Chapter 8

After her appointment with Miriam, Margaret thought about her own holiday celebrations, free from the confines of family. The Christmas holidays in the towns bordering Margaret and Christopher's gated community had been festive with holiday music playing in every little store and public square. An abundance of greetings "Happy Christmas" and "Happy Holidays" as well as "Feliz Natal" rang out wherever they went. In their own gated community, the clubhouse had been festooned with seasonal evergreens and ornaments, all very tastefully done of course, with soft instrumental versions of carols bathing the dining room, ballroom and other public areas with a sophisticated ambiance. Even Angelo had altered his afternoon playlist from the usual showtunes and serenaded them with playful versions of popular holiday songs with Portuguese rhythms.

Christopher "celebrated" Christmas Day with an early round of golf with whatever friends weren't off to visit with family and with Margaret "celebrated" by watching an old holiday movie or two, enjoying a slow bath, and making her traditional phone calls to her two cousins who remained in England. Neither of her cousins had had children, and the three of them were the only family each had remaining, aside from her son. They spoke every Christmas, catching up on each others lives. She was sorry to learn that her cousin Sonia was battling breast cancer and might not be around for their usual chat next Christmas. It occurred to her that perhaps she should make the effort to visit next summer while Sonia was still alive

Normally they celebrated in the evening, feasting with the few friends who remained in the vicinity, thereby avoiding the club during the late morning and early afternoon when visiting families gathered for their holiday meal. Her close friend Carly had decamped to London to spend the Christmas holidays with her family. Sylvia usually spent the holiday with her two children in London as well, but her children decided to visit her this year for the week with their four children in tow. Sylvia had invited Margaret and Portia over Christmas Eve for an early afternoon tea while they were visiting …. it was bedlam for the two hour visit, but Sylvia seemed to revel in the chaos and beamed at every 'bon mot' uttered by her charming grandchildren. Margaret did her best to put on a merry face, but made her exit as soon as etiquette allowed, and she was still reeling from the juvenile onslaught the next day.

Fortunately Portia and her husband were still free for Christmas dinner, along with her daughter Daphne and her husband who were visiting for the holidays. Margaret supposed that this time next year, after Daphne had her baby, Portia would join the others in leaving Portugal at the holidays to spend time with her new grandchild. The thought that her three best friends would abandon her every Christmas Day from now on was annoying. She never did understand the appeal of spending time with noisy rambunctious children, yet her friends all seemed enchanted with their grandchildren. If she and Chris had been on speaking terms with Martin and his family, Margaret wondered if they would be expected to spend, at the very least, the occasional Christmas with his family. An hour or two spent in front of the Christmas tree opening presents would be tolerable. More than that would be unbearable. She knew her nerves could never endure that. Of course, Miriam managed to avoid that chaos, certainly she could as well. It annoyed her that she was unable to banish thoughts of Martin's family from her mind.

The tranquillity of their quiet Christmas day did give her a brief reprieve from planning the New Year's Eve party she and Christopher hosted ever year. All the vendors on whom she depended took the day off. Soon enough she was back to tweaking the menu with the caterers, ensuring that the party suppliers had ordered the correct number of tables and that the color scheme she had selected would be met, and checking on all the other details that made her parties a success. And in fact, the New Year's Eve party hosted by Margaret and Christopher Ellingham was the huge triumph that it always was. Everyone enjoyed the pre-dinner cocktails accompanied by the cheery tunes that Angelo provided on the piano. The caterer and her wait staff had outdone themselves, and the sit-down dinner was delicious. The music and dancing that followed provided just the right atmosphere for the celebrations, and with only few minutes before the start of the New Year, she and Chris ushered their guests down the short walk to the club where everyone gathered for the midnight celebration of fireworks and champagne. They all stayed to ring in the New Year with continued dancing and it was close to three in the morning before Margaret and Chris found themselves back in their villa and asleep in their respective beds. She may never have family celebrations, thank god, but she would always have her parties.

xxXxx

After the work involved in planning the party and ensuring it was a success, Margaret was grateful for the quiet that came with the first two weeks of the New Year. Miriam knew all about the various parties in the golf resorts surrounding her little village and was quick to ask each of her clients how their holidays went. Margaret couldn't help but tell her how well her party went and how many complements she received for the evening. "It was a wonderful party. It's been ages since I have received such attention and I danced and danced all evening. My feet were so sore New Year's Day, I could barely walk." She gave Miriam a rueful smile, indicating that she was actually pleased despite the pain to her bunions. Miriam had learned early on that Margaret wasn't one to lavish praise, and she understood that the complaint was her way of letting her know how much credit Margaret gave to her for her success.

"I'm glad to hear that it went well. No problems then with the headwrap or your hair falling out of place then?"

"No, it was perfect all evening. I hated to remove it. I felt just like Daisy Buchanan in the Great Gatsby." Margaret replied with just a slight titter.

"Good. Anything special today?"

"No, just the usual."

Miriam busied herself again talking of the gossip she had heard from her other clients. As she was putting the finishing touches to Margaret's hair, she mentioned that Louisa and her family would be at one of the nearby coastal resorts in two weeks' time. "Martin has a conference and Louisa decided to join him since she won't be doing much travelling after the baby makes its appearance. They'll arrive on Wednesday afternoon and leave Monday morning. Louisa said she and James will be on their own during the day on Thursday and Friday, but the conference will be over by noon on Saturday and she hopes the three of them can do a little sightseeing on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I plan to join them Sunday and take them to some of my favourite spots. Plus, it will be my only chance to see them before this summer.

"How nice. I hope you enjoy your visit. Where did you say they would be?"

Miriam repeated the name of the resort and then added the various sights she hoped to show them.

"It sounds like it will be a nice visit, but so short. You should have your daughter bring her son here while her husband is working."

"I did ask, but she said Martin wouldn't be comfortable with her here, afraid something might happen." Miriam huffed and shook her head, "As if we don't have hospitals here."

"He sounds very controlling."

"Maybe, but I don't think he is. Even though he's not a baby doctor, I guess he knows what could happen and he wants to be near if something should go wrong. She says he was the same way when she was pregnant with James. When I think about it, I'm kinda glad. It means he is taking good care of her."

"I suppose." Margaret seemed a little sceptical as she removed her smock and left Miriam's fee on her station. She thought to suggest that Miriam go spend a few days with them at the resort, but then held her tongue as an idea formed. "I'll see you next week then?"

Margaret couldn't contain her excitement at knowing that Martin and his family would be in the area. It would be so easy to check out his wife and child whilst they were here, and she immediately began to hatch a plan to visit that resort. She would have to stay at least two nights to make certain that their paths would cross, and she would have to come up with some excuse that Christopher would believe to explain her absence. As soon as she arrived home, she called the resort and made a reservation for Thursday and Friday night, which would give her all day Friday to find Martin's wife and son and possibly even strike up a conversation to assess just how poorly Martin had chosen.

She thought about how both Joan and Ruth seemed to approve of the marriage. Of course, Joan would welcome this woman into the family. After all, Joan had married a farmer and worked the land like any common peasant; but despite all her conflicts with Ruth, she liked to think that Ruth was more discriminating. If Ruth spent all her holidays with Martin's family, perhaps there was hope. Perhaps Margaret would eventually be able to acknowledge their existence to her friends and be able to brag on her grandchildren along with the others. "Oh Margaret", she chastised herself. "Don't get your hopes up. With Miriam as her mother, there is no way this woman Martin married could possibly be suitable."

With the reservation made, she dashed off to the club to join her friends for tea.