Every time you make a move

The Great Pretender-Pt 3

Garden Lodge, Christmas Eve, around 7:30pm

"Phoebe! Phoebe, Oshiro just wished me a Merry Christmas from Japan!"

Roshni was in her parent's lamplit office, jumping up and down in front of the household fax machine in delight as she clutched a paper document sent from her faraway school friend.

"He did, did he? That's very nice of him..." Mr Freestone uttered distractedly as he sat at the office desk, scouring a couple of the local newspapers for job adverts.

"Look, he sent me a drawing too!" she rushed over and grabbed Phoebe's elbow, tugging it violently, "He says that it's Japan's version of Santa Claus and that it's a bald man with eyes at the back of his head."

Phoebe tried to interject, "That's very interesting, but-"

Still, Roshni cut across him enthusiastically, "He uses the eyes to spy on children being naughty when his back is-"

"Roshni! Now is not the time!" he raised his voice in agitation.

Her face fell, and she retreated from behind the desk as a twinkle of joys left her blue eyes, filling up with tears instead.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," Phoebe sighed remorsefully, lifting his reading glasses off of the bridge of his nose, "It's just that... oh, come here."

Roshni tearfully obeyed, allowing him to haul her up and sit her on his knee.

He began to kindly explain to her, "It's just that I only have a week to find another job. And I haven't had time to look and apply for anything since we came home from Ireland because all that I've had time to do is look after your mum and prepare for Christmas tomorrow. Do you understand?"

Roshni morosely nodded, and what must've been the thousandth time that week she pleadingly told him, "Then why can't you just stay with us? Don't go!"

"But I have to go," Phoebe regretfully insisted, "Your dad and I think that it's for the best."

She snivelled, rubbing her wet eyes with the sleeve of her aran knit jumper, "Why do adults have to be so unfair?"

Phoebe took a tissue out of the box of kleenex sitting on the desk, gently dabbing her wet cheeks dry, "It'll seem unfair now, but one day when you're older you'll understand."

"But what if your replacement isn't as good as you? What if they're really mean to us, or don't like our cats? What if they're like a personal assistant's equivalent of an evil stepmother?"

"An evil equivalent of me, eh?" Phoebe chuckled, and assured her, "I doubt your mum and dad would let that happen to you and Johnny."

"...I'm going to miss you when you go, Pheebs."

In return, the man simply hugged the girl and rested the chin on his shoulder as he tried to hold back his own tears, clenching his eyes shut.

"And I'm going to miss you too. But I'm sure that it's all going to be alright."

Roshni pulled away, "Promise you'll call us?"

"I'll try, it depends if Headfort will let me onto their line as well. It mightn't seem appropriate to them."

"Well, why wouldn't they let you talk to us?" she asked innocently, "It'd just be Pheebs calling"

"Maybe it'd be a better idea if I write to you or send you postcards of wherever I go on holiday. Deal?" Phoebe held his hand out to her.

"Deal." Roshni shook it in return.

"Now," He set her back off of his knee, and suggested, "Why don't you go find your brother, and you both go downstairs to the kitchen, pour out a glass of milk and place some ginger nuts from the biscuit tin on a plate, and then leave them out next to the fire place for Santa Claus in the Piano room?"