I hoped that Lee had the good sense to go home to Mum for Christmas and they weren’t both spending it alone, their first without dad or me. Mostly I hoped that whatever they were doing, they weren’t worried about me or missing me too much.
“Why are you crying, Mr Jacob? Are you ok?”
Howell brought me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see the whole family staring at me. I wiped at my face. A small tear had run down my cheek, but I flashed them all a smile.
“I’m good. Sorry, yeah, I’m good. I was just thinking about my family.”
I was trying to play it off, but Mrs Hopkin looked concerned and came over to hug me, making me well up again. This woman, my grandmother, no more than fifteen years older than me, had been looking after me as though she’d raised me herself.
“Merry Christmas,” I said, squeezing her tightly. “Thank you for everything.”
“Tom should do it,” Sophia said, pulling my attention from Mrs Hopkin.
“What should Tom do?” I asked.
“Put this at the top.” She handed me a star that had been made using twine and twigs and pointed it to the top of the tree where it was meant to hang.
“I can’t,” I said, looking around the room at all the faces. “One of you should do it.”
“Go on, son,” Mr Hopkin said, giving me a nod and a smile that filled me with joy.
I nervously took the star from Sophia and then reached up and hooked it over the tallest branch, eliciting claps from the rest of the family.
“Right,” Mrs Hopkin said, “who's ready for presents?”
“I’ll be right back,” I said, before running to the barn to collect the gifts I had bought for the family. When I returned there was a small sack in the middle of the room filled with gifts that the family was eager to open.
“I didn’t know what everyone would like,” I said, taking my seat next to the fire, “But I wanted to get you all a little something to say thank you for having me and making me so welcome.”
I felt a little silly reaching into the bag to give everyone bars of chocolate but the way their faces lit up in appreciation made any concerns disappear and I was glad that I didn’t come empty-handed, even if my gifts to them were small.
“Mrs Hopkin, I got you this. Well, it’s sort of for both of you.” I handed her the box with the tea set inside and she opened it gently, as though afraid to damage the cardboard. “I’m sorry it’s not wrapped.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said, lifting a small teacup and twirling it around in her hand, admiring the pattern. “John, have you seen this?”
“And to make sure you’ve got something to put in it, this is for you,” I said, handing the bottle of wine to Mr Hopkin. He examined the label and nodded in approval, then reached out and shook my hand.
The Hopkin children began to reach into the sack, searching the gifts for tags with their names on them. Tin soldiers for Howell, a new doll for Sophia, clothes and hats for the elder children and bags of fruits and nuts for everyone. They were all so pleased to receive anything at all, and they all lavished their parents with hugs and kisses in gratitude.
“We didn’t forget you,” Mrs Hopkin said, reaching behind her for a small bag of gifts. “These are from all of us.”
I thought I might end up crying again as she handed me the bag, something I’d found myself doing more in the last two months than I had in the ten years prior. I tore through the wrapping as everyone watched. The first gift was new socks, which I don’t think I’d ever been more grateful for. Next, I pulled out two bottles of beer, bags of fruits and nuts and then finally a book of Welsh words and phrases, which got a laugh from everyone when I held it up to show the room.
As the family began to sing a rendition of Silent Night, I watched the fire roaring beside me, and as I considered the effort and money that must have gone into my gift, I smiled to myself, more content than I’d been in years.
On Christmas morning I received a lie-in for the first time since I’d arrived there, not waking up until the bells started to ring down in the village calling the residents to prayer.
Once dressed and washed I accompanied the family to church for the first time and as I walked through the village I couldn’t help feeling an immense sense of pride. I wore the new clothes that I’d bought in Aberystwyth, saving their first outing for this very occasion knowing that everyone would be dressed in their absolute best.
“Looking very smart, Thomas,” Mair said when we met at the gate to the church. “Doesn’t he look dashing, Gwyn?”
“Very smart, indeed,” he replied with a smile. His clothes were the finest I’d ever seen him in, fitting his shape perfectly and showing off the thick upper arms he’d developed from his job down the mine. I smiled back at him, impressed, and began the walk into the church. Betty, more comfortable with me each day, hooked her arm to mine and accompanied me into the service.
We filed into the pews on the left side, sitting several rows back from the front, while Mair and Gwyn took seats on the right. The service went much like any other I’d been to in my own time, though I understood very little of it. Some of the hymns were sung in English so I mimed along but spent most of the time glancing over at Gwyn. He didn't seem particularly focused on the songs either and spent just as much time glancing back at me, making me grin each time he did.
Exiting the church was a much slower affair as people from the village stopped to wish each other well and Betty once again took my arm to accompany me out.
“Nadolig Llawen,” Mrs Wilkes said to me as we reached the door. I’d heard it enough to know she was wishing me a Merry Christmas so I said it back, eliciting a raised eyebrow and a smirk from her in return. “Have you met Mr Morgan?” she asked, ushering Arthur towards me. I hadn’t noticed him at the church so was taken aback by his sudden appearance before me, and Betty became visibly uncomfortable. Mrs Wilkes, of course, was fully aware of the animosity between us but I refused to be baited in front of everyone on Christmas morning and gave him a forced, but polite nod. He muttered something that I couldn’t understand but it caused Mrs Wilkes to snigger and they walked off towards the gate.