Eleanor had spent what felt like endless lifetimes beside the stove that day, steam curling like strange serpents through her kitchen. The bell rangunexpected, echoing through the house and rattling the spoons in their drawer. Relatives of Tony, her estranged husband, drifted in, settling awkwardly about the table as though theyd arrived by boat, soaked and ill at ease beneath their coats and scarves.
Arent we having meat, then? Aunt Margaret sniffed, her nose twitching at the air.
But look, that goose is stuffed, Eleanor offered, her smile gentle, as if she expected applause.
Aunt Margarets chair creaked ominously as she stood, feathers on her hat bristling. Cant eat that kind of food. Were off, back home.
Tony rose as if the tides had swept him out of his seat. Really, Eleanor Live on your own if you cant manage cooking properly!
He was stuffing pyjamas into his duffle bag before Eleanor had time to speak, the strange smell of cooked vegetables drifting behind him as he vanished.
“Hello? Gail, it’s Eleanor. What…? Yes, I’m calling you from this end of the phone, but the line sounds like its travelled under the ocean. Why am I ringing? Its justI won’t make it to yours for Christmas this year. No, not coming, not for the holidays. Why should I? Youll have Victor there, your daughter with her lot, and me? What am I supposed to doeat buffet salads all evening, then grab a black cab on New Years rate? I simply cant sleep in someone elses bed, you know that. What will I do instead? Well, nothing, really. Go to sleep, I suppose. Her words slipped and tumbled, almost lost in the static of distance.
For five yearssince her divorceshed always spent holidays at Gails: New Years, birthdays, any excuse to be less alone.
What? You were just about to ring me? Heading where? To Leeds, to see Victors aunt? Happy travels then, hope the spirits are bright. You have a problem? Whos coming? Sasha? Whos Sasha? Niece? Hello? The connection is worse than a tin can and string. You want me to house her for a bit? You know, Gail, I dont do extra guests. Well, if I must, let her come. Oh, whats the use! Eleanor sighed, slamming the phone down hard enough to wake the cat.
She pondered her loneliness. Maybe having a holiday guest wouldnt be so dreadful. She shuffled into the kitchen, deciding shed better assemble a salad, at the very leasta lonely sandwich might suffice for her, but tea for a guest demanded a bit more. She set vegetables to boil; the kitchen was a foggy greenhouse of chives and dill.
It hadnt always been like this. When Tony was still her husband, shed never sat idle on New Years Eve. By the thirtieth, his entire Yorkshire clan landed in her house, the kitchen transformed by clouds and fog, every window dripping with condensation. Jelly and pies boiled, cutlets sizzledeverything was fatty, generous. Eleanor raced between the stove and pantry, ferrying jelly to the balcony and scrubbing vegetables. She wasnt allowed near the main dishes after her notorious attempt at an avocado salad.
Its an abomination, pronounced Aunt Margaret, and everyone eagerly nodded.
But theirs was no betterdrowning in mayonnaise, so rich it dripped off the spoon. The men gathered round at once, sipping homemade sloe gin straight from the flask.
By the second of January, they vanished again, having consumed every crumb and drop, and Eleanor was left with a landscape of dirty plates and half-melted butter. Shed scrub and mop for a week after, while Tony carried the spirit of festival back to his familys farm, returning grim and unshaven, his relatives insults about his choice of wife ringing in his ears.
Shed suffered the criticism, suspected perhaps they were right. She simply couldnt cook the heavy, greasy fare Tony worshipped since childhood. All she could do was pour her complaints into the telephone receiver for Gail.
Gail, ever the schemer, one day forced Eleanor to ring her in-laws, laying down the condition: shed cook everything for New Yearyou just all show up when I tell you. Together, Gail and Eleanor spent that whole day laughing, assembling easy, hearty snacks. The guests came in droves, sniffing the air suspiciously.
Wheres the beef? Aunt Margaret complained.
Theres the stuffed goose, Eleanor replied, and magic hung on her tongue.
And the mash? Aunt Margaret pressed.
The aunt rose again, accosted by invisible cows. Whats this? Chaff and greenery! Fred, fetch the car, were heading straight home.
Coats were donned, the front door slammed in orchestral unison.
Tony sighed, a deflating balloon in human form. You just waitdont forget your suitcases, Eleanor reminded, holding out a battered holdall. Tony muttered, Youll end up alone. I wont be. You brought this on yourself, and stormed off, his boots echoing down the hall.
