kids didn’t seem to have noticed that everything they did was being done on the cheap, thankfully. Claire was mesmerised by the lights and sights of the Christmas market, and even Jack seemed engaged by the music and excited to see the views from the Giant Wheel. Henry stayed close by her feet – almost tripping her up a couple of times – but generally wasn’t causing any trouble, which was a plus.
For a moment, it was almost like the last few months hadn’t happened at all.
Except that Jim wasn’t there.
Amy watched the huge wheel turning against the darkening London sky, and let herself imagine, just for a moment, how different things might have been if Jim had never hired Bonnie as his new secretary. Never fallen in love with her. Never decided to give up on almost twenty years of marriage in a heartbeat.
Then she shook her head. There was no point dwelling on the past. She had to focus on the future – and making it perfect for her kids, without Jim at her side.
She didn’t want Jack and Claire to hate their dad – adding more bitterness to the situation wouldn’t help anyone. And Dr Fitzgerald was right – he’d still be their dad, once the divorce was all over and settled. But in her efforts to keep things civil and polite, Amy couldn’t help but think she’d got the rough end of the deal. The fact that Jim had an affair and, when forced to choose, picked Bonnie for his future, meant that Jack wasn’t speaking to his father. As for Claire … Amy wasn’t even sure how much she knew about what had happened. After all, Jim hadn’t introduced the kids to his new girlfriend yet.
But that couldn’t last forever. Soon they’d have a new person in their lives, a new permanent situation to deal with. Someone to share holidays and special occasions with. Next year, they’d be scheduling out who got the kids when, who enjoyed Christmas Day with them and who got stuck with Boxing Day, and who was responsible for the stockings on Christmas Eve …
This year, though, they were still all hers. And she intended to make the most of that. Jack was nearly eighteen, after all – this could be his last family Christmas, if it came down to it. So Amy was determined to make this Christmas magical for them both. Give them one last year of being proper kids at Christmas.
Even if she had to do it alone.
Henry brushed up against her legs, and she reached down to pat him as the Giant Wheel came to a halt.
‘We can do it, can’t we, boy?’ she murmured, as she watched for Jack and Claire disembarking.
Henry just rested his head on his paws, over her feet. At least she could be sure Henry wasn’t going anywhere.
It was kind of nice to have at least one guy she could rely on.
Even if he was a corgi.
I had to admit, there were a lot more interesting smells at the ‘Winter Wonderland’ place than at home in Redhill. There, it was mostly other dogs, children, cars, bins and the occasional squirrel in the local park. Here, there was chestnuts roasting (at least, according to the man who bellowed at us as we went past, that’s what they were) and all sorts of sweet things, along with the biting scent of the ice and the cold air. Plus the smell of excitement, that ran through the whole place – I could even smell it on Jack, Claire and Amy, which was a lovely change.
Claire groaned when it was time for us to go, but she didn’t make the kind of fuss we were all used to lately. Amy wrapped an arm around her slim shoulders and promised her there was plenty more fun ahead, and Claire cheered up again after that.
‘So, what’s next, Mum?’ Jack asked, hardly a hint of his usual surly tones in his voice. I sat at his feet, my stumpy tail wagging in approval. I liked my Walkers happy, and this was the first time I’d seen it in months.
Maybe things were on the up again, for everyone.
‘I thought we’d walk down past Buckingham Palace.’ Amy folded the map of the Winter Wonderland carefully, and placed it back in her bag. ‘And maybe through St James’s Park to see the pelicans. Then later, once it’s dark, we can catch the tube back up to Oxford Street to look at the lights, before dinner. What do you think?’
Claire rested her head against her mum’s arm. ‘Sounds brilliant.’
‘Great!’ Amy beamed.
I trotted along contentedly at Amy’s side as we wound our way past log cabin market stalls and ice skating children, the sounds of laughter and joy filling the air. Today was a very good day indeed – and I definitely liked the sound of St James’s Park!
Parks, in my experience, were places for running and chasing, for seeking out new scents and hunting down squirrels. Amy was always relaxed in the local park – she knew that I knew my way around, so she didn’t need to watch me too closely. Plus we always met interesting people there: the neighbour with the Yorkshire terrier, the new doctor who’d moved to town last month and had a really fun Dalmatian puppy. Even Claire’s friends from school, or Jack’s mates, were often to be found in the park. We always stopped to talk and, over the last month or two, having those people to talk to seemed to help my family’s mood.
After all, while I was an excellent listener and comforter (unlike Sookie who disappears at the first sniffle), sometimes my humans needed other humans to talk to, too.
I was right – St James’s Park was brilliant. Amy let me off my lead and I was free to romp around to my heart’s content. Even the cold, frozen earth was gentler on my paws than the hard concrete of the pavements we’d walked to get there, so I enjoyed the freedom to just run and run.
‘No chasing the pelicans now!’ Amy called after me, as she and the kids followed. I barked a quick reply over my shoulder. What were pelicans, anyway? I couldn’t commit to not chasing them until I’d found out. What if they were like squirrels? Squirrels were my favourite things to chase. With pigeons a close second. But I was willing to rejig the top two if pelicans were even better …
The humans stuck to the harder paths, while I zigzagged across the park, mostly on the grass, always keeping them within sight. Jack tossed sticks for me to hunt down, which was great fun. When we reached the lake, Claire pointed out to an island in the middle, just as I was contemplating if it was really too cold for even a little paddle.
‘Look! Mum! There are the pelicans!’
I jerked my head up, ears pricked, scanning the horizon. The park was green, even in the depths of winter, and the lake hadn’t frozen, so there was still plenty of wildlife around. I stared at where Claire was pointing, taking in the immense, ridiculous birds that apparently lived here in the park.
They were huge and a sort of dirty white colour, with giant, pointy beaks with a flappy pouch for the lower half.
Most pertinently, they were bigger than me.
I took a step or two back from the edge of the lake. Those things definitely looked like they could swallow a pigeon or a squirrel whole. I didn’t want them trying their beak at a corgi.
‘Who do they belong to?’ Claire asked, still staring at the enormous birds. I felt a pang of longing for the sparrows and thrushes of our back garden, at home in
