Mother Christmas

Was Amanda' s mum an interfering old woman, or had she got her all wrong?

We could say we have a bad bout of food poisoning.' Amanda had never sounded so serious in her life. We had dodgy chicken at a Christmas party and are far too sick to celebrate this year.'

Max didn' t say a word, instead, he just shook his head and chuckled.

No, you' re right.' His wife sighed. She' d be on the first train down with a flask of soup and a pamphlet about salmonella.'

She sipped her cup of coffee and put her thinking cap on again, a nervous knot tugging at her stomach.

It' s only one day.' Her husband tried some reassurance.

Two.' A tut. She' s coming on Christmas Eve.'

Even still¼ I' m sure you' ll survive two days.'

You' ve met my mother! You could be burying me before the new year.'

By the time they' d finished breakfast, Amanda had resigned herself to the fact that there' d be no stopping her mother' s visit. Nuclear warfare wouldn' t keep her away. She' d soon be on their doorstep whether she liked it or not.

I suppose I better start cleaning then,' she said, flaring her nostrils. You know how she likes everything to be just right.'

She thought a bit of vacuuming might take her mind off the impending doom, but if anything, it just made things worse and gave her time to mull things over.

Last year had been the worst and it all started coming back in vivid flashbacks.

As soon as her mother arrived, she started taking over. She even had the nerve to redecorate the tree and announce that she' d be preparing dinner. OK, so the spread she put on had been fantastic, and Amanda had never tasted roast potatoes so tasty and fluffy in her life, but that was beside the point.

We' re going abroad next year,' Amanda said firmly to herself as she started wiping the windows. Somewhere a million miles away from my mother and the stress of a perfect Christmas.'

What was it about this time of year that turned some people into dictators? she wondered. And then a bout of guilt set in. Maybe it was loneliness. Maybe it was the only way she knew how to cope now she was a widow. Had it really only been three years? ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

There' s my girl!' Her mother arrived the next day, weighed down by shopping bags. What' s all that?'

Everything a family needs for Christmas together. I learnt my lesson last year¼ Imagine not even having crackers! And you' ll not believe the fancy napkins I managed to get my hands on

they weren' t exactly cheap, but anything' s better than using kitchen roll.'

Amanda bit her tongue. It had already started.

Oh, lovely.' Her mother turned her attention to the tree. You could straighten up that tinsel though.'

More tongue biting as Amanda wondered if it was too early to open a bottle of wine. There was some gin under the kitchen sink, that might do the trick a bit quicker.

No matter how her mother goaded, Amanda managed to keep her composure, reminding herself that this torture was only temporary. It was a struggle though, especially when the photo album was pulled out from her overnight bag.

I just thought it' d be nice to take a walk down memory lane.'

Amanda groaned. This was going to be the longest Christmas ever.

`` And look at your father¼¼ He hated those pyjamas!''

Her mother smiled, turning every page with care.

I wasn' t that fond myself.'' Amanda laughed for the first time in what felt like ages.

The old pictures brought so many memories back to life. Every Christmas she' d ever lived through was documented in all its glory, a grainy picture of every gift and grin.

It was like an old home movie had started playing in Amanda' s head. She could see it all now. The hours her mother had spent on hand and knee making sure not one single bauble was out of place on the tree. The days of food preparation to get that one meal of the year just right. The stack of presents always bigger than the year before. No wonder Amanda was smiling from ear to ear in every picture.

And then suddenly it made sense. Her mother hadn' t come to interfere and nag.

Nor was she a lonely old widow who needed to keep herself busy. No, she' d just come to give her daughter another perfect Christmas, like all the ones before.

Mum¼' Amanda said softly when the photo album closed. How do you fancy staying a few days longer?'