, pulling her towards him. He put his arm round her and she let herself be comforted as he stroked her back.

Now that her breathing was almost back to normal, she could feel the cold striking up from the sodden grass.

‘Damn!’ she said. The back of her dress was wet. The wind had also picked up and it didn’t take long before she was chilled to the bone. But it felt so nice being there, just the two of them, that she didn’t want to spoil the moment.

It was Stan who jumped up, realizing he too had been getting his backside wet. ‘Fancy a sarnie?’ he said.

‘Oo, that sounds good.’

‘You’ve got a choice. Jam or jam?’ he laughed as he proffered the bag. Elsie stood up too. She realized when she peered into the packet that she was hungry and didn’t wait before she sank her teeth into two of the thickest chunks of bread she’d ever seen. There was a thin smear of red jam in between and it tasted good. Stan demolished his half of the sandwich equally quickly.

‘What’s for afters?’ he said.

Elsie raised her eyebrows.

‘As if I didn’t know,’ Stan said. He pulled out her present, still in its gift wrap, and handed it to her. Elsie broke it up into squares. She took a large one before passing the rest to Stan. She put the whole piece into her mouth and sucked on it. It tasted delicious. It didn’t take long before they’d finished the entire bar. She had eaten so quickly that for a moment she thought she might be sick again, but she was determined not to let her birthday present go to waste. She took a deep breath and neatly folded the coloured paper. I’m going to keep this, she thought, and tucked it into her cardigan sleeve.

‘We can go for a walk,’ Stan suggested. ‘Might help to warm us up a bit.’

‘Good idea,’ Elsie said. She was trying not to think of the long journey home, however much of it would be downhill. ‘I wonder who lives over there?’ she said, pointing to what looked more like an unlived-in old cottage than somebody’s current home.

‘Let’s go see,’ Stan said. ‘I’m sure our bikes will be all right here for a bit.’ And he reached out to take her hand.

As they had thought, the cottage was abandoned. Inside, the roof sagged ominously, but they crept through the door into the shelter of the ruin. As soon as they were hidden from view, Stan pulled Elsie towards him and kissed her. His breath was warm and sweet, and as his tongue probed her own gently, she felt a ripple of desire shoot through her. She responded eagerly, but at the sound of masonry dislodging itself above them, they pulled apart. It looked as if the roof might collapse at any moment.

‘We’d best get out of here before there’s an accident,’ Stan said, taking her hand as they picked their way out of the ramshackle building and down the path into what might have once been the garden. In the centre there were the remains of some small trees, and where flowers may once have grown there were now tall upright stones and boulders. At the end of the garden was a signpost but the names on the two arms had long since worn away.

‘Here.’ Stan’s voice was thick as he pointed to a clump of several rocks. They formed a dry platform with a back wall that would shelter them from the wind.

Elsie followed him out and they sat down together against the largest of the rocks. It was warm and dry, and as she made herself comfortable Elsie was aware of him looking at her with raw desire. Next thing she knew, they were wrapped around each other in a passionate clinch. This was even better than the last time. There’s something different about Stan, she thought as his hand worked its way up the back of her dress to unclasp her bra. There was something that set him apart from the boys who hung around the courtyard. Clearly he was older than she was. Not so much a boy, more of a young man. She could feel her nipples standing erect as his assured touch lingered over them and she knew that this time it really was special, for her body clearly wanted more. Shocked at her own reaction, she made no attempt to stop his hand when it slid effortlessly under her skirt. His fingers dipped inside her soft cotton knickers and she was glad that she had put them on. She almost wished she could display them. Suddenly it was as if Stan had read her thoughts, for he pulled them off – tearing them in the process.