Page 26 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands (Scottish Highland #5)
Morag arrived at Pabay View carrying a box of wine bottles she had collected from the cash and carry she used for the shop. ‘Jules, can you go and grab another box from Kenneth at the van, please?’ she asked, a little out of breath.
‘Sure!’ Jules said as she skipped off in the direction of the exit.
‘Thanks so much for picking that up, Morag, I really appreciate it.’
‘Oh, it’s no bother, hen. Can’t have a celebration without a wee bit of fizz. What time are they getting back, Bella?’ Morag asked as she placed the box down on a table.
‘Around half five, I think.’ Bella turned to look at the clock and her heart skipped.
Morag nodded. ‘That gives us an hour and a half to finish off. Do you think we’ll manage it?’ She winced as she too stared at the clock on the wall as if doing so might make it turn back a wee bit.
Bella nodded confidently. ‘I’m sure we will. Pizzas are ordered for half six, so that’s the food sorted.’
‘What will Isla think about having pizza for her wedding feast?’ Evin asked as he strung three balloons together with some white curling ribbon. ‘It’s not really an old person’s food, is it?’
Morag gasped. ‘Hey, young man, us oldies love a stuffed crust, you know. And a garlic dip.’
Evin laughed. ‘Sorry, Morag, I keep forgetting how cool you guys are.’
‘Aye, well, we’re very cool. I mean Isla has purple hair, so what’s cooler than that?’ Morag said, grinning. ‘And Giovanni’s pizzas are worthy of any wedding feast. My mouth’s watering just thinking about his quattro formaggi .’
‘Steady on, Morag, that sounds a bit like a euphemism,’ Bella said, giggling.
‘Maybe it was,’ Morag whispered with a wink.
‘Anyway, to answer your question, Evin, my granny is a bit of a pizza aficionado since she visited Italy with my grandad a long time ago. She stayed in Florence and said it’s the best pizza she’s ever tasted.
It’s still one of her favourite meals so I’m pretty sure she’ll be happy about it.
And she did go and get married without telling anyone, which didn’t leave us a lot of choice really. ’
‘Well, I for one, am not complaining,’ Evin said. ‘I love pizza too.’
Harris had roped in the members of the Glentorrin Four to come and play a set for the celebrations and he had gone to collect his gear and make sure his fiddle was in tune.
In the meantime, before only their second ‘proper’ gig, the other band members were busy with other party preparations.
Reid was at his studio rustling up a banner to hang above the makeshift stage area, Archie was out collecting flowers for the table centres and Dex and his partner Millie were putting together a Spotify playlist for when the band weren’t playing.
Even former Hollywood star Ruby and her husband Mitch were getting involved.
They had volunteered to put together a quiz for everyone to take part in later in the evening – quizzes, crosswords and Sudoku were Tam’s favourite things.
He and Isla avidly watched game shows on a daily basis, a firm favourite being The Chase because, ‘That Bradley Walsh is so funny and quite cheeky too,’ Bella’s granny had told her.
Tam’s love of quizzes had been a lifelong passion, and he had even appeared on a TV show called Countdown back in the 1980s, winning his particular episode.
He had a framed photo of himself with the presenters Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman on his living-room wall.
Isla loved to tell people about Tam’s claim to fame and whenever she did Tam would feign shyness with an, ‘Och, no, it was a long time ago, I’d almost forgotten about it,’ but Bella was sure that he loved it really; her being so proud of him.
‘Did you manage to get hold of Tam’s daughter, Dorothy?’ Bella asked as the Pabay manager walked in from the direction of her office.
Dorothy sighed. ‘I did. She can’t make it at such short notice, which is understandable, I suppose. She didn’t sound too pleased either. Poor Tam’s going to have some serious explaining to do and I get the feeling his family won’t be as understanding as Isla’s.’
‘I wonder where they’re going to live now,’ Bella was pondering out loud.
‘I think Tam’s unit is slightly bigger,’ Dorothy said. ‘But Isla’s very house proud so I’m not sure she’ll want to give up her own space. Especially with the lovely garden she has for Beau. Tam’s outside space is smaller.’
‘Maybe they’ll just carry on as they are now,’ Bella’s dad said. ‘They live next door to each other so it’s not like they really have a need to move.’
‘You’re right,’ Dorothy mused, and added, ‘They spend most days together already at one or the other’s home. And they eat most meals together.’
