Guess Who's Coming to Christmas Dinner (4 page)

“Got
to go Lynne, that’s the doorbell,” Sophie said, after reassuring her that if worst came to worst she could just buy one. Bella would be sorry to miss Nathan’s birthday, but she wouldn’t be back from Archie’s in time for it.

Sophie opened the door and gaped at the stranger that stood there clutching several bottles of champagne. A broad shouldered man, with slicked back hair, piercing blue eyes wearing a dark frock coat complete with gold watch chain smiled at her.

“Laurie?!
You look, oh my goodness, you look –“

“Like
a vampire? “ Laurie said triumphantly, stepping across the doorway, planting a big kiss on her cheek.

Chapter
Five

Sophie had never seen Laurie so excited. Or so handsome, she had to admit. It was the eyes; why on earth had she not noticed those eyes before? Obviously the glasses that he normally wore covered quite a lot up, but surely she would have noticed them before now? Laurie saw her staring and laughed.

“Contact
lenses,” he said confidentially, refilling her glass. Sophie giggled. It seemed so unlikely, but her friend and next door neighbour had only got himself a major role in a major film that was going to be shot in Hollywood! He was going to be flying out to LA on Boxing Day. All those years of playing in local theatres, doing some TV commercials and walk on parts in Emmerdale had actually paid off. Sophie and Bella had gone to see him in Panto last year and Bella had been entranced that she actually knew someone in real life who was on
stage
. She’d been even more entranced when they went back to his shared dressing room and he had entertained them in full make up. Bella had been round eyed with awe. She then had boasted for weeks that he she knew someone
famous
and demanded that he autograph everything in sight. Sophie dropped the pasta in boiling water and demanded more news from Laurie about this stunning bit of news.

“I
can honestly say that they loved me. God bless my agent! Of course, I did dress the part; this suit hire is horribly expensive. The screen test was adored by one and all and then today was a formality, apparently, and I’m in! I could tell you who the leading lady is, but then I’d have to kill you. Can you believe it?!” Laurie was beaming from ear to ear. His bright blue eyes glinting with happiness. He jumped up and clasped Sophie to him.

“Let
me practice my wicked vampire bite on you,” Laurie said, bending his head to her neck. Sophie laughed and batted him away.

“There’s
enough garlic in here to ward any vampire off!” she said, pointing at the sauce and waving her wooden spoon at him. “Besides, you’ve got no fangs.... do you get fangs? I mean, you have to have fangs don’t you?”

“I’ll
have you know they’re called prosthetics and they’ll be custom made my girl!” Laurie said, dipping his finger in the sauce, and licking it appreciatively.

Sophie dished up the pasta and they ate in the kitchen, speculating on the lifestyle that was awaiting him.

“You
mean they’ve got you a house, with a swimming pool?” Sophie said, twirling the last of the pasta off her plate.

“Yep.
I’m not allowed to get a tan, it’s in my contract. But I can lie under the orange trees learning my lines and looking pale and British and…”

“With
bad teeth,” Sophie giggled.

“I
was going to say interesting, but you may have a point,” Laurie laughed.

“Tell
me about the house again,” Sophie said, gathering plates off the table and dumping them in the sink. Sophie had been guilty of watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in the afternoons and could well envisage Laurie in an enormous house complete with wine cellar, butler, tennis courts and immense marble bathrooms. Laurie assured her that it was a small house in downtown LA but it did have a swimming pool and it did have orange trees but no butler and definitely no wine cellar.

“Anyway,
you can come and see for yourself. You and Bella would love it there, and I won’t be working every day and…”

“What?”
Sophie interrupted, whirling round from the kitchen sink, tea towel in hand. “What did you say?”

“I’m
inviting you over.” An angel must have been flying overhead as there was suddenly a very noticeable silence in the room. A hundred thoughts were flying through Sophie’s mind. The first one was – there’s no way I can possibly afford the flights, followed by, oh, Bella would love that! Followed by, why do I feel so awkward about this? Followed by, why is it suddenly so quiet in here? Sophie cleared her throat, and said “Umm, that’s awfully nice of you but–”

“No
buts
....you’re both coming out! My treat. I can afford it now... I’d love to have you... I mean I love you and Bella, I mean, oh god...” Laurie tailed off looking sheepishly at Sophie.

