“Josie! You shouldn’t be up there in your condition.”
“Hang on.”
“No. Down.”
“Catch!” She dropped a tin and Jonathan narrowly caught it, he looked at it, it was a container of flour.
“What are you doing, love.”
Josie still had her head in the cupboard, she was searching for something, “Baking,” she muttered, “Here,” she dropped another tin down to Jonathan. It was the sugar.
“It’s Christmas Day. Why are you baking?” he asked
“I want to have something to take to Evy when we have dinner later. I don’t want to turn up with nothing.”
“Evy won’t mind. Now will you please come down. The doctor said you should rest.” He held his arms out to her and she fell into them.
“Josie! Carefully.” He held facing him with his arms around her lower back. She grinned at him.
“Sorry. Anyway I’m having a baby, not ill. Stop worrying.”
“You could fall. Promise me you won’t go up there again.”
“OK, promise. You can go up instead. I need the cherries, the -”
“No, no, no, no baking. Not today. Now present time.”
Josie smiled even wider and pulled Jonathan into the sitting room. He laughed at his wife’s enthusiasm. She sat in front of the fire and Jonathan went to get the presents from under the tree. He carried them to Josie.
“We’ve got the presents from Evy and Rick here, rather than them giving them to us later. They want us to open them now.”
“OK.” Josie started sorting the presents out. “Charlie’s given us one each and a joint one; we’ve a joint one from my parents, a joint one from Liz and Harry, one each from Henry and Connie, although I told them to get a joint one. Harriet and Robert have given us a joint one, as have Madeleine and Theo, Kenny and Marianna and Roni and Julian.” She passed each present to Jon as she went through them. “What about Evy and Rick?” she asked.
“A joint one from the two of them, one each from Evy and also a joint one from Alex,” he said.
They dealt the joint ones out between the two of them and started to unwrap them.
“Why do so many people give things for the house? Surely we got most of this stuff for wedding presents?” Jonathan said looking at the dome shaped thing Josie was unwrapping, “Is that another mixing bowl?”
“Yes. From Connie. I think it’s our fifth since getting married. She has an obsession with baking. Which is strange considering she has a cook, she never actually does any. She gave Charlie one after we got married as he would no longer be living with me. Odd thing to give Charlie, he can’t even boil an egg. Bit like you really.” She grinned at Jon.
“Oh yes? I’ll have you know I managed perfectly before I married you.”
“Yes. Evy did it for you. Or you ate out. Evy’s told me all about it.”
“Ah well, I’ve got a wife to do that now.”
“Oooo!” She whacked him which turning into a play fight and ended with Jon kissing her.
“No, no, no,” she pulled away, “presents first. What have you got from Charlie?”
He finished unwrapping it;
“A book by the looks of it.” He looked at the spine to see what it was. “Oh!”
“What is it?”
“It’s the book on the Hittites I was looking for. It’s rather rare and out of print. I wonder how he managed to find it.”
“He’s very good at doing that. When it comes to books he can get hold of anything.”
“Right,” he looked at the presents surrounding his wife, “Josie, where did the teddy bear come from?”
“Charlie. It’s for the baby.”
“Right.” Jon looked slightly confused, “I know your brother is a very clever chap but he does realise that the baby won’t be born for quite a few months.”
“Yes I think so. He’s just being Charlie. Now that is strange.” Josie looked in puzzlement at the box she had just unwrapped, it had been opened, it was filled with tissue paper.
“What’s strange?”
“My parents have given us a big box of paper. There doesn’t look to be anything in it, just tissue paper.”
“Give it here.” Josie passed the box to Jon and he started to search in it. “Aha!” He pulled out a much smaller box and gave it to Josie. She opened it and took out a set of keys and a piece of card. She read the card.
“Oh! They’ve given us the cottage in the Dales! Oh Jon!”
“They’ve given us a cottage?” Jon looked astonished.
“Yes! It’s the most beautiful place. It will only be for a holiday home. There isn’t any electricity and it only got running water five years ago. And the toilets in the garden. But it’s very lovely and just right for the two of us. Oh,” she patted her stomach, “and the children.”
Jon still looked very stunned. He smiled and then laughed. “Our own little retreat. Just us as a family.” Josie nodded.
“I can’t believe it. It’s wonderful.”
“Yep. Come on, let’s get something to eat. I’m hungry.
They went into the kitchen and Josie got some sandwiches from the sideboard. They sat down at the table.
“We’d better not have much to eat; Evy always puts on a big spread at Christmas,” Jonathan said.
“I love Christmas!” Jon laughed at his wife’s joy.
They sat eating their sandwiches. Jonathan picked up a piece of paper from the table.
“What’s this?” he read what was on the paper, “Names?”
“Yes. The baby’s going to need a name. I was just jotting down some ideas. I want either Charles or Charlotte in there somewhere. After Charlie and it’s one of your middle names.”
“And it was my father’s name as well.”
“That’s another reason why I want it. Also Jonathan somewhere for a boy.”
“No, I’m not too keen on naming after me.”
“What about John then.”
“That’s better. I like John.” He glanced down Josie’s list. “Adelina’s pretty. So is Juliet. Not too sure about Isolde though.”
“That’s still a maybe. What do you like for girls then?”
“Rather more traditional than yours – Elizabeth, Catherine and Margaret. I wouldn’t mind using Beatrice after Aunt Beatrice, but only as a middle name.”
“Yes. We could have Beatrice Charlotte as middle names. What do you like out of that list?”
“I like Adelina, Juliet, Virginia, Arabella. I don’t like Elodia or Martha though. Floriana nice but rather frilly, need to be simpler.
“What about Floria or Flora.”
“I like them. What have you got for boys then?” He looked at the boys names on her list. “Arthur is nice, so are Frederick and Angus. No to Bertram, I went to school with a Bertram, he was a nasty little blighter.” He looked farther down her list, “Montgomery! I’m not naming my son Montgomery!”
“It’s distinguished.”
“It sounds pompous. I don’t like it. Plus he’ll end up as Monty.”
“OK then. We’ll not bother with Montgomery.”
He finished looking at her list and put the piece of paper down.
“It makes it more real, taking about names. I’m going to be a Daddy. I can’t wait.”
“I know. A little baby. Our baby.”
Jonathan took Josie’s hand in his and squeezed it. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
“Do you think we ought to get ready if we are going to Evy and Rick’s?” she asked.
“Yes. Especially as you take ages to get ready.”
“I do not!”
“You do!”
“Don’t.”
“Do.”
“Go on then. I bet I’ll get ready before you.”
They went upstairs to get ready for Christmas dinner.