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When had it grown so complicated?

Perdita was right Everything would be a lot easier with gingerbread

‘Here you go’ Perdita slunk through the door, a piece of gingerbread in the shape of a snowman in her mouth, and deposited it on the floor I jumped down and devoured it a couple of quick bites, then looked up at Perdita hopefully She rolled her eyes ‘There’s more downstairs, and Jack and Holly are still out You can fetch your own this time’

Suddenly, the roohts from outside the

‘What was that?’ Perdita prowled past me and ju back up onto the bed then leaping across the inches to the desk, and stared out of thein amazement

Two of the houses in Maple Drive were lit up like Holly’s Christhts,out patterns and pictures on the walls of the houses In the street, I could juston another door Were they doing this? Why?

‘Co on out there’

I hesitated I was interested too But Perdita had said there was erbread downstairs …

‘We can grab the gingerbread on our way out,’ she added, and I jumped down from the desk to follow her

By the tirandparents were all happily ensconced in the small, family run hotel that Bella had found for them, close to the station And that meant it was ti plans

Once, just once, she’d like soht the first time, so they could actually stick with Plan A Or even B or C

The way they were going, she was running out of letters of the alphabet

‘So, do you knohere we’re going?’ Oliver asked, as he and Daisy left the hotel

‘To the information desk at the Eurotunnel ter the cheaply printed, free ht way up? She should have brought Bella Bella was ure, if we’re there in person, they’ll have to give us a space Right?’

‘That’s the hope’ Oliver took the map from her, turned it the other way up, squinted at it, then turned it back the way she’d had it in the first place ‘Come on I think it’s this way’

Daisy rolled her eyes, but followed

In the end, getting tickets for the following day proved a daet ho out a small, faint hope that when they showed up in person, space on the Christmas Eve train would miraculously appear, and they’d dash back to fetch the family and cancel their hotel rooms, and be home with Claude before Santa made his rounds

No such luck with that, though But …

‘At least we knoe can get ho arm around her shoulder as they left the ticket office ‘That’s soht?’

‘I suppose’ But it ht Not tohome from Calais via Folkestone Not exactly the perfect Christ for

Daisy sighed At least they were all together, Claude notwithstanding That had to be what mattered most

‘Coain ‘We need to get back to the kids, and rescue iven the confusion with thequickly, if they wanted to get back to the hotel before Jay needed putting to bed

‘Actually …’ Oliver stopped walking, and reached out to take her hand

‘What?’ Daisy asked, suspiciously He had that look he got, whenever he’d had what he thought was a brilliant idea but turned out to be wildly inconvenient and annoying Just what she didn’t need on Christmas Eve

‘I spoke with yourto watch the kids for a couple of hours’

‘While we do what, exactly?’ All she really wanted to do was fall face first in a bed and pass out until they were hoain But apparently that wasn’t an option

Oliver smiled ‘Come with me’

Suppressing a frustrated sigh, Daisy let hih the streets of Calais, too tired to take in the festive decorations, or even the holiday atmosphere

‘Do you remember the last time we came here?’ he asked, and Daisy blinked as she remembered

‘Uo? More? It hen Bella was small’