Christmas Eva Read online

  She closed her eyes. She’d misjudged him. Even if she went to the Christmas Eve show tomorrow, how could she ever put this right?

  11

  Eva wheeled the chair into the kitchen Christmas Eve morning. Mum stood at the sink, peeling and chopping veggies. As always the Christmas Day prep started a good twenty-four hours early, but even the pile of veg seemed huger than normal.

  Mum smiled at her. “Morning, Evie. Cereal is on the table for you.”

  “Thanks. How much veg do we need for four people?”

  “Oh, there’s going to be eight of us. I spoke to Harry after the service last night. He said he’d dropped off the panto tickets. He and his parents and brother are spending the day with us tomorrow.”

  Eva frowned. “You do know we’re not going out anymore, right?”

  “Yes, I do. But it’s Christmas and a time for families. I’m not having them eat in a hotel. Especially after his parents have come all the way from Scotland to see him.”

  “I guess it was my idea in the first place.” Eva tipped the cereal into the bowl.

  “Exactly. And it’s rude to retract an invitation once it’s been made.”

  “Have fun today, Mum.” Felicity breezed through the kitchen. “I have to run—big day at work. See you at one, Evie, don’t be late.”

  “How can I…”

  “You still love him right?” Felicity looked at her from the door. “If you love him, you have to trust him. Simple as that.”

  Eva shifted uncomfortably. Her face burned. “But I didn’t, and I don’t know how to fix that or if he’ll accept an apology.”

  Felicity paused. “He loves you—he’s been like a bear with a sore head the past few days. You not speaking to him has about broken his heart, not that he’d tell you that. He’s a proud man, but you…you’re his undoing, and you can’t see it.”

  Eva looked at her. “What do I do to put this right?”

  “Call him. Speak to him. Do something so he knows where he stands. I’ll see you at one. And don’t forget the tickets. He got you a seat, an actual seat, not a wheelchair space, so we’ll park you, and then take the chair back to my office. The ball’s in your court. Just don’t drop it.” Felicity turned and ran out of the door.

  Eva looked down at her hands. Could it be that simple? Just call and say sorry and can we start over? The phone dropped into her lap and she looked up to find her mother standing over her. “Mum?”

  “Your Dad and I had a misunderstanding once. When we were engaged, he thought I was hugging another bloke. He blew his top, called off the engagement.”

  “Really?” She looked at her parents. “You’ve never told me this before.”

  “It’s not something I’m proud of.” Dad wrapped his arms around Mum. “Only it turned out to be her cousin that I hadn’t met. I didn’t half feel a fool when your granddad told me, but your mum forgave me and here we are. Sometimes things are not what they appear to be. Ring Harry, Evie. Don’t let a simple misreading of events ruin things between the two of you.”

  “OK. I’ll go call him.” Eva slowly wheeled herself into the lounge. She took a deep breath and rang Harry’s mobile.

  Harry answered, sounding breathless. “Hello?”

  “It’s me. Did I call at a bad time?”

  “No, Eva, I’m working out. Got to keep in shape.”

  Eva took a deep breath, her fingers curling and uncurling. “I umm…need to talk to you.”

  “So talk.”

  She closed her eyes. His brusque tone let on more than he realized. She’d hurt him, deeply hurt him. “I’m sorry, Harry. I overreacted. I—OK, I admit it. I was jealous. You said you loved me, and those pictures said different. They also flew in the face of everything you said the other day about your faith and—”

  “I do love you,” he said quietly. “But…”

  The but spoke volumes. “I do trust you,” she told him, wishing she could see his face, to know how he was reacting. “I’m so sorry. If I could do something to make it up to you, do anything to prove it, I would.”

  “Smile at me when you do my makeup at one.”

  “OK.”

  “And tell me you love me to my face and kiss me,” he continued. “And we’ll be getting there.”

  “You’re on.”

