Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake Read Online Free PDF Page B

there... no, not on the white sofas,’ I cringed in horror at the very thought of these men’s no doubt grubby backsides on my perfect seating. ‘Use those dining chairs, and let’s talk,’ I said, with what little authority I could muster from my semi-prostrate position on the floor.
    They both looked at each other and I saw a glance pass between them.
    ‘No point talkin, you haven’t been payin yer bills. You don’t need to give out fancy wine to find that out,’ Gabe said, rudely, as he and Sam helped me to my feet.
    ‘Oh I’m so sorry. I should have spoken to you first, Gabe – after all, you seem to know exactly what’s happening,’ I snapped. ‘I’m offerin these men a drink because I might be about to be repossessed – but I wasn’t brought up in the fuckin gutter!’ I’d raised my voice and dropped my g and shortened my u and my hand flew to my mouth, horrified at my own outburst. Heddon and Hall gasped and everyone stood open-mouthed, even Hermione looked surprised, and it took a lot to shock my daughter.
    ‘Sorry,’ I muttered, sitting down, supported by Sam. ‘I just thought we all could do with a drink.’ Well, I certainly could.
    ‘You’ll be offering them a mince pie next,’ Gabe said, more gently this time, but just as annoying.
    I didn’t dignify his comment with an answer. Looking at their broken noses and tattooed knuckles, a Patisserie a la Joyeux Noelle definitely wasn’t on their ‘to-do’ list.
    ‘So we are in financial trouble?’ I nodded, making it sound vaguely like a question, in the vain hope that the shorter bailiff (with a disturbingly naked lady tattoo on his arm) would say ‘no’ and this whole nightmare would be over and I’d be back to my unspoilt winter wonderland where the only thing I had to worry about was Horatio not spoiling his onesie.
    He didn’t say no. He just flexed his forearm which made the lady’s breasts move.
    ‘Financial trouble? You could say that, love. You haven’t paid your mortgage for over a year and your husband’s neglected to make contact with the bank with regards these repayments.’
    ‘Oh... I see,’ I tried to appear unfazed by this, aware I had an audience and suddenly feeling very embarrassed. My brain was working ten to the dozen, hadn’t paid the mortgage for over a year, what on earth? I had no idea how this had happened, Simon was in charge of finances and he’d given no sign anything was wrong if anything he’d been working more. He was always working late into the evening and recently had even worked weekends, so I had no reason to question our finances.
    This was the dirty washing my Nan always warned me about – don’t let anyone else see it, keep your business to yourself. Heddon and Hall were standing with Mrs J, mouths agape, and Jesus was glaring out from jet-lagged eyes and about two years’ worth of unwashed dyed black hair. It was like they were watching a cliff-hanger episode of Coronation Street. I wanted to die.
    I should have known something was wrong – Simon had been even more stressed and grumpy of late, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I’d thought he might be having an affair, a mid-life crisis, but I never thought it would be anything like this.
    I called him, sure this was all a big mistake, but it went straight to answerphone. This wasn’t like Simon, he always kept his phone on, never wanting to lose business.
    I tried again and with the phone to my ear just kept looking at Sam and Gabe and Heddon and Hall. My eyes moved from one to the next seeking some kind of answer... and rested on Sam, who looked as shell-shocked as I was. ‘What do I do?’
    Sam said we could stay with her for now and she asked the bailiffs basic questions I couldn’t even utter like ‘do they have to leave now?’ And to my temporary relief, as the court order had been served, we didn’t have to move out for two weeks. ‘Small mercies,’ I muttered, meeting no one’s eyes.
    Hermione and Hugo said