Damaged Before Christmas

Chapter Eleven

I woke up the next morning to a knocking coming from my front door. I groaned as every knock sent painful tremors through my head. I ran my hands down my face as I lay there hoping that whoever it was would go away.

I lay there for another couple of minutes but whoever was at the door wouldn't stop knocking. I threw the covers off me and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I swayed as I sat there for a minute until the feeling went away.

I stumbled out of the bedroom and walked towards the knocking. "Just a minute," I shouted as managed to fall into the wall with another wave of swaying. I finally got to the door and cracked the door open.

" Mrs Woodward, what are you doing here?" I asked surprised that she was at my front door. I quickly opened the door and swept my arm sideways to allow her to walk in out of the cold.

"I thought I would check on you after what happened with my son yesterday," Mrs Woodward said as she walked across the living room floor and perching herself on the edge of the couch.

I quickly shut the door and stood looking at the woman sitting in front of me. "I can guarantee that nothing happened but I would understand if you wanted me to give my position in the bakery," I stopped talking when Jean raised her hand to stop me from carrying on.

"Dear, come and sit down. I think there has been a misunderstanding and there are a few things that I need to tell you about our town." Jean said patting the cushion beside her smiling.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat before shuffling over and sat beside the older woman. I folded my hands in my lap and sat there waiting to hear what she had to say.

"First thing first, I need to thank you for covering and running the bakery for us as we could focus on my darling husband," Jean said placing her hand over both of mine and squeezing.

"I did what was needed and it was the right thing to do. How is Mr Woodward?" I said feeling uncomfortable that Holly's mum was here thanking me for doing the right thing.

Jean smiled "he's doing better than what he was when he first took no well," she said with tears glistening in her eyes. "We have a long way to go before he's back to full health. But that's why I'm sitting talking to you now."

She looked serious which made me squirm in my seat. "I don't understand. Why are you here?" I asked.

She looked deep in thought and a struggle was taking place in her eyes as she looked at me. "The real question is why are you here? What made you come to our small town?" she asked me quizzing.

"I don't why I ended up in this town but I feel like I have a purpose since I came but I don't know what that purpose is yet. I love this place and working at the bakery. I feel that I can be happy here," I sighed and sat further back on the couch.

Mrs Woodward sat silently as I told her what I was thinking. She gave me a lopsided smile before bringing up the reason why she was there. "You do have a purpose in this town and it has to do with my son," she said sounding positive. "My son is needing to accept the fact that he needs someone who can give him what he needs. He's also very stubborn and has been to known to push people away that have gotten close to him."

I just stared at her and listened as she carried on talking about Antonio. My mind started racing as it finally clicked why she was sitting with me on the couch. She knew what happened with her son yesterday in the bakery. Why won't the ground open up and swallow me whole.

"Iona? Did you catch the last bit that I had said?" Mrs Woodward asked looking worried.

"'m sorry I was lost in thought there," I tried to focus on the older woman. "What were you saying?"

Jean smiled me and patted me on the hand before give it a little squeeze. "I was saying that I know that you feel lost and that things seem untouchable but I can guarantee that things are easier than what we make them. I love my son, and I want him to be happy but the only way he can be happy is with you here in town."

I c****d my head slightly to the side and frowned at her. "Mrs Woodward, are you asking me to give your son a chance?"

She looked at me with hope shining through her eyes. "Iona, dear, you and Antonio are meant to be but neither of you can see that due to past experiences. I promise that once you find out exactly what your purpose is here in town and where you belong then you will see what everyone else sees."

I sighed before nodding my head slowly. I was trying to sort out what she was saying but with all the things going on in my mind made my headache worse.

"I will think about it all, I promise," I said making the older woman clap her hands together in glee.

"That is all that I am asking. Plus there is one more thing I would like to talk to you about and that's regarding that brilliant coffee that you make." Jean said standing from her seat.

"What about it? It's nothing special, just added cinnamon and whipped cream on top," I said shrugging my shoulders.

"My dear, I have been making coffee for years and years in that bakery and have never thought about adding cinnamon or cream to it. When Holly brought me one of your coffees it was like a Christmas party happened on my taste buds." Jean gushed as she described the taste of my coffee.

"It's not that special, my Grandma used to make me it when I was younger and she added the cream to make it look like a hot chocolate so my parents didn't notice that it was coffee." I smiled as I remembered my younger years.

"Well, I want it on the board so we can share it with the whole town. Would that be alright with you my dear?" Jean asked.

"Of course, it would be an honour. Thank you for believing that it is good enough," I said pulling the older woman into a hug.

