Short story
Cassie bakes a yule log for Miss Mortimer and has a surprise Christmas present for Aunt Flora
Aunt Flora? A wild fling? Cassie had never imagined those words could be in the same sentence. She was almost speechless with shock but managed to stammer: “Did you um… er…have a one-night stand with the man you met at the office?”
“Good gracious, no! It was wonderful passionate affair,” the old lady’s blue eyes twinkled at the memory. “I adored Richard, but when I told him I was pregnant, he didn’t want to know. I was devastated. Ted agreed to stand by me but only if I had the baby adopted. My little boy.”
Cassie felt a jolt of pain shoot through her heart. “What happened to him?” she prompted softly.
There was a moment’s silence before Aunt Flora could trust herself to speak. “Well, my sister Anne adopted him and soon after that she and her husband emigrated to Australia,” she said, shakily.
“So he was brought up believing he was your nephew?”
Blinking back tears, Flora said: “Yes, but when Anne died last year she left Michael a letter explaining everything. He had no idea he had been adopted so it was a dreadful shock for him. He wrote to tell me how stunned he was to learn that I was actually his mother.”
Retrieving the letter from her handbag, she passed it to Cassie to read.
There was a knock on the door and a nurse appeared with a welcome tray of tea. Cassie poured two cups and the two women drank in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts.
When she left to drive home, Cassie’s head was still spinning. She felt drained and emotional and couldn’t wait to tell Greg the hidden family history she had learned that afternoon.
A few days later, the builders set to work ripping out the kitchen fittings so Cassie was delighted when Jemima rang and invited her over for coffee. It gave her an excuse to escape the noise and the dust as well as to return a pile of recipe books she had borrowed.
To her surprise, home baking had become a bit of a passion despite the limitations of the old kitchen. Cassie had made a whole variety of cakes for the family as well as a chocolate yule log for Miss Mortimer which had turned out brilliantly.
As she sipped the freshly made coffee and sampled Jemima’s delicious cupcakes, she mumbled through a mouthful: “These are as light and fluffy as a cloud. You really are an amazing cook.”
“And, as it turns out, so are you,” Jemima replied. “That is what I wanted to talk to you about…”
On their second visit to Meadow View nursing home, Skipper the dog led the way confidently to Aunt Flora’s room where they found the old lady looking decidedly perky and wearing a festive Santa hat. Cassie couldn’t help a
soft chuckle as she handed over a tin of home-made mince pies.
“Thank you, my dear. This is my second treat today.” Aunt Flora’s voice was bright with excitement.
“What was the first?” Cassie asked, having already guessed the answer.
“It was a Christmas card and another letter from Michael!”
“Wow! This day is just going to get better and better,” Cassie said, producing her laptop from her bag.
Aunt Flora’s face fell. “Oh no, I don’t like computers, dear,” she protested feebly.
“Well, you’ll love this one,” Cassie assured her as she checked her watch. Right on cue, the laptop started to ring.
Aunt Flora looked startled: “What’s it doing now?”
“We’re Skyping, I hope,” Cassie told her, placing the laptop on a table where they could both see the screen.
“We’re what?” The old lady stared at the blank screen, mystified. Then a face appeared and she took a sharp intake of breath.
A tall man with the same blue eyes and wide smile as Aunt Flora said: “Happy Christmas, Mum!”
“Michael!” she whispered. “Oh, I am so very…” “Please don’t say sorry,” Michael cut in. “There is nothing to apologise for. I really do understand that you had no choice. Times were different then and we can make this a brand new beginning for both of us.”
Hesitantly, they began to talk. Aunt Flora had known what a fine man her son was, as her sister had regularly sent photos of him, but speaking to him was magical, even though she had no idea of how it could happen when he was on the other side of the world!
Feeling a bit wobbly herself, Cassie just sat and grinned at them both. Michael must have been feeling very mixed emotions, but he was so gentle and lovely with his mother that Cassie felt soppily tearful, too.
After an hour the connection failed and the conversation came to a sudden end. Aunt Flora was misty eyed with happiness. “Well, here’s to computers!” she said with a smile that lit up the room.
With the girls at home on holiday, presents to buy and wrap as well as all the other preparations for the festive season, the time flew by.
On Christmas Eve, Cassie found a spare hour to take Skipper for a walk in the woods where she gathered ivy and greenery to decorate the house. With the dog trotting happily ahead of her, she couldn’t help smiling to herself
‘There is nothing to apologise for. I really do understand that you had no choice’
as she reflected how much life had changed in the short time since they had moved to the country.
Their renovations were transforming the neglected house into a comfortable home, Katie and Lucy loved village life, Greg’s new job was going well and Aunt Flora was fizzing with excitement at the prospect of a New Year visit from Michael and his Australian family.
And Cassie had a new sense of purpose, too. Twice a week, she and Jemima decorated their market stall with brightly coloured bunting and sold homemade cakes to a crowd of eager customers.
“So do you miss your boring old office job?” Greg asked, pulling her into a big hug under the bunch of mistletoe in the hall.
“Not even a tiny bit,” Cassie replied, nestling closer. “Who would have thought that a wartime Christmas cake and an aunt with a long-kept secret would prove to be the recipe for happiness!”
From his basket, Skipper gave a joyful bark of agreement.
About our author Jennifer has a notebook in which she jots down thoughts for new stories and says snippets of overheard conversation can often spark the beginning of the creative flow!