Page 76 of A Christmas Wish for the Village Midwife

‘It will all be great,’ he said.

‘And if Stacey is pissed, and the door to the house falls down, the show will be all the funnier for it. Whoever wants a perfectly rehearsed panto anyway?’ She was about to add more words of encouragement when she noticed some new arrivals at the door. ‘Our first guests,’ she said, nodding at them. ‘I’d better go and do my job.’

‘Oh, bless you,’ Magnus said. ‘I’m very grateful for your help.’

‘Happy to give it,’ Zoe replied. She turned to Billie. ‘Want to give me a hand while your dad does the stewarding bit?’

Billie followed her, but there was really very little for her to do. Most of the guests stopped at Zoe with their tickets and had a chat because they all knew her well from the time she spent almost every day in the village and around the surgery, where Billie wasn’t so easily recognised. She didn’t go down into the village nearly as much, and she didn’t interact with many people when she did, and so it was hardly surprising to Zoe. But it was sad, Zoe thought, because the lack of attention paid to her only served to reinforce what she suspected Billie was already feeling – that she didn’t belong in Thimblebury in the way that Zoe and Alex did. And Zoe didn’t blame her for it. Billie had tried, but it hadn’t always been easy. It didn’t help that the only people she had become close to, like Fern and Maisie, hadn’t come. In fact, there was nobody under the age of thirty in the room, and Billie must have felt the effect of that too.

‘Do you want to do the tickets and I’ll hang coats up for people?’ Zoe asked after a ten-minute stint where Billie had only been able to stand at her side and watch her work.

‘I’ll take the coats,’ Billie said. ‘You’re faster at this bit.’

She brightened up at the sight of Georgia and Brett coming in. Georgia had a sparkly dress on, and Billie gave a low whistle. ‘It’s only the village hall, girl!’

‘I know.’ Georgia laughed as she took off her coat and gave a twirl. ‘But where else am I going to wear it? I never go out, and it makes a nice change from being in a tracksuit covered in baby sick.’

‘Tell me about it!’ Billie said. ‘Want me to take that?’ She nodded at Georgia’s coat.

‘It’s all right; I’ll keep it with me in case I get cold… or in case Emilia decides to phone me and make me go home because she can’t cope with William. She’s only babysitting under extreme duress as it is. If he kicks off, she won’t be happy – and he’s teething so it’s likely.’

Billie nodded and looked strangely redundant again as Zoe exchanged a brief word with Georgia herself. If she got a chance later, she’d ask Georgia if she could find time to visit them at Hilltop, or else they could go to see her. For a while, despite the fact that Georgia was a good thirteen years older than Billie, just as Zoe was, they’d bonded over their babies, and Georgia was such a lively character she could have bonded with anyone anyway. Zoe could tell Billie liked her. But like everyone, she’d become embroiled in life and the visits had lessened.

After another ten minutes, Zoe scanned the seats. The hall was a buzz of anticipation, ringing with the lively chatter of people catching up, the air warm from the heating and with the aromas of the complimentary mulled wine provided by Geoff, the stage sparkling with tinsel and lights.

‘That’s everyone in,’ she said. ‘And it’s nearly time to start, so if they’re not in by now, they’re going to have to find their own seats and hold on to their coats. Your dad’s already sat down.’

Billie nodded, and they went to join him.

A couple of minutes later, the lights went down… and then went back up again… and then down, and then back up, and then everyone started to laugh, and the poor landlord of the local pub blushed as he tried to get to grips with the lighting desk. And then Magnus stepped out onto the stage before he’d managed it, with a shrieking whine from his microphone that had everyone covering their ears. When they’d finished laughing at the various technical malfunctions, he introduced the show, and then the lights went down and stayed down, and it began.

In the end, though Zoe had been looking forward to the performance, she hadn’t been able to concentrate on it. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t help but notice from the corner of her eye how restless Billie was, almost from the start. She’d watch for a minute or so, and then she’d glance towards the doors, or else pull out her phone to look at the screen, and Zoe wondered if she was checking the time. And she’d let out frustrated bursts of breath, or else fiddle with her hair, or the fasteners on her shirt, or twiddle the silver ring she always wore on her middle finger.

Things went on this way for twenty minutes. There was another twenty to go before the interval, but Zoe was already wishing it here, just so she could talk to Billie to see what the problem was. Maybe it was simply a case of her missing Louisa, concerned about what might be happening at Ottilie’s. That would certainly explain the constant checking of her phone.

When she could stand no more, Zoe leaned over and whispered to Billie. ‘Are you OK? Not worrying about Louisa, are you?’

Billie shook her head, gaze on the stage.

She quickly realised she wasn’t going to get much more than that, and so Zoe sat back in her seat, but not before she noticed a silent question from Alex. She shook her head to signal that it was something she’d have to fill him in on later. The rest of the audience were laughing, but Zoe, distracted by Billie, had missed the joke. So had Alex, distracted by their exchange. Not wanting to miss the next one, Zoe turned her attention back to the performance, but not before she heard a loud sigh coming from Billie, who was looking down at the phone in her lap again.

Fliss entered the stage, dressed as a flamboyant version of Buttons, and then Charles appeared from the other side of the stage as an even more unlikely Cinderella, complete with a blonde wig, painted-on freckles and a hooped skirt that was almost as wide as the stage itself. Zoe had been so busy watching Billie, she hadn’t really taken in their appearances before now.

‘Oh, Buttons!’ he rasped in as girly voice as a baritone man could manage. ‘The ball is tomorrow. Everyone is going, including my awful stepsisters. I’m so sad!’

‘I know that,’ Fliss replied with a cheeky wink. ‘But what do you feel about the ball?’

Everyone started to laugh again, and with every titter and guffaw it was plain to see how much confidence grew in Fliss. She slapped her knee. ‘Come on, Cinders… let me make you feel better.’

‘Even you couldn’t make me feel better,’ Charles said. ‘Not even that special thing you do with that buzzy vibrating⁠—’

‘Not here!’ Buttons exclaimed. ‘That’s our secret buzzy vibrating thing! What if I make you a nice dinner? Wait until you see what I got from the village stores…’ Fliss gave an exaggerated wink to the audience. ‘Nice bit of advertising there… Now then, Cinders, come and see what I’ve got for you… I forgot my shopping bag, so I had to put it in here…’ She opened her trousers and bade Charles to go over.

‘What’s that?’ he asked.

‘A nice sausage for you,’ Fliss said in a saucy tone.

‘I’ve never seen one like that.’