  ~*~

  Eva arrived at the theatre and left her crutches in Felicity’s office. She wheeled herself down the hall to the dressing rooms to do Harry’s makeup. Voices came from within and her stomach tensed as she knocked.

  Harry opened the door. The small room was packed with people. “Eva, hi. These are my parents, Mike and Leah. And, of course, you know Darrell already. This is Eva, my…makeup person and friend.”

  “Hi.” Eva noticed the pause and hoped his parents hadn’t.

  Darrell tilted his head and frowned slightly. “Hello, Eva. How are your exercises going?”

  “Good. I’m doing all of them, just like you said to do.”

  Mrs. Lyell smiled. “Well, we’ll go and find our seats and let you do what you need to. See you after the show, Harry.”

  Darrell winked at him. “Go break a leg.”

  Harry rolled his eyes. “So you can fix it, right?”

  Darrell laughed as he followed his parents from the room and shut the door behind him.

  Eva let out a deep breath. “Sit down and let me do this.”

  Harry obediently sat, leaned back so his head was in her lap, and looked up at her. “Well?”

  “I’m sorry.” Eva smiled. “I missed talking to you,” she said quietly. “Missed this.”

  “It was your choice, but I missed it too.” He raised his eyebrow.

  “I know.” Eva guessed he wanted the other two things on the list he’d given her on the phone of how to apologize. “I love you.” She leaned down and kissed him upside down, which just felt weird and wrong. “Now, makeup.”

  Harry winked. “Is that make up or makeup? Two very different things.”

  “Makeup.” She waved the foundation at him to prove her point.

  “Uh huh.” Harry sat up and spun his chair around. “I think you need to kiss me again. And kiss me like you mean it.”

  Not going to argue, Eva leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Now, I need to do your makeup, otherwise you’re going to look stupid on stage.”

  Harry pouted and turned around. He leaned back and stuck his head in her lap. “Fine, I’ll have one later.” He winked. “I hear we’re having Christmas at your house tomorrow.”

  Eva grabbed the foundation, starting work. “Yup, but my parents are mean. No one opens any presents until after the Queen’s Speech at three.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. You still want to come?”

  “Try stopping me.”

  Five minutes later, she put down the brushes. “All done. I’d better go find my seat.”

  Harry nodded. He sat up and kissed her cheek. “See you on the flip side.”

  Eva wheeled her way down the corridor to Felicity’s office. The door was open and she went in without knocking. “All done and we’ve made up.”

  Her sister stood. “Glad to hear it. Are you ready to go?”

  Eva nodded. She gripped the crutches firmly and pulled herself upright.

  “Wow, look at you.” Felicity beamed. “Someone’s been holding out.”

  “Lots of practice. All day, every day since Wednesday. But in secret. You’re the only person who knows I can do this. It might take me some time to get to the auditorium.”

  “We’ve got twenty minutes. And we saved you the seat on the aisle. We’ll go through the stage door, it’s slightly quicker.”

  Eva nodded, slowly making her way the short distance. However, it seemed like miles and by the time they reached her seat she was exhausted.

  Her parents’ faces were a picture as they saw her standing and walking. “Evie?” Tears ran down her mother’s face.

  Eva leaned on the crutches, breathless
, but happy.

  “Don’t cry, Mum,” Felicity said. “You’ll set us all off.”

  Darrell grinned at her. “I’m impressed, and it’s not even been a week yet. Does Harry know?”

  “Not yet,” Eva said. “No one does…well, did. I’ll tell Harry after the show.”

  She sat down and tucked the crutches on the floor in front of her. Then she settled back in her seat as the music began. Harry’s performance had its usual effect on her. It made her laugh and cry. He had the audience in stitches with his ‘king of the pirates’ line and again with the mirror.

  Shortly before the interval, Harry noticed her in the front row and his voice died.

  Peter Pan looked at him and nudged him. “Hey, Hookie, are you sleeping?”

  Harry shook his head. “No, there’s an angel in the audience this afternoon.”

