Page 41 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands

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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.’