The Christmas Surprise Read Online Free Page A

eyes blinking behind his glasses.
    ‘Ahem,’ said Edison. He was one of her steadiest customers, an extremely literal child with a hippy mother, Hester, who made him wear hand-stitched items and thus ensured his unpopularity at school. Hester’s New Age beliefs and dislike of refined sugar didn’t stop her from constantly asking Rosie to babysit. Rosie had also helped deliver Hester’s new baby, Marie, at Christmas.
    Edison was walking by himself again, after spending time in a wheelchair following a dreadful accident before Christmas. Stephen had saved his life, but he had still been injured. All the attention during his recovery – particularly now, when he was walking, carefully, with a large and ornate stick – had done wonders for his confidence.
    ‘Hello, sir,’ said Rosie. ‘Have they stopped spoiling you to bits at school yet?’
    Edison frowned. He wasn’t very good at being teased.
    ‘I don’t think I am tebbly spoiled,’ he said, pushing up his glasses. ‘I am most likely not to have tantrums mostly.’
    Rosie couldn’t imagine Edison crying about anything.
    ‘I was only teasing,’ she said. ‘Are they being nice to you?’
    Edison frowned.
    ‘They mostly say, “Edison, you can play football with us.” But I don’t play football now. And I didn’t play football before. Hester says ball games are just male greshun.’
    ‘Does she?’ said Rosie blandly. Her thoughts on Edison’s mother’s contemporary parenting style were always best kept to herself. ‘Well, maybe when you get rid of the stick you can play.’
    Edison looked terrified.
    ‘But what if the ball hits me, Rosie, and breaks my glasses?’
    ‘You could just say “Ha ha, I don’t mind” and play on.’
    ‘But if I was hurt and there was blood?’
    ‘It’s only a ball, Edison.’
    ‘I’m scared of balls,’ said Edison gloomily. ‘Can I have some Edinburgh rock?’
    Rosie pulled down the jar.
    ‘Are you sure,’ she asked, as she always did, ‘you don’t want to try something else?’
    Edison looked confused.
    ‘But I know I like Edinburgh rock.’
    ‘Yes, but you might like something else even more.’
    ‘But that would be A RISK.’
    Rosie smiled and shook him out his little bag.
    ‘Here you are. How’s Marie?’
    His baby sister had been born on Christmas morning. Edison could not be talked out of calling her Marie, after Marie Curie, and now Rosie rather liked it. With a thrill of half panic, half excitement, she realised that Marie and her baby were going to be close in age.
    ‘Noisy,’ said Edison shortly. ‘And I wanted to play Lego with her, and everyone said, “OH EDISON, NO.”’ His face looked pinched and sad. ‘You know she can hold things! I thought she could hold my Lego Chima!’
    Rosie smiled.
    ‘But what does she do with the things?’
    Edison thought about it.
    ‘She puts them in her mouth.’
    ‘There you are,’ said Rosie. ‘You can see that might be a problem.’
    ‘But Lego isn’t nice in your mouth.’
    ‘Well you know that,’ said Rosie. ‘She doesn’t, she’s only a baby, she doesn’t know anything. That’s why sheneeds a big brother to show her that Lego is bad.’
    ‘Oh,’ said Edison. ‘I could teach her all of that stuff.’
    He wandered thoughtfully out of the shop as Rosie moved over to serve some of the more indecisive children. She yelled after him, ‘But don’t give her any Edinburgh rock!’
    Edison rolled his eyes at her. He was definitely growing up, she thought.

    After they’d shut up shop, Rosie couldn’t settle till Stephen came home. Often he was in before her, with huge stacks of marking, but he had some gruesome Ofsted meeting tonight he couldn’t miss. She made a chicken pie, but couldn’t concentrate and put weird ingredients in it. Mr Dog hopped around and she didn’t tell him to stop jumping up. She lit the fire, but her hands were shaking. She spent a lot of time examining herself in the mirror in the bathroom. How could she not have