Page 21 of Suddenly Mine

“We had to offer to dry clean her dress and shoes,” Margot went on. “Money we could have done without sp—”

“Leave it,” growled Lewis Carroll. He seemed even older than he had yesterday, slumped over his desk, the oxygen mask hanging around his neck, but his words carried the same power and authority they always had. “They probably had it coming. Right, son?”

“Yes,” said Christian. Then, thinking of what Merry had said, “Actually, no. I acted way out of proportion. I’m sorry.”

Margot grinned smugly, but his dad waved his words away. “I don’t care.” He broke into a fit of hacking coughs.

Margot got up to help him, but he waved her away too. He inhaled through the mask, taking a moment to catch his breath. “It’s forgotten. Have you learned anything?”

Christian nodded, walking to the chair in front of his father’s desk. He sat down, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “I’m getting a sense of the place,” he said. “There are major queues forming, customers getting angry at the wait and leaving without buying anything. From what I’ve learned, it’s a staffing issue. There just aren’t enough people here, especially for this time of year.”

“That’s rubbish,” spat Margot. “My staffing levels are perfect.”

“So why the layoffs?” Christian asked. “Why are you letting so many people go?”

“What?” barked his dad. “What layoffs?”

“The janitorial team, the jewellery department, Kitchen, everywhere.” He looked at Margot. “This is your doing.”

“We haven’t made any layoffs,” she said, her eyes like daggers. “And if you’re going to accuse me of something, you’d better have evidence to back it up.”

“Hey, calm it down,” said his dad. “Margot, leave us.”

She stood up, fuming, opening her mouth to protest, then seemed to think better of it.

“I told you, Lewis,” she said as she walked from the room. “He doesn’t know the business. He doesn’t know the company.”

Then she was gone, the door slamming behind her.

Lewis pushed his chair back, struggling to his feet, and Christian ran around the desk to help him.

“I’m okay,” the old man said. “I’m not dead yet.”

They stood face to face, and Christian was shocked at how small his dad looked — as if somebody had shaved a foot off his height. He was stooped and broken, each breath coming inshort, rapid wheezes. All Christian wanted to do was wrap his father in a hug, but years of emotional absence kept him at bay.

“Grab that.” Lewis nodded at the oxygen tank.

Christian picked it up, careful not to pinch the tube. His dad collected a walking stick from the side of the desk and shuffled across the room, leading the way into the corridor. There were a few members of staff out there, all of whom nodded to their boss, and all of whom completely ignored the janitor by his side.

“People have really said that?” his dad asked. “That there’ve been layoffs?”

“Yeah,” Christian said. “Too many for it not to be true. You must have a record of employees, of who has joined and who has left?”

“That’s Margot’s department now. She works with Mrs Cradley on the background stuff.”

“And you trust her?” Christian asked.

His dad pressed the buzzer and shouldered through the door into the store. Christian hefted up the oxygen tank, following him out. His dad was breathing hard, and Christian was worried that he might be overdoing it. But it turned out he wasn’t going far. He stopped at the edge of the children’s department, close enough to see Santa passing a gift to a young boy. Overhead, ‘All I Want For Christmas’ was playing.

“You recognise him?” his dad asked.

“Santa?” said Christian. “I think so. I couldn’t be sure. Is it really the same guy?”

“Of course.” There was almost a smile on his dad’s face. “I remember putting you on his knee when you were ten months old, holding you there while he asked you what you wanted for Christmas. You know what you did?”

Christian shook his head. It was so unlike his dad to reminisce like this that the question took him by surprise.

“You threw up all over his trousers,” he said, coughing out a rumbling laugh. “We had to rush him into the bathroom to clean it off. Luckily the store wasn’t open yet, we were just setting up. We had time to dry clean them. But for the rest of that rehearsal, Santa gave out gifts in his jockey shorts.”