you want me to do with this then?’ he asked, gesturing to the camera.
‘I thought you might have some way of viewing it to see if what I’ve filmed is any good?’ I asked tentatively.
As I said that, I felt a presence behind me. Reg quietly slipped the camera into the bag at his feet and I turned to see my aunt smiling tightly.
‘Is this young lady bothering you, Mr Carlisle?’ she asked, flashing me a hard look.
‘Not at all,’ Reg retorted. ‘She saw me drop some money earlier and was kind enough to return it to me.’
My aunt relaxed. ‘Good, we ensure all our staff hold the highest of moral standards. Now come away, Gwyneth, let Mr Carlisle finish his lunch in peace.’
As she marched me off, I glanced over my shoulder at Reg who winked at me. I turned back, suppressing a smile.
I barely slept again that night, wondering if Reg had managed to watch the footage. When I walked downstairs, pulling at the stiff collar of my uniform, he was waiting for me in reception.
‘Come with me,’ he said.
I peered into the breakfast room. I was already running late.
‘Just five minutes,’ he said. ‘Come on.’
I took a deep breath and followed him towards the hotel’s small cinema. When we got in, the projector was all set up and on the screen was my footage.
‘Most of it is awful,’ he said as he gestured for me to sit down. ‘There’s nothing here we don’t know already about pigeons. The composition is terrible, not to mention the lack of focus.’ My heart sank. ‘Except this,’ he added with a smile as he leant forward to stare at the screen. ‘Now this, this is exquisite.’
I followed his gaze, seeing the brief footage I’d filmed of a large pigeon feeding three tiny baby pigeons.
‘We rarely see baby pigeons, as they remain in their nests until they are fully grown,’ he explained, ‘and many nests are so high, we humans don’t get the chance to see them. A sign of the bird’s devotion to its young.’
‘So it’s good I got a shot of them?’
‘Very good. I need an assistant. When can you start?’
I looked at him in surprise. ‘You want me as an assistant?’
He nodded and my heart soared with hope. I made a silent promise to myself then: I would never let him down, not like I’d let my parents down. And I didn’t, not in all those years I worked with him.
And now he was gone. I had nobody. I felt the grief rise up inside.
‘What about your family, Gwyneth?’ Oscar asked quietly as the maid poured me more wine. ‘Were you on your way to visit them for Christmas?’
I took a quick sip of wine. ‘I don’t have any family. In fact,’ I said, placing my napkin down, ‘I really better be heading back.’
‘Have you seen the time?’ Dylan exclaimed. I looked up at a large clock. Nearly nine. ‘You can’t drive back now.’
‘Yes, you must stay,’ Heather said.
I shrugged. ‘I’ve driven in the dark before, on ice too.’
‘Not on these roads,’ Dylan said.
‘You really must stay,’ Glenn said. ‘At least until dawn. Plus, you’ve been drinking. Right, Mum?’
Mairi examined my face then nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘Only two glasses. No, really, I must get back,’ I said, pushing my chair back.
‘But it’s Christmas tomorrow,’ Alison said.
‘Exactly,’ Cole replied. ‘Gwyneth doesn’t want to be spending it with strangers. If she wants to go, let her.’
‘Better with strangers than alone,’ Heather said sadly.
‘I’m used to being alone,’ I insisted. ‘Anyway, Christmas Day is like any other day to me, really.’
They all looked at me in horror and Dylan laughed. ‘You have just uttered blasphemy in the McClusky household. Look,’ he said as he gazed at his family. ‘Cole’s right, if Gwyneth wants to go, we can’t stop her.’ He stood with me. ‘I’ll walk you to your car, Gwyneth.’
‘Thank you. And thank you again, everyone else,’ I added, looking around the table. ‘You’ve been so welcoming and so generous.’
I felt myself getting choked up, Jesus! I quickly turned away and walked out, catching a glimpse of everyone exchanging looks as Dylan strode after me.
I expected it to be pitch black when we got outside ten minutes later, but instead the moon, large and patient above the mountains, shed enough light to illuminate the narrow road ahead, my car a white blip at the end of it. It was cold though, so bitter I thought my eyelashes might freeze off right then and there.
‘You have such a great family,’ I said to Dylan as walked towards my car together.
‘They have their moments.’ He was quiet for a few moments then smiled. ‘So, what are your plans for tomorrow?’
‘I’ll probably go through my reels.’
‘Christmas Day really is just another day for you, isn’t it?’
I laughed. ‘Not everyone has this idyllic family life, Dylan.’ I got a glimpse of the colourful Christmas tree I used to have as a kid, red, blue and golden tinsel, baubles that kept falling off, my mother’s laughter. ‘Some of us are quite happy in our own skin, alone but not lonely.’
He put his gloved hands up. ‘No, I get it, you don’t need to explain yourself to me! In fact, I’m jealous.’
I looked at him in surprise. ‘Jealous?’
He pulled a grey woolly hat from his coat pocket and put it on. ‘I’ve thought about it once or twice, just getting away for Christmas.’
‘But you have a lovely family.’
His jaw tensed. ‘It can be overwhelming at times.’
We walked in silence until we got to the gate. Dylan opened the padlock with a key that hung from a heavy collection of them, then pushed the gate open, letting me through. As I passed him, I caught a hint of his musky aftershave and the whisky he’d been drinking. It made my breath stutter. I quickened my stride towards my car, opened the boot and put my camera inside as Dylan leant against the fence, watching me with his arms crossed.
‘Which hotel are you staying at then?’ he asked.
‘The Heighton.’
‘That’s a good two-hour drive.’
I felt in my pocket for the new updated map Cole had lent me and lifted the