"Thank you, dear, see things are starting to turn for the better. Now I better be off as my husband is driving the nurses crazy as he wants to leave and get back to work. Remember, if my son gives you any more of a hard time just tell me and I'll skelp his ear." Jean said walking towards the door.

I couldn't stop the laughter that escaped me when I got the image of this sweet woman smacking her son around the ears. Jean smiled and then winked before she left the flat.

I closed the door behind her and made my way into the kitchen to grab the painkillers I had in a drawer and a glass of water. I popped the lid of the container and took out two tablets and threw them in my mouth. I drank the water and felt the tablets slide down my throat with the water.

I rinsed the glass and put it on the drainer before deciding to head back to bed and try and get some more sleep as the painkillers did their job. I lay down on the bed as I drew the covers up so that I was cocooned and felt myself drift off to sleep.

I don't know how long I slept for before I was once again woken to the front door being knocked. I groaned as I threw the covers off myself and stood from the bed. Seriously, who was it this time? I grabbed a tatty old cardigan that I had thrown over the chair in the bedroom and put it on over my pyjamas.

I felt a lot better than I did this morning when Jean had stopped by to ask me to give her son a chance. I still didn't know how to feel about giving him a chance but I gave my word that I would. I opened the door and my jaw dropped when I saw the flowers that were being held in my face.

"Miss Partridge?" a muffled asked behind the flowers.

"Yes? Can I help you?" I asked the man who seemed to be struggling to keep the flowers from falling out of his hands.

The delivery man peeked around the flowers and seemed satisfied that he was at the right place he quickly handed me the flowers. I took them from him and placed them on the table beside the door before turning back to the man standing in my doorway.

"Are you alright?" I asked him as his face looked flushed from carrying the big bunch of flowers up the stairs.

"No miss, I'll be fine. Thank you," he said smiling. I looked at the man in front of me and noticed that he was shorter than I was which reminded me of Santa's elves. He had rosy cheeks and a thick woollen hat pulled far down his head covering the tops of his ears. I looked sideways at the flowers that were on the table and took a deep breath in before turning back to the man.

"I'm afraid you have the wrong person for the flowers," I started to say before the man held his hand up.

"Nope, I was told this address and your name from the guy who ordered the flowers," he said with his cheeks going even redder than what they were.

I wanted to ask who sent the flowers but the man turned around and headed down the stairs. I frowned wondering who sent the flowers. I had a sneaky suspicion that I knew who they were from but my brain didn't want to believe it.

I closed the door as I shivered when the wind blew snapping me out of my thoughts. I quickly shut the door and faced the flowers. I didn't know what I was going to do with them as I didn't know if I had a vase big enough for them. I picked them up and sniffed in their aromas. I smiled as I had never received flowers before as I carried them into the kitchen.

I placed them on the kitchen table before hunting through the cupboards to find a vase. I managed to find two vases and brought them over to the table. I breathed out as I started sorting the flowers into the vases. The roses were deep red and there were two white roses amongst them. I smiled as I stroked the petals of the roses which felt like silk. Once I had arranged the roses in the first vase I turned my attention to the other flowers which were tulips that were a golden yellow and a minty green colour. The colours of the tulips were amazing beside the red roses. Once I had finished arranging the tulips in the second vase I filled both vases with water and left the tulips on the kitchen table and lifted the vase full of roses.

I walked into the living room and placed the vase down gently in the middle of the coffee table. I smiled as I looked at the flowers. I wanted to believe that they were from a certain man who drove me crazy but my logical mind wouldn't let my brain even go to that place.

I gave both vases one more look before I turned and headed for the shower. I was hoping the shower would make me stop thinking long enough just to enjoy the water massaging my skin. I felt the water grow cold so I grudgingly turned off the shower and pulled my towel around me as I walked to the bedroom to get clean jammies on.

Once I had got my clean jammies on there was another knock on the door which made me throw back my head and screamed. I mean come on I haven't been this popular in, well, forever. I quickly ran to the door to tell whoever it was to go away. I slipped just as I reached the door which made me crash into the door. I threw open the door and started laughing when I saw Holly standing there looking shocked at the door.

"Could you not open the door faster? I mean you almost tore the door from its hinges," she said as she walked past me into the flat.

"It's been a busy day for my day off. What brings you around?" I asked her shutting the door.

Holly grinned and reached into her bag. I watched as she pulled out a massive bottle of wine and looked at me. " I thought we would get drunk and put the world to rights."

I leant my head against the door and grinned back as it was exactly what I needed. I went into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses before joining Holly in the living room. I placed both glasses on the table as she opened the wine before a good helping into each glass. I caught her looking at the flowers on the table and a knowing smile spread across her face.

