Bella's Christmas Bake Off (25 page)

L
ater
, when all the residents had finished, the staff, TV people and volunteers sat down together to Christmas lunch. We pulled tinfoil crackers and Bella made a hat from her napkin and put it on, causing roars of laughter from Fliss – who’d apparently found a teensy weensy bit of Scotch, probably from Stanley. We all cleared up then and as no one wanted the day to end, I invited everyone round to my house. ‘Oh yes that would be wonderful,’ Bella sighed; ‘Let’s make this Christmas go on and on.’

‘It’s nothing like Dovecote, darlings,’ I said in a Tim-voice, ‘it’s just a semi in suburbia, but everyone’s welcome, I have wine in the fridge and Christmas cake, but little else.’

‘No worries,’ Fliss said. ‘I brought champagne supplies and a couple of hampers that were sitting around at Dovecote, I was going to take them to the B and B, but let’s open them up back at yours.’

Tim said he’d drive me, Fliss, Crimson, Bella and Beatrice, and as Fliss and Tim moved champagne crates around in his car to make room for passengers Bella and I gathered our coats and headed out of the kitchen. Mike was just packing all his camera gear away and walking through into the dining hall and I asked if he was coming back to mine with everyone else.

‘I’d love to, thanks,’ he nodded. And my heart soared.

‘Amy,’ Bella suddenly said, holding my elbow as Mike walked away, ‘will you stop looking at his bum and come over here a minute with me.’ She guided me through to a table in the now empty dining hall.

‘I was going to give this to you later,’ she said, ‘but looks like there will be quite a few people at yours and I don’t want an audience.’ She awkwardly thrust a beautifully wrapped gift into my hand.

I felt terrible, I hadn’t even considered buying her a gift. ‘Oh Bella, I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect... I haven’t bought you anything,’ I said.

‘It’s not a Christmas gift... well, perhaps it is, but not like that,’ she said. ‘Open it.’

I stood in the hallway struggling to open the parcel and she took my bag and coat off me to help, something the old Bella would have done.

As I undid the wrapping, I could feel it was a book and as the wrapping fell to the ground, the cover was revealed. It was Bella’s Christmas cookbook. I looked up, puzzled, had she simply wrapped up her book to give to me? I wasn’t sure how to take that.

‘Your book, how... lovely,’ I said, unconvincingly.

‘It’s not
just
my book, look at it properly, Ames you daft cow,’ she commanded, reverting to a teenage phrase I’d heard Bella use so often.

I took the book completely from the wrapping and realised the title had been changed, it had been ‘My Mother’s Christmas Table’ and now it was ‘A Mother’s Christmas Table... a book by Bella Bradley, with recipes by Eleanor Brown.’ My mother’s name. I felt tears pricking my eyes, Mum would have been so proud.

‘Now open it,’ she said, like an excited child.

Inside the jacket was a message which read

To Eleanor and Amy,

For all the times I sat at your table and the hours I spent in your kitchen tasting love and happiness,

Thank you for a lifetime of memories,

Love always,

Bella

‘Do you like it?’

I was stunned, my throat was hot with tears.

Bella was beaming, holding onto my arm. ‘That’s why Fliss and I were late getting here yesterday morning – I made her go to the printers and get this done... they weren’t happy printing it on Christmas Eve but Fliss paid extra – it was worth it. I know it’s a bit late and we’ve sold thousands already, but Fliss has sorted it with the publishers and the next print run will be like this – with your mum’s name and everything. We’re also donating a big chunk of the proceeds of the book to a homeless charity, it just seems... appropriate doesn’t it?’

I nodded, unable to speak.

‘Hopefully the book will sell again every Christmas – and each year your mum’s recipes will teach a new generation of bakers,’ she said, putting her arm around me.

I didn’t know what to say, this was more than I’d ever hoped for and I knew if Mum were here she would have been so delighted. It wasn’t just about the recipes, it was an acknowledgement of the part she’d played in Bella’s childhood, in her life. And the gift of love she had given to a little girl who wasn’t even her own.

