Fiction x2!

It had been a tough year – and doing last-minute Christmas shopping was just adding to all the stress

‘IWOULDN’T mind taking a big gulp of that wine,” Adam said, gesturing at the bottle of sauvignon blanc in their shopping trolley.

“I’d settle for a strong black coffee,” Samantha replied with a weak smile. “And a long soak in the bath. My feet are killing me.”

Sighing wearily, she studied the over-laden trolleys in the queue that snaked towards the till in front of them. Why did people always buy more food than they needed just because it was Christmas?

“Do you realise we’ve moved about a centimetre in the past 10 minutes?” Adam remarked, stifling a yawn. “If I’d known the supermarket was going to be this busy, I could’ve ordered everything we need online.”

Samantha nodded. It had definitely been a mistake to leave all their shopping until Christmas Eve. But they hadn’t had much choice, she thought, her mind drifting from Christmas to their financial situation.

Shortly after they’d married, five years ago, Adam had started work as a freelance photographer, covering mostly weddings, family parties and local news items. Money had been tight at first and they’d had to rely on Samantha’s earnings as a hairdresser and support from their parents to get by.

But, eventually, Adam’s hard work had paid off and orders for his services started flooding in. Six months ago, they’d saved enough money to be able to move out of their rented flat and take out a mortgage on a small house of their own.

However, just when things were going well for them, Adam’s business was hit by hard times. Recently, he’d been forced to travel long distances to cover small jobs he couldn’t afford to turn down and Samantha had taken on some mobile hairdressing work to try to make ends meet. So, neither of them had been able to spare the time to do any Christmas shopping until now.

Judging by the long queues at the checkouts it seemed that everyone had had the same idea.

AS ADAM edged the trolley forward, a disagreement broke out between two women in front of them. “So much for the season of peace and goodwill.” Adam gave an exasperated groan. “Is all this trouble worth it for just one day? I mean, no one actually enjoys all this do they?”

“I’m sure they don’t.” Samantha’s heart lurched when she noticed how tired Adam looked. His forehead was etched with frown lines, his misty-blue eyes

looked dull and his shoulders sagged. “If our parents weren’t coming tomorrow for a few days I probably wouldn’t bother with Christmas this year.”

“Are you sorry we’ve invited both sets of parents to stay?” Adam interrupted her.

Samantha rested her head on Adam’s shoulder. Without really thinking what she was doing, she scanned the contents of their trolley and wondered how much it was all going to cost. They’d tried to economise as much as possible by buying only what was absolutely essential and they’d agreed not to buy presents for each other. Even so, she knew their budget would be stretched.

“Yes and no,” she replied eventually. “We’re both so exhausted it would be great to spend Christmas and Boxing Day doing absolutely nothing. But our parents have helped us so much in the past few years.”

She squeezed Adam’s hand. “Now we’ve got our own house I wanted to give them something back.” She bit her lip before saying, “Of course, when we invited them your business was doing well and we weren’t so short of money.”

Before Adam had the chance to reply an alarm screeched through the store, making them both jump.

“Surely that can’t be a fire drill,” Adam said, easing away from Samantha and looking around him. “The store wouldn’t do that on Christmas Eve, would they?”

A hush settled on the store as a voice came across the tannoy. “We’re very sorry about this. There’s no need to panic. Could you please make your way, slowly and calmly, to the nearest exit.” After a pause of a few seconds, the voice went on, “This is not a drill. Repeat. This is not a drill. Please leave your trolleys and baskets. Don’t try to remove them from the store.”

Adam took hold of Samantha’s hand and, without saying anything, they followed the stream of harassed, worriedlooking shoppers through the main doors to the car park.

“Please move away from the building,” a security guard growled. He wafted an arm at people as they jostled and huddled near the store entrance. “We’ll get this sorted out as soon as possible then everyone will be allowed back inside.”

“How long will that be?” someone shouted.

“Will the store stay open later than usual?”

“Will extra staff be called in?”

“Will we be given a discount for our trouble?”

The security guard raised his hands to silence the crowd. “I’m sorry. I can’t answer those questions. I understand a small fire has broken out in the kitchen to the rear of the café. There’s nothing to be concerned about. We’ve evacuated the store as a precaution.”

PEOPLE started mumbling and bombarding the guard with questions again, “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything else,” he shouted. “We’ll have to wait for the emergency services.”

“This could take ages,” Samantha said. “What are we going to do, Adam? We’ll never get everything ready in time. I’ve got to clean the bathroom and sort out the spare bedrooms. We still haven’t finished decorating the tree and then there’s the trifle to make and . . .” Her voice trailed away as she mentally sifted through her to-do list.

For several minutes neither of them spoke. Eventually, Adam suggested, “I could take you home then come back here and finish the shopping.”

“That would be a big help.” Samantha rubbed her fingers across her aching head. “At least that way I could make a start on the bedrooms.”

As they turned to walk from the store, Samantha’s attention was drawn to a poster on the supermarket window advertising a Nativity play and carol singing at a local church.

“That sounds like fun.” She pointed out the poster to Adam, before glancing at her watch. “But it starts at 6pm. We won’t have time to go,” she added regretfully.

Adam grimaced as he looked around him. Some people were leaning on their cars, complaining about the inconvenience. Some were moaning about having to leave their shopping in the store. Others were talking on their cellphones, explaining what had happened.

Adam waved a hand at the scene in the car park. “This isn’t really what Christmas is all about, is it?”

SAMANTHA followed his gaze and shook her head. When she didn’t say anything, Adam blurted out, “Let’s forget the shopping and go to the carol service.” Samantha laughed. “That’s tempting.

But how can we when our parents are coming tomorrow?”

“They won’t mind if everything isn’t perfect.” Adam shrugged. “They know how busy we’ve been.” He started chuckling. “Christmas Day wasn’t always wonderful in our house when I was growing up. One year, my father said he’d cook the duck. He completely forgot about it until it was burnt to a crisp.”

Samantha giggled as memories of Christmas Day disasters rushed into her mind. “One year my Mom found our cat sitting on top of the turkey she’d cooked.”

“. . . And one year my sister dropped the malva pudding on the floor,” Adam put in.

As they both erupted with laughter, bewildered shoppers stared at them.

“Well?” Adam said, pulling Samantha into his arms and hugging her. “What shall we do?”

Still laughing, Samantha said, “Let’s go to the carol service.”

As she opened the car door and settled into the passenger seat, she frowned. “I’ve no idea what we’re going to have for Christmas dinner tomorrow.”

“We must have something in the freezer, Sam,” Adam said, fastening his seatbelt. “There’s no law that says we have to eat a traditional meal such as turkey or duck on Christmas Day, is there?”

“How about having a braai?” Samantha said. “I’m sure we’ve got some sausages and chops in the freezer. We’ve got plenty of stuff to make a salad. And bread and cheese.”

“And knowing our mothers, they won’t arrive empty-handed.” Adam grinned. “So, we’ll be okay until the shops open again.”

A short time later, Samantha sighed contentedly as the words to her favourite carol – “All is calm, all is bright” – rang through the crowded church.

She glanced at Adam. The worry lines had disappeared from his brow and he looked happier than he had for a long time. She knew then that whatever the next year had in store, good times and bad, they’d find the strength to cope.

“It’s going to be a fantastic Christmas,” she whispered.

Adam rewarded her with the best Christmas gift ever, a broad smile – a smile that lit up his eyes and held a wealth of hope for the future.

Why did people buy more food than they needed for Christmas?