"Where did you get the flowers?" she asked me trying to look innocent.

"I have no idea as they were delivered earlier today. The rest of the bouquet is in the kitchen. The guy that delivered them didn't say who they were from," I said shrugging my shoulders.

"They are lovely, must be a secret admirer. Anyway, here's to secrets and love," she said lifted her glass and clinking it with mine.

"You know who they are from, don't you?" I asked her as I took a mouthful of my wine. I closed my eyes as the fruity taste crossed my taste buds.

"Maybe, but I'm not allowed to say. I promised that I wouldn't so don't even try and get me to tell you," she said playfully plopping herself down on to the couch.

"You sure? I'm sure I can get you drunk enough to tell me all of your secrets," I laughed as I sat down beside her. I sighed big enough that my shoulders raised before falling back down. "So what's wrong?"

Holly looked into her glass of wine before saying anything. " You ever wanted something but you didn't know where to start in getting it?" she asked quietly.

I swallowed another mouthful knowing how it felt especially when it concerned a certain man who had taken over my every thought. "Yeah, maybe if you tell me the problem we can figure it out."

Holly turned and gave me her glass to hold before she folded her legs underneath her. Once she was comfortable I handed her the glass back before taking another drink from mine. Holly took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Well, you know that my dad is in hospital but he's focused on getting out of there and back to work. The doctor thinks it's either his heart or lungs. They have no idea what happened or the cause which is stressful enough. then there is my brother who I just want to strangle and tell him to get his act together. My mother is stressed even though she puts on a brave face." Holly spoke letting everything that was bothering her out.

I sat there and listened to her problems. Once she had finished I set my glass down and turned my body so I was facing Holly. I could see the pain cross her face even though she was trying her best to hide it from me. I cleared my throat before saying anything that may help her.

"Hols lets take it one problem at a time. Start with your father, we have to believe that he will get better and by the sounds of it, he's on the mend. Your mum was here earlier and said that he was driving the nurses mad with wanting to get back to work. He wouldn't be able to drive them crazy if he wasn't on the mend." I said nudging her knee with mine.

Holly grinned. "Yeah I see where you are coming from. Hang on, my mum was here earlier?" Holly said suddenly realising what I had said. "Now you have to tell me what happened."

I groaned as I did not want to go down this road as I would have to admit what happened in the bakery. "She came around to ask about the coffee that I had made and asked if she could sell it in the bakery," I said missing out the embarrassing parts.

Holly knew that I was keeping something back but didn't pull me up about it. I thanked the stars that she didn't mention anything. "That's great Iona, everyone should have a taste of your coffee as it's the best in town nowadays."

"I hope the rest of the town will think so, so on to the next problem you have," I changed the subject quickly. "Your brother is a completely different matter."

Holly looked at me sideways. "He is a pain but he can be sweet when he wants to be. I mean we kept fighting every time we saw each other due to our opinions about him taking over the business from our dad. We sort of have a small truce at the moment with our dad not being well. I get that he wants the best for our family but he's so stubborn."

I laughed "Yeah your mum said the same to me." I covered my mouth as I realised what I had said.

Holly threw her arms up as she stared at me. "So what else did my mum say about my brother. Come on you can't drop something like that and not tell me what she said."

I inwardly groaned as I didn't want to talk about the fact that her mum asked me to give her son a chance. "She just said that he had a lot to sort out and not to give up on him. Plus she knew what happened at the bakery yesterday."

Holly choked on her wine as she tried to get her breath back. "What happened at the bakery?"

"I thought your brother would've told you as I was hoping not to talk about it." I tried to let her know that I didn't want to talk about it but I didn't have any luck.

"Tell me or I will go and ask my brother Iona," she said suddenly sounded serious.

"It was all my fault, he helped out with the customers yesterday and I may have expected something but I had the wrong end of the stick," I said quietly looking down at my glass.

Holly started laughing as I fidgeted in my seat. "Well, that explains why he was like a bear with a sore head when he showed up at the hospital. He seemed to just sit in that hospital room with a face like thunder mumbling under his breath."

I didn't know what to say about Antonio being a bad mood after what happened between me and him. We both quiet before I couldn't take the silence anymore. "So with your mother's stress, all I can suggest is that we keep running the bakery. Sorry for you to keep running it and let her fuss over your dad for the time being."

Holly grinned and raised her glass to clink with mine. "That's a mighty fine idea, Iona, we will do that as you've been a lifesaver the last couple of days."

The rest of the night passed in a blur as we finished off the bottle wine that Holly brought before she fell asleep on the couch. I grabbed a blanket from the cupboard and covered her with it before making my way to my room and collapsing on my bed.