‘Hmm, I just don’t know if they’ll want to live apart.
It’s not romantic, and Granny’s nothing if not romantic.
’ Bella knew her granny probably better than anyone else these days and she had a feeling Tam would be the one relocating, even if it was only a few yards; Isla could be stubborn as they all knew very well.
* * *
Caitlin arrived with the cake. ‘It’s not as fancy as some of my wedding cakes but hopefully they’ll still like it,’ she said as she placed the box down on the table.
‘Don’t be daft, I just appreciate you making it at such short notice, so please don’t worry.
Your cakes are always lovely.’ Bella opened the lid of the tall white box and gasped.
Inside was a double-layered cylindrical cake, the top section slightly smaller than the bottom, and covered in a glass-smooth lilac frosting.
Purple handmade icing flowers had been placed in a spiral from the top to the bottom and additional ones had been laid around the base along with icing sugar leaves.
It was simple but artistic at the same time.
‘Oh, Caitlin, it’s stunning. I know they’re going to love it. ’
Caitlin stood with her hands clutched under her chin and on hearing Bella’s words she huffed out her breath. ‘Phew! I’m so glad you like it. It’s quite basic, really.’
Bella put her arm around Caitlin’s shoulder and kissed the side of her head. ‘No, honestly, it’s absolutely perfect. Thank you so much.’
‘You’re very welcome, honey.’ She glanced around the room. ‘This place is looking fabulous. Hardly recognisable. I’d better go get my glad rags on.’
Once the balloons were all blown up, ‘congratulations’ bunting had been strung around the room, confetti had been sprinkled on every available surface, and flowers had been placed in the centre of each table, Bella stood at the edge of the room with her mum and dad to assess what they had achieved in only a few hours.
She was feeling quite excited now the panic had subsided.
Her dad put his arm around her shoulder.
‘I have to say, Arabella, for a usually functional space you’ve worked miracles on this place.
It rivals those posh venues that people pay thousands of pounds for.
’ He shook his head. ‘Seriously, your talents know no bounds, darlin’.
I hope you know how proud of you your mum and I are. ’
‘Your dad’s right, my lovely. It really does look wonderful,’ her mum said, kissing her cheek.
Reid arrived with the finished banner and Harris returned from a quick detour via the police station and together they put the banner up over the makeshift stage area.
He had painted Tam and Isla holding hands and smiling at each other right in the centre and had surrounded them with a variety of thistles and other purple flowers; Isla’s favourite, and seeing it brought a lump of emotion to Bella’s throat.
‘Oh, Reid, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Thank you so much. You’ve really captured them both.’
‘The idea is that when the party is over, they can frame the centre part as a memento of their day. In fact, I can do that for them when they’re ready. My wedding gift to them.’
‘They’ll absolutely love it. It’ll make the occasion so special for them.’ She hugged Reid.
‘You’re welcome. I’m an old romantic myself,’ he said, blushing and rubbing bashfully at the back of his neck where a flush of embarrassment was creeping.
‘I can vouch for that,’ Jules said as she walked over and linked arms with her husband. ‘The banner really does add a lovely finishing touch to a beautifully decorated room. Well done, Bella.’
‘No, thank you all. I couldn’t have pulled this off by myself.’
Olivia and Brodie had sent a huge bouquet of flowers which were placed on the table that had been set aside for the bride and groom and now all they needed was said happy couple to arrive.
The other members of the Glentorrin Four arrived and set up their instruments and a small PA system in readiness and little by little the other residents of Pabay View arrived in the lounge; each one had made an effort to look like they were attending an actual wedding, which made Bella’s heart swell.
She quickly headed to her granny’s apartment to change and returned a short time later to find the place buzzing with chatter, and an air of excitement hummed around the room.
Evin was on watch at the window and at just after half past five he called, ‘Everyone! They’re here!’ as he watched the car pulling into the car park.
‘Has everyone got a glass of fizz?’ Bella shouted and a mumble of affirmation could be heard. Dorothy was waiting for them at the entrance to the building under the guise that she wanted to have a word with them about their antics . Dorothy could be quite stern when she wanted to be.
* * *
Instead of shouting ‘surprise’, which Bella didn’t want to risk with the newlywed couple being well into their eighties, the Glentorrin Four played the opening bars to the ‘Wedding March’ and everyone applauded.