CHRISTMAS ON MY OWN 1

 CHRISTMAS ON MY OWN ~ Part One of two

By Bob French

Amanda had decided to leave London and take her skills as a newly qualified nurse to one of the outlying towns where the pressure was a little less and she could distance herself from her past; in particular Philip, a cruel, jealous and greedy man who betrayed her just before Christmas two years ago.  Since then, she has always spent Christmas on her own.  Her father worked for the Foreign Office, so he and her mother were always overseas. 

It was early November and she was already dreading another Christmas on her own.

          As Amanda finished her rounds of the adult wards, she often quietly crept into the children's ward to see if they needed a hand.  She enjoyed helping out where ever she could and Clair, who was a senior nurse appreciated her help.

As she slumped down into a soft chair in the nurse’s restroom for lunch one Thursday, Clair looked across at her with a frown on her face.

“Hey, Amanda, what’s up with you. Nothing planned for this weekend?” Clair said with a twinkle in her eye.

          Amanda Anabel shrugged her shoulders.  “Can you believe it?  I’ve done all my Christmas shopping online.”  She paused, as if to contemplate her achievement, then frowned and shook her head.  “I would normally be out on the high street shopping right up to Christmas Eve, but doing it all on-line sort of took the fun out of Christmas. I enjoyed the crowds, the hustle and bustle, the carol singers, all the toys and things and the smell of roasted chestnuts on the high street.” She then felt sadness creep over her as the thought of spending Christmas on her own again sunk into her thoughts.

Clair stood and came and sat next to her.

“What you need is a girls’ night out.  Shake off those blues.  Philip is long gone and good riddance to the beast. He was never any good for you.”

Amanda looked up as Clair waved over Pam her best friend.

“This girl needs a night out.  Do you know if they are playing at home?”

Amanda frowned at the question, but Pam quickly pulled out her phone and after a few seconds, grinned and nodded her head.  “Yep.  Looks like it’s a good night out after all.  I’ll call Jilly and Donna.”

Amanda, still confused by the planning of this ‘night out’ going on around her, stood and straightened her uniform.

“Can someone please tell me what this ‘girls’ night out’ is going to be? Where is it and do I need to get dressed up?”

Pam rested a hand on her shoulder. Don’t worry.  Wear boots, jeans and a warm woolly pullover and something to keep your head warm and dry, oh, and wear your Barber.  I will pick you up at two o’clock on Saturday afternoon from your place.

Amanda reluctantly nodded and as Pam left, she turned to Clair and quietly asked.

“Do you know where we are going?”

Clair smiled. “Amanda, believe me, you will thoroughly enjoy it, trust me.”

With a toot on her car horn, Amanda rushed down and got into the car. Clair drove for about fifteen minutes during which time she refused to be drawn by Amanda’s questions about what to expect, until she slowed down, then pulled slowly round a corner and passed a brightly coloured sign; ‘Welcome to the Dragons Rugby Football Club’.

Amanda glanced at the sign as it drifted past with a frown on her face.  “Rugby?”

“I bet by the end of the evening, you’ll thank me and the girls.”

As they got out of the car it started to rain and Amanda silently thanked Clair for her instructions regarding what to wear.

The clubhouse was packed with people of all ages.  The festive spirit seemed very much in the air as they made their way to the bar to get a drink. Clair turned to look for a table when she heard Jilly yelling over the noise of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ on the duke box.

Once they were all seated Jilly leant across and touched Amanda’s hand.  She nodded to the tall, well-built man with dark brown coloured hair and a nine o’clock beard.

“This is my Brian and over there is Ian, he’s madly in love with Donna.  Amanda glanced across at Ian and was taken by the size of him.  He looked about five foot ten, but his neck, chest and shoulders were huge.

Amanda nodded at them.  “I take it that you both play rugby?”

Ian spoke in a broad Scottish accent. “Ay, but it’s the second team playing today lass.”

Suddenly someone rang a bell at the bar and the place started to empty.

“Come on Amanda, let’s go.”  Without a word, she stood and followed the girls along with the crown from the clubhouse as they made their way down to the pitch.

The game was fast and furious.  No one seemed to care about the rain or the mud.  It was halfway through the second half when a tall man with straw-coloured hair punched through the opposition to score a try.  The crowds along the touch-line went hysterical, and even when he failed to convert, they still cheered.

Amanda watched in fascination at the men from both teams crashed into each other, or fought for the ball in the thick slimy mud and rain.  Then suddenly a player from the visiting team gathered up the ball and was sprinting down the wing towards her. The spectators fell silent as there was no doubt about it, he was going to score a try.  Out of nowhere, the tall man who had scored the first try shot across the pitch hit the man with a tackle that took them both sliding off the pitch into a bunch of spectators.

