The year before they had all gathered around David, both his daughters doing the planning and the cooking while David sat, too dazed with grief to be of use to anyone, only aware enough to know that he was both centre and obstacle of the life that had to go on. Nothing could have made it clearer to him that Patricia, who had loved Christmas and risen to it as the culminating performance of the year, was dead and he totally incapable of taking her place. It was soon after Christmas that David had made up his mind to offer the house to Mary and Ted.

‘Have you spoken to your sister?’ David asked.

‘Not exactly. She just asked me what she could do to help.’

‘There’s still time to rethink the whole holiday,’ David said. ‘The burden shouldn’t fall on you.’

‘Christmas isn’t exactly a burden,’ Mary said.

‘You girls have learned your mother’s lessons too well, always carrying on as if you had a staff of servants behind you. Christmas is a lot of plain hard work, and there isn’t any reason why it should all fall on you.’

‘You know what bugs me?’ Mary asked. ‘I really never did bend over backwards to please Mother, trying to do everything her way, until she died and we moved in here. Sometimes I feel as if I’m the maid to her ghost. And it doesn’t help when Laura treats me as if I were.’

‘I don’t think your sister would put it just that way. She may simply be trying not to pull rank. If you really talked about it, you might find out that everyone wanted to stay home.’

‘Out of the question,’ Mary said. ‘My kids wouldn’t hear of Christmas without Ben and Mike. They couldn’t even be bribed away with a ski trip. And what would we do with you, saw you in half?’

‘I could make the rounds,’ David said, ‘ho-hoing first here, then there. I’m not suggesting it, Mary, I’m just suggesting that what we do at Christmas—or any other time for that matter—doesn’t have to be carved in stone.’

‘Doesn’t it? Mother always thought it did.’

‘Your mother liked tradition, but she invented her own. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t now.’

‘But now that she isn’t here, what’s the point of doing it any differently?’ Mary asked.

‘You’re taking both sides, you know,’ David said, smiling at her.

‘I know it,’ Mary said. ‘I’ve always thought I was a poor loser. It’s discouraging to find out I’m even worse as a winner.’

‘Talk to Laura.’

‘All right, but I don’t expect any surprises from her.’