Sophie’s
mind was reeling. Laurie had said the word ‘love’ to her. What on earth did he mean? This was, quite literally, the man next door. Well. Over the road, anyway. He and Sophie and Bella had hung out, had picnics, gone to the movies for over a year now. They had known Laurie when Archie had still been around, but had never been that friendly. Sophie had watched him return from countless auditions and had bucked him up over coffee or a glass of wine and he had heard her voice her anxieties over Bella being shunted to and fro between her father and his new girlfriend. They were
mates
for goodness sake. Or had she got it completely wrong? But if she had, why did they both suddenly feel so awkward? With awful clarity she suddenly remembered what Susi had asked her to ask him. They both had been speculating why on earth he hadn’t got a girlfriend. Perhaps he was gay? Susi had begged her to ask him. But Sophie was far too timid to do so. He couldn’t be…but the thought had remained in her hand.

“Hang on a moment,” Laurie said. “I can see you don’t take me seriously because of these bloody contact lenses. Let me take them out. They’re killing me to be honest. It’s revolting to watch. I’m going in the bathroom. Pour us some more bubbly...back in two ticks!”

Sophie
slowly poured some of the golden bubbles into his glass, and sat down heavily at the kitchen table. She could hear Laurie grumbling from the bathroom as he removed the icy blue contact lenses.

“Bloody
hell – they hurt! How people do this day after day is beyond me. The optician swears I’ll get used to them....” he bounded back in the room and snatched up his glass.

“Let’s
drink to Lala Land and to you and Bella coming over and making my life complete,” Laurie said with a flourish and a confidence that Sophie found hard to believe. That awkwardness seemed to have gone, but then he was an actor, wasn’t he? Perhaps he was acting right this second.

“Laurie,
are you gay?” Sophie blurted out and then clamped her hand to her mouth.

“What?”
Laurie banged his glass down onto the kitchen table, staring at her. Then, much to Sophie’s relief he started to laugh.

“Come
here,” he said, standing up and pulling Sophie out of her chair, holding her hands whilst drawing her closer to him. He slowly bent his head towards her and softly kissed her on the mouth. There was hesitancy there, as if he were waiting for an invitation.

Sophie
stood in her kitchen, with Laurie’s arms around her and his mouth on hers, and then almost against her will, she felt her body respond. She was kissing him back and her arms tightened around him. Their tongues met and her grasp became tighter. He was stroking the back of her head and his other hand was running up and down her back. No thoughts were running through her head at all now, just the lovely feeling of utter happiness. She kissed him back with a passion that took her completely by surprise. After a few minutes, they drew apart and stood looking at one another.

“Sophie...the
only reason that I haven’t done that before was…well…I’ve seen how you worry about money and giving Bella all that she needs, but now, well, now... I’m secure...no, that’s not true of course, an actor is rarely secure, but I know I’m going to make it. I know it! Come with me Sophie. Please.” Laurie said holding her away from him so that he could look at her properly.

Sophie
stared into his normal eyes, which were a pale hazel colour with flecks of gold in them. His hair was tousled out of its vampire Edwardian slick back where she had run her hands through it. She fumbled for some words to say to him, but found she had none. She felt physically weak, her legs were actually shaking. She suddenly laughed.

All
she could think was the childish thought that she would text Susi tonight with the words ‘He’s definitely not gay’.

Chapter Six

Sophie
woke in the morning with a definite sense of the unfamiliar. She lay very still with her eyes staring around her bedroom, checking that all was well. The stripped pine wardrobe that had scarves draped over it loomed out of the darkness, and the old mirror above her dressing table reflected a cold, gloomy light of the windows. A persistent but gentle snoring reached her from the other side of the bed. Oh god... she had forgotten!

