LIFE & THE WADHAMS

There’s joy and laughter as the family gathers – and consternation as two members go missing

There was plenty of coming and going at No. 23 Elderslie Terrace in the weeks before Christmas. The whole family was busy with last-minute gift shopping, sneaking parcels into rooms or showing their purchases to other family members before whisking them behind cushions or into drawers when the recipients wandered innocently into the room.

So Polly Wadham wasn’t surprised when her husband Mike started poking through drawers and cupboards in their comfy granny flat, muttering, “I know I put it here somewhere…”

“Can I help you, dear?” she asked, laying down her knitting.

“No, no.” Mike flushed guiltily, betraying that it was probably her present he’d mislaid. “Would you like a cup of tea?” he added.

“That would be lovely.”

As Mike busied himself with the kettle, pot and teabags, Polly went to the fridge to fetch milk – to be confronted by a small, gaily wrapped gift sharing the shelf with some cheese and a packet of bacon.

“Is this what you were looking for?” she asked Mike, bringing it over to the table with the milk.

“How on earth did that get there?” He shook his head.

“Better take it down to Pinky to put under the tree now before you mislay it again.” Polly laughed. “You’ll be in trouble on Christmas morning if there isn’t a present for me from you.”

Mike grinned. Polly was the least materialistic person in the world. As he went off down the stairs to deliver the present to his daughter, he remembered her first birthday as his wife. She’d been so happy with a cheap bottle of perfume when what he’d really wanted to buy her was a ring. Now over fifty years later, he would still give her the world, if he could.

Christmas morning dawned bright and cold and, as usual, young Matty Clark was up at the crack of dawn, waking the whole family as he thundered downstairs to “see if Santa had been”. At eleven, he knew fine well who brought the presents piled under the tree, though he liked to keep up the pretence for his mum and dad, Pinky and Jim.

“Merry Christmas, Matty.” Pinky gave him a hug and a kiss as she appeared, slightly bleary-eyed with baby Ruby in her arms. “Now, wait for everyone else before you dive into these,” she added. She and Jim had kept up the family tradition of opening presents all together around the tree.

Within ten minutes they were all gathered in the sitting room, exclaiming over their gifts. Alex grunted his thanks at the generous cheque from his parents while Jennifer was delighted to open an envelope that held concert tickets for her favourite