Christmas Eve had arrived, but over at St. Michael's vicarage, Reverend Morris was in a bit of a panic.
"Oh dear, what terrible timing," he sighed, as he put down his smartphone.
"What's up?" Jenna asked, handing him a glass of mulled wine. "Is it about tonight's carol service?"
"Unless I can find an organist willing to step in for Gordon, I'm afraid we'll be forced to have a rather muted carol service, with only the piano!" The vicar sighed.
A look of horror spread across Jenna's face. "Oh no, Gordon! Is he okay?"
"Gordon's fine. It's his cousin Barry, who lives in Yorkshire. He's taken a tumble on some ice and broken his ankle. He's recovering at home, but he lives alone and can't manage by himself over Christmas. His daughter Lisa, lives in Florida. So Gordon has decided to stay with him until after the new year, when Lisa will be flying over."
"Aww. That's so kind of him. Nobody should be on their own at Christmas. Let's hope Barry makes a speedy recovery. But the carol service just won't be the same without Gordon playing the organ. He's...taught me a lot, but I'm not up the standard where I can play fluently during a church service yet! The organ is so complicated."
In truth, Jenna had spent rather more time playing Gordon's 8 inch organ rather than the church organ. "Simon, I'll gladly play the piano at the service, although you're right, it'll be feeble-sounding by comparison."
Reverend Morris sighed. "I really appreciate that, my love. People are expecting a fantastic Christmas service this year, to make up for the two years we lost due to the pandemic. With all the bad news recently, they need cheering up. I've been going on about the carol service for weeks, promoting it online, putting ads in the gazette. I even forked out for an ad on the local radio. You simply can't have Hark the Herald Angels and O Come All Ye Faithful played on anything else but a pipe organ!"
"Is there nobody else who could take Gordon's place?"
"Not at such short notice. The service is only seven hours away! I phoned Tom Fishwick who used to play at St. Paul's, but he lives ten miles away and can't drive. He can't get here due to the train strikes. So I tried Sundeep Kapoor over at the Living Earth Free Church, but he's at home suffering from a chest infection, plus his cat has developed ringworm, so he's stressed out about that."
Jenna groaned. "What a nightmare."
"That just leaves Raymond Wilson, the organist at Oakwood Road Methodist Church. Oakwood had its carol service this morning, so he might be available. But..."
"But what? Get on that phone pronto, Simon!"
"Raymond's notoriously difficult to work with," Reverend Morris replied. "I don't like to speak ill of people, but I'm not that keen on him. He's rude and awkward. A bit of an Ebenezer Scrooge."
Gordon used to be a bit like that...before I was able to cheer him up, Jenna smirked to herself. "Oh I see. I wonder why he's like that?"
"Some people are just like that, and I don't think Raymond's that keen on Christmas anyway."
"I don't mind speaking to him," Jenna said. "He doesn't scare me!"
The vicar perked up. "Would you? I confess the last time I spoke to him on the phone, I got a tirade of abuse."
"Leave it to me," the wily redhead replied, although she wasn't planning to speak to him by phone.
"I must dash, Jen. I've got to head over to the church hall and drop these foodbank items off, then I'm going to take this shopping round to Mrs Grimes."
"Don't wear yourself out, Simon. Big day tomorrow! Our first Christmas together, and my parents, your parents, Lucy, Debbie and Christopher will be joining us for dinner. It'll be so nice for Christopher to have a big family Christmas."
"I always have the Lord's work to do!" Reverend Morris laughed, hurrying out. "Love you. See you later!"
Jenna smiled to herself as she looked through the address book. "So this organist is like Scrooge is he?" She said as she found Raymond Wilson's home address. "Well Scrooge was redeemed in the end, after he saw the three ghosts. Oh that reminds me. Home Alone and the Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol are on later. Must make sure the TV is set to record them."
****
Raymond Wilson had arrived home after playing the organ at Oakwood's carol service. He poured himself a brandy and slumped in an armchair. A tall skinny man, who looked to be in need of a good meal. He was fifty, but looked a lot older. Years of being hunched over playing the Methodist church's organ had left him with a stoop. In recent years, he'd let his white hair grow long until it was almost on his shoulders.
"Thank God that's over for another year," he muttered. He reached over to the side table and pressed the flashing button on the answerphone. There were two new messages.
Beep
"Hi Ray. It's Steve. Brandi and I really hope you can visit us for Christmas dinner tomorrow. Brandi's going to cook this time. I taught her how to use the microwave. See you about half-three. Love you!"
Beep
"Ray, it's Terry. The kids and I are gonna call round tomorrow morning to exchange presents. Noah's hoping Santa's going to bring him the latest Pokémon game. You did get Pokémon Scarlet didn't you? Oh and Mia has her heart set on that Bluey plush. Remember that? The big ones that they sell at Asda. Don't get any cheap fake stuff off the market stalls. Those soft toys that the Bulgarian guy with the gold tooth sells? Well they tend to have wraps of cocaine inside them...Okay, bye for now!"
Raymond drank his brandy. "Bloody kids," he moaned. His younger brother's children were notoriously spoilt, and never wanted to spend any time with him, unless he had some money or a toy to give.
He hadn't much time for his cousin Steve either, or his new wife, an airhead former porn star named Brandi Snaps.
Raymond was dozing in his chair when the doorbell rang. "This had better not be another of those damned cold callers..."