Chapter 3

Thursday 17th December 1998…

Harry enters the school reception with five minutes until the performance is due to start and wipes a small dusting of snow from the shoulder of his coat. He hands in his ticket and gives his name to the receptionist and she gives him a relieved look.

"Oh thank goodness you're here Mr Pearce. Catherine has been waiting for you and is in quite a state."

"Where is she?"

"She's backstage with your…" she trails off, uncertain of what title to give the woman with the brown hair…"friend."

"Ruth?"

"Yes. If you'd like to come with me, I'll take you to her." He follows the receptionist through the corridors and is led into the area that they are using for 'backstage'. He hears Catherine before he sees her, her sniffles reaching his ears as soon as he walks through the door. He scans the room and finally his eyes fall on her, sat on Ruth's lap, her face buried in her comforter's neck. Ruth is running her hands over Catherine's hair and whispering to her. He makes his way over to them and, flashing a Ruth an appreciative smile, takes Catherine from her.

She protests initially at being taken from Ruth, until she realises who it is that holds her now. "Daddy! You came!"

"Of course! You didn't really think I'd miss it did you?"

"I got scared, cos you weren't here!" she sniffs.

Harry reaches into his pocket for his handkerchief and wipes Catherine's tears. "I'm sorry I was late," he tells her gently, "but I'm here now and I can't wait to see this play. So, let's calm down and you go and get ready yes?" Catherine nods and clambers down from his arms. "Ruth and I will go back outside and find our seats, okay?"

"Where will you be sat?" she asks timidly.

"We're in the second row," Ruth tells her. "You'll see us."

"Okay!" Catherine nods as she hunts for her chef's hat and wooden spoon. Satisfied that she's now okay, Harry and Ruth leave her with her teachers and return to the auditorium.


Harry and Ruth find their seats and not five minutes later the play begins. It is introduced by the Headteacher and as she leaves the stage, two children enter dressed as a dog and a cat, complete with ears and face-paint.

"Hello," they say in unison. "Have you seen the cook?"

"No!" shouts the choir of children sat on the benches.

"Why don't you call her," suggests a narrator.

"What a good idea! Cook, cook, where are you?" The choir and the audience join in shouting for the cook and finally Catherine appears, looking just the part; someone has even added tinsel to the rim of her chef's hat to make it more festive. Harry beams at his daughter, so confident and expressive.

"Yes, yes, I'm here! What's the matter?" she asks, infuriated at being disturbed.

"It's December!" chorus the cat and dog.

With practised ease, Catherine rolls her eyes. "Yes I know it's December. What about it?"

"We're feeling all Christmassy!"

Catherine looks at them and puts her hands on her hips. "Well…what do you want me to do about it?"

"We want you to cook a special recipe."

"Which special recipe?!"

"The CHRISTMAS Recipe!" the children chorus.

"Oh, that recipe!" Ruth smiles as Catherine remembers to emphasise the word as she was teaching her. "The recipe for the perfect Christmas!"

The children stand and sing their first song, 'The Christmas Recipe' and Catherine leads the other cooks in a little dance, beaming at her Dad and Ruth as she does so. They finish to rapturous applause from the audience; the play has got off to a fantastic start!


The play continues, with the cook adding lots of ingredients to make the perfect Christmas; presents, Father Christmas, elves, robins, snowflakes, and finally the characters from the Nativity, with Jesus being the vital ingredient. Catherine is fantastic throughout; only faltering on a few lines and as the children sing the final song, 'A Gift called Love' Ruth feels tears gather in the corner of her eyes, the sound of the children's voices is beautiful.

Once the play is finished and they children are allowed to leave their seats, she bounds over to them! "Was I good? Was I good?"

"Most definitely," Harry replies with a nod.

"You were fantastic!" Ruth echoes, bending down to give her a congratulatory hug. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeh, it was fun. I was a little scared that I'd forget my words."

"It's normal to be nervous," Ruth assures.

Catherine nods and turns to her father. "Did you ask Ruth about Saturday?"

Ruth looks at Harry, her puzzled look making it obvious that he hadn't. "Saturday?"

"We were wondering if you'd like to help us decorate our tree."

"You haven't put your tree up yet? " Ruth looks horrified at the thought. "Harry, it's the 17th of December!"

"I am well aware of what date it is," he replies, amused by her reaction. "But things have been a bit busy recently."

"True, but you couldn't have found half an hour?"

"Half an hour? Is that all it takes you?! When you've got two small children it takes most of the day."

"How? You simply get it out of the box an-"

"Box? You don't have a real tree?" It's Harry's turn to look horrified.

"No, they're too messy; they drop needles all over the place."

Harry shakes his head and smiles. "Oh, Ruth. I can see we're going to have to educate you."

She rolls her eyes. "I doubt you'll convert me, Harry."

"We'll have a damn good try!" he assures.


Harry insists on driving Ruth home, despite her protest that it's nearly Catherine's bedtime and her house is in the opposite direction of his. As he pulls into her street, she broaches the subject of Saturday, knowing she won't see him tomorrow as she is on a scheduled day off. "So what time will we need to begin this epic adventure of yours on Saturday?"

"If you come round about for about nine-ish, that should give us plenty of time." Harry says as he parks the car.

"Okay," Ruth agrees and opens her door. Harry reaches over and kisses her gently. "Thank you for tonight…for coming along and for comforting Catherine."

"It's no problem Harry. I enjoyed it. I'd forgotten how magical Christmas could be. Being with you and the children…well, it's bringing it all back. Anyway, I'll see you on Saturday." She gives him another quick kiss and gets out of the car,

As she Harry winds down the window and calls after her, "Make sure you wrap up warm!"

She stops and turns back to him. "Wrap up warm?" she asks sceptically.

"On Saturday," he clarifies. "We actually have to go and choose a tree in order to decorate it don't we?" he replies cheekily, knowing she's not a fan of the wintery weather. "Didn't I mention that?"


A/N: Not sure how I like the end of this chapter, but it links to the next nicely I guess. Hey, did you know, reviews make great Christmas presents…so if you're feeling generous; please spread a little festive cheer!