At one o'clock sharp the three Turners arrived at Nonnatus House. Patrick and Timothy were wearing their best shirts and ties, and had Brylcreemed their hair into place. Shelagh wore a red dress with long sleeves and a full skirt and a white shawl, and had kept her hair loose. The cut of the dress showed off her delicate figure perfectly, but left plenty of room for the amount of Christmas lunch which she knew she would be expected to eat. Timothy knocked excitedly on the large wooden door.
"Merry Christmas!" said Sister Julienne as she opened the door. "Come on in out of the cold, we have the fire going in the sitting room and lunch won't be long. Can I interest you in a pre-dinner tipple?" There was a bright glow on Sister Julienne's face, and both Turner's suspected it was not just because she had been in the hot kitchen.
The three Turners stopped short as they walked into the best sitting room of Nonnatus House, it was almost unrecognisable. For a start, it was fuller and noisier than any of them could recall. Sister's Evangelina and Monica Joan were sat nearest the fire, looking giddy with drink already. Sister Winifred was sat on the floor, a sherry in one hand and Freddie's teddy bear in the other, trying to attract the little boy's attention. Trixie, Cynthia, and Jenny were stood chatting by one of the cabinets, and Shelagh was convinced she saw Trixie pull a large bottle of gin out of it and top their glasses up. Chummy and Peter were curled up together on the sofa with their drinks, watching Sister Winifred and Freddie. Fred and Mrs B. were deep in conversation. Out of the kitchen, when Fred was not getting in the way, the two of them got on very well. Cliff Richard was playing on the record player, and Shelagh recognised many of Jenny and Trixie's LPs stacked next to it. A six foot high Christmas tree, covered with decorations, filled one end of the room, there were even more paper chains than in the Turner's living room, and multicoloured candles were placed on every available surface. As promised, the fire was roaring and every cushion looked plumped up and inviting. Everyone looked happy, Shelagh thought, and she was glad that they had joined them.
Sister Julienne handed Patrick and Shelagh generous measures of sherry. Handing Timothy a glass of lemonade, she asked kindly,
"Did you get some lovely presents Timothy?"
"Yes thank you," he replied. He dropped his voice to a barely audible whisper and made sure no-one else could hear him, "And so did Mum and Dad, thank you for making them and telling me where to get the materials from."
"Not a problem, my dear, it was my pleasure." Pausing to place a hand on Timothy's shoulder and gently stroking it. "I would do anything for you and your parents."
Fifteen minutes later, Sister Julienne announced that lunch was ready, and everyone filed into the dining room. The long dining room table heaved under the weight of the spread: roast goose and pork with apple sauce and crackling, both provided by Fred, with no questions asked about the former; stuffing; roast potatoes; carrots; parsnips; Brussels sprouts; Swede; peas; and gallons of bread sauce and gravy. The sight of the spread brought gasps and "ooohs" from the entire party. After saying grace, they began to tuck in. The table was very cosy with fourteen of them round it, Freddie still being in his highchair, but nobody minded being elbowed as their neighbours reached for the platters, terrines and jugs. Chummy and Peter had brought the case of wine which Chummy's father had sent them for Christmas, which no-one hesitated in indulging in, so by the time they had polished off their third helpings of everything, most of the party were feeling a little hazy and very giggly.
Cynthia and Sister Julienne cleared the table and brought out an enormous Christmas pudding, a Yule Log and jugs of cream and custard. A red-faced, and very merry, Sister Evangelina, decided that one of the men should have the honour of lighting the Christmas pudding, with the first one to find the brandy being the winner. Fred, Patrick and Peter eyed each other up like boxers waiting for the bell, ready for the challenge.
"Three…two…one!" she counted down, "GO!"
The three men ran from the table, pushing and shoving each other out the way like school boys in the playground. Jenny and Trixie who were nearest the door jumped up and watched them run down the corridor.
"Come on Fred!" shouted Jenny.
"It's in Sister Julienne's bottom drawer!" shouted Trixie.
Laughter erupted from the table, even from Sister Julienne.
"Only joking!" Trixie shouted again.
A few minutes and several crashes later, Patrick stumbled back into the dining room, out of breath, his shirt hanging out and his hair dishevelled, with the bottle of brandy raised triumphantly above his head. Fred and Peter followed him in, looking crestfallen and even more dishevelled than Patrick. The whole room erupted into cheers and laughter, even Shelagh, who had not been entirely in favour of the contest, saw the funny side of her husband's behaviour. Chummy and Mrs B. consoled the losers.
"So where was the brandy?" Sister Winifred asked.
"Sister Monica Joan's knitting bag!" Patrick replied, gasping for breath and holding the back of his chair to steady himself.
The room erupted with laughter again, and the nuns eyed Sister Monica Joan with suspicion. The elderly nun merely smiled and picked up her spoon expectantly. Patrick took this as an indication to get on with lighting the pudding, but in his rush to comply, he poured so much brandy on it that it flamed for several minutes.
After pudding and coffee, everyone helped with the washing up, and then they retired to the sitting room. The rest of the day was spent playing party games. As Patrick had said, party games were definitely more fun played with a big group of friends. Timothy did not stop smiling as he ran round the house, giggling with glee as he joined in the games. Nonnatus House was so big and there were plenty of places to hide. Trixie managed to squeeze herself into a cupboard in the kitchen, and was there for over half an hour before she was found. Cynthia and Sister Winifred had to pull her out again. During a game of Sardines, Fred had found Sister Julienne, Shelagh and Chummy in Jenny's wardrobe, but was gentlemanly enough to not squeeze in with them, deciding to hide under the bed instead. Sister Monica Joan was soon banned from Charades after trying to act out complex philosophical theories.
By 9:30, everyone had collapsed into the comfy chairs in the sitting room, the smiles on their faces illuminated by the flickering candles and the dying embers of the open fire. Sister Julienne brought round mugs of Horlicks, mince pies, Christmas cake and hot buttered toast. Despite everyone saying that they could not eat a thing, everything was polished off. After they had their suppers, those who were on duty the next morning bid everyone goodnight. Chummy and Peter had already taken Freddie home, and Patrick and Shelagh, having looked at Timothy who was falling asleep on the sofa, decided it was time to go home too.
After wrapping up warm again, the Turners headed for the door. Sister Julienne opened the door for them, and Shelagh and Timothy hugged her goodnight. Patrick kissed her on the cheek before saying,
"Thank you, Sister for a wonderful Christmas."
Sister Julienne blushed at Patrick's gesture. She could not remember the last time a man had kissed her. She found the gesture strangely pleasurable, even though she knew that had he not been drinking, he would not have dared to do it. She stroked his arm tenderly. She waved goodbye, standing in the doorway of Nonnatus House until the car was out of sight. She then climbed the stairs to her cell, reflecting on the wonderful day she had had, with all of her family.