Yule See – Jenny 35

[For back story go here: Story so far at 30 Nov 2020 and more recent Jenny episodes.]

[For other back story click in-links]

It was beautiful. Of that there was no doubt. It was sleek, polished, aerodynamic and looked like it would cut through the world like a hot knife through butter. Despite everything, though, Jenny felt that she was undeserving of this piece of machinery and she couldn’t really grasp the idea that it was now hers.

Back in the kitchen Izzy was making coffee. 

“That’s mine?” asked Jenny again.

“Oh yeah,” said Izzy. “All of it. Was going to wait until Christmas but then to be honest I couldn’t so I decided to get it for you now. And let you have it now.”

“But it’s amazing,” said Jenny.

“I know,” smiled Izzy. “That’s why it’s your bike. It suits you. Unlike your current heap.”

She kissed Jenny on the forehead and poured milk into the second mug.

“Can I… go out on it now, or should I wait?”

“No point in waiting,” said Izzy. “The light is with you and there’s not much on the roads. You could wait for a rainy weekend with the cycling club if you like, but there’s no time like the present. Like I say, I couldn’t wait to give it to you, no reason why you should wait to ride it.”

Jenny got kitted up. The kids had only just left for school and aside from a central heating webinar in the middle of the afternoon there was nothing else to fit into the day. True, she was meant to be thinking about Christmas – what they would eat and who was going to get what, but all of that had been sand-blasted from her mind by the appearance of the bike. All that remained was the expected feeling of gliding through the countryside on those two wheels.

The feeling in reality was every bit as special as in her imagination. Gears barely clicked as she accelerated and she could feel the greater efficiency by which her energy was transferred into motion compared to her previous bike.

The countryside blurred past her and with so little required of her to actually power the thing forward she was able to consider the forthcoming festive season. Tree would go up this weekend, presents were already in the pipeline although there were far more vouchers being purchased this year to avoid the monstrous queues at the post office.

Food-wise things might be complicated. She and Helen were vegetarian, Peter and Izzy were not and would insist on some form of roasted poultry, although Izzy found turkey way too bland and no one thought there was much point in serving it if all you did was smother it in other food that actually tasted better. In that case why not just have toast with cranberry sauce? Despite this a chicken or something with wings would have to be found.

Both Izzy and Jenny’s parents were out of the picture. Izzy’s entire family were on the other side of the world and therefore only available through technology. Jenny was an only child and her parents were still not talking to her. Every year Jenny thought this would be a good time to get in touch and see if there was a chance for reconciliation. Every year that chance came and went. She sent cards, she left answerphone messages and she always received a plain, dry Happy Christmas card in return. Just addressed to her. Her parents didn’t recognise her relationship. They didn’t recognise their grandchildren. They wouldn’t recognise any of them, reflected Jenny, if they knocked on their front door and sang Silent Night.

Jenny and her family were used to this though. They didn’t dwell on their non-existent extended kin, they just got on with it. There were friends and work colleagues, social networks a plenty which in the usual run of things provided support and fun for all. This year it would be harder to tap into these things, but since she’d already managed to throw a party to celebrate the second lockdown this year, Jenny was confident inspiration would strike for Christmas. 

Her ride was longish – two hours, extending to three because there was no reason why not and every reason to do it. By the time she headed for home she’s straightened out most of the menu for the festive week, as well as thinking over possible party games for New Year’s Eve. The only thing that hadn’t subsided was a slightly nagging doubt as to what she was going to get Izzy for Christmas. She didn’t have a job, didn’t have that much in the way of personal savings and it would be difficult to hide anything that came into the house (which to be honest was probably the main reason why Izzy gave her the bike today). It wasn’t a competition of course, but she was going to have to come up with something special.