Page 3 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands

Isla’s gentleman friend and neighbour, Tam, was seemingly in charge of beverages and was sporting a rather fetching green knitted waistcoat embellished with snowmen – clearly another wonderous Isla creation. She must have started knitting last January, Bella thought. With it, Tam wore a smart white shirt and his obligatory bow tie, the colour of which, on this occasion, matched his waistcoat. He was a lovely, well-spoken and immaculately dressed man and she had grown very fond of him since she’d met him on Granny Isla’s moving-in day.

‘Ah, bella Bella, my dear, how lovely to see you. What can I get you to drink?’ He had taken to doubling up her name from early on and it endeared her to him even more.

‘Hi, Tam. I wasn’t expecting to see you, I thought you’d be spending Christmas with your daughter,’ Bella said as she kissed him on the cheek.

Tam gave a brief smile and broke eye contact. ‘Oh yes, well, she and her husband have jetted off to sunnier climes for the festive season. And anyway, I would’ve missed my lovely Isla.’ A wave of sadness washed over Bella as it was clear from his crumpled brow that he was a little upset about being abandoned by his family at Christmas.

She placed a hand on his arm. ‘Well, lucky us, Tam. I’m sure I speak for the whole family when I say we’re happy to have you.’

His face brightened. ‘Oh, I think you deserve a nice chilled glass of prosecco, bella Bella.’ He hurried off to the small kitchen at the rear of the unit. ‘I’ll even pop a raspberry in there for you.’

* * *

Bella sipped the bubbly liquid from a rather large wine glass as she chatted to Maeve and Tam for a little while about the goings on at Pabay View – the place was like a soap opera, with new couples forming and then splitting up; arguments over who had won the Christmas charity raffle for the third year running, and insinuations that it had been fixed; mumblings of complaints over the types of puddings being served at the Sunday lunch club these days, and how they were clearly microwave offerings, which they never used to be; the drama of the Elvis impersonator who had been booked to sing at the Christmas party but had arrived clearly too drunk to perform and had proceeded to completely muck up the words to ‘Blue Christmas’. Dorothy, the manager of the residential home, had sat him down with a strong cup of black coffee and then the residents had done karaoke with his gear while the inebriated man, in a bejewelled white satin jumpsuit and a bad, slightly squint wig, had waited for his disgruntled wife to come back and take him home. And then they had all witnessed the poor, slight woman pack away said gear and struggle to manhandle the would-be Elvis into their little white van while she berated him and told him how she had known he had been too drunk to fulfil the gig, and that she had no idea why he hadn’t just listened to her and cancelled like she had suggested.

‘You’re an embarrassment to the name Elvis Aaron Presley, Graham Armstrong!’ she had apparently said as she had slammed the door and driven away.

Bella giggled as she listened to the antics of the residents and thought someone really should write a book about the place.

Then she caught up with her younger brother and listened as he enthused about his plans to move to Glasgow with his friends once he had found a job.

‘Glasgow’s where it’s all happening, Bells. Loads of gigs to attend, plenty of bars and cinemas. I can’t wait.’

* * *

After around half an hour, the front door opened, and Bella turned as a flash of chilly air preceded Harris into the living room. In his arms was a huge cardboard box covered in the most stunning traditional holly-print gift wrap. So, the person who he was visiting wanted to give him a gift, Bella thought. It all made sense now. It was testament to how well thought of he was already.

‘Is everything okay?’ Bella asked as he was greeted by everyone.

‘Aye, all good,’ he replied with a nod. ‘Can I just have everyone’s attention for a moment?’ The conversation in the room fell silent and all eyes turned to him as he gently placed the box on the floor. ‘Erm, Bella, I have another wee gift for you,’ Harris told her as he stood.

Bella shook her head in surprise. ‘But, Harris, you already got me so much!’

‘Aye, but this one is extra special. Come on and open it.’

Bella crouched and noticed that the box wasn’t actually sealed. She opened the loosely folded cardboard flaps and gasped. Inside was the cutest ball of fluff she had ever seen.

Harris told her, ‘He needed a good home so I figured we could be his family.’

She reached in and lifted out the golden retriever puppy to a chorus of ‘awww’ from her family members. The pale cream puppy wriggled in her hands and proceeded to lick her face and squeak excitedly. Then he peed, which made everyone laugh, luckily he missed Bella’s clothing, and Granny Isla dashed to the kitchen for paper towels.

Bella’s eyes welled with tears. ‘Oh, my word, he’s gorgeous. Thank you, Harris!’

‘What will you call him?’ Harris asked.

‘I think he’s definitely a Bertie,’ she said, cuddling the pup to her body as more ‘awwws’ ensued and her family gathered around to greet him.

‘Bertie it is,’ Harris said with a smile. ‘Oh, and check out his collar. I got it especially with you in mind.’

Bella glanced down at the red, green and black tartan collar and gasped one more time. ‘Harris!’ Her eyes widened, and her gaze flicked up to him and then back at the simple yet elegant princess-cut diamond solitaire ring on a white-gold band that dangled from the dog’s collar on a tartan ribbon, its facets glinting in the lights of the wee Christmas tree. It couldn’t have been more perfect if she had chosen it herself.

‘I’ve had a chat with your dad and got his approval to ask you a very important question,’ Harris said as he lowered himself to one knee, his eyes glassy with emotion. ‘Bella Douglas, I’m not great with fancy words, as you know, but I love you with all my heart. And if you say yes, I promise to love you for as long as you’ll have me. So… will you marry me?’

‘Oh yes! Two hundred per cent yes!’

‘We told you she’d say yes!’ Isla blurted as she linked arms with Maeve, and now everything about their reaction when he’d left earlier made sense. They were in on it!

Harris stood from his position on the floor and scooped her into his arms, being careful not to squash Bertie, and kissed her passionately to a round of applause and cheers from everyone else in the room.