The Christmas Bookshop(29)

And tiny Leone smiled and took the book after Carmen carefully wrapped it up in paper and held it tight to her breast, as if she both loved it and was slightly scared of it, which were not, after all, the worst emotions to feel about a book.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

‘You know,’ said the mother, as she turned around, Leone ahead so she could peel round the corner and gaze at the train set with those huge eyes of hers. ‘That’s the first time she’s spoken in public since she started school. Thank you.’

And the bell tinged, and Carmen watched them leave, just as the very lanky studenty man came in. He frowned at Sofia’s tear-stained children.

‘There are also a lot of crying children in the street,’ he said, looking bemused.

‘It was a sad Christmas story.’

He looked puzzled.

‘I thought Christmas stories were happy.’

‘So did I,’ said Sofia quietly, trying to haul the children away, even though Jack would have happily sat for several hours watching the train set.

‘The Little Match Girl,’ said Carmen. He shook his head. ‘You don’t know it?’

He smiled.

‘I don’t … I don’t really know any Christmas stories.’

‘What, at all?’

She frowned at him.

‘I don’t celebrate Christmas.’

‘Oh! Sorry,’ said Carmen.

‘No need,’ he said. ‘From where I’m standing, it looks like a full-time job.’

Phoebe had stopped sobbing, her head whipping around.

‘You don’t celebrate CHRISTMAS?’ she said loudly. Sofia grabbed her hand.

‘Lots of people don’t celebrate Christmas, darling, don’t you remember? You learned it at school. Which has lots of people from different backgrounds. So there’s Eid and Hanukkah … ’

But Phoebe wasn’t listening. She marched up to Oke.

‘My friend has Hanukkah AND Christmas,’ she said. ‘I don’t think that’s fair AT ALL.’

Oke smiled.

‘Well, I don’t celebrate Hanukkah either, so don’t worry.’

Her face screwed up.

‘Well, what do you celebrate?’

‘We don’t.’

At this all the children’s mouths fell open.

‘No Christmas?’

‘No Eid?’

‘What about on your birthday?’ This was from Jack.

Oke shook his head.

‘You don’t celebrate YOUR BIRTHDAY?’

‘Don’t you know when it is?’

He smiled.

‘Yes, I do. But we don’t celebrate.’

‘That is SO SAD,’ said Phoebe, her face starting to twist again.

Oke knelt down on his haunches so he was at her level.

‘Not for me,’ he said. ‘I’m a Quaker. We try to live with … ’ His hand batted around as if looking for the right expression. ‘ … a kind of … gentle grace. Every day. So that we don’t have to make a fuss or make ourselves excited.’

‘Because you’re always happy like it’s Christmas?’ said Phoebe disbelievingly.

‘Well, I wouldn’t know,’ said Oke. ‘But yeah. Maybe we just try and average it out throughout the year.’

Jack and Pippa both looked thoughtful.

‘That sounds RUBBISH,’ said Phoebe and Sofia made her apologetic face as she bundled her away. ‘Well, it does! No presents! No Christmas cake! No chipolatas! NO BIRTHDAYS!’

She was still complaining as the bell tinged on their way out.

‘I have never met those children before in my life,’ said Carmen hastily.

‘Bye, Auntie Carmen!’ hollered Pippa, clearly on purpose. Carmen decided the best thing to do was just stare straight ahead.

Oke smiled.

‘Uh … my book?’

‘Oh. Yeah.’

Carmen ducked under the counter and lugged out the huge book.

She smiled.

‘You’d think they’d put a Christmas tree on it.’

‘Would you?’ said Oke, but he was joking.

The book was staggeringly expensive. She felt terrible even letting him buy it when clearly he should be spending his money on a good winter coat and a pair of gloves – the air was Baltic. She felt sorry for him.

‘Thank you,’ he said, and he opened an old leather wallet and counted out the cash carefully.

‘Oh. And I forgot, the discount is … uh … twenty per cent,’ said Carmen, pulling it from the top of her head.

His eyebrows raised.

‘That’s very generous.’

‘We’re a very nice shop,’ said Carmen. ‘And not prejudiced about non-Christmassers at all.’ She frowned. ‘I didn’t know there were Quakers in Brazil.’

‘You’ve been Quaker-hunting in Brazil?!’

She laughed. ‘No. Sorry.’

He smiled too. ‘It’s true. There aren’t very many of us. But there are a few. Thank you for not being prejudiced about non-Christmassers.’

He looked around at the ridiculous amount of decorations.

‘Well, do feel free to tell your pro-Christmas friends!’ said Carmen.