Christmas Dinners

With the Buttergloves and their relatives being so numerous in Mellowdene, the idea of a Christmas dinner where we all attend is sadly impractical. Someone suggested that we erect a marquee in the field between Butterglove House (where Merlin and I live with our families) and Butterglove Lodge (where my cousins live with their families). That would provide enough space to include my brother Newton, his family and his in-laws too. Nevertheless, nearly all of us rejected that idea - we'd tried it once before, and that was despite objections about poor weather conditions, lack of comfort, and carrying food and drink from the houses. The reason? Well, let's just say the experience didn't end well.

The Periwinkles have a large family too, and they once booked the village hall, making use of the kitchen there. Alex Periwinkle confided that, whilst it was reasonably successful, most attendees missed their own homes. Apart from that, other bookings of the hall mean there can be pressure to fit in with a strict schedule. Not something you want at Christmas.

As such, we all usually settle for having separate Christmas dinners in the comfort of our homes, but compensate by visiting each other over the period.

For me, this means everyone living at Butterglove House has Christmas dinner together, with the attendees not much different to any other week. We knew we'd be a little more cramped this year but we didn't mind - Orton doesn't take up much space! However, Cecile was thinking that, since her brother has returned to the village, Rowan and his family would dine with us too. Understandable, but that would have boosted the attendees from eight to twelve. With the best will in the world, our dining room won't accommodate that many. As luck would have it, Rowan popped in for a chat before any arrangements were made and I was in the dining room, wrapping presents.

"Hi", he said as he came in. "Brendan sent me through."

"Oh, hi Rowan," I replied. "Glad you've come around. Cecile was wanting to have a word."

"Really? what about?"

I outlined Cecile's thinking about the invitation to Christmas dinner. Rowan's smile was apologetic.

"No can do, Jack," he said. "It's our first Christmas in our new home. Angelica wants to have dinner there. You understand that, don't you?"

"'Course I do. I understand perfectly. I'm sure Cecile will too. When you explain it to her."

"Ah. Can't you...?" Rowan began, smiling when I shook my head. "Okay, I'll tell her."

"Has Angelica got something special planned for the meal?"

"I expect so. Her cooking is usually... functional. Not unpleasant but not what you'd call challenging. She'll want to make an effort for Christmas, though. Should be okay, I guess." He sighed. "What about you guys?"

"Shared effort as usual," I summarised before outlining the intended tasks. "I'll be making a special fruit punch and assemble the appetisers. Cecile and Eliza will prepare the soup, the fruit platters and roast vegetables using recipes from Old Bun's Cookbook, although there are some desserts in the last issue of Critter Cuisine that has piqued Eliza's interest. As usual, Merlin will do the main. He says he's doing a mixture of carrot, walnut and wild mushrooms, but he'll encase that in pastry and pipe in a mixture of melted mature cheeses."

"Oh, don't. I'm dribbling."

Merlin likes cooking. When we had an extension built on his side of our house to provide an additional kitchen and bathroom, Merlin helped design it. Whilst both Cecile and Eliza are very good cooks, Merlin is the one who tends to be more adventurous, and he creates some tasty nosh, I can tell you.

"Tell you what," I said, "if there's any left, I'll save you a bit. You can warm it up."

Rowan laughed. "You're a star, Jack."

I glanced at him. "Yeah. A shining beacon in the night." A thought occurred to me. "Hey, will this be the first proper sit-down Christmas dinner you've had in a while? Seeing as you've been on the road for years?"

"Actually, no. That would have been last year when we were camping in Vandykeville. We had dinner with some lovely friends there. I guess that's what started us thinking that it was time we settled down. Fairer on the kids too."

"So that's why you decided to return to Mellowdene? You've never really said."

"A big part of it, I suppose. We've been traveling for so long - the kids all their lives - and my wanderlust wasn't as strong as it was. When it occurred to us that we needed to settle, we did consider Vandykeville, but Angelica reminded me that I'd always said I intended to come back home one day."

"What about this 'wanderlust' as you call it? Do you think that's over with?"

He regarded me with a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he was assessing me. When he answered, he appeared to be choosing his words carefully.

"I know you think I'm a bit whacky. That the tale I told you about the tribal cats, the tunnels and the Land of Men was all out of my imagination. Maybe it was. Hey - maybe their weird fruit drinks contained more than fruit. But I feel that it happened. That I was stranded away from Sylvania for months. And that did take a lot of the wanderlust out of me."

I wasn't used to my brother-in-law being so serious. It was a little unnerving, and yet I felt closer to him than I had for years.

"Wow. That's..."

He reached out and patted my arm. "You don't need to say anything, Jack. It's good to be home. It's heartwarming to see how happy my sister is with you. You've got a great family, mate. So have I. But it's about time we were part of a community and had more than just passing friends. After all, it's not done you any harm."

He stood. "I'd better go and tell Cecile that we won't be having Christmas dinner with you this year, but stress that there'll be other years. That might satisfy her, I suppose."

Before he left the room he turned and looked at me again with that same pensive expression, saying "You're a good mate, Jack. I might be asking your advice soon."

Before I could respond, his face brightened. "Do you think Merlin can be persuaded to do take-out?"

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