Brick by Brick

Part Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty Seven

Sammy couldn't believe how empty her world was without Joel in it. She'd got used to having him around in the days that he'd stayed with her, but now...two weeks later she missed him SO much. And Monica wasn't doing anything to help that, she had reinvented the word 'invalid' and was spending this day as she'd spent every other reclined on the sofa and demanding Sammy's full attention.

Sammy obviously felt guilty, her mother was having a weekly dose of chemotherapy at the nearest cancer hospital, and for two days following it barely got out of bed, then just as she was starting to feel human again, she'd have the next dose. And Sammy would honestly take her mother's place if she could. But for the days when she was better she became her old self, demanding, petulant...and extremely frustrating.

Corinne heard her complaints on the occasions when they had chance to meet up, but it was Joel's company, his unending support that she missed. She called him, occasionally, and text him more often. But she didn't feel able to put on him, to ask anything of him. He was busy selling the business he and Marcus had spent their lives creating, she could pick up, reading between the lines, that he was finding it a lot harder than he imagined. But then this was a huge full stop in his life, one of the biggest, he had no plans, no alternative, no idea what he was going to do. She couldn't expect him to be there for her, to listen, to understand when he had so much of his own turmoil.

Though he tried.

She smiled as she re read the text for the umpteenth time,

"To quote the actor Max von Sydow 'The more I had to act like a saint, the more I felt like being a sinner.' You need to get out more!"

Her whole body tingled at the implications in those words. He was right, she DID want to lash out, to throw caution to the wind, and a zing shuddered through her body and made her want to explode. But this was only for a limited time and she was meeting with a solicitor the following day to discuss a date for exchange of ownership of her beautiful little cottage. Clifford seemed to think she'd be moving in within a couple of weeks, BEFORE Christmas, and that made her want to sing from the rooftops.

Grabbing her phone, she typed a reply,

"Well the house is approaching, may get my move in a couple of weeks. THEN you'll see the sinner...well someone selfish anyway!"

His response was almost immediate, and it was a simple one.

"Can't think of a better Christmas gift for a better person."

Suddenly the thought of Christmas in her own home flashed into her mind. Wrapped gifts under a decorated tree, the smell of turkey slowly cooking. She'd missed out on so many Christmases as a child, and when she'd been with Marcus they had either been on holiday or visited his parents. Last year she'd been too embroiled in her grief.

No this Christmas was going to be perfect. A warm family home, with her and her daughter, and whoever wanted to join her. This was one time when she wasn't going to give in to anyone else. From now on she was making everything perfect for her daughter, planning a childhood of great memories that she would remember forever. That was her passion and her agenda.

"I'm more excited about Eleanor's Christmas. I hope she loves it."

His response was again immediate, "she'll love the home, the Christmas and her mother. Keep strong. Don't let Monica get you down. Got to go to Paris tomorrow, only for a few days. Keep me informed? I'll be a removal man for you ok?"