I started to cry.

‘Oh stop that. Come on, let’s get to yours and drink that champagne, you daft cow,’ she said. ‘You do have crystal flutes in your little semi don’t you darling – if not I’m going home,’ she linked arms with me to Tim’s car where we laughed through tears all the way to my house.

When we got back, we opened Bella’s posh hamper which contained lovely luxuries that were pointless on their own. But we ate the olive biscuits and the chocolate mints and the jar of cherries in kirsch as well as Christmas cake and Beatrice’s Jamaican rum cake and we drank champagne.

‘Here’s to two kinds of Christmas cake,’ I said, raising my glass when we’d all run out of drunken toasts.

‘Yes, and here’s to two kinds of women, both friends, both very different, with their own ideas on food. But I’m the one who’s always right,’ Bella laughed and we all joined in.

‘That’s enough, ladies,’ Crimson shouted, before I could retaliate. ‘I need to get my mum home – it’s very late, we’ve got “Miracle on 34
^th
Street” to watch, and a batch of Rudolph brownies to consume.’ She gave me an awkward hug, grabbed Bella’s arm and they walked together to the car waiting to take them back to Dovecote.

‘I’ll call you,’ Bella said when we hugged goodbye.

I smiled and nodded, finally feeling good about our friendship.

I turned to go back indoors to an empty house, but when I walked there was one guest remaining... Mike.

‘
Y
ou can NOT use
cheap ham,’ she yells across the kitchen.

‘I would rather buy a small car than spend the same amount of money on your snobby, overhyped Iberico,’ I spit back.

‘Don’t forget you’re only a guest on my show... remember the line, viewers,’ she looks straight into the camera to deliver the show’s catchphrase, ‘Amy is for Christmas, not for life.’ This is followed by her tinkling laugh.

‘Very funny,’ I snap, taking out a supermarket frozen turkey and slapping it on the marble work surface.

‘You’re only a maths teacher, don’t get above yourself,’ she says, holding her organic bird in her arms like a newborn baby.

‘I’m proud to be a maths teacher. I’d rather spend every day with stroppy teenagers than with the bossiest, most unbearable woman I know,’ I hiss, stuffing the turkey with gusto.

This goes on until the dinner is cooked and we’ve argued, compromised and then argued even harder. Finally we end on a glistening shot of the two of us standing by candlelight, surrounded by the bakes and baubles of Christmas.

‘Oh what a tear-inducing finale,’ Tim sets off; ‘...a happy ending at last after all that delicious conflict my darlings... worthy of Macbeth. That’s a Christmas Eve wrap!’ he shouts as Bella and I descend into giggles like two teenagers.

It’s hard to think it’s only twelve months since we rediscovered our old selves and became friends again. Such a lot has happened in that time, we’re both divorced, both happier, Crimson’s changed her name back to Cressida, and she’s at art college now. Last summer Bella and I went to see her work at a college show and I’ve never seen my old friend more proud or happy. ‘I can finally tell the world about my wonderful daughter,’ Bella said, though sometimes I wonder who’s the mother and who’s the daughter, because Crimson has more of a grip on real life than Bella does. Meanwhile, my own kids Fiona and Jamie are now in their final year at uni - I can’t wait to be the proud mum at graduation – and lucky me I get to do it twice!

As for our futures, Bella’s was saved by ‘The Christmas Special’, or ‘me’ as I often remind her. The public loved our festive feuding the previous year, it reignited Bella’s career, and the audience ratings shot through the roof. And as a result of all the publicity, and Mum and Bella’s cookbook, St Swithin’s has lived to see another year, and another Christmas dinner.

Bella’s new idea was to involve me in her show as a co-presenter, and the TV company offered me a fortune to give up teaching and join ‘Bella’s Bake Off.’ I surprised everyone and said ‘no thanks,’ because I’ve seen what that life can do to a girl, and I don’t want to lose myself as Bella once did. So I’m still a full-time maths teacher, I just visit Bella’s show on special occasions to keep her and her spending in check.

