Old and New FLAMES

There was more to being nice than being reliable, dependable or downright boring…

To this day, Karen’s mum Paula still asked her, ‘Why couldn’t you and that nice Joe Lee make a go of it? You made such a nice couple.’

‘Nice’ was both Paula’s one-size-fits-all approval rating and her opt-out clause when she wasn’t listening.

Sometimes, Paula worried that her daughter was still single ‘all these years later’.

This Christmas was a case in point. Karen had come home for a quiet and cosy retreat, only to be reminded the Lees were having a ‘do’ next door, the night before Christmas Eve.

‘What sort of do?’ she asked suspiciously.

Paula plucked a stiff white card off the tinseldecked mantelpiece. ‘A festive barbecue.’

‘Good grief,’ grizzled Karen. ‘What’s that when it’s at home?’

‘I asked Monica that myself. Apparently, it’ll be breaded turkey on skewers with jacket potatoes, roasted chestnuts and brazier-flamed Christmas pudding. You know Monica and her notions.’

‘You and Dad go, then,’ she muttered, prompting Paula to make her superfluous comment about Karen and Joe, the Lees’ handsome, well-mannered son.

Falling for him at 16, Karen had been mildly piqued. The world was full of exciting bad boys who’d have shown her a good time while breaking her heart. Instead, she’d plumped for the steady, dependable boy next door – literally.

‘Monica mentioned that Louise won’t mind you coming,’ said Paula unguardedly.

‘Louise?’

‘Joe’s fiancée.’ Paula looked wistful. ‘They’re having entwined initials on the wedding invites.’

Karen knew what her mum was thinking.