  Tinkerbelle hit him. “Really? You’re worried about an angel. There’s a fairy right in front of you.”

  Harry turned his back on her. “Oh, no there isn’t.”

  Tinkerbelle leapt in front of him and waved at the audience. “Oh, yes there is.”

  Harry turned around again, stamping his foot. “Oh, no there isn’t.”

  “Is, is, is,” Tinkerbelle said, encouraging the audience to join in.

  “Isn’t, isn’t, isn’t.” Harry winked at Eva, somewhat ruining what he was trying to do, as she dissolved into fits of giggles, making him grin.

  “Is,” Tinkerbelle yelled.

  “Have it your way. I don’t believe in fairies,” Harry said, storming off stage to laughter and applause from the audience.

  The lights came up for the interval, and Eva wiped her hand over her eyes. She hadn’t laughed so much in ages. She nudged Felicity as she saw Dad first in the queue for ice cream. “Nothing changes.”

  Felicity laughed. “Nope. Don’t look now Evie, but he’s behind you.”

  “Oh, no he isn’t.”

  “Oh, yes he is,” said a familiar voice.

  Eva looked around. “Harry, what are you doing?”

  Harry knelt in front of her, his long black overcoat over his costume and his wig nowhere in sight. “Angel hunting. I came for that kiss you owe me.” He kissed her, long and lovingly.

  Eva kissed him back. “There are people watching.”

  “Let them watch.” He pushed his hand through her hair. “I’m just glad you’re here. I wasn’t sure you would be, even though we’d made up. So when I saw you, I kind of lost the plot a little.”

  “We noticed.” Eva laughed. “Nice recovery though. Oh, and you still owe me one mirror.”

  “I know, but it’s almost Christmas, and you never know what Father Christmas might leave you in your stocking.”

  “And I told you I don’t believe in him. But dastardly pirates are another story.”

  Harry smiled and kissed her again.

  “Stop it or you’ll smudge your makeup and your makeup girl is decidedly off duty right now.”

  Harry laughed. “I’ll go and grab a quick coffee while you eat your ice cream.” He waved to his parents and headed back through the stage door.

  The pantomime started again and hurtled to its conclusion. Just as the cast assembled on stage for the final song, Harry leapt off the stage.

  Peter Pan coughed. “Hey Hook, now where are you going?”

  “Angel hunting,” Harry replied, his words coming over the speakers through the mic he wore. He looked at Eva. “And I have something to ask her. Eva?”

  Eva covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes filled with tears as Harry got down on one knee in front of her.

  “Eva, I love you with all heart. You’re an amazing woman, a Godly woman, and the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.” He reached into his red coat pocket and pulled out a tiny ring box. He opened it and held it out to her. “Will you marry me?”

  Eva looked at the sparkling ring and then at Harry. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. He wanted to marry her? Surely she’d heard wrong, and he hadn’t just proposed in front of a packed theatre.

  Shrieks echoed around the auditorium and applause told her that he had done just that.

  She took a deep breath, some part of her remembering to use his stage name at the last minute. “Matthew?”

  Harry didn’t get up, simply held out the ring. “There is only you. There will always only be you.”

  “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  Harry’s face lit up as he slid the ring onto her finger. The theatre erupted as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with every ounce of passion he could.

  As she pulled back from the kiss, Eva ran a hand down his face. “I have something to show you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Stand up, take three steps away from me and hold out your hands.”

  Harry stood, confusion on his face, but he did as she asked.

  Eva grasped his hands and slowly stood. She watched his face as his eyes lit up and a huge smile split his face in two.

  “Evie?”

  Gripping his hands tightly, she took several small, faltering steps until she stood in his arms. “One small step for Eva,” she whispered.

  “Praise God.” Harry’s shout of joy filled the auditorium as he swung her into his arms and twirled her around, kissing her. “And a Merry Christmas, everyone.”

  Thank you…

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