Page 5 of Summer at Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

With a glass of bubbly to hand and swimming costumes on, the girls opened up the French doors and made their way to the inviting hot tub on the deck area. They climbed the three wooden steps, and one by one slipped down into the warm frothing water.

‘Marvellous,’ said Jill, settling back in the bubbles.

‘What a spot,’ added Eve, taking in the view of the lake as a gentle breeze rippled over its waters in tiny silver waves.

‘Ahh, this is what it’s all about,’ Rachel said slumping back, just managing to keep her glass above water level as the bubbles rose over her shoulders. ‘Oops, don’t want to water this stuff down.’

‘Bliss.’ Eve gave a small sigh.

‘Oh, and now we’re finally here with time to think, I’ll need to talk over some of the wedding plans with you lot too,’ said Rachel.

‘Absolutely, that’s what we’re here for, after all.’ Eve smiled warmly.

‘Can you believe it’s only seven weeks to go until the big day?’ Rachel pulled a panicked face. ‘It’s all creeping up so fast. July will be here before we know it.’

‘I know. Time’s flying just now,’ added her mum.

‘And … I’m getting slightly worried that I still haven’t chosen a dress yet,’ confessed Rachel with a sigh. ‘I’ve a feeling I’m going to end up in a white binbag with the arms cut out at this rate.’

Eve and Jill caught each other’s eye.

‘I know it’s not the end of the world,’ Rachel continued, trying to convince herself it didn’t matter that much in the big scheme of things, ‘I’ll find something that’ll do … But that dress I saw back in March has stuck in my mind. Oh well,’ she rallied. ‘I’m glad we’ve spent the money on the tipi that we’ve booked for the wedding day, and we can afford to make a fabulous buffet for everyone to enjoy. Even if the rest of it is on a bit of a shoestring. A dress is just a dress, after all …’ Rachel took a gulp of her rather lovely pear-drops-tasting prosecco. ‘It’ll all work out, I’m sure. And I know I’m really lucky, just getting married to Tom’s going to be pretty damned special, even if I do end up standing at the altar in a bin bag.’

Rachel spotted another look passing between her mum and Eve.

‘What?’ There was definitely something going on between the two of them.

‘Don’t be too despondent about the dress, love,’ soothed Jill.

Her mum and friend raised their eyebrows at each other, Jill giving Eve a nod.

‘It’s just … we might have something in the offing,’ added Eve.

‘You do? Well, that’s great … is there a wedding dress shop in Oban then? Have you booked an appointment?’ She bloody well hoped it had a bargain rail.

‘Hmm, there might be,’ answered Jill, with a twinkle in her eye, not yet giving anything away. She looked at Eve conspiratorially; they were both fighting to hide their smiles.

‘Come on. You can’t leave me hanging like this …’

‘You’ll just have to wait and see,’ concluded Jill, and she clinked glasses with Rachel and Eve with a ‘Cheers.’

Rachel hated being kept in the dark. What did this pair have up their sleeves?

Just as the afternoon sun was starting to fade, Kirsty and Hannah phoned to say they were making good time on their journey.

‘I can’t wait to get there. It sounds amazing. And you say you’ve been in the Jacuzzi already, you lucky things. No children, no night feeds, no nappy changes for three whole days. Woo-hoo!’ Kirsty cheered down the phone line.

‘See you soon,’ shouted Hannah excitedly from the passenger seat. ‘Save us some prosecco, guys.’

‘Ah, we’ve got plenty, don’t you worry,’ called Eve.

An hour later, with the lasagne warming in the oven and Jill’s homemade pudding waiting in the fridge, Rachel sat relaxing on the sofa, settling into the rhythm of the weekend. Just as she thought about closing her eyelids, letting the prosecco carry her into a luxurious nap, a pair of hands were suddenly placed firmly over her eyes.

‘What the …!’

‘Please stand and step this way,’ giggled Eve, drawing Rachel to her feet.

‘You two are definitely up to something. Tell …’ Rachel demanded, affronted and excited at the same time.