 Clair, along with the rest of the spectators quickly moved out of the way of the two men sliding majestically towards them. Amanda froze as she watched in slow motion as the two huge mud-covered players slid toward her.

The man with the ball slid into Amanda, knocking her off her feet, but the man who had tackled him had dug his studs into the grass and rose with the momentum just in time to catch Amanda in mid-flight.

She went to scream but suddenly felt his arms gently gather around her and put her back on her feet.

“Sorry Miss. I do hope you’re alright?”  Amanda was speechless.  She tried to thank him, but her mouth was dry; her eyes stared up into his bright blue eyes and she felt her heart jump.  Before she could get control of herself, he had brushed past her, held out his hand to the man who had the ball and pulled him up, then trotted back onto the muddy pitch.

Amanda stood quite still for a while until someone next to her was asking if she was alright.

“Oh! yes, yes thank you.”

The final whistle brought cheers from all the spectators, especially the home team as they had, for the first time, beaten the top team in their league.

The third half, as known in rugby circles, was something to remember.  Everyone; the home and away team and their spectators joined in the singing, dancing and merriment of the evening until the bell at the bar rang again.

Throughout the evening, Amanda had been discretely trying to seek out the tall man with straw-coloured hair and blue eyes, to thank him for saving her from the embarrassment of falling face down in the mud, but failed.

The rain had continued into Monday morning as Amanda and Clair met for the morning shift.

“Well, did you enjoy the night out?” Clair smiled, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, thank you so much.  Not for the hangover on Sunday morning though, but the whole experience.  I really enjoyed myself. It would have been nice if I could have thanked the chap who saved me from the mud.”

Clair looked into Amanda’s eyes and laughed. “Not a chance. His name’s Roddy, and he’s smitten with Holly.  You’re going to have to be very special if you want to win him over.”

“Does he play every weekend?”

Clair saw that look again.  “No. He only plays when there is a second-team home game. He’s a farmer and doesn’t like being away from the farm or Holly for too long.”

The ward was busy and whilst Amanda concentrated on the numerous tasks, she couldn’t help thinking about the man who saved her in the mud and rain.

The second team weren’t playing at home until the first week of December and Clair didn’t have to invite Amanda to the game.

That Saturday was a bright and windy day.  Amanda watched keenly as the man with straw-coloured hair swerved in and out of the players, or rummaged around on the floor in a great heap of steaming bodies trying to free the ball.

The game was a draw and once again, Amanda tried to spot Roddy in the crowd of the clubhouse, but he never seemed to be there. Clair caught her staring around the club room and stepped up beside her.

“Looking for someone?”

Amanda jumped with surprise at the challenge, then tried to make some excuse, but Clair nodded and smiled at her.

“Me thinks you have the hots for him, am I right?”

Amanda smiled and felt her face blush. She hadn’t done that in a long time, she thought. “Well, Maybe.”

“They run a small farm just out the back of the railway station.  Does alright by local reckoning.”  Amanda smiled, hiding her feelings that she would be interfering in their life if she pushed herself in.

Three days later, having received an unexpected Christmas card from Uncle Jim, she had decided to quickly pop out during her lunch break and buy him something.  Just as she crossed the road towards Smiths, she spotted Roddy. He was strolling along the pavement as though he had not a care in the world.  Amanda quickly stepped into the doorway of Boots and watched him as he raised a hand to a woman who was slowly walking towards him.  She noticed that woman had a smile to die for.  They met on the pavement and hugged each other, then hand in hand they went into The Crown and Anchor. 

Amanda stared at the woman.  She was beautiful; slim, nice clothes and hair neat and tidy.  So that was Holly.  Her selfish thoughts of breaking up a happy family now firmly cast out of her mind. With anger and frustration in her mind, she turned, and as though on a forced route march, stormed back to work.  Any thought of getting Uncle Jim a Christmas present long forgotten.

The meeting played on Amanda’s mind for the rest of the day and her moods matched her feelings.  Clair, who had noticed, had asked her a couple of times if she was alright, but only received a grunt. After her shift, instead of helping out on the Children’s ward, she went straight home.

Sitting in her dark and cold flat, feeling sorry for herself, she quietly cursed herself for being an egoistic fool.  Why on earth didn’t she listen to Clair in the first place before making a complete fool of herself.  Feeling sorry for herself, she turned on the television and was greeted with Christmas carols being sung by the nurses of some London hospital in a children’s ward; cursing under her breath, she quickly switched it off and threw the remote onto the floor.  Christmas alone again, she thought.

Copyright Bob French