The street was suddenly deserted. It seemed weird looking at the boarded-up houses and the police taping off the house and the end of the street. The police knew they were staying in the pub and had agreed to keep an eye on them. And, of course, their own team had contacted them and arranged a visit later that day. It was to be expected, but they were always under scrutiny.

Maggie sidled up close to Alex and held his hand. ‘Well, that’s a lot of money the brewery will lose with no one allowed down the street. It’s Christmas in three weeks and we have bookings, what are we going to do?’

Putting his arm around her comfortingly, he looked down the street at Percy’s house. Wincing inside, Alex knew this was all his fault. He realised now that he had gone too far. ‘Don’t go cancelling anything Maggie. Not yet anyway. Believe me, this will last a couple of days at most and will give you a chance to sort out your decorations. The neighbours will get fed up of sofa surfing and start to come home. They have their own Christmases to sort out. The only person really in shit street is old Percy and I’m sure he’ll get sorted soon enough.’

‘Do you think we should offer him a room here? He’s an old man. Who knows if he has any family?’

Shocked at her idea, Alex quickly scuppered it. ‘Definitely not Maggie. If we let him stay, we’ll never get rid of him. Anyway, I don’t think the brewery would let us have lodgers, or the police either. Let the authorities look after Percy, it’s for the best,’ he reasoned. Personally, he thought Percy had everything that was coming to him. He’d known something was going down this weekend, which was why he’d disappeared.

‘Yes, you’re right. It was just a thought.’

‘That’s because, my lovely, you’re a kind-hearted woman, which is why I married you.’ Kissing her on the top of the head, he pulled her closer.

‘Is that all?’ She laughed. ‘I thought it was because you were fed up with having a “quickie” in my dad’s shed after closing time.’ They both burst out laughing. Alex thought back to the many times the handlebars of her dad’s bicycle had banged his arse, or some other tool had fallen on his head during their frenzied passion. A smile crossed his face when he thought back to those days. Funny, but bloody uncomfortable!

11 PARTNERSHIPS

Almost ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Maggie felt happy again, because Alex had been right. Within two days Mark had drifted back into the neighbourhood and landed on their doorstep complaining about Olivia’s mother who was ‘a moaning, miserable cow’. He couldn’t stand it any more apparently.

Slowly everyone had drifted back into the neighbourhood, and the police had taken down the tape that had cordoned off the area. Percy had been put up in a bed and breakfast for the time being, which he was quite happy about, considering his house and possessions had been blown to bits. He was getting regular meals, and it wasn’t costing him anything.

Alex had waited for Percy’s return and noticed when Percy had originally come back to the neighbourhood, unaware that there was nothing to return to, that he had no fishing rods with him when he had been dropped off. Musing to himself as he stared out the window, he wanted to laugh but couldn’t find it in him.

Deana pulled Alex aside one day. ‘Dad, I’ve got a bit of gossip for you,’ she whispered and walked out of the pub. Following her lead, Alex followed her into the beer garden out of earshot.

‘I know how they wired up Magda’s electricity.’ She grinned.

Puzzled and frowning, Alex waited. ‘Well?’ he prompted.

‘Did you know she has a summer house at the bottom of the garden. Well, I say summer house, it’s enormous.’

‘How could I? I’ve never been down her garden.’ Intrigued, he waited, knowing full well that Deana was pausing for effect.

‘It’s about twenty foot long and wide and is more like a granny flat. It’s all kitted out apparently.’ Deana nodded, clearly impressed.

‘Deana, do you want to get to the point?’

‘I’ve just mentioned the point and you’ve missed it. To go that far down her garden with electricity, she had to have a separate mains box put in, leading from the original one. The bastards have wired it up from her garden summer house, that’s why no one saw the wiring. And the only person who knew she had a summer house was Percy!’

Alex was amazed. ‘That’s fucking genius Deana!’ he exclaimed. ‘Absolutely brilliant. Christ, I wish I’d thought of it,’ he laughed. Seeing the angry expression on Deana’s face, Alex changed his attitude. ‘Is she okay? Her and her daughter, are they both all right?’

‘Yeah, her daughter was staying at her dad’s. And Magda sometimes works nights at the supermarket shelf filling for extra cash.’

‘You’re a nosey fucker who’s found out a lot from a neighbour we hardly speak to.’ He grinned.

Giving him a knowing look, she smiled. ‘Maybe I’m more like my father than he realises. Oh, and by the way, I thought I would give you the heads up about Mum’s Christmas plans. It’s going to be big this year!’ she laughed and walked away.

Slowly making his way back into the pub, Alex fought his way through tinsel, Christmas trees and even more lights and decorations. Maggie had gone mad decorating the place, he thought to himself. It was like Santa’s grotto, but it had kept her mind busy. Seeing her behind the bar polishing glasses, he walked towards her and nonchalantly enquired about her Christmas plans for the family.

‘Oh, I’m glad you asked that Alex, I was going to tell you, but, with one thing and another it went clean out of my head. None of our Christmas bookings have been cancelled; on the contrary, nosey buggers want to come and see what’s happened since it was on the news. But I thought when we’re finished in the afternoon and the last customer has left, we could have our own Christmas dinner down here in the pub and I’ve invited all the neighbours and staff. It’s a goodwill gesture considering everything that’s happened, and Chef is more than happy to pop another couple of turkeys in the oven, especially as he’s staying too.’ She beamed.

Alex’s heart sank. ‘Don’t they have families they want to be with? Maybe we could throw a party afterwards.’ The very idea of it made him squirm inside. He hated big social occasions and the fact that they weren’t having Christmas together for the first time in a long time, made him wince. He knew the smile had disappeared from his face, but thankfully Maggie hadn’t seemed to notice.