My day job is still tough, but rewarding, my Year Elevens did exceptionally well in their GCSEs this year and Mr Jones was forced to admit at prize-giving that ‘Amy Lane’s rather unorthodox teaching methods seem to have a plus side.’ Working with the people ‘on the telly’ made me appreciate my teaching job – even after Josh Rawton and his pals sold his video of me to the press. I woke up last New Year’s Eve to the headline ‘Bella Bradley’s Feuding Friend Fights Homeless Man for Booze!’ Pictures and an online video of me and Stanley marauding in the street over a cheap bottle of brandy went global. Fliss put out a statement explaining I’d bought the brandy to put in my Christmas cake, ‘vehemently’ denying my ‘alcoholism’, ‘attempted theft’ and ‘physical abuse’ of a homeless person – but you know the press, they never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Anyway, seeing a ‘story potential’ Fliss called the magazines who, in return for my tale paid for a hedonistic week in a spa in the Indian Ocean. There by a turquoise lagoon I told the press ‘real and exclusive’ story about how I was amazed to win the prize to star on ‘Bella’s Christmas Bake Off’. I also ‘shared’ with readers how Bella the TV celebrity and Amy the teacher (who came from the same town but ‘surprisingly’ had never met before) were now the best of friends.

I’ve grown to love Fliss too, she’s the only person I know who could turn a video of me clambering over a homeless man into a week’s stay in a five star resort with my best friend and a delicious cameraman. Oh yes - having attended my impromptu Christmas gathering the previous year, Mike never went home, and I’ve never been happier. And to add icing to my Christmas cake, Mike, Bella and Cressy joined me at the spa, so Bella could
‘exclusively reveal her beautiful daughter Cressida, who the brilliant cookery star has kept secret all these years to protect her from the price of fame
.’

While in the hot tub, Bella was also interviewed by ‘Star Life’ magazine about the
‘shock at discovering her wonderful husband was in love with another man and had been living a lie, torturing himself until caring Bella realised and told him to go and be free.’
Peter has since married Sacha - Crimson and Bella both attended the wedding and were pictured laughing and throwing confetti over the happy couple. Ironically, the lavish nuptials haven’t put off any of Peter’s adoring female fans – in an unexpected bonus he’s gained a lot of new male fans!

It’s a year down the line and Bella’s still banging on about posh ingredients and telling me how ‘low rent’ my Christmas cake is. Mike’s caught close-ups of her disgruntled face and the soundman has captured my responses to her caustic, culinary comments. Watching it back I realise what great actresses we are on screen, because no one would ever guess how much we like each other.

After filming, Fliss smiles and teeters over on abused kitten heels to hug us both. ’Fabulous dahlings – two women arguing ferociously over Christmas truffles and Boxing Day ham, it’s what Christmas is all about.’

So here we are – Bella and I back together at Dovecote on Christmas Eve, our friendship re-established and both our lives on a kind of happy parallel. Bella would disagree and say her life is far more glamorous and successful. And she still insists she’s the better baker, but I’m quick to remind her, “my cupcakes were always the prettiest, darling.”

We may argue on screen and sometimes off – and every so often I get a strong urge to push her smug face in a bowl of ‘very naughty’ trifle. But one thing we do agree on is that these days our lives are so much richer for having the other around... especially at Christmas.

T
hank
you so much for reading
Bella’s Christmas Bake Off
I hope you enjoyed a little Christmas glimpse into the world of TV cookery shows. As a TV producer I’ve worked on several cookery programmes and trust me Bella’s crazy production team and gadget-rich kitchen is nothing compared to the real thing!

Anyway, if you liked the taste of Bella’s Bake Off and would like to know when my next book is released you can sign up by clicking the link here:

www.suewatsonbooks.com/email
.

www.suewatsonbooks.com