25 December 2014

The long black creature crept down from the icy mountains early on Christmas Day. It was feeling a bit peckish. Not that the stash from the previous Christmas Day hadn't lasted well into the winter, but unfortunately for the cat it had to travel long distances to find all the children needed for a year-long supply, the ones not cared for, the ones cast aside. The cat remembered well enough the glorious days of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when the general poverty and the lack of care meant that many children did not get anything new for Christmas; a new pair of knitted mittens, a freshly made candle, an unused deck of cards, the simplest of things needed to ward off the terrifying Yule Cat.

The large feline had only devoured two children on its way through England when it crept into the Hollyoaks village. Still, it couldn't but love this time of year, the darkness that hid its journey from door to door, the smell of booze lingering in the air, alerting the whiskers that a parent or two might be about to forget their duties. Public houses were a firm favourite. No-one ever noticed a cat hiding in the shadows. People came and went and it was easy enough to follow them home to check whether there would be a delicious new victim there.

The cat found a spot outside the Dog in the Pond. Loud noises, talking, shouting, music, could be heard from inside the pub. Perhaps today? the cat thought as a large group of people arrived on the scene. It only noticed two of them, however, yawned, licked its lips, raised its arch and prepared to attack.

John Paul and Craig didn't notice anything unusual as they approached the pub, together with the entire McQueen clan. Craig was pushing Matthew's buggy, while John Paul carried most of their presents. Myra could hardly see above the boxes in her arms. Even little Kathleen Angel had a plastic bag in each hand as she tried to keep up with her mother.

They reached the building and disappeared inside where Craig guided them upstairs to the flat.

"Merry Christmas, everyone! Welcome!" Frankie shouted cheerfully as they appeared in the hallway. "Craig, take them to the living room. I'll bring you all some drinks in a minute. John Paul, love, can you help me with the drinks?"

Both boys did as she said. Tom was already in the living room, waiting patiently on his foster-mother's orders to take everyone's coats and arrange the new parcels under the Christmas tree.

John Paul took off his jacket and gave it to his boyfriend before joining Frankie in the kitchen. She grabbed his face between her hands, pulled him towards her and gave him a big kiss.

"Merry Christmas, love!" She patted his cheek. "Okay, the glasses are all here. Can you open a couple of bottles of bubbly and pour into the glasses. You should know how many there are of who are allowed to have any. It's only me, Jack, Darren and Craig on our side." She turned to the cooker. "The turkey's almost ready. It's been resting for an hour already. The sauce will be ready in a bit. Everything's under control!" She gave John Paul a thumbs up.

He felt a little awkward as he opened the bottles and started pouring into the glasses. Not since before he came out had he ever experienced such niceties from his former and now again mother-in-law-to-be. And he was certain it was genuine.

"Frankie…" he found himself muttering, not fully knowing what he wanted to say.

"Yes, dear?" she asked from where she was stirring the sauce.

"I… I appreciate your inviting all of us here today… and … also I want you to know that I don't … that I don't hold a grudge. I understand you were doing what you thought was best for Matthew, when you…" He couldn't finish.

"When I wanted to take him away from you," she shamefully completed the sentence without looking up. "I never should have done what I did. I don't know why I even thought that it would be better for him to be away from you. John Paul…" She turned to face him. "I've seen what a great parent you've been. Even with what happened. You still managed to put your son first, still managed to hold it together. We all make mistakes. But you've done so much better than I'd ever expected. John Paul, I'm so sorry. I should have apologised a long time ago. Are you sure you don't hate me?"

John Paul laughed. "Of course I don't hate you! You're Matthew's gran and Craig's mother. How could I ever hate someone who's given me the two people that I love the most in the entire world?" He hadn't expected the burst of tears from his boyfriend's mother. All flustered he placed the empty bottle on the table and went over to Frankie. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to…"

"It's alright, John Paul. I just hadn't seen things like that. I mean, I know you love my son, and I know you love Matthew, but for some reason I hadn't seen my involvement in that. The same as I didn't realise until now, when you said it like that, how much I love you. I mean, you've given me a grandson, and you've never tried to keep him away from me, rather the opposite, if anything. And now… now, you've given me my son back. Thank you!" She grabbed his left upper arm and stroked it kindly before taking a deep breath and composing herself. "Okay, that's that. You better take those glasses to the living room. They'll start wondering what we're up to. Thank God, it's you, or I don't know what Jack would think. Me alone with a gorgeous young man," she joked.

Not knowing how to respond, after the gossip he'd heard about Frankie and one of the Roscoe boys, John Paul smiled awkwardly back at her, put the glasses on a tray and left the kitchen.

The Christmas party was a great success. There was enough food for twice as many, even with Frankie surpassing her culinary skills by a landslide, so that everyone had a second and a third helping. The presents were variously received, but no one was happier than the children. All of them got some nice clothes, books and loads of toys to play with. Matthew was already asleep in his buggy when Craig and John Paul left the pub, the blond man carrying Kathleen Angel who couldn't stand on her feet anymore, while his boyfriend pushed the buggy.

The music coming from the pub drowned out the angry hiss the Yule Cat made as it disappointedly turned away to continue its search for desolated children. Fortunately for the cat, there were still too many around the world. It wouldn't starve to death in 2015.

"Peace and quiet. Lovely!." John Paul sighed as he sat down on the sofa next to Craig, opening a can of beer. He handed his boyfriend one.

"Come here!" Craig put his right arm across John Paul's shoulders and pulled him towards him. "We'll share yours first. I don't know if I can drink a whole one. You up for a bit of drama. EastEnders on demand okay? I wonder what's happened to the Brannings this Christmas!" He pointed the remote at the telly.

"Yeah. Why don't they bring Stacey back? I always loved her. But Kat and Alfie are always good fun, though. Bring it on!" John Paul giggled and leaned back into his boyfriend's embrace as the familiar theme tune began. "Thank God our lives are not as dramatic as this, ay?"

"You can say that again!" Craig whispered back as he extended his head and gave the love of his life a kiss on the forehead.

***
THE END

P.S.

All the strange things happening are connected to creatures from Icelandic folklore.

There are 13 "jólasveinar" – Yule Lads – who come down from the mountains, one by one, from 12 December until Christmas Eve. In the past they'd come to steal things, mostly food, but in modern times they bring children small presents. Each night, every child in Iceland puts a shoe in the window and in the morning there's something there, something nice if the child has been well-behaved the previous day, but a raw potato if they've been naughty.

I decided to experiment with adding their old-selves to the story (apart from the last one, the "Candle-Stealer" who took on the needed shape of the old man in the graveyard. I hope it was fun to read, although, unfamiliar to most – if not all – readers here!

Further information on the Yule Lads can be found here, wiki/Yule_Lads

I also decided to introduce the Yule Cat to the story. It's a horrifying creature that's scared Icelandic children for centuries. It's, however, not only used to scare children into behaving well, but also a vivid reminder to parents to take good care of their little ones, as it will be the parents who'll have to deal with the loss of the children to starvation and neglect.

Yule Cat is described here .is/english/for-visitors/christmas/other-christmas-characters/, wiki/Yule_Cat and .

and Björk sang about it, here watch?v=BeHunHocp5Q