Christmas Hampered – Daniel 37

For back story go here: Story so far, and definitely this one.]

[Relevant back story links also within text.]

 

Daniel was tidying his house. Daisy had gone but the evidence of the child still littered the place. Toys had been dropped in expected and unexpected places, patches of chocolate – and worse – marked the sofa and surfaces. It would take a morning to clean and maybe longer to transform into a true grownup environment.

He went about his work with enthusiasm, however. It was Christmas – a time for relaxation and review and he needed the right environment for that. And despite the madness and storms swirling around outside his home he could transform the interior into an oasis of calm, some sort of island of sanity in a sea of disruption. All went well until he came to the kitchen and found himself pausing for a little too long over the dishwasher, his mind blank, staring at it almost uncomprehending what the damned machine did.

He moved on however as the hoover gave him a little more certainty and satisfaction as it cleaned the carpeted floors. He could see his progress and rewarded himself for a job well done, pausing to answer the door to his food delivery and to a couple of post people, bringing Daisys’ presents to what was now the wrong address for her.

Even this didn’t get Daniel down. He dutifully placed the packages to one side, observing the quarantine advice and washing his hands afterwards. It could have felt like a backwards step, but the world outside was shifting and changing and nothing could be taken for granted anymore. If he got really desperate he promised himself he would open the presents and play with the sparkly robot himself. He sensed a lot of kids toys were designed to ensure adults didn’t get entirely bored playing with their children. Probably the reason why his dad bought him a train set and then insisted he help set it up and make sure it ran properly.

After two or three hours’ work, Daniel was satisfied with the transformation. Before him lay a grownup Christmas space. A tree with sensible decorations throughout – he’d even removed the toilet roll angel Daisy made at school and put it on a shelf where it could be admired for what it was rather than looking a little like a badly thrown away piece of rubbish. 

A couple of side tables for nibbles and glasses of Xmas cheer, whatever that cheer maybe. All was calm and ready for his special bubbling guest, whenever she arrived and whatever she wanted to do.

But then, what she actually wanted to do was call him on a video link.

“I was expecting you to be at my door,” he said.

“Yeah, me too,” said Sandra, “but...”

“But?”

“I’m sorry, it’s the news. New variant, new danger, new whatever,” she sighed. “My parents are...”

“Old?”

“Complicated,” clarified Sandra. “I mean, I’m sure it would be OK but.”

“We never know,” said Daniel.

“Yeah. And if they needed me and if I couldn’t be there...”

“It’s OK,” said Daniel. “You do what you need to do.”

“Are your parents OK?” asked Sandra.

Daniel smiled, sort of. “You weren’t to know – they passed away four, five years ago.”

“I’m so sorry...”

“Like I say, you weren’t to know.”

Daniel studied the face on the screen and decided he liked this person. They’d been in each other’s company precisely once in the past year, but it was enough for him to trust her and enjoy her company. And in any case the ability of strangers to get together in the same space for coffee or anything else this year had been somewhat limited. Maybe if he put his details into Together... Apart it would bring them together. He thought he might try it later - and complain to Trinny and Adrian if the connection was not made.

“I’ve been getting worried about this all too,” he said. “You know, sleepless nights, staring at the ceiling. That kind of thing.”

“Yeah.”

“Mind you,” he added, “the bedroom ceiling does need repainting. Did you know a kid’s orange juice carton can spray really high if you open it badly?”

Sandra laughed a little. She excused herself for a minute and then came back, Xmas hat on head and mince pie in hand. Daniel found one of his daughter’s plastic tiaras and wore that for the remainder of the call.

“And then this morning I found myself worrying about loading the dishwasher,” he said. “I just couldn’t get the crockery to socially distance in there.”

Sandra grinned. “They’ll be OK. They’re in the same bubbles.”

“Can we do this again?” asked Daniel.

“Sure,” said Sandra. “And again. And again.”