Then the pot rattled on the stove and brought her sharply back. She nudged the lid aside and, as though on cue, the doorbell wailed like a ship in fog.
Sasha, maybe? she thought, opening wide. On the threshold stood a manabout forty, in an ill-fitting overcoat and a battered trilby.
Oh. Sasha?
He grinned, his smile a little crooked. Indeed. Alexander James Mickleton, nephew of Victor. Thought Id surprise themonly to find theyve all decamped to Leeds. You must be Eleanor?
She nodded, a marionette jerked by invisible strings. But Gail said niece?
He chuckled. Perhaps the static on the line played tricks, or perhaps you heard what you wished.
She remembered the hissing phone lines. Could be. Well, youre here nowmight as well come in.
Dont worry, Ive got a ticket for the first. I wont crowd your world for long.
Eleanor returned to the kitchen, straining the vegetables, dropping them into a chipped plate to cool.
He peered in, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Is one wee salad enough for a holiday feast?
She snapped, without quite meaning to. Did you expect a banquet? Heaps of beef, a vat of potato salad?
He laughed, arms spread as if to say, the world is a joke. Heavens, no. I never was much for heavy grub. Give me a nice trout any day.
No trout here. Havent the foggiest how to cook one, either.
Dont trouble yourself. Give me ten minutes and Ill handle it. Alexander vanished before Eleanor could blink, the front door yawning open and closed behind a gust of winter air.
She giggled unexpectedly. Shed been awaiting a tired woman but received an energetic man with a talent for vanishing.
He was gone over an hour, until worry crept into her bones. The bell cut through her fear, and when she opened the door, a small Christmas tree stood at attention, blocking her view. Alexanders face popped over the needles, laden with bags clinking and sweet.
Why?
He set the pine in the corner. Whats a New Years without a tree, Miss Eleanor?
She pressed her nose to it, inhaling its woodsy perfume. Only thing missing is clementines.
Nonsense, Alexander crowed. He waved a netted bag of tangerines and a bottle of sparkling wine. Now, lets attack this feastcome along!
Together, laughing in defiance of loneliness, they strung up tinsel, unpacked groceries. Under Alexanders direction, Eleanor cleaned prawns and wrestled with a shiny carp, marveling at his fish-roasting prowess.
By midnight, the world dissolved into warmth and bubbles and sparkling wine fizzing in their glasses. At twelve, they toasted: To the New Year, to new happiness! Their glasses clinked, a sound like tiny icicles.
They talked, voices softened by wine and comfort.
When we married, Eleanor whispered, Tony seemed another person. Kind, gentle or so I thought. Love makes fools of us all. Now, only criticism. Not right, not enough, wrong food. Sorry, all about me tonight. What about you? Are you married?
Not anymore, Alexander sighed, the words as tired as dust. Id come home off the railway, and shed be goneoff with someone else. Ill file the papers when Im back. But enough of that. Lets drink properly! Remember any childhood mischief?
I once bet my mates I could climb the tallest oak on the greengot stuck, crying, until old Uncle George from No. 9 rescued me. I stood in the corner until tea.
He burst out laughing. I once glued the headmasters chair to the floor. Father gave me the slipper for that!
And so, they chuckled on into dawn, swapping stories like sweets. Eleanor yawned, eyes swimming with fatigue.
Off to bed with you, Alexander said gently. Ill tidy up in here.
Nodding, she floated to her room, asleep before her head found the pillow.
Alexander woke her in the dim morning, coat buttoned, hat askew. Eleanor, Im off now. Lock up behind me?
She scrambled, looking for the clock. Already? Why not wake me sooner?
He gently brushed her hair from her brow. You were so at peace, I hadnt the heart. But if I dont go, Ill miss my train.
At the door she hesitated, melancholy resting on her tongue. Thank you for the holiday, she said.
Nonsense. He lingered, then asked, suddenly bold. Could I call on you again? When Imfree?
A shy smile split her fatigue. Id like that. Ill wait
He kissed her, a quick, uncertain promise. Then its settledsee you next year, maybe even before.
Eleanor stood long after the door latched, her hand over her lips, smiling as though she had swallowed sunlight. Sometimes, a lifetime isnt enough for knowing, and sometimes, one single night is.
People can scoff at miracles on New Years, but Eleanor understood their secret logichow they turn up with the snow, in the company of strangers and pine trees, just when you need them most.