Laurie
was stretched out on his back, his arms flung over his head, his mouth slightly open and a smile etched on his face even when asleep. She gently edged away from him and swung her legs onto the cold floor, feeling with her feet for the sheepskin slippers that she knew were there. She quickly flung her dressing gown over her naked body and hurried to the bathroom. Her teeth could definitely do with a clean. Garlic and champagne breath was not the most romantic. She giggled with delight as she remembered last night. What a night. She shivered in the bathroom, partly from cold and partly with joy as she remembered Laurie’s lovemaking.

They
had made love, talked, made love again and talked again all night, it felt like. Hatching plans and being playful. Sophie had not committed to going to LA, but Laurie could tell that she was tempted. Even if it was just for a holiday.

“Look,
Sophie, I don’t expect you to move in with me, though god knows I’d love it – but we could just, well, you know, see how it goes, couldn’t we? Just think about it at least,” Laurie had said last night in bed, holding her close. “And... Bella would love it, I know she would!” Laurie had whispered, playing his trump card. Sophie smiled at the memory. Bella did indeed adore Laurie. Whether she loved him was a different matter. Time alone would tell that.

She
ran into the kitchen to make some coffee and take it to Laurie. She stood in the kitchen gazing out of the window, the kettle in her hand. It had snowed overnight. The bough of the old apple tree that overhung her fence was laden with it. Sophie put the kettle on, and ran into the living room to see that the normally busy road was pretty much deserted. The snow had worked its magic on the London street turning it into a scene from Narnia. Even in the dark morning light, Sophie could see no patch of pavement or tarmac showing and all parked cars had thick blankets of white. Small flakes of snow were still drifting down and even as she looked she could see that it was getting heavier. As she waited for the coffee, she braved the back garden in her slippers to knock off the snow from the bird table and replenish it was some seeds and nuts that she kept for them. Poor little things. She’d like to invite them into the kitchen to wait out the winter in the warm. She had a fleeting thought of the fox she’d seen, and hoped that it was tucked up snug and warm somewhere safe. Bella! Oh god, Bella would be so excited to see the snow. Sophie wished with all her heart that she had been here...though she knew with certainty that the joys of last night would never have happened. She shook her head, banishing the thought. She had a brief daydream of Laurie and Bella making a snowman and having a snowball fight in the park. Maybe even a sled run down the steep hill there? She glanced at the time and decided that it was too early to call Archie’s number and hear her daughter’s voice. Too early even to call Aunt Dot and see how she was. Later. She’d catch up with reality later.

She
poured the aromatic coffee into two blue and white striped mugs and added milk, and padded carefully into the bedroom, slipping back beside Laurie, after carefully putting the coffee down on the marble topped washstand that served as her bedside table. She rejoiced in the warmth of the bed after the intense cold of her flat.

“Come
here, you!” Laurie smiled at her, rolling on his side and grabbing her towards him, “I smelt the coffee and was desperately hoping that you’d bring it in... how long do we have before we absolutely have to get up?”

“At
least an hour,” Sophie said, snuggling up to him. She had to be at the shop at ten and she was working till late, but she had tomorrow off as it was Christmas Eve and was prepping for the party and running all those last minute errands that happened at this time of the year. Thank god she had all of Bella’s presents wrapped and well hidden; all she had to do was her stocking. She’d even bought Laurie a small present, Bella had insisted that he would love a pair of Santa socks and a plastic dinosaur pencil sharpener. Sophie smiled at the thought of it, and made a mental note to get him something else as well.

“An
awful lot can be done in an hour,” Laurie muttered, sliding his hands down her body.

It
turned out that he was absolutely right. Sophie was astounded at herself. There was no awkwardness or strangeness about being with Laurie. It felt like they had been together for years. Their coffee grew cold and the snow continued to fall, but neither of them seemed to care.

Their
reverie was soon shattered by the insistent ringing of Sophie’s phone. Sophie listened to Archie’s voice on the other end of the phone, feeling a terrible sense of panic. “Just what are you saying Archie? How’s Bella? Is she alright?” Sophie saw that Laurie was propped on his elbow looking at her in alarm. She couldn’t understand what Archie was saying. He seemed to be crying. Sophie found herself standing in the cold bedroom, naked, pressing the phone so tightly to her ear that it hurt.