‘I’ve said all are welcome and that includes their immediate families. Phyllis is on her own, so why shouldn’t she stay? Pauline was going to her son’s but likes the idea of staying here. It saves messing around on Christmas Day getting taxis or her son not being able to have a drink.’ Maggie walked over to him and put her arms around his neck, giving him a peck on the lips. ‘I knew you would be the Grinch. Which is why I didn’t mention it earlier. And do you know the best part, Alex?’ She winked.

Alex really couldn’t see a ‘best part’, his mind was already swimming about trying to eat his Christmas dinner with everyone’s kids running around the place.

‘We are going to provide some bottles of wine and some soft drinks for the kids and after that they have to buy their own. And as we’re opening Christmas night they will stay and fill the cash register. Plus, Phyllis and Pauline can work Christmas evening and I’ve got a couple of agency staff from the brewery to help us out with the bookings. See, I’m not just a pretty face.’ She laughed and kissed him again.

‘My God, you have it all worked out, don’t you, Mrs Business Brain?’ Alex had to admit, it was a good idea and she was right. ‘You’re a devious woman Mrs Silva, I’ll grant you that.’ Shaking his head with disbelief, he held her tight. She was his heart and soul and he loved her. The very nearness of her caused a stirring within him and if having a big Christmas party dinner made her smile, who was he to complain?

‘You can keep that swelling in your trousers firmly away,’ she laughed. ‘I have things to do. Save it for later.’ She winked, pushing him away playfully.

‘Is that a promise, Mrs Silva?’ The smile spread across Alex’s face at the thought of the evening to come.

‘Cross my heart,’ she said, ‘especially if you agree to wear the Christmas jumper I’ve bought you. There could be added bonuses.’

Alex held up his hands in submission. ‘Count me in, your temptress.’

Within the blink of an eye, Christmas was upon them. The street looked as though nothing terrible had happened and everyone was surprised that things had been done so quickly before the Christmas period. They had even given Percy some kind of government grant so that he could buy bits of furniture from second-hand places and with Olivia and Emma emptying their households of things they supposedly didn’t need he was up and running again. Everyone was in high spirits, and even Alex had to admit it was infectious.

Olivia and Emma were sorting out Christmas presents that had to be put under the pub Christmas tree that they would all open after lunch, making a real Christmas occasion of it. Dante had expressed concern, in case any customers pinched any of the growing gaily wrapped parcels, but Alex had assured him they would presume they were just empty boxes wrapped in Christmas paper for effect, which put his mind at rest.

Dante seemed pleased that he would be having his friend George to dinner on Christmas Day, and for the sake of his family happiness, Alex was going to step back and let them have their moment. Maggie had even gone so far as asking the witness protection police if they wanted to join them. When they had declined, she had made a point of buying them presents. They had kept them safe, and as far as she was concerned, they deserved a thanks in return for their hard work.

As always, Alex had gone to a local Catholic church for Christmas eve mass. His mother had always done it when he was a child and he kept up the tradition in memory of her. The family had tagged along, although he’d said they didn’t have to, but it was nice to have them there with him. Afterwards, it seemed like they had only had a few hours’ sleep when they heard Dante’s bedroom door open and slam shut.

‘I thought they were grown-ups now and didn’t believe in Father Christmas,’ yawned Alex. ‘Bloody hell, can’t anyone have a lie-in?’

‘Come on grumpy, it’s Christmas morning and it’s snowed. If you and your family traditions hadn’t kept us up so late, you would have slept longer. Merry Christmas darling.’ Maggie cuddled up to Alex and nestled her head in his arms.

‘Talking of Christmas, I have something for you. You can sort this while I go and put the kettle on.’ Getting out of bed, Alex opened a drawer of the dresser and took out a mobile phone. ‘Ring your mother. They can’t trace this, no one knows about it. There are different SIM cards in there with different telephone numbers. Get rid of each one after you use it, then your mum can’t be tempted to call you back. I know it sounds harsh, but it’s for the best. Merry Christmas love.’ Seeing the tears well up in her eyes, he knew he had done the right thing. This had made her Christmas.

‘Oh, Alex love, I don’t know what to say. Mum will say nothing, you know that. Thank you.’ She was about to reach out for him, when she heard Dante’s excited voice cry out her name. ‘The joys of being a parent, Alex. Go on, I’ll join you in a minute.’

Alex went to join Deana and Dante as they began opening their presents. For the first time in a long time, they had legal money to spend on their kids. All of Alex’s accounts had been emptied because they had been classed as ill-gotten gains and they had been left absolutely penniless which had hurt Alex’s pride. But now they ran the pub and had a wage, which gave them the chance to splash out and buy the family some proper new presents.

Dante had already taken off the big red sheet Maggie had put over the electric bicycle they had bought him. He was always unsteadily balancing on the back of George’s bike and desperately would have liked one of his own and Maggie had made his wish come true. ‘It’s just like George’s. It’s fantastic!’ he beamed, while sitting on it in his pyjamas. ‘Can I go out and try it out and show George?’

Alex looked out of the window. ‘Sure, why not, but don’t you want to open the other ones first?’

‘In a minute. Help me carry it downstairs. I’ve not had an electric bike before. They are ace, but heavy,’ Dante laughed.

‘I know Dante, I carried the bloody thing up.’ Alex walked over and ran his hands through Dante’s black hair, which resembled his own. ‘Don’t you want to put some clothes on first? It’s snowing.’

Looking down at his clothing, Dante smiled and left the room while Alex carried the bike downstairs and opened the back door, quickly followed by a hastily dressed Dante. Going back upstairs, Alex saw how radiant Maggie looked. She had obviously made her call and it had made her day. As far as she was concerned, Father Christmas really did exist. ‘Well, Deana, aren’t you going to open any of yours?’