“Just
tell me! Tell me now! What
is
it?” Sophie shouted into the phone. She was aware that Laurie had scrambled out of bed and was draping a dressing gown round her. The room froze around her as she imagined all sorts of terrible things that could have happened to make Archie sound like this. Maybe Bella was trapped in a fire, or had been in a car accident.

“Stop
crying Archie! Tell me what it is!” Sophie pushed Laurie away, who was standing beside her with his arms around her. She listened to Archie’s voice and then abruptly sat on the bed. The dishevelled duvet and crumpled pillows seemed to look at her with reproachful eyes. She saw Laurie from the corner of her eye scramble into his clothes. He looked incongruous in the Edwardian suit that he’d hired. She turned away from him, pressing the phone to her ear.

“What?
Wait a moment....so Bella is fine? I just need you to tell me that...” Sophie could her voice raised to shouting point. Sophie ran her hands through her hair and stared unseeingly at Laurie who was now fully dressed, minus his moss green cravat tie and shoes.

“Let
me get this straight Archie, you’re in this state because Bertha has left you. Is that right? You have to calm down. You’ll be scaring Bella. Where is she? By herself? For god’s sake Archie, please! Pull yourself together!” Sophie relaxed slightly, and started to shake out the duvet, banging the pillows back into shape. She started to strip the bedclothes off the bed, hampered as the phone was still clamped to her ear with one hand. Laurie came to help her, tugging the pillows from the pale striped linen pillowcases.

“Right...I
see...well, I’ll see you both later on then. And please, do calm down Archie. You must think of Bella you know...and drive carefully. It’s really thick snow here…bye.” She sat on the bed with a dazed expression on her face, and promptly burst into tears. Laurie came to sit by her side and gingerly put his arm around her.

“What
is it, what’s happened?” he said, gently stroking her back.Sophie covered her face in her hands and sobbed. “I’m being stupid I know, but he’s so upset because Bertha has left him, and he’s crying, crying like he’s lost everything....and he’s left Bella outside in their garden making a snowman by herself! And he wants to come over here with Bella as he doesn’t want to be alone...and...and....” Sophie’s wailed. Laurie stroked her hair whilst Sophie sobbed. The phone went again, and Sophie jumped to answer it, knocking Laurie’s arm away from her shoulders.

“Yes,
Archie? Oh...no, sorry Mum, it’s just that....what? Oh, god....poor Aunt Dot....can I speak to her? No, no, of course I understand....give her my love and I’ll call you later....yes, yes....I will, bye.” Sophie sat in silence on her bed, wiping her eyes.

“That
was my mum. My Aunt Dot had a bad fall yesterday and my mum and dad are staying with her over Christmas so they won’t be coming here after all. They thought she might have broken her hip, but she’d just badly bruised and shaken up. And they say the weather is really bad down there anyway and they don’t want to drive in it.” Sophie wiped her eyes again.

She
looked at Laurie who was sitting beside her, staring at his feet. She glanced down. She knew that the shiny black brogues were part of the vampire look. She had a fleeting image of Laurie buying them in a posh shop. She sniffed again and it seemed that all the plans that they’d hesitantly spoke about last night seemed insignificant. Archie was coming home. With their daughter. It had been what she had wanted for over a year. The silence settled over them both like the snow outside.

They
both jumped when the phone went again. It was Maria this time. She asked Sophie to open up as driving was impossible in the snow and she’d have to walk in. Sophie jumped off the bed, galvanised into action. There was so much to do, she thought, watching Laurie who was running his hands through his hair.

“Look,
Laurie, I think, well, I think you’d better go....I, I have to open up and get ready and…” The words tumbled from Sophie’s mouth.

“Sophie
– stop. Wait a minute. I know that Archie is dropping Bella off here, but–”

“No.
You don’t understand Laurie,” Sophie said quietly. “He’s not dropping her off. He wants to come home for good.”